Articles tagged with Stars
The HERA team has improved the sensitivity of a radio telescope, allowing them to detect radio waves from the cosmic dawn era. The data suggests that early galaxies contained few elements besides hydrogen and helium, unlike modern galaxies.
Astronomers have discovered a massive, runaway black hole that has left behind a never-before-seen trail of newborn stars. The black hole, weighing as much as 20 million Suns, is plowing into gas to trigger new star formation along a narrow corridor.
A new study by EPFL researchers has calibrated the best cosmic yardsticks to unprecedented accuracy, further amplifying the Hubble tension. The Hubble constant is measured in kilometers per second per megaparsec and has puzzled astrophysicists and cosmologists worldwide.
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.
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 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.
A recent experiment by UC Riverside astrophysicist Stephen Kane demonstrates that a terrestrial planet in this location would have disastrous effects on the solar system. The simulation found that such a planet could destabilize Earth's orbit, making it far less habitable and potentially ejecting Mercury and Venus from the solar system.
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 at Osaka Metropolitan University used AI to create a detailed map of star birthplaces in the Milky Way Galaxy. The team identified 140,000 molecular clouds and estimated their distance, size, and mass with high accuracy.
A team of astronomers discovered a spiral pattern in the disk around a high-mass protostar, indicating gravitational instability. The pattern revealed episodic growth bursts, a key aspect of high-mass star formation theory.
A team of scientists observed the dynamic formation process of interstellar gas clouds, revealing speeds of up to 20 km/s that compress gas into denser regions where massive stars form. The findings challenge previous assumptions of slow and quasi-static star formation processes in this region.
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.
Astronomers have cataloged over 51,863 Lyman-alpha-emitting galaxies, 123,891 star-forming galaxies, and 4,976 active galactic nuclei using HETDEX's spectroscopic data. The survey is a non-targeted, moon-sized survey that collects spectra from 35,000 fiber optic cables, providing a unique dataset for future galaxy mapping.
The James Webb Space Telescope has enabled the detection of compact structures of star clusters inside galaxies, known as clumps. Researchers have studied the link between clump formation and galaxy growth in distant galaxies, providing new insights into the early stages of galaxy formation.
Scientists discover first gamma-ray eclipses from spider star systems using Fermi data, calculating system tilt and pulsar mass. The discovery helps researchers measure pulsar masses, constraining physics within extreme environments.
Researchers utilized the James Webb Space Telescope to observe dense interstellar clouds, revealing a treasure trove of pristine ices from the early universe. The study provides new insights into chemical processes in one of the coldest places in the universe, offering clues on molecular origins and sulfur storage.
A worldwide Citizen Science project has collected data on light pollution over eleven years, revealing a faster decline in star visibility than previously thought. The rate of change is attributed to increased sky brightness, with dramatic consequences for stargazing and astronomy.
Researchers found that the stellar initial mass function varies with metallicity and age of stars, affecting galaxy formation and chemical enrichment estimates. The study used LAMOST telescope data to count red dwarf stars and measure their metallicity, revealing a variable abundance of low-mass stars in the Milky Way.
RIT Professor Roger Easton and his team used multispectral imaging to reveal detailed drawings on an ancient Greek palimpsest, reconstructing Hipparchus' Star Catalogue. The discovery showcases the technique's growing role in historical preservation, with RIT supporting locations across US and Europe.
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.
Researchers at Hokkaido University have discovered a new pathway to forming presolar grains, which could help scientists better understand the interstellar environment and develop more efficient nanoparticles. The study suggests that these grains formed through a non-classical nucleation pathway, involving three distinct steps.
Astronomers using Hubble observed a star's final moments as it was gobbled up by a black hole, creating a donut-shaped torus. The event provides forensic clues to the black hole homicide, with details on the debris's behavior and the accretion rate.
Researchers observed a sudden slowing of the star's angular momentum, followed by three Fast Radio Burst-like radio bursts and a month-long episode of pulsed radio emission. The synchronicity of these events suggests an association between magnetar spin-down glitches and radio emissions.
The Butterfly Nebula's unique shape is caused by a second star orbiting the central star, creating wing-like lobes. New research reveals powerful winds are altering the material within these lobes, contradicting existing models of planetary nebulae formation and evolution.
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.
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.
Researchers have discovered a supernova with strong features of oxygen and magnesium, suggesting the explosion could be crashing into circumstellar matter formed around 1,000 days prior to the event. This finding provides new insights into the later stages of massive star life and creates challenges for current theories on star evolution.
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.
Researchers used variable stars as standard candles to measure galactic distances, tracing the outer limits of the Milky Way's halo. The study confirms theoretical estimates and provides a powerful tool for studying the galaxy's size and mass.
The Hubble Space Telescope has shed new light on the mystery of intracluster light, finding that these stars have been wandering around for billions of years. The survey suggests that these stars were already homeless in the early stages of the cluster's formation, and current theories cannot explain their origin.
Researchers at RIT have made a groundbreaking discovery confirming the light emitted by stars outside our galaxy is two to three times brighter than previously thought. This finding suggests a possible absence of optical light sources in the universe, potentially changing our understanding of how it formed over time.
Researchers found that 24% of surveyed red giants experienced structural discontinuities, affecting their oscillations and star's internal composition. The study aims to refine stellar models and uncover the history of the universe through detailed stellar fossil records.
