Articles tagged with Stars
Astronomers detected methanol, dimethyl ether, and methyl formate in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a chemically primitive galaxy. The findings suggest that complex organic molecules can form in early galaxies, potentially leading to life.
A new theory from Northwestern University predicts that molecules are not survivors but brand-new molecules formed in the winds with unique properties. These new molecules can thrive in the hostile environment of black hole winds.
A team of scientists has solved a puzzle in astrochemistry by developing a way to measure magnetic fields in space using methanol. The new method, published in Nature Astronomy, gives astronomers a new tool to investigate how massive stars form.
A team of astronomers found fullerenes in the interstellar medium using data from the VLT telescope. The discovery could lead to breakthroughs in producing these carbon nanostructures, which are currently expensive and produced in limited quantities.
Astronomers discovered a 'hot Jupiter' with westward winds, defying theory. The planet's atmosphere may interact with its magnetic field or be affected by clouds, raising new questions about the phenomenon.
Astronomers have identified benzonitrile, a specific aromatic molecule, in a cold molecular cloud of the Taurus region using radio spectroscopy. This finding provides insights into the composition of interstellar material and its potential incorporation into new stars and planets.
The Dark Energy Survey has publicly released its first three years of data, containing information on 400 million astronomical objects, including distant galaxies and stars in the Milky Way. The dataset also reveals 11 new stellar streams, remnants of smaller galaxies torn apart by the Milky Way.
The James Webb Space Telescope underwent critical cryogenic testing inside Chamber A at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, ensuring it will safely reach its orbit and perform its science mission. The telescope was subjected to a range of tests, including alignment checks and simulations of starlight detection.
The discovery of eleven new stellar streams in the Milky Way confirms its role as a cosmic melting pot, with stars originating from other galaxies. The Dark Energy Survey data, made publicly available, enabled the detection of these streams, which provide evidence for the galaxy's history of migration events.
A recent study published in The Astronomical Journal found that exoplanets orbiting the same star are often similar in size and have regular orbital spacing. This pattern could suggest that most planetary systems have a different formation history than our solar system.
Researchers found supermassive black holes prevent star formation in smaller galaxies by driving powerful winds that heat gas, quenching the process. This discovery sheds light on how dwarf galaxies, composed of up to 100 million stars, evolve and affects our understanding of galaxy evolution.
A new study published in Nature shows that the mass of a galaxy's central black hole determines when its star formation history stops. The study found a continuous interplay between black hole activity and star formation throughout a galaxy's life, with bigger black holes quenching star formation faster.
The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) will generate never-before-seen big pictures of the universe, enabling astronomers to explore mysteries like dark energy and galaxy evolution. The mission will also discover thousands of exoplanets, including rocky planets in the habitable zone.
Researchers at UNIGE detected an exoplanet with a highly inclined orbit around a red dwarf star, evading circular motion and instead following a polar path. This unusual behavior is attributed to the presence of an unknown companion planet that disturbs its path.
A new study reveals that younger readers are spending nearly twice as much time reading print newspapers as they do online. Despite the rise of digital distribution, the young are actually spending less time with newspaper brands overall, with a 40% drop in attention from younger and middle-aged readers since the turn of the millennium.
Researchers found a strong inverse relation between magnetic field strength and star formation rate in molecular cloud complexes. This suggests that magnetic fields slow down or stop the collapse of gas clouds to form stars, leading to fewer massive stars in galaxy centers.
Astronomers used Hubble and Gaia data to directly measure the 3D motions of stars in the Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy, achieving accuracy better than previous measurements. The results provide insights into dark matter distribution and test the cosmological model.
Astronomers study distant galaxy's gravitational lensing, revealing smaller-than-thought giant clumps. Groundbreaking observations and simulations confirm turbulent nature of distant galaxies.
Researchers have observed the formation of aluminum oxide dust around an AGB star, providing insight into wind acceleration. The team discovered that AlO was distributed within three stellar radii, while SiO remained gaseous beyond five stellar radii.
Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis and University of Rochester use quantum mechanics to measure frequency with unprecedented accuracy, reducing uncertainty by a factor of 100. This breakthrough has potential applications in various fields, including MRI medical imaging, navigation, and astronomy.
Galaxies moving through 'cosmic web' filaments may have altered star formation rates due to compressed gas. The team will use multiple telescopes to observe neutral hydrogen and molecular gas in galaxies as they travel along filaments, aiming to determine if the amount of fuel for star formation is less abundant.
