Articles tagged with Observational Astrophysics
Comprehensive exploration of living organisms, biological systems, and life processes across all scales from molecules to ecosystems. Encompasses cutting-edge research in biology, genetics, molecular biology, ecology, biochemistry, microbiology, botany, zoology, evolutionary biology, genomics, and biotechnology. Investigates cellular mechanisms, organism development, genetic inheritance, biodiversity conservation, metabolic processes, protein synthesis, DNA sequencing, CRISPR gene editing, stem cell research, and the fundamental principles governing all forms of life on Earth.
Comprehensive medical research, clinical studies, and healthcare sciences focused on disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Encompasses clinical medicine, public health, pharmacology, epidemiology, medical specialties, disease mechanisms, therapeutic interventions, healthcare innovation, precision medicine, telemedicine, medical devices, drug development, clinical trials, patient care, mental health, nutrition science, health policy, and the application of medical science to improve human health, wellbeing, and quality of life across diverse populations.
Comprehensive investigation of human society, behavior, relationships, and social structures through systematic research and analysis. Encompasses psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, political science, linguistics, education, demography, communications, and social research methodologies. Examines human cognition, social interactions, cultural phenomena, economic systems, political institutions, language and communication, educational processes, population dynamics, and the complex social, cultural, economic, and political forces shaping human societies, communities, and civilizations throughout history and across the contemporary world.
Fundamental study of the non-living natural world, matter, energy, and physical phenomena governing the universe. Encompasses physics, chemistry, earth sciences, atmospheric sciences, oceanography, materials science, and the investigation of physical laws, chemical reactions, geological processes, climate systems, and planetary dynamics. Explores everything from subatomic particles and quantum mechanics to planetary systems and cosmic phenomena, including energy transformations, molecular interactions, elemental properties, weather patterns, tectonic activity, and the fundamental forces and principles underlying the physical nature of reality.
Practical application of scientific knowledge and engineering principles to solve real-world problems and develop innovative technologies. Encompasses all engineering disciplines, technology development, computer science, artificial intelligence, environmental sciences, agriculture, materials applications, energy systems, and industrial innovation. Bridges theoretical research with tangible solutions for infrastructure, manufacturing, computing, communications, transportation, construction, sustainable development, and emerging technologies that advance human capabilities, improve quality of life, and address societal challenges through scientific innovation and technological progress.
Study of the practice, culture, infrastructure, and social dimensions of science itself. Addresses how science is conducted, organized, communicated, and integrated into society. Encompasses research funding mechanisms, scientific publishing systems, peer review processes, academic ethics, science policy, research institutions, scientific collaboration networks, science education, career development, research programs, scientific methods, science communication, and the sociology of scientific discovery. Examines the human, institutional, and cultural aspects of scientific enterprise, knowledge production, and the translation of research into societal benefit.
Comprehensive study of the universe beyond Earth, encompassing celestial objects, cosmic phenomena, and space exploration. Includes astronomy, astrophysics, planetary science, cosmology, space physics, astrobiology, and space technology. Investigates stars, galaxies, planets, moons, asteroids, comets, black holes, nebulae, exoplanets, dark matter, dark energy, cosmic microwave background, stellar evolution, planetary formation, space weather, solar system dynamics, the search for extraterrestrial life, and humanity's efforts to explore, understand, and unlock the mysteries of the cosmos through observation, theory, and space missions.
Comprehensive examination of tools, techniques, methodologies, and approaches used across scientific disciplines to conduct research, collect data, and analyze results. Encompasses experimental procedures, analytical methods, measurement techniques, instrumentation, imaging technologies, spectroscopic methods, laboratory protocols, observational studies, statistical analysis, computational methods, data visualization, quality control, and methodological innovations. Addresses the practical techniques and theoretical frameworks enabling scientists to investigate phenomena, test hypotheses, gather evidence, ensure reproducibility, and generate reliable knowledge through systematic, rigorous investigation across all areas of scientific inquiry.
Study of abstract structures, patterns, quantities, relationships, and logical reasoning through pure and applied mathematical disciplines. Encompasses algebra, calculus, geometry, topology, number theory, analysis, discrete mathematics, mathematical logic, set theory, probability, statistics, and computational mathematics. Investigates mathematical structures, theorems, proofs, algorithms, functions, equations, and the rigorous logical frameworks underlying quantitative reasoning. Provides the foundational language and tools for all scientific fields, enabling precise description of natural phenomena, modeling of complex systems, and the development of technologies across physics, engineering, computer science, economics, and all quantitative sciences.
