Articles tagged with Observational Astrophysics
An international team of astronomers has discovered two planets resembling smaller versions of Jupiter and Saturn in a solar system nearly 5,000 light years away. The newly-discovered planets appear to be gaseous planets with masses similar to those of the giant planets in our own solar system.
The discovery of the double planet system provides crucial evidence for the presence of multiple planet systems similar to our own solar system. The findings suggest that if OGLE-2006-BLG-109L is typical, it is possible that other systems have Jupiter- and Saturn-sized planets.
A new system of planets has been discovered with striking similarities to our Solar System, revealing giant planets that favour family groups over lone objects. The discovery uses a world-wide net of telescopes and challenges the single-life theory of gas-giant planets.
The team used four telescopes to capture the length and breadth of Mercury's tail, which can extend up to 1.5 million miles from the planet. This new record sets a new domain for understanding Mercury's influence within the Solar System.
The Keck Nuller has produced the first unified model for a nearby nova called RS Ophiuchi. The team observed the explosion using the nulling mode of the instrument and recorded the spectral signature of silicate dust at distances starting around 20 times the Earth-Sun distance, indicating that the dust pre-dates the explosion.
Astronomers at Rutgers and Penn State universities discovered galaxies in the distant universe that are ancestors of spiral galaxies like our Milky Way. The newly discovered galaxies are small and have fewer stars, but were fertile breeding grounds for new stars that ionized hydrogen atoms and emitted Lyman alpha light.
A team of astronomers discovered a long-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) in the middle of nowhere, thousands of light-years from the nearest galaxy. The GRB's afterglow was bright and fast-fading, but there was no dense gas or dust to absorb its light.
A team of astronomers, led by Dr. Edo Berger, have observed a surprisingly active magnetic field on the ultracool low-mass star TVLM513-46546, challenging the theory that cooler stars are simple and quiet. The star's complex magnetic field environment may indicate unusual activity beneath its surface or possibly even an unseen companion.
A team of researchers proposes a new mechanism to explain the brightest ever recorded supernova, SN 2006gy. The model suggests that an extremely massive star undergoes repeated explosions, resulting in a display up to 100 times more luminous than usual.
The Pierre Auger Observatory has found that active galactic nuclei, powered by super-massive black holes, are the most likely source of the highest-energy cosmic rays. The sources of these particles are not distributed uniformly across the sky, but rather linked to nearby galaxies with active nuclei.
Researchers have found a significant correlation between high-energy cosmic rays and the cores of nearby galaxies, which emit prodigious quantities of energy. The Auger collaboration has traced the source of these cosmic rays to Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), likely powered by supermassive black holes.
Astronomers have discovered a massive black hole with a mass 24 to 33 times that of our Sun, exceeding expectations. The discovery was made using two NASA satellites and suggests that stellar-mass black holes can be much larger than previously thought.
Astronomers have found an exceptionally massive black hole in orbit around a huge companion star in the nearby galaxy M33, with a mass of 15.7 times that of the Sun. The discovery raises questions about how such a big black hole could have formed.
After eight years of operations, NASA's FUSE space telescope will be shut down on October 18, leaving behind a legacy of over 1,200 published papers and groundbreaking science discoveries, including insights into molecular hydrogen in Mars' atmosphere and a first-ever observation of molecular nitrogen outside our solar system.
The Giant Magellan Telescope will be constructed at Cerro Las Campanas, Chile, providing unparalleled seeing quality and access to the southern skies. The telescope will help answer scientific questions on planetary systems, star formation, galaxies, black holes, dark matter, and dark energy.
Researchers have observed the properties of neutron stars, including their sizes and masses, using a new technique that exploits Einstein's general theory of relativity. The study provides insights into the extreme conditions within these ultradense objects.
Astronomers have identified Calvera, a bright X-ray source in Ursa Minor, as a promising candidate for an isolated neutron star, potentially the closest known. The team used NASA's Swift satellite and other telescopes to pinpoint its position and confirm its characteristics.
TrES-4 is the largest known exoplanet, about 70% bigger than Jupiter but less massive, making it a planet of extremely low density. It orbits its host star in three and a half days and is very hot due to its close proximity.
The Gruber Cosmology Prize has been awarded to Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and their teams for discovering the accelerating expansion of the universe, dominated by mysterious dark energy. The breakthrough was made possible through innovative techniques using distant Type Ia supernovae as standard candles.
