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Sloan Digital Sky Survey launches data release 20

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.

SourceCarnegie Institution for Science·DateJul 31, 2026
Apple iPhone 17 Pro

Apple iPhone 17 Pro delivers top performance and advanced cameras for field documentation, data collection, and secure research communications.

Cosmic blowtorches: How quasars shut down star formation in the early universe

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...

SourceUniversity of Arizona·JournalNature·TypeObservational study·DateMay 7, 2026

Non-rotating early galaxy is a surprise to astronomers

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope discovered a galaxy that is not rotating, contradicting current theories about galaxy formation. The team believes this galaxy may have been formed after a single collision between two galaxies, making it a rare and unexpected finding.

SourceUniversity of California - Davis·JournalNature Astronomy·TypeExperimental study·DateMay 4, 2026

‘Messy’ galaxies in the early universe struggled to settle

Researchers used the James Webb Space Telescope to study young galaxies in the early universe, finding most were turbulent and 'clumpy'. Despite this chaos, galaxy dynamics show a gradual transition towards ordered structures, suggesting that galaxies like our Milky Way formed through frequent mergers and bursts of star formation.

SourceUniversity of Cambridge·JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society·DateOct 21, 2025

New survey maps hundreds of satellite systems orbiting dwarf galaxies

A new study by Dartmouth astronomers has mapped 355 candidate satellite galaxies around dwarf galaxies, tripling the number previously surveyed. The researchers aim to understand how external conditions influence satellite formation and uncover insights into dark matter's nature.

SourceDartmouth College·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal·TypeObservational study·DateAug 5, 2025
SAMSUNG T9 Portable SSD 2TB

SAMSUNG T9 Portable SSD 2TB transfers large imagery and model outputs quickly between field laptops, lab workstations, and secure archives.

Physicists explain a stellar stream’s distinctive features

Researchers found a core-collapsing self-interacting dark matter subhalo is responsible for the peculiar spur and gap features observed in the GD-1 stellar stream. This discovery provides insights into the nature of dark matter itself and offers a new explanation for the observed perturbations.

SourceUniversity of California - Riverside·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateJan 6, 2025

Introducing ‘UFO’ galaxies—the Milky Way’s dustier cousins

Researchers discovered a class of unusually large and red galaxies, called Ultra-red Flattened Objects (UFOs), near the limit of Hubble's observable range. The James Webb Space Telescope's infrared capabilities allowed them to spot these 'dustier cousins' of the Milky Way.

SourceUniversity of Colorado at Boulder·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal·DateNov 15, 2024
Celestron NexStar 8SE Computerized Telescope

Celestron NexStar 8SE Computerized Telescope combines portable Schmidt-Cassegrain optics with GoTo pointing for outreach nights and field campaigns.

Massive merger: study reveals evidence for origin of supermassive black hole at galaxy’s center

UNLV astrophysicists found evidence suggesting the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, Sgr A*, is likely the result of a past cosmic merger. The study utilized data from the Event Horizon Telescope's 2022 observation of Sgr A* to investigate various growth models and demonstrated that the misaligned spin prop...

SourceUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas·JournalNature Astronomy·TypeObservational study·DateSep 6, 2024

Galaxies in dense environments tend to be larger, settling one cosmic question and raising others

A new study published in the Astrophysical Journal has found that galaxies in denser environments are up to 25% larger than isolated galaxies. Researchers used a machine learning tool to analyze millions of galaxies and found a clear trend: galaxies with more neighbors are also on average larger.

SourceUniversity of Washington·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal·TypeObservational study·DateAug 14, 2024
CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock

CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock simplifies serious desks with 18 ports for high-speed storage, monitors, and instruments across Mac and PC setups.

Galaxy changes classification as jet changes direction

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.

SourceRoyal Astronomical Society·JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society·DateMar 21, 2023

Old and new stars paint very different pictures of the Triangulum Galaxy

Researchers used the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury Triangulum Extended Region — or PHATTER — survey to study the Triangulum galaxy. The team discovered two drastically different structures depending on the age of the stars, with younger and older stars having distinct distributions.

SourceUniversity of Washington·TypeObservational study·DateJan 11, 2023

Hubble's ultraviolet views of nearby galaxies yield clues to early universe

Astronomers studied 37 nearby galaxies using Hubble Space Telescope images in ultraviolet light, finding that faraway galaxies may not be inherently odd-shaped. The survey suggests that astronomers are detecting the 'tip of the iceberg' of very distant galaxies, and that their shapes may be influenced by incomplete observations.

SourceSpace Telescope Science Institute·DateJan 10, 2001
Rigol DP832 Triple-Output Bench Power Supply

Rigol DP832 Triple-Output Bench Power Supply powers sensors, microcontrollers, and test circuits with programmable rails and stable outputs.