Articles tagged with Observational Astrophysics
Researchers have discovered that tidal effects from a close binary companion can cause a star to spin fast enough to launch material into space, forming a gamma-ray burst. This phenomenon is necessary for creating the most luminous events in the universe, observable from Earth when their jet of material is pointed directly at us.
The NEID instrument has made its first observations, detecting the subtle effect of exoplanets on their parent stars. With a precision three times better than previous instruments, NEID aims to determine the masses of exoplanets as small as Earth and characterize their atmospheres.
A Princeton-led team of astrophysicists has shown that WASP-12b, a 'hot Jupiter' exoplanet, is spiraling inward toward its host star due to tidal forces. This process converts the planet's orbital energy into heat within the star, causing it to dissipate rapidly.
NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered its first Earth-size planet in its star's habitable zone, TOI 700 d. The planet orbits a small, cool M dwarf star located just over 100 light-years away and is thought to be rocky with surface temperatures suitable for liquid water.
Astronomers have localized a repeating fast radio burst (FRB) to a region approximately seven light years across in the Milky-Way-like galaxy, making it one of the closest yet seen. This discovery enables more detailed study and may help narrow down possible explanations for FRBs.
Astronomers using the GMRT have discovered a massive ring of hydrogen gas surrounding a galaxy, with a diameter of 380,000 light-years. The origin and formation mechanism of such rings remain unknown, despite previous thought that they are associated with galaxy-galaxy collisions.
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.
A new image of the Milky Way's center captures a colorful composite of giant molecular clouds, with details on radio filaments and star factories. Scientists use GISMO data to observe microwaves at large scales, making detailed observations for the first time.
Researchers analyzed rotation curves of low-surface-brightness galaxies to discover a universal relationship describing dark matter's distribution. This result consolidates clues on dark matter's presence and behavior, opening up new scenarios for interactions with bright matter.
A distant galaxy with over a trillion stars showed that the 'cores' of massive galaxies formed 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang, about 1 billion years earlier than previously thought. Researchers used telescopes to observe the quenching galaxy and found suppressed star formation.
Scientists observe a new type of magnetic explosion, known as forced reconnection, triggered by a solar eruption. This discovery confirms a decade-old theory and may help predict space weather and understand the Sun's atmosphere.
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.
Scientists have discovered a unique neutron star with an apparent magnetic field structure that manifests itself under specific angles relative to the observer. The study provides insight into the internal structure of the magnetic field, contradicting earlier assumptions and revealing new properties of neutron stars.
Astronomers captured a clear start-to-finish image sequence of an explosive emission during the close approach of comet 46P/Wirtanen in late 2018. The team observed the initial brightening in two distinct phases, with a gradual second stage that continued to grow brighter over 8 hours.
University of Maryland astronomers observe natural comet outburst, capturing start-to-finish sequence with NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) data. The team gained detailed observations of the explosive emission of dust, ice, and gases during the close approach to Earth.
A Chinese-led team of international scientists has discovered a massive stellar black hole with a mass 70 times greater than the Sun, located 15 thousand light-years from Earth. The discovery challenges current models of stellar evolution and forces theorists to re-examine how such massive black holes can form.
The study reveals the location of the most energetic outburst ever seen, sitting in a dense environment within a bright galaxy 5 billion light years away. The high-energy radiation was produced by a collapsing star at nearly the speed of light, creating a shock that triggered the gamma-ray burst.
An international team of researchers has identified a previously unseen component of gamma-ray bursts, emitting trillions of times more energetic photons than visible light. The discovery supports the possibility that inverse Compton emission is commonly produced in gamma-ray bursts.
A new study from Vanderbilt University presents a compelling roadmap for capturing multiband observations of gravitational waves emitted by intermediate-mass black holes. This could help fill in the gaps in our understanding of these enigmatic objects, allowing scientists to 'hear the entire song' when it comes to black holes.
Researchers at NJIT's Big Bear Solar Observatory have uncovered a likely mechanism for the Sun's upper atmosphere heating, revealing jets of magnetized plasma known as spicules. High-resolution images show spicules erupting from the Sun's surface at speeds of up to 100 km/s.
Researchers from Cardiff University have discovered metastability in gallium arsenide compound semiconductor material, a phenomenon that could affect device stability. The findings could lead to improved materials and structures for electronic devices, such as smartphones, GPS, and satellites.