Florida Tech associate professor Eric Perlman has received $490,400 in funding from NASA's Long-term Space Astrophysics grant program to study jets and their impact on cosmic rays. His work will access the Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory to further understanding of jet dynamics and emissions.
Astronomers have discovered a massive transiting planet, TrES-3, with a 31-hour year, orbiting its parent star about 1,500 light-years away. The planet is twice the mass of Jupiter and one of the planets with the shortest known periods.
Researchers employed a new technique to estimate dark matter location and calculate its mass, shedding light on the galactic halo's composition. The method revealed two massive dark objects, one with 7 times the sun's mass, in the Milky Way's outer reaches.
Astronomers discover a bright arc of extremely hot gas in a massive galaxy cluster, suggesting an exceptionally dramatic event, such as a collision between two clusters. The temperature and mass of the cluster make it a giant among giants, with a quadrillion suns' worth of mass bound by its hot gas.
Astronomers used Spitzer to study the Coma cluster, finding almost 30,000 objects, including 1,200 previously unknown dwarf galaxies. The discovery implies a total population of at least 4,000 dwarf galaxies in the cluster.
The California and Carnegie Planet Search team has reported 28 new exoplanets, increasing the total number of known exoplanets to 236. The new discoveries include seven confirmed brown dwarfs, which are failed stars that can be more massive than Jupiter-sized planets.
Researchers used adaptive optics to precisely locate and study the environments of two supermassive black holes at the center of a galaxy merger. The observations revealed young star clusters and rotating disks of stars surrounding each black hole.
Researchers have successfully applied a new method to determine the masses of black holes in binary systems, including Cygnus X-1 and NGC 5408. The technique takes advantage of X-ray observations of quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) and their relationship with the accretion disk.
Astronomers have measured the age of a star in our Galaxy using ESO's VLT, finding it to be 13.2 billion years old, nearly as old as the Universe itself. This discovery was made possible by a new technique that combines radioactive elements thorium and uranium to accurately determine a star's age.
The star's mass is estimated at between 100 and 200 times that of the sun, making it one of the rarest types of massive stars. The supernova's brightness and longevity are attributed to its potential as a pair-instability supernova, which would produce a significant amount of heavy elements.
Researchers have built a new model that suggests neutron star surfaces run hotter than previously thought, releasing 10 times more heat. This helps explain the observed frequency of superbursts on such stars' surfaces, but scientists still don't know why they occur annually.
Researchers found evidence of magnetic reconnection in turbulent plasma around Earth using ESA's Cluster satellites. This discovery has significant implications for understanding the behavior of turbulent plasma and its role in fundamental processes such as energy dissipation and particle acceleration.
The study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) 060729 reveals a wider energy release and potential magnetar powering some GRBs. The XRT detected the GRB's afterglow for over 125 days, defying expectations.
The Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) equipped with AMBER has achieved unparalleled astronomical results, probing the formation stages of stars and detecting high-velocity jets in novae. The instrument's high angular resolution enables the observation of complex geometries and stellar winds.
The South Pole Telescope has achieved its first light, successfully collecting test observations and paving the way for cosmological research. The $19.2 million telescope is designed to pierce the mystery of dark energy, which drives the universe's evolution.
The NARVAL observatory, installed at the Bernard Lyot Telescope, allows scientists to study magnetic fields of stars and their impact on planetary formation. SU Aurigae's complex magnetic 'web' was observed using NARVAL and ESPaDOnS, revealing new insights into stellar evolution.
Researchers found that gas giants either form within the first 10 million years of a sun-like star's life or not at all. The study suggests that gas giant planets must form early in a star's history, offering insights into planet formation.
George Smoot has been awarded the Daniel Chalonge Medal for his 15-year contribution to the International School of Astrophysics. The award recognizes his outstanding contributions to cosmology and astrophysics, as well as his support for the school's summer and fall programs.
Scientists have discovered a 'hybrid gamma-ray burst,' which exhibits properties of both long and short bursts. The burst's characteristics suggest that it may be signaling the birth of a new black hole, but its exact origin remains unclear.
Scientists analyzed data from a devastating 2006 Java earthquake that triggered a tsunami, leading to the development of an early warning system for earthquakes. Researchers also studied tectonic processes causing subsidence in Louisiana, while investigating ways to monitor volcanic explosivity through ground deformation near vents.
Astronomers found that black holes of all sizes follow the same 'feeding' process, with characteristic timescales changing linearly with mass and inversely with accretion rate. This discovery helps determine black hole masses in hard-to-reach cases.
