Articles tagged with Observational Astrophysics
Astronomers have discovered the first globular cluster stellar stream outside the Milky Way, providing a powerful tool for studying dark matter. The study uses the stream's shape to reconstruct the galaxy's gravitational field and infer how dark matter shaped the stars' orbits.
Astronomers have discovered water molecules in the envelope of star IRS 3, located near the supermassive black hole Sgr A*. The star's enormous envelope, fueled by rapid mass loss, has allowed water to thrive in its vicinity. This finding suggests that Sgr A* is being enriched with fundamental building blocks of life.
Researchers from the University of Missouri discovered that the ratio of large and small stars in distant galaxies depends on their environment, potentially altering how scientists estimate galaxy mass and age. This breakthrough could lead to more accurate estimates and a better understanding of the universe's history.
The Local Volume Mapper is capturing light to reveal the physics and chemistry of stellar birthplaces across vast expanses of the sky in unprecedented detail. Astronomers are analyzing specific spectral lines to map the precise temperature, density, chemical abundance, and motion of interstellar gas.
The 46th COSPAR Scientific Assembly addressed the challenge of preserving dark and quiet skies for astronomical observations and satellite technology. The session considered scientific, technical, operational, and regulatory perspectives to balance benefits with environmental and societal concerns.
The SDSS-V survey has released its twentieth public data release (DR20), providing a massive catalog of high-quality spectra of stars across the Milky Way. The dataset includes over two million total spectra, revealing temperatures, ages, and chemical compositions of stars.
Researchers from Kyushu University found that low-density gas contributes to hub growth through direct inflow and by replenishing nearby dense filaments, substantially underestimating the material available for massive star formation. The study's combined analysis of dense and diffuse gas increased estimated material flowing onto hubs ...
Researchers used the NSF Inouye Solar Telescope to capture high-resolution images of swirling vortices in the sun's photosphere, which are believed to be the 'engine' driving twisting magnetic field lines. This discovery could fundamentally change our understanding of solar dynamics and evolution.
The study provides the largest, most uniform spectroscopic follow-up of X-ray sources ever assembled, capturing tens of thousands of X-ray-emitting galaxy clusters. It reveals that rapidly growing giant black holes were surprisingly common in the early Universe and more 'hidden' black holes have been uncovered.
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey has released its 20th data set, featuring over three million spectra of stars and galaxies, as well as 18 new value-added catalogs. This release marks a significant expansion of the survey's efforts, integrating full all-sky panoptic spectroscopy across both hemispheres.
Two university-led projects receive $2.96 million to develop next-generation instruments for mid-sized ground-based optical and near-infrared telescopes. The grants aim to improve sensitivity and expand access to key wavelengths, enabling observations of extremely faint astronomical objects.
Researchers have observed the strongest evidence yet for a companion star to Betelgeuse, which is about two to three times more massive than the Sun. The team used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope to obtain the clearest image of Betelgeuse B.
Researchers used machine learning to identify seven rare quasar candidates from a list of 800,000 quasars. The discovery offers an opportunity to expand knowledge of how quasars and their host galaxies work, as well as understanding our own galaxy's evolution.
The discovery of an exomoon in the CD-35 2722 system, orbiting a brown dwarf rather than a planet, challenges our understanding of planetary objects. The exosatellite is estimated to be at least as massive as Jupiter and orbits a highly massive companion, blurring the lines between stars, planets, and moons.
Astronomers have discovered a third planet, Beta Pictoris d, in the system, which is 100 times fainter than Beta Pictoris b and 2.4 times more massive than Jupiter. The planet's wide orbit and extreme faintness make its detection a significant achievement.
Researchers directly observed four white dwarf stars orbiting double star systems in our cosmic backyard. The new results revealed that each system had a red dwarf companion, which was hiding the white dwarf's light. This discovery allows researchers to update the local white dwarf census within 20 parsecs of Earth.
A team of researchers from Kyushu University and Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics have detected ambipolar diffusion in a prestellar core, weakening magnetic support and leading to gravitational collapse. This finding provides insight into early star formation and the creation of stellar systems like our own.
Researchers analyzed the composition of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, revealing high carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios indicative of an outer solar system origin. The findings suggest 3I/ATLAS may be over twice as old as the Sun, shedding light on the formation history of this ancient celestial body.
A new ESO study warns that over 1.7 million proposed satellites could devastate astronomy by making the night sky brighter. Simulations show hundreds of satellites would be visible at any given time, polluting the sky with light and hindering observations of faint cosmic targets.
