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Oval orbit casts new light on black hole - neutron star mergers

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.

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.

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.

Rethinking where life could exist beyond earth

Astronomers may need to look beyond the traditional habitable zone for liquid water and potentially life-friendly conditions. A new study suggests that tidally locked worlds, even those orbiting closer to cool M- and K-dwarf stars than previously thought, could sustain liquid water on their night side.

Anker Laptop Power Bank 25,000mAh (Triple 100W USB-C)

Anker Laptop Power Bank 25,000mAh (Triple 100W USB-C) keeps Macs, tablets, and meters powered during extended observing runs and remote surveys.

Astronomers surprised by mysterious shock wave around dead star

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.

AmScope B120C-5M Compound Microscope

AmScope B120C-5M Compound Microscope supports teaching labs and QA checks with LED illumination, mechanical stage, and included 5MP camera.

A new look at TRAPPIST-1e, an earth-sized, habitable-zone exoplanet

Recent observations of TRAPPIST-1e, an Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone, reveal hints of methane but raise questions about its atmosphere's existence. Researchers caution that more rigorous studies are needed to determine if the methane is a sign of an atmosphere or stellar contamination.

Apple iPhone 17 Pro

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

Scientists get a first look at the innermost region of a white dwarf system

Researchers used NASA's IXPE telescope to study the innermost region of an intermediate polar, revealing a surprisingly high degree of X-ray polarization and an unexpected direction of polarization. The team found that X-rays were emitted from a column of white-hot material pulled in by the white dwarf's strong magnetic field.

The “Seven Sisters” just found thousands of long-lost siblings

The discovery reveals that the Pleiades is part of a sprawling stellar family, known as the Greater Pleiades Complex, with thousands of hidden siblings across the sky. By combining data from NASA's TESS and ESA's Gaia space telescope, researchers identified young stars spinning quickly, tracing the origins of the Pleiades.

First confirmed sighting of giant explosion on nearby star

Astronomers have confirmed the first sighting of a giant explosion on a nearby star using XMM-Newton and LOFAR telescopes. The coronal mass ejection (CME) was detected in a star with a magnetic field 300 times more powerful than our Sun, capable of stripping away the atmospheres of planets in its path.

DJI Air 3 (RC-N2)

DJI Air 3 (RC-N2) captures 4K mapping passes and environmental surveys with dual cameras, long flight time, and omnidirectional obstacle sensing.

Euclid peers through a dark cloud’s dusty veil

The Euclid space telescope has begun observing the cosmic dawn in the dusty veil of a nearby dark cloud. Scientists are using this unique opportunity to study the formation and evolution of galaxies.

New image captures spooky bat signal in the sky

A stunning image of a 'cosmic bat' has been captured by the VLT Survey Telescope, featuring large clouds of gas and dust. Located 10,000 light-years away, this stellar nursery is a vast cloud of cosmic material from which stars are born.

Coronal mass ejections at the dawn of the solar system

Researchers from Kyoto University have found multi-temperature coronal mass ejections from a young solar analogue, suggesting frequent strong CMEs could have driven life emergence on early planets. The study used simultaneous space- and ground-based observations to capture hot and cool plasma components.

Nikon Monarch 5 8x42 Binoculars

Nikon Monarch 5 8x42 Binoculars deliver bright, sharp views for wildlife surveys, eclipse chases, and quick star-field scans at dark sites.

Webb Telescope unveils doomed star hidden in dust

A Northwestern University-led team of astronomers used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to capture the most detailed glimpse yet of a doomed star before it exploded. The study reveals that massive red supergiants rarely explode due to thick clouds of dust, but JWST's new capabilities can pierce through the dust to spot these phenomena.

ESA's Gaia telescope discovers our galaxy’s great wave

The Gaia space telescope has discovered a giant wave in the Milky Way galaxy, causing stars to wobble over vast distances. The wave stretches across a huge portion of the galactic disc, affecting stars up to 65 thousand light-years away from the centre.

Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (M4)

Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) runs demanding GIS, imaging, and annotation workflows on the go for surveys, briefings, and lab notebooks.

Mixing neutrinos of colliding neutron stars changes how merger unfolds

Researchers found that neutrino flavor transformations alter the composition and signals of what's left after a neutron star collision, impacting the creation of heavy metals and rare earth elements. The simulations also influenced the matter ejected from the merger and electromagnetic emissions detectable from Earth.

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm)

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm) tracks health metrics and safety alerts during long observing sessions, fieldwork, and remote expeditions.

Fly through Gaia’s 3D map of stellar nurseries

Astronomers used Gaia's data to create the most accurate 3D map of star-forming regions in our galaxy, revealing the location and ionization of hot young stars. The map extends to 4000 light-years from us and includes detailed views of notable nebulae.

Stress & Stars: Two more ERC Starting Grants for ISTA

Two ISTA Assistant Professors, Amelia Douglass and Ylva Götberg, have won 1.5 million euro ERC Starting Grants to explore how animals react to stress and the science behind binary-star stripping. Their research could lead to a better understanding of brain pathways disrupted in humans suffering from anxiety and stress.