Scientists have detected loops and rings of hot gas surrounding the supermassive black hole, indicating periodic eruptions that generate pressure waves and sound. The sound waves are found to be more discordant and complex than previously detected, with a range of frequencies below middle C.
Researchers used Hubble Space Telescope to explore galaxy formation during first 900 million years after Big Bang. They found a significant increase in bright galaxies around 13 billion years ago, providing evidence for hierarchical theory of galaxy formation.
For the first time a star has been observed as it goes supernova – a mind-bogglingly powerful explosion that briefly outshines an entire galaxy. UK scientists used NASA's Swift satellite and a combination of orbiting and ground-based observatories to catch the event in real-time.
Researchers have found evidence of a binary system in the Quintuplet cluster, where two massive stars are orbiting each other. The discovery of 'pinwheel-shaped' dust spirals around these stars provides further proof of their dual nature and corrects previous estimates of their sizes.
Scientists have discovered large, rotating disc galaxies that formed on a rapid time scale, just 3 billion years after the Big Bang. These findings reveal unprecedented details about the anatomy of these distant proto-disc galaxies, including their gas motions and star formation rates.
Scientists using NASA's FUSE satellite discovered more 'heavy' hydrogen in the Milky Way than expected, altering theories about star and galaxy formation. The finding indicates that destruction of deuterium has been occurring at a slower rate than previously thought.
A recent survey of galaxies observed along the sightlines to quasars and gamma-ray bursts has revealed a striking inconsistency. Galaxies appear to be four times more common in the direction of gamma-ray bursts than in the direction of quasars, contradicting basic concepts of cosmology.
The MAGIC team discovered variable gamma-ray emission from microquasar LS I +61 303, revealing a direct relationship between the stars' interplay and gamma-ray production. The findings suggest that gamma-ray emission could be a common property of microquasars, contradicting previous expectations.
A team led by FSU physicist Sam Tabor has discovered a novel form of radioactive decay in which two protons are ejected simultaneously from a silver atom. This unexpected finding expands knowledge of nuclear physics and has implications for astrophysics and the production of elements on Earth.
Researchers have discovered a remarkably stable indentation in the fabric of space and time, created by the spin of a black hole. The finding is based on identical patterns observed in X-ray light emitted near the black hole nine years apart, using NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer.
A team of scientists measured gas motions within 10 light-years of a supermassive black hole, confirming main theories at unprecedented scales. The observations revealed dynamic shifts in the gas and showed spiral arms pulling gas from distant regions.
Astronomers have created detailed maps of invisible dark matter in two young galaxy clusters, lending credence to the theory that galaxies form at dense regions of cosmic webs. The study used the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys to overcome atmospheric turbulence and measure subtle gravitational lensing effects.
Scientists have discovered energetic plumes extending 300,000 light years into a massive galaxy cluster. The plumes are caused by explosive venting from a supermassive black hole and demonstrate the far-reaching influence of a black hole on intergalactic distances.
Researchers confirm that Einstein's cosmological constant behaves like dark energy, driving the acceleration of the universe. The study uses innovative imaging data from the Supernova Legacy Survey, which reveals a precision of 10% and challenges theoretical ideas about dark energy.
Astronomers find a dense whirling ball of neutrons in an extremely young star cluster, challenging the idea that nature can make black holes. The discovery shows massive stars may not collapse into black holes as predicted, but instead create neutron stars with a greater influence on future generations of stars.
A team led by Neil Gehrels' Swift science team detected the afterglow of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) with a redshift of 6.29, confirming Lamb and Reichart's earlier prediction from 1999. This discovery smashes the old distance record by 500 million light years.
A recent study by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory suggests that the sun contains nearly three times more neon than previously believed. This discovery has solved a critical problem with understanding how the sun works. The increased amount of neon plays a crucial role in energy flow from nuclear reactions to space.
The newly discovered planet, orbiting Gliese 876, is the smallest and first rocky terrestrial planet found around a normal star. Its surface temperature may be too hot for life as we know it due to its close proximity to the star.
X-ray flashes and gamma-ray bursts, two powerful cosmic explosions, have long been linked in theory. New satellite data, however, suggests that these events may not be as connected as previously thought, contradicting popular theories.
Astronomers observed a binary star system called RX J0806.3+1527, where the white dwarf pair has an estimated mass of one-half the sun and orbits at a rate consistent with gravitational wave predictions. The system is believed to be among the brightest sources of gravitational waves in the galaxy.