Researchers confirmed an exoplanet with a mass like Neptune, orbiting a cooler star at a similar radius to Earth's orbit. The discovery suggests Neptune-sized planets could be common in this region.
Astrophysicists simulated giant radio galaxies to explain their formation. They found that these objects remain enormous even at great distances, challenging classical physics.
The NSF awards $2.8M to develop a Scalable Cyberinfrastructure Institute for Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (SCIMMA) to analyze large-scale distributed data. The project aims to accelerate scientific discovery in multi-messenger astrophysics by facilitating global collaborations.
Astronomers have discovered the oldest known galaxy protocluster, z66OD, with 12 galaxies existing 13.0 billion years ago. One of these galaxies is Himiko, a giant object found previously by the Subaru Telescope, which was unexpectedly located on the edge of the protocluster.
TESS observed a black hole tearing apart a star in a cataclysmic event, allowing scientists to study the physics of tidal disruptions. The early data revealed a smooth rise in brightness and a significant temperature drop near the black hole.
A team of astronomers has observed the aftermath of a star violently ripped apart by a supermassive black hole, providing unprecedented detail and insights into these mysterious phenomena. The observations, made possible by NASA's TESS satellite, reveal new features of tidal disruption events (TDEs) that were previously unknown.
Astrophysicists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have devised a new way to indirectly measure the mass of a black hole, testing it on the Messier 87 active galaxy. The method combines theoretical modeling, computer calculations, and telescope observations to estimate black hole mass and spin.
A team of astronomers observed six LINER galaxies transforming into quasars in a matter of months, discovering an entirely new type of black hole activity. The sudden transitions challenge our current understanding of galactic evolution and suggest that the theory is all wrong.
Researchers propose using gravitational-wave observatories to detect axions, which could be a type of dark matter. Axions are predicted to modulate light polarization and can be detected with existing laser-based experiments, offering a cost-effective solution to the hunt for dark matter.
Astronomers have discovered a rare form of carbon monoxide in the dust and gas disc around a young star, revealing it to be much heavier than previously thought. This finding provides new insights into the formation of planets and challenges existing theories about planetary system formation.
Astrophysicists detected gravitational wave 'tones' emitted by a merging black hole, validating the 'no-hair theory' and confirming Einstein's general relativity. The breakthrough comes 10 years earlier than expected and opens the era of understanding black holes and their properties.
Physicists at Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine found that an astronomical model underestimates the energy blockage caused by free-floating iron atoms. The experimental opacity measurements can help resolve a major discrepancy in how the Standard Solar Model uses the sun's composition to predict star behavior.
A team led by Northwestern University has captured the deepest optical image of a first neutron star collision using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The study sheds light on the nature and origin of neutron star collisions, including the jet created during the merger and its relation to shorter gamma ray bursts.
Researchers at the University of Bern discover hints of a volcanically active exomoon, or exo-Io, orbiting the hot giant planet WASP-49b. The presence of sodium gas at an anomalously high-altitude suggests the existence of a small rocky moon that could be responsible for the observed phenomenon.
University of Arizona researchers are using the Catalina Sky Survey's near-Earth object telescopes to find optical counterparts to gravitational waves triggered by massive mergers. The team found several supernovae and a near-Earth object during their ongoing campaign, which began in April.
Scientists have studied the Vela Pulsar, a neutron star 1,000 light years away, to understand its behavior during a glitch. The team found that the star's spin increased before slowing down, providing a glimpse into its interior structure, which consists of three different components.
Researchers at the University of Sheffield have discovered UK-size photospheric plasma swirls generating short-lived Alfvén pulses in the solar atmosphere. These pulses are estimated to carry more than 10 times higher energy flux than needed for heating the local upper solar chromosphere.
Researchers confirm a 'hot Earth' exoplanet, GJ 357 b, and discover two additional worlds orbiting the same star, including one potentially habitable planet, GJ 357 d. The newly discovered planets are located in the habitable zone of their star, which receives about the same amount of stellar energy as Mars does from the Sun.
The new optics made of silicon material meet stringent imaging requirements, offering a two orders-of-magnitude leap in sensitivity over previous telescopes. The technology will be tested on a sounding rocket mission in 2021 and could benefit future missions if Lynx is not chosen.
Researchers used observations and physics theory to estimate magnetic field strengths for four hot Jupiters, ranging from 20 to 120 gauss. The findings suggest that internal heat flux plays a key role in determining planetary magnetic fields.
