New work by astrophysicist David Kipping reveals that astronomers can calculate a star's mass using its orbiting planet and moon. By measuring the size of the planet and moon relative to the star and their orbital periods, scientists can use Kepler's Laws of Motion to determine the density of the star.
Scientists have found the largest known galaxy cluster at a staggering 7 billion light-years away, holding hundreds of galaxies. This discovery provides crucial insights into dark energy's influence on cosmic structure growth.
Astronomers have found evidence for stellar cannibalism in the star BP Piscium, which appears to be an old red giant. The discovery suggests that stars like our Sun may engulf companion stars or planets as they age.
Astronomer Joel Kastner finds evidence that a variable star in the Pisces constellation is a one billion-year-old red giant that has swallowed a companion star, forming an orbiting disk that may contain second-generation planets. The star's extreme properties and X-ray production rate point to its advanced age.
Astronomers discovered a cloud of hot water vapor around the old star IRC+10216 and suspected comets or dwarf planets were evaporating to produce it. However, Herschel's instruments revealed that ultraviolet light from surrounding stars is the actual source of the water, which forms closer to the star than comets can stably exist.
Scientists have discovered a magnetic cycle in a distant star using stellar seismology, finding a pattern similar to the Sun's solar cycle. The study aims to better understand how magnetic activity cycles differ from star to star and its impact on potential planets.
Scientists have observed a magnetic cycle in a distant star, HD49933, that is similar to the sun's solar cycle. The team used stellar seismology to detect acoustic fluctuations and found a signature of starspots, areas of intense magnetic activity on the surface.
Astronomers at Texas A&M University have discovered that a significant fraction of ancient galaxies in the CLG J02182-05102 cluster are still actively forming stars. The team found that star-forming galaxies are more common in this cluster than in nearby galaxy clusters.
Astronomers detected X-ray eclipses from a fast pulsar, shedding light on compressed matter and testing relativity. The system's unique properties revealed the size and mass of the companion star with unprecedented accuracy.
Astronomers have discovered a brown dwarf companion to a young sun-like star, PZ Tel A. The discovery reveals the early stages of solar system formation and provides insights into planetary formation.
Scientists have discovered a star with a mass of 265 solar masses in the Large Magellanic Cloud, exceeding previous records. This finding raises questions about the formation process of such massive stars and their role in shaping the universe.
Singapore's A*STAR and Cytos Biotechnology collaborate on a virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine targeting influenza hemagglutinin protein. The partnership aims to develop an independent supply of vaccines for Singapore and ASEAN countries, extending Cytos' R&D pipeline.
The discovery of exoplanet Beta Pictoris b, located 60 light-years from Earth, confirms that giant planets can form in time-spans as short as a few million years. The planet has a massive nine-Jupiter-mass orbit, challenging previous theories on planetary formation.
A new study suggests that many well-known comets, including Halley and Hale-Bopp, may have formed in orbit around other stars. The Sun is believed to have captured small icy bodies from its sibling stars, creating a reservoir for observed comets.
A team of astronomers suggests that many comets, including Halley and Hale-Bopp, could be from other star systems. The researchers propose that the Sun captured these icy bodies during its birth in a dense gas cloud.
Astronomers discovered a runaway star in the Large Magellanic Cloud's 30 Doradus Nebula, with a speed of over 400,000 km/h. The star is estimated to be around 10 times hotter than the Sun and has been ejected from its home cluster through dynamical interaction.
Researchers have made direct measurements of the size and brightness of regions of star-birth in a very distant galaxy using the APEX telescope. The galaxy is so bright due to massive dust grains heated by starlight, revealing star formation at a rate equivalent to about 250 Suns per year.
Astronomers have observed a galaxy 10 billion light-years away, finding four discrete star-forming regions making new stars 250 times faster than the Milky Way. The study reveals exquisite detail of these regions, which are 100 times brighter than nearby galaxies.
Corot-9b, a gas giant planet, has an interior similar to that of Jupiter and Saturn, allowing it to maintain liquid water. The planet's distance from its star and lack of tidal forces make this possibility plausible.
An international team of scientists has discovered a new planet called CoRoT-9b, similar in size to Jupiter. Located 1500 light-years from Earth, the planet orbits a star similar to our sun and is considered temperate.