Astronomers have detected the [O I] 145 µm emission line in four typical star-forming galaxies, which serves as a clear tracer of neutral gas. This detection provides unprecedented detail on the physical and chemical conditions of star-forming material in these distant galaxies.
New study by University of Southampton confirms the universe's expansion is still accelerating as previously found, debunking 2025 claims that the cosmos was slowing. The team re-evaluated data using Type Ia supernovae to calculate vast cosmic distances and found no error in their methods.
The discovery reveals a surprisingly mature black hole at just 850 million years old, with an accretion disk resembling a flat pancake. This challenges the understanding of how supermassive black holes can grow and mature in a short amount of cosmic time.
A team of astronomers used JWST to detect the motion of stars near a galaxy's center affected by a dormant black hole's gravity. The findings suggest that densest galaxies were sites of rapid black hole growth early in cosmic history.
Researchers have discovered the fastest wind near a supermassive black hole at ultraviolet wavelengths, driven by the quasar's surrounding matter disc. The wind's velocity is up to 30% the speed of light, making it unlike any hurricane on Earth.
Researchers measured wind speeds on seven hot, Jupiter-like exoplanets and found that magnetic fields govern the winds. The team's findings provide the strongest evidence yet of magnetism on planets outside our Solar System.
A team of astronomers has identified a rare stellar system that provides a unique natural laboratory to study extreme physics. The system, called ASKAP J1745−5051, consists of a white dwarf and a red dwarf star, producing powerful bursts of radio waves and X-rays.
Astronomers observed a galaxy protocluster at 1.2 billion years after the Universe's birth, finding it was already shaped by its environment. The Loktak Protocluster had larger, redder galaxies with more rounded shapes than isolated galaxies.
Physicist Jun Ye proposes building a highly stable laser inside permanently shadowed lunar craters, leveraging their extremely low vibrations and temperature to achieve unparalleled precision. This could form the backbone of a lunar time scale, GPS-like navigation, and space-based optical atomic clocks.
A research team at Postech has developed a next-generation laser emission platform capable of precise color control under battery-level low voltage. The technology achieves ultra-high color purity and continuous spectral tunability within a single device, overcoming limitations of conventional display light sources.
A team at the University of Arizona discovered exceptionally fast and powerful galactic winds from quasars a billion years after the Big Bang. These winds could have caused galaxies to lose gas supplies, effectively shutting down star formation. The study suggests that quasars with extreme outflows were more common in the early univers...
A new study introduces CIGaRS, a novel approach to derive highly precise estimates of cosmic distances and robust cosmological measurements. This method uses artificial intelligence and neural networks to disentangle the intrinsic effects on supernovae light from environmental factors.
The study reveals that more massive young star clusters clear away their natal gas faster than lower-mass clusters. This has implications for our understanding of star formation and how the young stars affect their surroundings.
A team of researchers at Kyoto University used NICER and Hisaki to study a superflare on the star UX Arietis, finding that photoionization is the dominant mechanism behind the iron Kα line. This discovery provides a diagnostic tool for astronomers to infer flare locations on stellar surfaces.
Researchers found massive amounts of ammonia gas expected but less than anticipated, and instead discovered thick patchy water-ice clouds on the exoplanet. The discovery sheds light on the limits of current models for studying exoplanet atmospheres.
The Paranal solar ESPRESSO Telescope (PoET) has made its first observations, aiming to understand how stellar activity affects the detection of exoplanets. PoET uses the Sun's light to analyze distant star spectra and remove 'noise' that can mask planetary signals.
Astronomers have identified the most pristine star in the known universe, SDSS J0715-7334, with a metal content of less than 0.005%. This ancient immigrant was born about 80,000 light-years from Earth and has been pulled into the Milky Way galaxy over time.
The discovery of two planets forming in the disc around young star WISPIT 2 suggests that the system could resemble a young Solar System. The two gas giants, WISPIT 2b and WISPIT 2c, are found in clear gaps within the disc of dust and gas, indicating that more planets may be currently forming.
Astronomers have solved a 50-year-old mystery surrounding the star gamma-Cas, revealing that its unusual high-energy X-rays are linked to the orbital motion of an invisible white dwarf companion. This breakthrough was made possible by unique high-resolution observations from the European Space Agency's XRISM mission.
Researchers analyzed gravitational-wave data from LIGO and Virgo detectors, revealing an oval orbit just before merger, which is unlikely according to theoretical models. The study corrects underestimated black hole mass and overestimated neutron star mass, suggesting a birthplace in an environment with many interacting stars.