Researchers found Dark Matter does not consist of ultramassive particles but rather ultralight particles that travel like waves. The discovery resolves an outstanding problem in astrophysics and provides new insights into the nature of Dark Matter.
A new study from NASA's Chandra program reveals that exploded stars can pose a significant risk to nearby planets due to intense X-ray radiation, potentially altering atmospheric chemistry and causing mass extinctions.
The Indian government has granted final approvals for LIGO-India, a gravitational-wave detector that will improve the localization of sources. The facility will join a global network, increasing precision and filling blind spots, enabling scientists to study black holes and the universe's expansion.
Astronomers use the Hubble Space Telescope and Keck Observatory to measure the 3D shape of galaxy M87, revealing a 'potato-shaped' triaxial form. The team also determines the mass of the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's core, estimating it at 5.4 billion solar masses.
Astronomers have mapped the M87 galaxy's 3D structure and determined its supermassive black hole has a mass of 5.37 billion times that of the sun. The galaxy's asymmetrical shape allows for more precise measurements, including the rotation rate of 25 kilometers per second around an axis 40 degrees from the long axis.
A team of scientists from Kyoto University has confirmed that galaxy alignments can be a powerful probe for dark matter and dark energy. The analysis of 1.2 million galaxy observations verified general theory of relativity at vast spatial scales, providing strong evidence for gravity's role in shaping the universe.
A UTSA-led research team has discovered a new exoplanet using indirect methods. The exoplanet, HIP 99770 b, is about 14 to 16 times the mass of Jupiter and orbits a nearly twice-as-massive star. This breakthrough opens a new avenue for scientists to discover and characterize exoplanets.
The Princeton-led team measured the dark matter's 'clumpiness,' finding a value of 0.776 that conflicts with the Cosmic Microwave Background's value of 0.83. The discrepancy suggests the standard model might be incomplete or has an error, prompting further investigation.
Researchers found consistent results between observations and theory, showing that clusters have become more centrally concentrated over time. The study provides strong support for the Lambda-CDM paradigm by demonstrating agreement between the observed and simulated concentration-mass relation of galaxy clusters.
Researchers have developed an AI algorithm that can remove atmospheric blur from astronomical images, resulting in more accurate scientific measurements and clearer data. The tool produces faster and more realistic images than current methods, producing 38.6% less error compared to classic methods.
Astronomers have observed an extremely rare and aspherical Fast Blue Optical Transient (FBOT) explosion 180 million light years away. The explosion, similar to a flat disc shape, challenges scientists' current understanding of stellar explosions.
Researchers modeled how elements move across star-forming regions, finding that galactic winds influence temperature and metal distribution. The study's findings suggest a non-spherical wind pattern, contrary to previous spherical models.
The Swift Observatory team, led by Maia Williams, detected the brightest gamma-ray burst ever recorded, GRB 221009A. The burst was incredibly bright and had an afterglow that was more than 10 times brighter than any previous observation.
Researchers have discovered a possible correlation between gravitational waves from neutron star mergers and fast radio bursts, two phenomena long shrouded in mystery. The study found that an observed FRB occurred just 2 ½ hours after a neutron star merger event, suggesting a potential link between the two events.
Scholars developed an AI program using symbolic regression to improve mass inferences of galaxy clusters. The new equations extract jelly at the center and concentrate on doughy outskirts for reliable mass inferences.
Astrophysicists used AI to improve mass estimates of galaxy clusters by adding a simple term to an existing equation. The new equation downplays the importance of complex cores in calculations, providing more reliable mass inferences.
The study identifies five exoplanets that resemble Venus in terms of radii, masses, and atmospheric conditions. By observing these 'exo-Venus' planets using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists hope to uncover valuable insights into Earth's future and the possibility of a runaway greenhouse climate.
Scientists have identified clouds made from silicate particles on a distant planet using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. The team discovered an atmosphere constantly rising and mixing, bringing hotter material up and pushing colder material down.
Astronomers have discovered a galaxy with a unique activity in its core, leading to a reclassification as a giant radio galaxy. The PBC J2333.9-2343 galaxy has a blazar at its center with jets that changed direction drastically by up to 90 degrees.
A new study reveals that intergalactic gas can activate and feed supermassive black holes at the heart of galaxies. The researchers found a direct connection between gas outside galaxies and active supermassive black holes, with misaligned gas playing a significant role in their growth.
