Researchers using ALMA detected a fully formed magnetic field in a distant galaxy, similar to nearby galaxies, which provides new insights into the formation of galactic-scale magnetic fields. The discovery suggests that intense star formation in the early Universe could have played a role in accelerating the development of these fields.
Researchers have uncovered a living star, HD 45166, that is likely to become a magnetar, marking the discovery of a new type of astronomical object - massive magnetic helium stars. The star has an incredibly strong magnetic field, 43,000 gauss, and will end its life as a compact core with a magnetic field of around 100 trillion gauss.
Using ALMA, astronomers have found evidence of a cloud of debris that might be the building blocks of a new planet or the remnants of one already formed. This discovery would confirm the existence of Trojan planets outside our Solar System, which are rocky bodies sharing the same orbit as a planet.
Astronomers have observed for the first time the shadow of a black hole and the powerful jet expelled from it in the same image. The new image shows how the base of the jet connects with the matter swirling around a supermassive black hole, allowing scientists to better understand how black holes create energetic jets.
Researchers have discovered a large reservoir of hot gas in the Spiderweb galaxy cluster, which is believed to be on its way to becoming a massive galaxy cluster. The detection was made using ALMA and provides valuable information about the early Universe's structure formation.
The ESO VLT observed the aftermath of the DART impact, showing that the ejected cloud was bluer than the asteroid itself, indicating fine particles. The team found no signs of ice or DART spacecraft propellant, but detected changes in light polarization suggesting altered surface composition.
Astronomers have detected the most distant black hole swallowing a star, with the event occurring one-third of its current age. The discovery was made using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) and provides new insights into these extreme events.
Astronomers have discovered barium in the upper layers of ultra-hot Jupiters WASP-76 b and WASP-121 b, raising questions about these planets' atmospheres. The detection challenges scientists' understanding of heavy elements' behavior in exoplanet environments.
A team of experts finds a dormant stellar-mass black hole in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighbor galaxy to our own. The star that formed the black hole vanished without any sign of a powerful explosion.
A team of astronomers has discovered micronovae, extremely powerful events that occur on the surface of white dwarfs and can burn through billions of kilograms of material in a few hours. These new stellar explosions challenge our understanding of thermonuclear reactions in stars and may be more abundant than previously thought.
Researchers detected dimethyl ether, the largest molecule identified in a planet-forming disc, using ALMA in Chile. The discovery suggests that complex molecules like dimethyl ether are available to feed forming planets, shedding light on the origin of life.
Astronomers have found that the HR 6819 system, once thought to be the closest black hole to Earth, is actually a binary system without a black hole. The discovery was made using new data from ESO's Very Large Telescope and Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer instruments.
Astronomers have confirmed a 30-year-old theory about active galactic nuclei (AGNs) by discovering a supermassive black hole hiding in a thick ring of cosmic dust. The findings provide new insight into how AGNs work and could help understand the history of the Milky Way.
Astronomers have detected a new planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Solar System, with a mass comparable to that of Earth. The newly discovered planet, named Proxima d, orbits its star at just five days, within the habitable zone.
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released a breathtaking new image of the Flame Nebula, located within the constellation Orion. The image was captured using the ESO-operated Atacama Pathfinder Experiment and reveals a vibrant emission nebula with its surroundings.
Astronomers used data from ESO's large telescopes and space-based facilities to spot tens of millions of sources in a wide area of the sky, identifying over 70 rogue planets comparable to Jupiter's mass. The discovery could provide clues on how these mysterious objects form, with further advances needed to study them in greater detail.
The study of 42 asteroids provides detailed images and shapes, revealing a variety of asteroid types, including spherical and elongated objects. The densities of the asteroids vary significantly, suggesting different compositions and origins, supporting theories of substantial migration and distinct region formation in the Solar System.
A Belgian team discovered iron and nickel in the atmospheres of comets across the Solar System, even at great distances from the Sun. This finding has implications for understanding the early Solar System's composition.
Astronomers using ALMA have observed a distant galaxy losing its ability to form stars after ejecting nearly half of its star-forming gas. The galaxy's gas ejection is happening at an alarming rate, equivalent to 10,000 Suns-worth per year.
A team of international researchers has detected phosphine gas in Venus' clouds, a potential biosignature indicative of life. The finding is significant as it rules out natural non-biological processes that could produce the same amount of phosphine.
A team of astronomers identified the first direct evidence that groups of stars can tear apart their planet-forming discs, leaving them warped and with tilted rings. This discovery suggests exotic planets may form in inclined rings around multiple stars.
Astronomers using ALMA have discovered the most distant Milky Way look-alike galaxy, SPT0418-47, which is surprisingly unchaotic and appears as a ring of light in the sky. The discovery challenges our understanding of how galaxies form and gives new insights into the past of the Universe.
Astronomers detected a massive star in the Kinman Dwarf galaxy that vanished without producing a supernova. Theories suggest the star may have collapsed into a black hole or been transformed by dust, challenging current understanding of massive star deaths.
Extreme horizontal branch stars, with four to five times hotter than the Sun, show giant magnetic spots that cause regular brightness variations. These spots are also linked to superflare events, explosions of energy several million times more energetic than similar eruptions on the Sun.
The ESO's Very Large Telescope has observed an ultra-hot giant exoplanet where it rains iron on its night side. Strong winds carry iron vapour from the day side to the cooler night side, where temperatures decrease, resulting in a unique and extreme phenomenon.