UMD-led study discovers warm space dust in distant place

Researchers have discovered warm space dust in a reservoir of hot gas surrounding the Makani galaxy, located 100 million years away. The study, led by University of Maryland astronomer Sylvain Veilleux, provides evidence that ejected dust particles can survive long journeys and may be an important ingredient in planet and star formation.

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation, USB-C)

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation, USB-C) provide clear calls and strong noise reduction for interviews, conferences, and noisy field environments.

Astronomers map stellar ‘polka dots’ using NASA’s Tess, Kepler

Astronomers have devised a method to map the spottiness of distant stars using observations from NASA missions, improving understanding of planetary atmospheres and potential habitability. The new model, called StarryStarryProcess, can help discover more about exoplanet properties.

Dusty structure explains near vanishing of faraway star

Researchers at Ohio State University suggest a large cloud of dust and gas occluded Earth's view of the star ASASSN-24fw, causing its brightness to dim by 97% before brightening again. The team proposes that this disk is likely made up of carbon or water ice close in size to a large grain of dust.

GoPro HERO13 Black

GoPro HERO13 Black records stabilized 5.3K video for instrument deployments, field notes, and outreach, even in harsh weather and underwater conditions.

‘Root beer FLOAT’ burst’s home is located with extraordinary precision

Researchers pinpointed the location of the brightest fast radio burst (FRB) ever recorded, RBFLOAT, to a single spiral arm of a galaxy 130 million light-years away. The precision was achieved using the CHIME/Outrigger array, allowing scientists to explore the environment and potentially shed light on the nature and origins of these mys...

First-of-its-kind supernova reveals innerworkings of a dying star

Astronomers discover stripped-down supernova with unusual chemical signature, providing evidence for the layered structure of stellar giants and unprecedented glimpse into a massive star's interior. The study reveals that stars can lose extensive material before exploding, challenging current theories on stellar evolution.

Feeding massive stars

Researchers at Kyoto University discovered that streamers of gas can feed young stars, potentially leading to the rapid formation of high-mass stars. The team used ALMA to observe a system with two streamers, which carried enough matter to quench feedback effects from the central star.

Sony Alpha a7 IV (Body Only)

Sony Alpha a7 IV (Body Only) delivers reliable low-light performance and rugged build for astrophotography, lab documentation, and field expeditions.

Rare quadruple star system could unlock mystery of brown dwarfs

Astronomers have identified an extremely rare hierarchical quadruple star system consisting of a pair of cold brown dwarfs orbiting two young red dwarf stars. The discovery provides a unique cosmic laboratory for studying these mysterious objects, which are too big to be considered planets but also lack the mass to be full-fledged stars.

Are they star clusters or extreme dwarf galaxies?

A team of astrophysicists from the University of Bonn and Iran has reclassified Ursa Major III as a compact star cluster containing a black hole core. Simulations suggest that the object's high mass-to-light ratio can be explained by the presence of dark stars rather than dark matter.

Gaia’s variable stars: a new map of the stellar life cycle

A team of astronomers has combined cluster and variable star data from the Gaia mission to create a new map of stellar life cycles. The study shows that at least one in five stars in clusters changes brightness over time, with young clusters hosting more variety of variable stars.

'Most massive black hole ever discovered' is detected

Researchers have discovered a potentially massive black hole, 36 billion solar masses, in the Cosmic Horseshoe galaxy. The discovery was made using a combination of gravitational lensing and stellar kinematics, allowing for more certainty about the mass of this black hole than previous measurements.

Astronomers discover star-shredding black holes hiding in dusty galaxies

Researchers have discovered star-shredding black holes in dusty galaxies, confirming that these events are powered by dormant black hole accretion. The study uses the James Webb Space Telescope to detect clear fingerprints of black hole activity in four galaxies, revealing key differences between active and dormant black holes.

Davis Instruments Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Davis Instruments Vantage Pro2 Weather Station offers research-grade local weather data for networked stations, campuses, and community observatories.

Gemini North discovers long-predicted stellar companion of Betelgeuse

The Gemini North telescope has detected the long-predicted companion star of Betelgeuse for the first time. The companion star is six magnitudes fainter than Betelgeuse and has an estimated mass of around 1.5 times that of the Sun, confirming the presence of a stellar companion orbiting the red supergiant.

Clingy planets can trigger own doom, suspect Cheops and TESS

Astronomers detect first-ever evidence of a 'planet with a death wish' as HIP 67522 b orbits extremely close to its host star, triggering flares that erode the planet's atmosphere. The radiation is so intense it causes the planet to shrink and lose mass at an alarming rate.

Garmin GPSMAP 67i with inReach

Garmin GPSMAP 67i with inReach provides rugged GNSS navigation, satellite messaging, and SOS for backcountry geology and climate field teams.

Public take the lead in discovery of new exploding star

Kilonova Seekers, a public participation project, has announced its first major discovery - a bright exploding star named GOTO0650. The team collected highly complete dataset on the star through fast response from volunteers, suggesting it's a period bouncer and rare object to find in wide-field imaging surveys.

CARMENES data: Earth-like planets especially common around low-mass stars

A recent study led by Heidelberg University astronomers has found that Earth-like planets are more common than previously thought around low-mass stars. The research team identified four new exoplanets, with the largest one having a mass 14 times greater than Earth and orbiting its host star in approximately 3.3 years.