Add BrightSurf on Google Email

NASA's Swift mission probes an exotic object: 'Kicked' black hole or mega star?

Researchers analyzing decades of observations detect an unusual source of light in a galaxy, with properties suggesting it could be a supermassive black hole ejected from its home galaxy. Alternatively, the object might have been a rare type of star known as a Luminous Blue Variable that underwent prolonged eruptions.

SourceNASA/Goddard Space Flight Center·JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society·DateNov 19, 2014

Reinterpreting dark matter

A team of researchers, led by Tom Broadhurst, has reinterpreted cold dark matter as a Bose-Einstein condensate, proposing that it governs the formation of the universe's structure. The theory predicts galaxies formed relatively late and could explain puzzling cores in dwarf galaxies.

SourceUniversity of the Basque Country·JournalNature Physics·DateSep 17, 2014

Astronomers find 7 dwarf galaxies with new telescope

Astronomers at Yale University have discovered seven previously unseen dwarf galaxies using a novel telescope that can detect low-surface-brightness objects. The finding suggests the possibility of a new class of galaxies in space, with potential implications for dark matter and galaxy evolution.

SourceYale University·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters·DateJul 10, 2014

Reinterpreting dark matter

New research opens up possibility that dark matter governs structure across whole universe, resolving puzzles in galaxy cores and formation timing. The theory suggests large stationary waves of dark matter called solitons could explain observed phenomena.

SourceUniversity of the Basque Country·JournalNature Physics·DateJul 2, 2014

Nearby satellite galaxies don't fit standard model

Recent study finds satellite dwarf galaxies in the Milky Way and Andromeda do not behave as predicted by the standard model of galaxy formation. The galaxies are instead found in huge disks, moving in the same direction, like planets in our solar system. This mismatch raises concerns about the accuracy of the standard model of cosmology.

SourceCase Western Reserve University·JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society·DateJun 11, 2014

Hubble unmasks ghost galaxies

Astronomers discover that small dwarf galaxies in the Milky Way contain only a few stars and share the same birth date, indicating they were shut down by reionization. The relic galaxies provide evidence for a transitional phase in the early universe.

SourceNASA/Goddard Space Flight Center·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters·DateJul 10, 2012

Belching black hole proves a biggie

Astronomers have confirmed the first known 'middleweight' black hole, HLX-1, using observations with CSIRO's Australia Telescope Compact Array. The black hole is estimated to be around 20,000 to 90,000 times the mass of the Sun and lies in a galaxy called ESO 243-49.

SourceCSIRO Australia·JournalScience·DateJul 8, 2012

How the Milky Way got its spiral

A supercomputer simulation by University of Pittsburgh researcher Christopher W. Purcell suggests that the Milky Way's spiral arms were triggered by a collision with the Sagittarius Dwarf galaxy. The impact stripped off 80-90% of the dark matter halo, producing instabilities that eventually formed the spiral arms and ring structures.

SourceUniversity of Pittsburgh·JournalNature·DateSep 15, 2011

Expanded VLA flexing new scientific muscle

The Expanded VLA is providing new insights into the formation of sun-like stars, with observations revealing previously unseen detail of molecular gas near a very young star. The telescope's improved quality is also helping researchers study large ejections of matter from massive young stars and their role in galaxy evolution.

SourceNational Radio Astronomy Observatory·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters·DateMay 24, 2011

Star-birth myth 'busted'

A team of international researchers has challenged the long-held idea that the ratio of massive stars to lighter ones in star-forming regions remains consistent. They found that this ratio, known as the initial mass function, varies significantly between different galaxies, with some forming more low-mass stars than expected.

SourceCSIRO Australia·JournalAstrophysics·DateAug 26, 2009

Stellar explosion displays massive carbon footprint

Astronomers at the University of Warwick have discovered that the 2006 stellar explosion SCP 06F6 bears remarkable resemblance to extremely carbon-rich stars. The object's unusual characteristics suggest it may be a new type of supernova, with properties distinct from normal Type II supernovae.

SourceUniversity of Warwick·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters·DateJun 1, 2009

Scientists solve cosmological puzzle

Researchers solved a longstanding problem of the Cold Dark Matter cosmology model by exposing a critical relationship between interstellar gas and dark matter in galaxy birth. The study showed that dense gas clouds in galaxies form massive stars, which drive 'sloshing' effects that kick dark matter out of the galaxy's center.

SourceMcMaster University·JournalScience·DateNov 29, 2007

Why is the Hercules Dwarf Galaxy so flat?

The Hercules Dwarf Galaxy, a tiny companion to the Milky Way, has been found to have an exceptional flat shape, unlike any other known galaxy. The galaxy's shape is likely due to its close proximity to the Milky Way and the gravitational forces that disrupt it.

SourceMax-Planck-Gesellschaft·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters·DateSep 14, 2007