NASA Missions Explore a “TIE Fighter” Active Galaxy Far, Far Away
Not so long ago, astronomers mapped a galaxy far, far away using radio waves and found it has a strikingly familiar shape. In the process,…
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Saturn-Sized Exoplanet Discovered by the Gravitational “Wobble” in the Small, Cool Star It Orbits
Using the supersharp radio “vision” of the National Science Foundation’s continent-wide Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), astronomers have discovered a Saturn-sized planet closely orbiting a…
Stirred-Up Planet Factory Captured by the Revolutionary ALMA Telescope
Planet-forming environments can be much more complex and chaotic than previously expected. This is evidenced by a new image of the star RU Lup, made…
33-Year-Old Cosmic Mystery Solved? Hot “Blob” Discovered in Supernova Remnant – Not a Pulsar or Black Hole
Two teams of astronomers have made a compelling case in the 33-year-old mystery surrounding Supernova 1987A. Based on observations of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array…
Magnetic Field of a Spiral Galaxy: Field Lines Extend Far Beyond Galaxy’s Disk
This image shows the huge extent of a spiral galaxy’s magnetic field. The galaxy NGC 4217 is a star-forming, spiral galaxy, similar to our own…
Unprecedented Astronomy: Atmosphere of the Red Supergiant Star Antares Revealed by Radio Telescopes
An international team of astronomers has created the most detailed map yet of the atmosphere of the red supergiant star Antares. The unprecedented sensitivity and…
Stunning Celestial Fireworks Celebrate Birth of Colossal Star Cluster
Astronomers created a stunning new image showing stellar fireworks in star cluster G286.21+0.17. Most stars in the universe, including our Sun, were born in massive…
Standard Model of Universe Wrong? New Precision Distance Measurements Inconsistent With Theory
Observational Results Bolster Challenge to Theory A new set of precision distance measurements made with an international collection of radio telescopes have greatly increased the…
Astronomers Acting on a Hunch Solve a Galactic Mystery
Astronomers Find Elusive Target Hiding Behind Dust Astronomers acting on a hunch have likely resolved a mystery about young, still-forming stars and regions rich in…
Strange New Class of Cosmic Explosions Discovered by Astronomers
Blasts differ from ‘ordinary’ supernovae, gamma-ray bursts. Astronomers have found two objects that, added to a strange object discovered in 2018, constitute a new class…
Massive Rotating Disk in Early Universe Discovered by Largest Radio Telescope in the World
In our 13.8 billion-year-old universe, most galaxies like our Milky Way form gradually, reaching their large mass relatively late. But a new discovery made with…
Unusual Secrets Revealed in Analysis of Mysterious Visitor From the Depths of Space
2I/Borisov likely formed in extremely cold environment, high amounts of carbon monoxide show. A galactic visitor entered our solar system last year – interstellar comet…
Astronomers Measure Wind Speed on a Brown Dwarf for the First Time
Astronomers have used the National Science Foundation’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope to make the first measurement of…
Strange Orbits of ‘Tatooine’ Planetary Disks – Striking Orbital Geometries Around Binary Stars
Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have found striking orbital geometries in protoplanetary disks around binary stars. While disks orbiting the most compact binary…
Two Supermassive Black Holes Caught in a Galaxy Crash Seen in Unprecedented Detail
ALMA sees material around two growing supermassive black holes in unprecedented detail. An international team of astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to…
Massive Black Holes Found Wandering in Dwarf Galaxies
Roughly half of the newly-discovered black holes are not at the centers of their galaxies. Astronomers seeking to learn about the mechanisms that formed massive…
Radio Jupiter: Seeing the Giant Planet in a Brilliant New Light
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. It is also the brightest planet at radio frequencies. While radio astronomy often focuses on more…
Star Formation History of the Universe Revealed by Distant Milky Way-Like Galaxies
Look at this new radio image covered with dots, each of which is a distant galaxy! The brightest spots are galaxies that are powered by…