Astronomers have discovered a new insight into how planets form, using high-powered telescopes to target the star V1247 Orionis. The team found a dust-trapping vortex that could protect sites of planet formation, allowing dust particles to clump together and grow.
Researchers found that atomic hydrogen makes up a majority of gas in younger galaxies, contradicting expectations. This discovery has significant implications for our understanding of the early Universe and the role of cold gas in star formation.
Researchers have discovered Freon-40, an organohalogen, around two celestial objects: an infant star and a comet. The finding suggests that these molecules may form readily in stellar nurseries, providing insights into the chemical evolution of planetary systems.
Astronomers have detected Freon-40, an organohalogen compound, around an infant star and a comet using ALMA and Rosetta. This finding suggests that organohalogens may be significant components of planetary formation materials, rather than indicators of life.
Researchers used super-computer simulations to recreate the formation of a massive black hole from supersonic gas streams left over from the Big Bang. The study suggests these black holes could be the source of the largest and oldest super-massive black holes in the Universe, posing a challenge to existing theories.
KFU astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a red giant star HD208897, located 210 light years away from Earth. The planet has a mass of 1.4 Jupiter masses and an orbital period of 353 days, marking the first time in Russian astronomy such a discovery was made using spectroscopic methods.
A team of astronomers observed distant galaxies 11 billion light-years away and found that active star formation can upswell galaxies, changing their shape. This suggests that galaxies can form new shapes without colliding with other galaxies.
The ALMA study reveals dense shock waves and vast turbulent reservoirs of cool, low-density gas surrounding starburst galaxies. These reservoirs are thought to be driven by galactic winds, extending the starburst phase instead of quenching it.
Researchers demonstrated a region of very deep contrast between a simulated star and its planet, achieving an 18% bandpass. This milestone is crucial for future missions like WFIRST to detect and analyze the atmospheres of giant planets.
Researchers have developed a new algorithm to enhance observations from the Kepler Space Telescope and perform detailed studies of stellar variability. The technique, called halo photometry, reveals pulsations in B-type stars with day-long periods, offering insights into poorly understood processes in their cores.
The Kepler Space Telescope's K2 Mission has observed detailed variations in the brightness of stars in the Seven Sisters star cluster. The team developed a new algorithm to measure relative changes in brightness, overcoming instrumental effects and revealing slow-pulsating B stars.
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will identify over 20,000 extrasolar planets, including Earth-sized and 'super Earth' planets. The satellite's four cameras have been mounted onto the camera plate and successfully demonstrated operation with the flight computer.
The study found that gas-rich galaxies in a cluster are located in the outer part of the cluster. This is the first time such a location differentiation has been observed in a galaxy cluster. The researchers believe that gas loss prevents star formation, leading to a decline in stellar birthrate over time.
Astronomers at the University of Iowa suggest quasars could be responsible for the extinction of dusty starburst galaxies. The study found four galaxies with visible quasars, which could indicate that every dusty starburst galaxy hosts a quasar.
Researchers at Northwestern University discovered that up to half of the Milky Way's matter may have originated from distant galaxies through intergalactic transfer. This phenomenon, identified in simulations, shows that gas flows from smaller galaxies to larger ones, such as the Milky Way, forming stars.
A team of researchers has made the best measurement yet of molecular gas, a raw material for star formation, in three massive galaxy clusters in the early universe. The study found that cluster galaxies have more fuel available to form stars than previously thought.
A team of scientists from Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias discovered a very distant galaxy, some 10 thousand million light years away, about a thousand times brighter than the Milky Way. The galaxy is notable for having a high rate of star formation, forming stars at a rate of 1000 solar masses per year.
Located close to the Milky Way, IC 342 is a sweeping spiral galaxy with an active core. The Hubble Space Telescope image reveals a mixture of hot star-forming regions, cooler gas, and dark dust lanes around the bright core, indicating the presence of ionized hydrogen.
Researchers at Yale University have discovered 60 new potential 'hot Jupiters,' gas giant planets that orbit extremely close to their stars. The discovery was made possible by a novel application of machine learning algorithms and the analysis of more than 140,000 star observations from NASA's Kepler mission.