Scientists have created a synthetic survey that showcases what can be expected from the Roman Space Telescope’s future observations. The simulation contains 33 million galaxies and 200,000 foreground stars, helping scientists plan observing strategies and test data analysis methods.
Researchers from Shanghai Astronomical Observatory detect radio recombination lines of carbon and oxygen ions for the first time, using the TianMa 65-m Radio Telescope. The discovery allows for accurate measurement of element abundances and has significant implications for studying interstellar chemistry and molecular formation.
Researchers studying ancient quasars have discovered a rapid increase in warm carbon around 13 billion years ago, potentially linked to the 'Epoch of Reionisation' and large-scale heating of gas. This finding provides new insights into the evolution of the universe's chemical composition.
Researchers from ETH Zurich, Harvard, and Cambridge join forces to study chemical and physical processes of living organisms and environmental conditions for life on other planets. Synthetic cells enable scientists to deconstruct complex systems, understand basic principles of life and evolution.
Astronomers have discovered the tightest ultracool dwarf binary system ever observed, consisting of two stars that orbit each other in less than one Earth day. The newly discovered LP 413-53AB system is estimated to be billions of years old, similar to our sun, and has an orbital period three times shorter than previous discoveries.
A rare quasar triplet formed a massive black hole with a mass of 10 billion solar masses, according to recent simulations. The triple system, composed of three galaxies with supermassive black holes at their centers, is believed to be the progenitor of ultra-massive black holes.
Researchers studied a Type 1a supernova in a faraway spiral galaxy, NGC 1566, to understand how certain chemical elements are emitted into the surrounding cosmos. The study confirms that ejecta doesn't escape the confines of the explosion, validating many assumptions about how complex entities work.
A University of Queensland-led research team is using an unusual caesium atom to search for dark matter particles. The team's work may also improve atomic theory calculations and technology, such as navigation systems.
An international team of astrophysicists has discovered six potential galaxies emerging in the universe's earliest moments, containing as many stars as the Milky Way. These ancient structures are gigantic and massive, contradicting current cosmological theory, with calculations suggesting they formed hundreds of new stars a year.
A team of researchers has discovered evidence of 'cosmological coupling' between black holes and the universe's expanding energy. By studying supermassive black holes in ancient galaxies, they found that these black holes gain mass over billions of years, matching predictions for black holes that cosmologically couple with vacuum energy.
Researchers found that kilonovae, caused by neutron star collisions, produce spherical explosions with symmetrical shapes. The discovery may provide a new key to fundamental physics and measuring the Universe's age.
A team of researchers has successfully modeled the complex fluctuations in soft X-ray signals detected by satellites using numerical methods. They were able to capture how the signal varied with the orbital motion of the satellite and reproduce it up to a factor of two, an impressive feat in the field.
The James Webb Space Telescope has identified ice in deeper regions of interstellar molecular clouds, revealing unprecedented insights into the abundance of icy compounds. The team discovered complex organic molecules, such as methanol and potentially ethanol, suggesting that prebiotic molecules may be common in planetary systems.
Astronomers have released a colossal dataset revealing 3.32 billion celestial objects in unprecedented detail, covering 6.5% of the night sky. The Dark Energy Camera Plane Survey captures stars, star-forming regions, and dark clouds with innovative data-processing techniques.
A team from UNIGE has observed a sample of planets at the edge of the Hot Neptune Desert to understand its creation. They found that most of these planets have an orbit misaligned with the stellar equator, indicating disruptive migration processes.
An international team of scientists suggests that an outward, fast migration of Jupiter can distort the configuration of Trojan swarms, resulting in more stable orbits in one swarm than the other. This new mechanism provides a natural explanation for the observed asymmetry in the number of asteroids in the L4 and L5 swarms.
Researchers detect radio signal from record-breaking distance galaxy, measuring gas composition and gaining insights into the early universe. The signal was amplified by a factor of 30 using gravitational lensing, allowing scientists to study a previously inaccessible region.
Scientists have identified a new Earth-size world, TOI 700 e, orbiting within the habitable zone of its star, making it an exciting prospect for further study. The planet is likely rocky and might be tidally locked, offering insights into our solar system's history.
Researchers at the University of Washington have discovered a unique binary star system where a small companion star is surrounded by a large disk of dusty material. The companion star caused a seven-year-long eclipse of the main star, Gaia17bpp, which is one of the longest recorded eclipses.