Astronomers have imaged and modeled an exceptionally rare supernova that could provide a new way to measure the universe's expansion rate. The supernova, known as SN Winny, is a superluminous stellar explosion 10 billion light-years away and appears five times in the night sky due to gravitational lensing.
Researchers discovered a star in the Andromeda Galaxy that vanished without going supernova, instead collapsing directly into a black hole. The team's analysis revealed the process of stellar collapse and provided evidence for convection's role in shaping a black hole's outer layers.
A University of Arizona-led research team has measured the dynamics and ever-changing hot gas shell from where the solar wind originates. The study helps scientists answer fundamental questions about energy and matter moving through the heliosphere, affecting space weather events and planetary orbits.
Researchers created the highest resolution map of dark matter, showing its interaction with normal matter through gravity. The new data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope confirms previous research and provides new details about dark matter's influence on the Universe.
Scientists used multiple space-based instruments to track the evolution of a solar eruption, observing how it reduced background cosmic-ray activity. This approach has potential for improving space-weather forecasting and protecting satellites, astronauts, and power grids.
Researchers have imaged a beautiful shock wave around a dead star, RXJ0528+2838, which challenges our current understanding of how dead stars interact with their surroundings. The team found that the white dwarf has been expelling a powerful outflow for at least 1000 years, driven by its strong magnetic field.
Scientists at CU Boulder have solved a pressing mystery about the universe's gravitational wave background by revealing the role of smaller galaxies in galaxy evolution. The new study suggests that when a smaller supermassive black hole merges with a larger one, the smaller black hole gains mass, producing larger gravitational waves.
Researchers identified nine objects with characteristics of stars and galaxies, sparking new questions about the cosmos. These 'platypus galaxies' have narrow emission lines indicative of active star formation, defying expectations.
The CTAO's southern array will be the first gamma-ray observatory to be built in Chile, providing new insights into high-energy Universe events. Construction began on the telescope foundations at ESO's Paranal site in Chile's Atacama Desert.
The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory has begun construction on its southern site in Chile, paving the way for the world's largest and most powerful observatory for gamma-ray astronomy. The CTAO will focus on understanding relativistic cosmic particles, probing extreme environments, and searching for dark matter.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured a cosmic fender bender, revealing two luminous clouds of debris from violent collisions between space rocks. The discovery offers insights into planet formation and asteroid composition, shedding light on the structure of asteroids crucial for planetary defense programs.
The Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) has been upgraded with 145 low-noise amplifiers, allowing for more sensitive measurements of cosmic radiation. This enables researchers to study dark and distant regions of the universe, gaining insights into star and galaxy formation.
Scientists have discovered a rare superkilonova event, which may have produced gravitational waves and light, as detected by LIGO and Virgo. The candidate kilonova AT2025ulz showed signs of a supernova before fading and brightening again in red wavelengths.
Astronomers at Northwestern University have directly imaged a Tatooine-like exoplanet orbiting two suns, revealing unique insights into how planets form around multiple stars. The discovery provides an unprecedented look at the complex dynamics of binary systems and offers new opportunities to test theories of planet formation.
Astronomers have detected a new gamma-ray source near Westerlund 1, a young massive star cluster in the Milky Way. The source is connected to a 'nascent outflow' of particles driven by the cluster's collective wind, creating a cavity in the interstellar medium.
Two new research projects will bring advanced tools to Lick and McDonald Observatories, studying planet and star formation. The programs aim to extend the scientific reach of mid-sized telescopes, delivering new insights and demonstrating technologies for larger observatories.
A team from Maynooth University is using the Mauve telescope to investigate how stars and planets form, focusing on Herbig Ae/Be stars. The research aims to identify variability and search for signs of early planet formation.
Scientists at NJIT's Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research tracked the impact of recent X-class solar flares on Earth's upper atmosphere. The flares triggered radio blackouts across Africa and Europe, producing auroras that reached unusually low latitudes, including as far south as Florida.
The team discovered a flat, spherical gas and dust structure resembling a diamond ring, formed by a massive star's radiation and winds. The 'Diamond Ring' is around 20 light years in diameter and shines strongly in infrared light.
A study from Bielefeld University reveals that the solar system is moving more than three times faster than predicted by current models. This deviation was detected using data from radio galaxies, which emit strong radio waves and can penetrate dust and gas.
Astronomers have observed the unique shape of a supernova explosion in unprecedented detail using ESO's VLT. The shape, resembling an olive, was revealed through spectropolarimetry, which allows for the measurement of polarisation and inference of object geometry.