Astronomers Reveal the Secrets of ‘Frankenstein’ Galaxy UGC 1382
Using data from NASA telescopes and other observatories, astronomers reveal the secrets of UGC 1382, revealing that the galaxy is 10 times bigger than previously…
Astrophysics News
Hitomi Mission Discovers a Quiet Space in the Perseus Cluster
The Hitomi X-ray Observatory has discovered something quite serene: calm at the heart of the Perseus cluster. Scientists from the international Hitomi mission reported July…
Astronomers Discover a Planet in a Triple Star System
Using direct imaging, a team of astronomers has discovered a young Jovian exoplanet within a triple-star system. If you thought Luke Skywalker’s home planet, Tatooine,…
Astronomers Discover Evidence of a ‘Direct-Collapse Black Hole’
A newly published study details evidence for a direct collapse black hole in the Lyman α source CR7. Astronomers Aaron Smith and Volker Bromm of…
Astronomers Discover X-Ray Echoes from a Black Hole That Shattered a Passing Star
Using data from the Swift Satellite, astronomers have identified the reflections of X-ray flares erupting from a star that was shattered by a black hole….
XMM-Newton Reveals the First ‘Wind Nebula’ Around a Magnetar
Using the XMM-Newton X-ray observatory, a team of astronomers has discovered a vast cloud of high-energy particles around a rare ultra-magnetic neutron star for the…
ALMA Reveals Methanol in the TW Hydrae Protoplanetary Disk
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have discovered the organic molecule methyl alcohol (methanol) in the protoplanetary disk around the star TW Hydrae….
Astronomers Confirm Youngest Known Transiting Exoplanet
Using the MEarth-North and MEarth-South arrays, astronomers have confirmed the discovery of the youngest known planet, only 11 million years old, which transits its star…
Astronomers Find an Unexpected Amount of Giant Planets in Star Cluster Messier 67
A team of astronomers reveals that there are far more planets of the hot Jupiter type than expected in star cluster Messier 67. The surprising…
Did LIGO Find Dark Matter?
When it was announced that LIGO detected gravitational waves this past February, astrophysicists wondered about something else: Had the experiment found the “dark matter” that…
LIGO Detects Gravitational Waves Again
The twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) has detected gravitational waves for the second time. The signal was produced by two black holes colliding 1.4…
Astronomers Study T-Tauri Stars in the Chamaeleon Star-Forming Region
New research on young (T-Tauri) stars in the Chamaeleon and Rho Ophiuchus star-forming regions has determined their ages as being between about five-six million years…
Astronomers Observe Supermassive Black Hole Feeding on Cold Gas
A newly published study details the first direct evidence to support the hypothesis that black holes feed on clouds of cold gas. At the center…
New Reseach Shows Cloudy Days on Hot Jupiters May Hide Atmospheric Water
New research suggests that as much as half of the water in the atmospheres of exoplanets may be blocked by clouds or hazes. Water is…
CEMP Stars Could Host Carbon Planets
A newly published study from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics suggests that planet formation in the early universe might have created carbon planets consisting of…
The Canarias Einstein Ring – A Newly Discovered Einstein Ring
A newly published study details the discovery of a new Einstein Ring, a rare image of a distant galaxy lensed by gravity. In his seminal…
Hubble Reveals Universe Is Expanding Faster Than Expected
Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers reveal that the universe is expanding 5 percent to 9 percent faster than expected. “This surprising finding may be…
Lund Astronomers Believe Planet 9 Was an Exoplanet
New research details how Planet 9 may have once been an exoplanet “captured” by our sun billions of years ago. Through a computer-simulated study, astronomers…