A newly discovered star in the Sculptor dwarf galaxy has a chemical makeup similar to the Milky Way's oldest stars, lending support to the 'bottom-up model' of galaxy formation. The star's unusually low metal abundance resembles those of old Milky Way stars, further validating the theory.
A team of researchers led by Bruce Macintosh has won the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize for their groundbreaking discovery of multiple planets orbiting a distant star. The study, published in Science, provides new insights into the detection and characterization of exoplanets.
The 2009 AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize was awarded to Christian Marois and colleagues for their direct imaging of multiple planets orbiting HR 8799, a distant star. The discovery, made using the Keck and Gemini North telescopes, reveals a system resembling our solar system's outer portion.
Researchers have made the first direct radio image of a stellar coronal loop at star Algol, which may aid in understanding how space weather affects Earth. The coronal loop is roughly similar to those at the sun but with a more powerful magnetic field and larger size due to tidal effects.
Astronomers have found a giant magnetic loop stretching from one star to the other in the Algol binary system. The discovery was made using an international collection of radio telescopes and helps explain previous observations at X-ray and radio wavelengths.
Researchers found blue stragglers with different properties, indicating both collision-induced and vampirism-based formation. These findings provide direct evidence of star cluster dynamics on stellar evolution.
Astronomers have discovered that blue stragglers, which appear youthful despite being older than expected, steal mass from companion stars through stellar smashups. In a star cluster, binary systems brush up against each other, sometimes leading to collision-course orbits and the formation of more massive stars.
Researchers found two brown dwarf-sized masses around an ordinary star, which is extremely rare. The discovery suggests that planets may assemble around stars more quickly and efficiently than thought possible.
Astronomers have discovered a 'super-Earth' orbiting a red dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth. The planet, GJ1214b, is about 6.5 times as massive as the Earth and orbits its star once every 38 hours.
A randomized controlled trial found that high-flow oxygen was more effective in treating cluster headache pain than a placebo, with 78% of patients reporting pain-free relief within 15 minutes. The treatment was also superior for other outcomes up to 60 minutes, with no serious adverse events reported.
Astronomers have directly imaged a faint celestial body orbiting the star GJ 758, estimated to be between 10 and 40 Jupiter masses. The discovered planet, GJ 758 B, has a temperature of around 330 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest companion of a Sun-like star ever imaged.
Researchers discover supernova that fits predictions for a star hundreds of times the sun's mass, revealing new insights into star formation and heavy metal creation. The study also suggests hyper-giant stars may exist beyond 150 suns, challenging our understanding of celestial physics.
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has detected high-energy gamma-rays from the enigmatic binary system Cygnus X-3, a genuine microquasar. The system's unique properties and strong emission across various wavelengths offer new insights into how high-energy particles are accelerated and move through jets.
Astronomers have identified the youngest neutron star ever discovered, located 11,000 light years from Earth. The star was born in a violent supernova explosion 330 years ago and features a unique carbon atmosphere just 10 centimeters thick.
Scientists confirm ultra-thin coating of carbon on neutron star using Chandra's X-ray spectrum and theoretical models. The discovery resolves a ten-year mystery surrounding the object, explaining its lack of pulsations.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University created a server architecture that uses low-power, embedded processors and flash memory to handle more queries with less energy. The Fast Array of Wimpy Nodes (FAWN) cluster can operate on less energy than a 100-watt light bulb, making it an attractive option for data-intensive applications.
The study reveals two distinct dust disks around the star 51 Ophiuchi, with the inner disk spanning 4 Astronomical Units from the star and tapering off rapidly. The outer disk extends hundreds of times farther and appears more puffed up, holding smaller particles similar in size to those in smoke.
A team of researchers has created the first full-star simulation of a white dwarf star's final hours leading up to a Type Ia supernova explosion. The simulations, run on supercomputers, provide detailed insights into the process and may be critical in understanding how these massive stellar explosions occur.
Mathematicians at the University of Leeds propose that black holes are directly responsible for producing gamma ray bursts, contradicting the orthodox model. The theory suggests that rotating black holes can devour nearby stars, creating long-lasting jets of plasma that produce the high-energy radiation.
Astronomers have discovered the first close-up of a white dwarf star orbiting a companion star, set to explode into a supernova in a few million years. The white dwarf is unusual, with twice its expected mass and a diameter half that of Earth.