Astronomers have discovered two ghostly Goliath black holes just 750 light-years apart, closing in on a cataclysmic meeting. The estimated population of merging supermassive black holes may be surprisingly high, generating strong gravitational waves detectable by future telescopes.
A team of astronomers discovered 87 galaxies that could be the earliest known galaxies in the universe using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. This finding suggests a revision to our understanding of galaxy formation, indicating that more galaxies may have formed earlier than previously thought.
Researchers observed energy transfer from resonant electrons to whistler-mode waves in space, confirming non-linear growth theory. This finding improves understanding of space weather's impact on satellites and could help protect astronauts.
The ERC Red Cardinal project aims to shed light on the mysterious phase of star formation extinction in massive galaxies. The team, led by Sirio Belli, will use James Webb Space Telescope observations to test a hypothesis predicting two distinct modes of stellar extinction.
Researchers have observed an exoplanet whose orbit is decaying around an aging star, providing the first look at a solar system this late in its life cycle. The doomed world, Kepler-1658b, has less than 3 million years left before colliding with its expanding star.
Using supercomputers and machine learning, researchers created simulations of millions of computer-generated universes to test astrophysical predictions. The study found that supermassive black holes grow in the same way as their host galaxies, revealing a long-elusive relationship.
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured infrared images of a population of red spiral galaxies at unprecedented resolution, revealing their morphology in detail. These galaxies are among the farthest known spiral galaxies and suggest that such spiral galaxies existed in large numbers in the early universe.
A recent astronomical observation supports theoretical modeling, revealing a new observational fingerprint of neutron-star mergers that may shed light on the production of heavy elements throughout the universe. The detection pushes our understanding of gamma-ray bursts to the limits and breaks the standard idea of these events.
The event challenged scientists' understanding of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which are the most powerful events in the universe. The burst's high-energy light and kilonova visible and infrared light were detected by NASA's Swift Observatory and Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, providing new insights into how heavy elements are created.
Researchers discovered a long-duration gamma-ray burst that defied prevailing theories, leading to the proposal of a new model for its origin. The unusual burst was found to have characteristics similar to those of short-duration bursts, challenging current understanding of gamma-ray burst formation.
An international team of researchers has successfully characterized the earliest galaxies in the Universe, which formed only 200 million years after the Big Bang. The study found that these early galaxies were relatively small and dim, processing less than 5% of their gas into stars.
Astronomers used the Young Supernova Experiment to detect an intermediate-mass black hole in a dwarf galaxy, revealing its mass and providing insight into supermassive black hole growth. The study aims to improve understanding of black hole-galaxy relationships and inform theories on supermassive black hole formation.
Researchers use polarized X-ray measurements to refine models of black holes swallowing matter. The new data from Cygnus X-1 reveals a pencil-shaped plasma outflow and supports the hypothesis that processes near the black hole launch jets. This insight improves understanding of gravity's effects on space-time around black holes.
A team of astronomers used the James Webb Telescope to identify five ancient globular clusters, potentially containing the first and oldest stars in the universe. The clusters were formed close to the Big Bang, offering insights into star formation and galaxy evolution.
An international team has discovered three near-Earth asteroids, including one that is 1.5 kilometers wide and may someday threaten Earth's path. The observations were made possible by the unique capabilities of the Dark Energy Camera mounted on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.
Researchers investigated open star clusters, finding they dissolve faster than predicted by Newton's laws. The team developed a new method to count stars in tidal tails, revealing a significant difference in the number of stars between the front and rear tails.
The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can survive in the vicinity of supermassive black holes at the centers of active galaxies. This challenges previous studies that predicted their destruction, and reveals new insights into galaxy evolution.
Researchers propose nitrous oxide as a potential biosignature for exoplanets, detectable by the James Webb Space Telescope. They modeled N2O production on Earth-like planets and found it could be comparable to CO2 or methane in star systems like TRAPPIST-1.
Scientists have discovered the remnant material of an ancient star's explosion using innovative analysis of a quasar. The study suggests a 300-solar-mass first-generation star died in a 'super-supernova' explosion, leaving behind a distinctive blend of heavy elements.
Scientists have confirmed 68 strong gravitational lenses, transforming our understanding of galaxy evolution and dark matter. The discovery uses machine learning algorithms to identify thousands of potential lenses, opening a new window into studying mass distribution in distant galaxies.
A study reveals that global warming will impact major astronomical observatories worldwide, increasing temperature and atmospheric water content by 2050. This could lead to reduced observing time and quality in ground-based astronomy.