A team of Rutgers astronomers has detected a galaxy without a supermassive black hole at its center, marking the first such discovery. The team used Hubble's high-resolution instruments to observe the galaxy M33 and concluded that only a black hole smaller than 3,000 solar masses could be present.
Yale astronomers have discovered that the area around the Milky Way contains remains of small galaxies torn apart by gravity, contradicting previous smooth distribution theories. The study found approximately 150 RR Lyrae variables with proper periods and light variations in a previously surveyed region.
Astronomers have discovered over 154 rapidly moving stars towards the center of the Milky Way and its brightest neighboring galaxy. The findings are significant as these stars were previously difficult to detect due to their extreme density, allowing scientists to gain insights into the galaxy's most densely packed regions.
Astronomers have discovered intriguing patterns of star motion and composition that suggest a remnant of a smaller galaxy consumed by the Milky Way billions of years ago. The study, part of the 2dF Old Stellar Population Survey, aims to investigate the galactic merger that formed the Milky Way's thick disk.
The Hubble-X image reveals a nearly circular bright cloud at the core of a star-forming region in NGC 6822. The cloud contains thousands of newly formed stars and is many times brighter and larger than the Orion Nebula in our Milky Way galaxy.
Dr. Oliver Manuel proposes that the sun and planets formed from debris of a massive supernova explosion, contradicting conventional astrophysics theories. Recent data from NASA's Galileo probe supports his claims by detecting traces of strange xenon gases in Jupiter's atmosphere.
Chandra has revealed unprecedented images of a blast wave from an exploding star, a flare from a brown dwarf, and a small galaxy being cannibalized by a larger one. The observatory's high resolution has enabled scientists to pinpoint sources of the X-ray background glow, leading to a better understanding of our universe.
The W49 cluster is believed to contain approximately 100 type O stars, the hottest and most massive stars in our galaxy, all less than 1 million years old. This young star cluster is part of a larger birthing process that will eventually lead to globular clusters like those orbiting the Milky Way.
The Two-Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) has released a massive dataset of infrared images, containing half a million galaxies and 162 million stars. The images are now available for the general public to view on their home computers, thanks to the collaboration between UMass and NASA.
Researchers detect significant amount of deuterium in Sagittarius A cloud, 30 light years from Milky Way's center. The findings suggest that deuterium was created in the first few minutes after Big Bang and is not produced by stars or stellar activity.
An Australian-led team has captured the first picture of the sky in which the Milky Way no longer blocks our view of the Universe beyond. The new survey, HIPASS, used CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope to detect large numbers of small and faint galaxies, as well as giant clouds of gas that give off no light.
Astronomers have found evidence of a supermassive black hole similar to the one in our Milky Way in a nearby galaxy. The discovery was made using spectra from the Hubble Space Telescope and reveals details about the object's mass that could help scientists understand how these celestial phenomena are formed.
A Yale researcher has discovered up to 70 new and very distant RR Lyrae stars in the Milky Way that can provide valuable clues about the galaxy's history and composition. The stars are thought to be among the oldest in the galaxy, with ages of over 12 billion years.
Scientists confirmed the presence of oxygen VI in the galactic halo, indicating extremely high temperatures approaching half a million degrees Fahrenheit. The discovery provides strong evidence for supernovas pumping hot gas into the corona, supporting a long-held hypothesis about the galaxy's recycling process.
Researchers from the University of Washington have discovered that Barnard's Galaxy, an irregular dwarf galaxy, is significantly different from the Milky Way. Using images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, they found three star clusters within NGC 6822 to be of very different ages, with one cluster dating back 15 billion years.
A new NASA satellite has provided unprecedented sensitivity to detect molecular hydrogen, the primary ingredient for star and planet formation. This discovery suggests that star formation proceeds similarly across various space environments, including nearby galaxies.
Researchers have discovered a mechanism by which the galaxy is seeded with gas to form new stars, solving a long-standing question of galactic evolution. The discovery confirms that high-velocity clouds play a key role in the chemical evolution of the galaxy by showering it with metal-poor gas.
A 6.5m telescope mirror is transported from the US to Chile's Atacama Desert, renowned for its stable and dry atmosphere, to conduct astronomical observations. The mirror will be installed as part of the Magellan Twin Telescope project at the Las Campanas Observatory, enabling studies of the Milky Way, star formation, and the universe.
Researchers have found two nearby streams of stars that appear to be debris from a single dwarf galaxy torn apart by the Milky Way's gravity about 10 billion years ago. These relic streams are part of the Milky Way's outer structure and provide insights into its formation.