Astronomers used the Webb Space Telescope's near-infrared camera to analyze images of the Cosmic Cliffs region in NGC 3324. The discovery reveals telltale signs from two dozen previously unseen young stars, with many appearing to be protostars that will eventually become low-mass stars like Earth's sun.
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.
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.
Chinese astronomers have discovered that optical variability in emission-line galaxies (ELGs) is likely caused by star-formation activity rather than supermassive black holes. By analyzing images of ELGs from the COSMOS field, researchers found less than 3% show significant variability.
Astronomers have made the first-ever discovery of a rare cosmic 'lunch' involving a black hole devouring a nearby star and releasing relativistic jets further out into the universe. The event, AT2022cmc, was detected using a novel data-crunching method that quickly identified it in ZTF survey data.
Astronomers have detected the most distant black hole swallowing a star, with the event occurring one-third of its current age. The discovery was made using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) and provides new insights into these extreme events.
Researchers have detected intra-group light, a faint glow between distant galaxies, and studied its properties. The stars in this light are younger and less metal-rich than surrounding galaxies, suggesting they were stripped from their home galaxies by massive satellite galaxies.
A new study has revealed the true shape of the diffuse cloud of stars surrounding the disk of our galaxy, with the stellar halo found to be oblong and tilted. The findings shed light on the history of our galaxy and galactic evolution, while also offering clues in the ongoing hunt for dark matter.
Astronomers have discovered the closest-known black hole to Earth, a dormant stellar-mass black hole located about 1600 light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus. This discovery was made possible by precise observations of the motion of the black hole's companion star using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph instrument.
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.
Researchers developed a new technique using femtosecond laser pulses to fabricate precision ultrathin mirrors for space telescopes. The method can help correct errors in mirror fabrication and enable sharper images of astronomical x-rays.
Researchers at Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Montpellier have developed an early warning system for massive star supernovae. These stars will suddenly dim by a factor of 100 in visible light as they accumulate material around them, forming a 'cocoon' that obscures their light.
Astronomers have observed dust plumes from the binary star system WR140 being accelerated into interstellar space by intense starlight. The team used the James Webb Space Telescope to capture images of the dusty plumes, which form a cone-shaped shock front between the two stars.
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 found that dark matter halos in ultra-diffuse galaxies have lower concentrations than expected, raising questions about their formation and evolution. The study's surprising results indicate these galaxies may be younger and contain more gas than normal galaxies.
Researchers have discovered young stars spiraling into the center of a massive cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. The spiral motion is thought to be feeding star formation in a river-like motion of gas and stars, an efficient way to fuel star birth.
Researchers propose using precision data from upcoming experiments to test the cosmological collider effect and unravel the mystery of matter's origin. They suggest that leptogenesis, a well-known mechanism, could be used to explain the imbalance between matter and antimatter in the early universe.
Researchers detected a bipolar gas stream flowing out of a young stellar object in the Small Magellanic Cloud, revealing a rotational motion suppressed by molecular outflow during gravitational contraction. This finding suggests that star formation has been common throughout the past 10 billion years.
Scientists discovered that the galaxy stopped forming stars because most of its gas fuel was thrown out of the system as it merged with another galaxy. The result is a first for ALMA scientists and challenges long-held theories about galaxy mergers and deaths.
Researchers use Gemini Observatory's Zorro instrument to observe R136a1, finding it may be less massive than previously thought, potentially altering understanding of element formation. This breakthrough pushes the capabilities of ground-based telescopes, rivaling those of Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes.
Researchers used Stampede2 supercomputer to simulate star seeding, heating effects of primordial black holes. The study found that these two effects cancel each other out, with little impact on star formation.
Researchers from the University of Bonn found that dwarf galaxies in one of Earth's nearest galaxy clusters show signs of disturbance without dark matter halos. The study's results contradict previous models, suggesting an alternative gravity theory might be more accurate.
Astronomers have found that short gamma-ray bursts did not originate as castaways, but instead occurred in distant galaxies up to 10 billion light-years away. The discovery suggests that these events may have been more common in the past than expected and could have seeded the Universe with precious metals.
A UMass Amherst undergraduate student's work has provided key insight into how galaxies evolve, linking supermassive black hole growth to star formation. The study uses mid-infrared spectra to quantify the connection between these phenomena, paving the way for the James Webb Space Telescope to investigate galaxy evolution.
A new Caltech project, COMAP, will peer beneath the 'tip of the iceberg' of galaxies to unveil a hidden era of star formation. The project aims to answer questions about what caused the universe's rapid increase in star production.
Astronomers discovered five isolated 'blue blob' systems containing young, blue stars and little atomic hydrogen gas. The presence of mostly young stars and lack of gas suggests recent gas loss, contradicting expectations of older red stars.
Researchers used ALMA to study 30 Doradus, a large star-forming region in the LMC, and discovered that gravity is shaping molecular clouds despite intense stellar feedback. The observations revealed a pattern of highly organized filaments, which are likely an important step in the process of star formation.
Scientists have discovered a new multiplanet system about 33 light-years from Earth, featuring two rocky, Earth-sized planets. The inner planet orbits every 2.8 days and is twice as massive as the Earth, while the outer planet orbits every 5.7 days and is three times as massive.