A new extinct species, 'Archaeoteleia astropulvis', a 100-million-year-old fossil wasp, has been named after David Bowie's alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The discovery highlights the importance of understanding extant fauna to interpret fossils.
Researchers used ALMA to map the magnetic field surrounding a young protostar, finding it was surprisingly weak and wildly disorganized. This discovery suggests that the impact of magnetic fields on star formation is more complex than previously thought.
Astronomers using ALMA have detected the rotation of a massive baby star's outflow, shedding light on how rotational momentum is dissipated. The observation confirms the 'magnetocentrifugal disk wind model,' which suggests that gas in the rotating disk moves outward and upward to form outflows.
Astronomers have captured unique close-up views of the universe's brightest infrared galaxies, which are as much as 10,000 times more luminous than our Milky Way. The galaxies' star-birth production is 5,000 to 10,000 times higher than that of our Milky Way.
A team of astronomers discovered a new kind of galaxy that formed less than a billion years after the Big Bang, creating stars more than 100 times faster than our Milky Way. This find solves a long-standing puzzle of how massive galaxies came to have hundreds of billions of stars when they formed so quickly.
The Gruber Foundation has awarded $1.5 million to three top scientists for their groundbreaking work in cosmology, genetics and neuroscience. Sandra Faber, Stephen Elledge, and Joshua Sanes have been recognized for their pioneering research on galaxy structure, DNA damage response pathway, and synapse formation.
Astronomers have discovered a new gas giant, KELT-11b, with an incredibly low density similar to styrofoam, offering opportunities to test atmospheres and assess habitability. The planet's large atmosphere will aid in developing techniques to identify chemicals and products of life.
The Royal Astronomical Society has funded five public engagement projects to promote astronomy and space science, including tactile stargazing for blind people and adventures in space for girls. The projects aim to increase interest and participation in these fields, particularly among underrepresented groups.
Astronomers have found clear signs of water in the atmosphere of HAT-P-26b, a Neptune-sized exoplanet. The presence of water suggests that the planet's gaseous envelope formed late in its formation process, with little to no pollution by impacting debris.
A team of researchers mimics the vibrant color of Stellar's jay bird plumage and demonstrates a new way to control light interaction with materials. The development could lead to engineering new materials for solar cells, camouflage, and more.
The VISTA survey has imaged millions of stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud, revealing surprising results about star formation history and structure. Most SMC stars formed relatively recently, unlike those in larger galaxies.
The Cerro Chajnantor Atacama Telescope (CCAT-prime) will be the highest telescope of its kind, allowing scientists to study the formation of stars and galaxies in unprecedented detail. With a diameter of six meters and location at an altitude of 5,612 meters, CCAT-prime aims to solve the mystery of dark matter and dark energy.
Researchers develop an iterative simulation model that accurately predicts changes to line shape in strong plasma turbulence, providing a system for assessing plasma turbulence. The study finds that the width of hydrogen lines increases in presence of strong turbulence, with oscillating waves at plasma frequency.
Astronomers have observed stars forming within powerful outflows of material blasted out from supermassive black holes. The discovery provides new insights into galaxy properties and evolution, shedding light on how galaxies obtain their shapes and become enriched with heavy elements.
Researchers used ALMA to detect emissions from two distant galaxies, revealing massive, dusty systems with high star formation rates and extended layers of gas. The galaxies are embedded in a large halo or disk of neutral hydrogen gas, indicating rapid growth and evolution.
Researchers detect 75% of a typical galaxy's star formation obscured by dust, revealing surprising findings about the early universe. The Large Millimeter Telescope allows for deeper observations, pushing our knowledge of dust production and metal enrichment over cosmic time.
Astronomers have observed a striking spiral pattern in the gas surrounding LL Pegasi and its companion star, shedding light on the final act of a dying red giant star. The observations suggest that a highly elliptical orbit is responsible for the shape of the gaseous emissions.
Researchers discovered a supermassive black hole 'choking' on stellar debris, producing small fluctuations in the energy emitted by the flare. The study provides insight into how black holes grow and evolve, offering a potential window into hidden black holes.
Researchers have discovered young stars in old star clusters, suggesting that our current models of stellar evolution may be incorrect. This finding could mean that star clusters contain multiple generations of stars.
A new study found that gravitational waves detected by LIGO likely originated from black holes formed during star collapse, rather than primordial black holes. The research used computer simulations to rule out the existence of intermediate-mass primordial black holes.