Researchers have traced the journey of phosphorus from star-forming regions to comets, revealing where molecules containing the element form and how it's carried in comets. This discovery provides crucial insights into the origin-of-life puzzle, suggesting that phosphorus monoxide played a key role in starting life on Earth.
Astronomers used ESO's VLT to observe gas halos around early galaxies, providing fuel for supermassive black holes. The study found 12 quasars surrounded by enormous gas reservoirs, sustaining both black hole growth and star formation.
Astronomers used ESO's VLT to observe the Milky Way's central region, revealing a burst of star formation that occurred around one billion years ago. This intense event resulted in over 100,000 supernova explosions and is similar to 'starburst' galaxies.
Researchers using ESO's Very Large Telescope have discovered a giant planet orbiting a hot white dwarf star, stripping away its atmosphere to form a disc. The system's unique properties provide clues to the composition of exoplanet atmospheres and challenge our understanding of planetary systems' final fate.
Astronomers using ESO's SPHERE instrument have observed Hygiea, the fourth largest asteroid in the belt, and found it could be classified as a dwarf planet due to its spherical shape. The team's observations put Hygiea's diameter at over 430 km.
Astronomers detected freshly made heavy element, strontium, in space after a neutron star merger, confirming the process by which it forms. This discovery provides a missing piece of the puzzle of chemical element formation and ties rapid neutron capture to neutron star mergers.
Astronomers using ALMA have imaged a cosmic pretzel, a network of gas and dust surrounding two young binary stars. The structure is similar to the asteroid belt in our Solar System, with spiral shapes displaying complex dynamics.
Using FRB 181112, researchers studied the diffuse gas in the halo of a massive galaxy, finding no evidence of cold turbulent clouds or small dense clumps of cool gas. The signal also revealed information about the magnetic field in the halo, which is very weak.
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Scientists have captured the first-ever image of a black hole, which reveals the massive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87. The image was achieved using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), an unprecedented Earth-sized virtual telescope linking telescopes around the globe.
The GRAVITY instrument has made the first direct observation of an exoplanet, revealing a complex atmosphere with clouds of iron and silicates swirling in a planet-wide storm. This achievement showcases the unique possibilities for characterising many known exoplanets.
Researchers have spotted a massive young stellar object with a jet emitted by a fledgling star, shedding light on the early lives of stars. The observations were made possible by ESO's MUSE instrument, which has been improved by the addition of Adaptive Optics Facility.
The ESO's VLT captured the details of an elaborate serpentine system sculpted by colliding stellar winds, with Apep being a likely source of one of the most energetic phenomena in the Universe. The system consists of a nest of massive stars surrounded by a dust pinwheel.
Astronomers detect a super-Earth orbiting Barnard's Star, with the planet having a mass at least 3.2 times that of Earth, and orbits its host star in roughly 233 days. The exoplanet lies close to the snow line, making it inhospitable for life as we know it.
Astronomers using MUSE instrument on ESO's VLT detected an unexpected abundance of Lyman-alpha emission in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field region, covering nearly the entire field of view. This discovery suggests that almost all of the sky is invisibly glowing with Lyman-alpha emission from the early Universe.
Researchers found that `Oumuamua is venting material from its surface due to solar heating, causing a tiny boost in speed. This outgassing behavior is typical for comets and contradicts the previous classification of `O'uamua as an interstellar asteroid.
Using ALMA, two teams of astronomers have confirmed the presence of three infant planets around a young star, HD 163296. The planets are located at distances of approximately 12 billion and 21 billion kilometers from the star, and were identified using a novel technique that analyzes gas flow patterns within a protoplanetary disc.
A team of scientists used ALMA to investigate the proportion of massive stars in four distant gas-rich starburst galaxies. The study found that these galaxies have a much higher proportion of massive stars than expected, with some stars having birth masses up to 300 solar masses.
An international team of astronomers used ALMA to observe a distant galaxy called MACS1149-JD1, detecting ionised oxygen emitted 13.3 billion years ago. This signal indicates that even earlier generations of stars existed in the galaxy, pushing back the frontiers of the observable Universe.
An international team of astronomers has discovered a carbon-rich asteroid in the Kuiper Belt, providing strong support for theoretical models of the Solar System's formation. The asteroid, 2004 EW95, is believed to have formed in the inner Solar System and was flung outwards by a migratory planet.
Astronomers have observed gargantuan cosmic pileups, the impending collisions of young starburst galaxies, when the Universe was only half its current age. These ancient systems are thought to be building the most massive structures in the known Universe: galaxy clusters.
Astronomers have discovered an isolated neutron star with low magnetic field located beyond our Milky Way galaxy using the MUSE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile. The neutron star is surrounded by a ring of gas that includes neon and oxygen.
Astronomers have discovered a star behaving strangely, orbiting an invisible black hole with four times the mass of the Sun. The finding reveals a dense nucleus within globular clusters, challenging previous theories on stellar-mass black holes.
Astronomers have imaged the surface of a red giant star, π1 Gruis, in unprecedented detail. The star's photosphere features just a few convective cells, or granules, which are much larger than those on our Sun.
The ALMA discovery reveals two dust belts surrounding Proxima Centauri, one extending four hundred million kilometres from the star and another even farther out. These findings suggest a complex planetary system with multiple planets and potentially offer insights into the formation of the Earth.