Dr. Karen Kwitter's research focuses on the chemical composition of planetary nebulae, which can reveal information about the life cycle of stars and the evolution of our galaxy. By analyzing light spectra from these clouds, she aims to refine models of galactic chemical evolution.
The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) will test the Big Bang theory and collect comprehensive observations of the Milky Way's star-forming regions. Launched on June 23 from Cape Canaveral Air Station, the three-year mission marks a first for an academic department in managing a satellite.
The FUSE Satellite will observe wavelengths of light inaccessible to other telescopes, testing models of chemical evolution and determining the primordial abundance of deuterium. This will help scientists understand the origins of the universe, galaxy evolution, and chemical mixing and distribution.
Astronomers have obtained the clearest view yet of the center of the Andromeda galaxy, revealing a double nucleus that has long puzzled scientists. The study uses new Hubble images to map the orbital motions of stars around the black hole at the galaxy's core.
Researchers have produced a new radio image revealing a supernova remnant and numerous pulsar candidates, showcasing the Milky Way's central region in unprecedented detail. The technique will be useful for astronomers to study the galaxy's major components.
Astrophysicist James Annis suggests that cataclysmic gamma-ray bursts could be sterilizing galaxies, preventing extraterrestrial life from reaching Earth. This theory may provide an explanation for the Fermi Paradox, with intelligent life having recently emerged in the Galaxy and being unable to explore yet.
A researcher has detected an enormous black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, with a mass 2.6 million times that of our Sun. The discovery was made using advanced imaging techniques and provides a definitive view of a part of the galaxy previously unseen.
FUSE is the first large-scale space mission fully planned and operated by a university department. It will study the origin and evolution of hydrogen and deuterium, as well as galaxy evolution and star formation, analyzing clouds of gases between stars in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies.
Cornell University astronomers James Cordes and Barney Rickett have developed a method to calculate the speed and distance of extremely fast-moving neutron stars, called pulsars, by analyzing their twinkling rate. By combining data from two large radio telescopes, they can identify new pulsars and better understand their physics.
Astronomers used an instrument to collect light from 1000 objects, discovering seven compact blue galaxies beyond 2 billion light years away
A team of U.S. astronomers has discovered a massive concentration of water vapor within a cloud of interstellar gas close to the Orion nebula, measuring 20 times larger than observed in other clouds. The high amount of water vapor could provide crucial clues about the origin of water in the solar system.
Astronomers discover a small galaxy orbiting the Milky Way, which is surprisingly sturdy due to its high dark matter content. The discovery challenges current understanding of galaxy formation and evolution.
Astronomers have discovered eta Carinae, a bright stellar object in the Milky Way, to be the most massive binary star system ever known. The two stars, each weighing about 70 times that of the sun, orbit each other every 5.5 years, causing predictable spectral changes.
Astronomers have found far more dwarf galaxies than expected in a survey of just 2% of data from the Parkes radio telescope. The discovery suggests that dwarfs may be 'crumbs' left over when bigger galaxies formed and could provide clues about the distribution of dark matter.
Case Western Reserve University physicist Glenn Starkman has received a four-year, $200,000 NSF grant to study the shape of the universe by mapping temperature fluctuations throughout space. He aims to develop new techniques to detect dark matter, which is believed to comprise much of the mass in the universe.
Astronomers have found powerful accelerators of material close to home, in our own galactic neighborhood, as nearby black holes with jets. The jets appear to move at velocities approaching the speed of light and are thought to be connected to the accretion disk and surrounding regions.
Recent discoveries demonstrate that Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) originate from the most remote parts of the universe, releasing as much energy in 10 seconds as the Sun emits in its entire lifetime. The uniform distribution on the sky and brightness distribution rule out galactic halo and suggest distances exceeding billions of light years.
Researchers calculate neutron star's mass by measuring X-ray pulses from innermost orbit, revealing a massive star about twice the sun's mass. The findings provide new insights into the birth and evolution of neutron stars.
Astronomers analyze over 1,700 gamma-ray bursts and find they are isotropic, meaning their distribution on the sky is almost perfectly random. This contradicts previous theories that placed these bursts within or just outside of our own Milky Way Galaxy.
Astronomers have discovered a binary system featuring a dead white dwarf star orbiting an exotic neutron star with a mass 1.5 times that of the Sun. The neutron star's intense gravity is slowly consuming its companion, causing peaks in ultraviolet radiation every 11 minutes.
The MSX satellite has obtained two unique images of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a small companion galaxy to the Milky Way. The images reveal new details about the galaxy's structure and evolution, including hot stars, cool giant stars, and nebulae.