The IceCube neutrino detector is receiving a $37 million upgrade to expand its scientific capabilities. The new strings will enable more precise studies of neutrino oscillation properties and better characterization of the ice around detectors, helping to reveal additional sources of high-energy neutrinos.
A tabletop sensor will detect cosmic events producing waves above 10 kHz, possibly related to dark matter. The Levitated Sensor Detector complements LIGO and Virgo observatories, observing smaller cosmic events that produce gravitational waves at higher frequencies.
Astronomers have detected a circumplanetary disk of gas and dust around the young gas giant PDS 70 c, 370 light years from Earth. The discovery provides direct evidence of planet formation and challenges current theories.
A new study using the Keck Cosmic Web Imager has provided the clearest evidence yet that filaments of cool gas spiral into young galaxies, explaining how they can make stars on fast timescales. The observations suggest a cold-flow model of galaxy formation, where cool gas flows directly into forming galaxies and is converted into stars.
A team of astronomers successfully confirmed the distance to a galaxy hosting an intense radio burst that flashed only once, lasting a thousandth of a second. The Gemini South telescope played a crucial role in verifying that the burst occurred 4 billion years ago.
Scientists at the University of Tokyo have discovered a connection between lightning strikes and gamma-ray phenomena in thunderclouds. Weak gamma-ray glows may precede lightning bolts, offering new insights into the mechanism underlying lightning discharge. The research aims to improve predictive models for lightning strikes, potential...
Two giant galaxy clusters are caught in the act of colliding for the first time, providing valuable insights into the formation of large-scale structures. The clusters' merger shock wave is expected to have a significant impact on the evolution of galaxy clusters and cosmic structure.
Researchers from OU physics group discover a novel Mott state in twisted graphene bilayers at the magic angle, characterized by ferromagnetic spin alignment. This phenomenon is unlike conventional Mott insulators and has potential implications for superconductivity.
Scientists have detected the first polarized radio waves from a gamma ray burst jet, revealing that magnetic fields are more patchy and tangled than previously thought. The discovery was made possible by advanced radio telescopes and allows researchers to test theories about the structure of magnetic fields within jets.
Scientists from IAC and ULL analyze MASCARA-2B/KELT-20b's atmosphere, revealing details on its composition and temperature. The team detected hydrogen beta, singly ionized iron, and magnesium using CARMENES spectrograph.
A team of researchers from Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias solved the mystery of a galaxy without dark matter by reevaluating its distance. The galaxy was previously estimated to be 64 million light years away, but new measurements reveal it's actually around 42 million light years from Earth.
A Neptunian planet, NGTS-4b, discovered using the Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) facility, is a small world 20% smaller than Neptune, orbiting its star in just 1.3 days. It has been nicknamed 'The Forbidden Planet' due to its extreme temperatures of 1,000 degrees Celsius.
The IAC and ESA have signed an agreement to expand the programmes of optical communication with space missions and studies of space debris at the Teide Observatory in Tenerife. The new agreement will enable the installation of additional optical systems on the existing telescope, enhancing the observatory's capabilities.
New observations of the NGC 300 spiral galaxy reveal that molecular clouds are short-lived structures undergoing rapid lifecycles driven by intense stellar radiation. The positions of young stars rarely coincide with those of their parent molecular clouds, indicating rapid star formation and gas dispersion.
A new study using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope confirms the universe is expanding about 9% faster than expected. The measurements, published April 25 in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, strengthen the cosmic distance ladder and calculate the Hubble constant with increased precision.
Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology found that quasars' positions fluctuate due to complex radiation effects, contradicting their long-held assumption of stability. The study's findings could improve astrometry techniques for accurate navigation systems.
Astronomers have observed a unique X-ray signal from a binary neutron star merger 6.6 billion light years away, which is highly likely powered by a magnetar. This discovery provides new insights into the physics of neutron stars and challenges existing theories on the ending of a binary neutron star merger system.
Asteroid Gault, one of only a handful to be caught disintegrating, has been observed in clear images from the Hubble Space Telescope. The object's two narrow tails indicate it is slowly undergoing self-destruction, releasing material into space.
Researchers have constrained a theoretical model of dark matter particles using data from Earth-based radio telescopes. The study found that ultralight particles interact weakly with photons, making them hard to study, but also revealed a constraint on the available models describing dark matter composition.