Scientists from the University of Gothenburg found that a mysterious flux of electrons and positrons originates from supernova remnants, not dark matter. The study shows that a star 15 times more massive than the sun exploded in the Milky Way, creating a shock-wave that accelerated particles.
Researchers believe that Galileo's notebooks from 1613 may reveal evidence of his discovery of a new planet, which is now known as Neptune. The planet was observed by Galileo as a faint star near Jupiter and moved relative to an actual nearby star.
Astronomers at the University of Hawaii have discovered a binary star-disk system with two stars surrounded by dust disks capable of forming planetary systems. The system, 253-1536, is the first known example of two optically visible stars with enough mass to form an Earth-like planet.
Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University discovered a stable cluster of atoms that can mimic different elements of the periodic table, exhibiting strong magnetic properties. The discovery has potential applications in creating faster computers, larger memory storage, and molecular electronic devices.
UC Berkeley researchers have found that Betelgeuse, the bright reddish star in the constellation Orion, has steadily shrunk over the past 15 years. The star's diameter has decreased by more than 15% since 1993, a change that is striking to observe.
The Suzaku mission has detected X-ray-emitting gas at a galaxy cluster's outskirts for the first time, providing insights into how massive structures evolve. The study reveals the temperature and density of the gas out to the cluster's virial radius, where order turns to chaos.
Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University found that half of patients with cluster headaches experience cutaneous allodynia, a common migraine pain condition. This discovery suggests overlap in mechanisms for pain between migraines and cluster headaches, potentially leading to new treatment implications.
Astronomers have discovered a unique double-star system that represents a 'missing link' stage in the birth process of millisecond pulsars. The system, J1023, shows evidence for an accretion disk surrounding the neutron star before it disappeared and the pulsar emerged.
Scientists are synchronizing lenses of the Whole Earth Telescope network to monitor a white dwarf, shedding light on its composition and applying knowledge to Earth's weather. The star, WDJ1524-0030, is losing brightness as it cools, with astronomers studying its pulses to understand internal movements.
Researchers at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have created an 'astro-comb' to help detect lighter planets around distant stars. The technique sharpens spectroscopy, enabling more accurate pinpointing of planet locations and opening possibilities for detecting more Earth-like planets.
Research by Charles Horowitz at Indiana University reveals that the crusts of neutron stars are 10 billion times stronger than steel or other earth's strongest metal alloys. The findings have significant implications for understanding surface irregularities, star quakes, and magnetar giant flares.
Astronomers have discovered a gamma-ray burst from a star that died 630 million years ago, marking the most distant cosmic explosion ever seen. The burst, dubbed GRB 090423, is approximately 13 billion light-years away.
Astronomers have found evidence of planet destruction caused by a star's tides, with some planets falling into their parent stars. The research uses computer models and observations to show that the tidal forces can misshape the star's surface, leading to the planet's demise.
Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory used Nimbus cloud computing infrastructure to dynamically provision virtual clusters on commercial cloud computers, enabling faster simulation results for the Quark Matter physics conference. The successful collaboration demonstrates the potential of virtualization and cloud computing for r...
Scientists have directly observed a gigantic star blowing up, supporting the idea that massive stars end as black holes. The explosion revealed most of the star's mass collapsed into a dense core, creating an invisible black hole.
The European team discovered the smallest transiting extrasolar planet, CoRoT-Exo-7b, orbiting a star slightly smaller than the Sun. The planet's radius is about twice that of Earth and orbits its host star in just 20 hours.
Researchers observed the intense heating of HD 80606b as it swung close to its star, providing clues to its atmospheric properties. The data enabled the creation of realistic images of the planet using computer simulations.
A new study published in Science resolves the mystery of how massive stars can form without blowing away the gas and dust that feed their growth. The research found that instabilities develop in the collapsing gas cloud, creating channels where radiation blows out into space while gas continues to fall inward.
Researchers found that blue stragglers are the result of 'stellar cannibalism' where plasma is gradually pulled from one star to another to form a massive, unusually hot star. This process takes place in binary stars and helps resolve a long-standing mystery in stellar evolution.
A team of scientists discovered that blue stragglers, massive rogue stars found in globular clusters, are formed through a process known as stellar cannibalism. This theory is supported by observations of over 50 globular clusters and suggests that binary star systems play a key role in the formation of these stars.