A volcano on Hawaii"s Big Island is sacred to spiritual practitioners and treasured by astronomers
Shane Palacat-Nelsen's voice drops to a reverent tone as he tells the story of the snow goddess Poliahu who Native Hawaiians believe inhabits the summit of Mauna Kea, the highest point in Hawaii......»»
TOI-837 b is a young Saturn-sized exoplanet with a massive core, observations find
European astronomers have performed photometric and spectroscopic observations of a distant giant exoplanet known as TOI-837 b. As a result, they found that TOI-837 b is a young Saturn-sized planet containing a massive core, which challenges current.....»»
Remote Lake Superior island wolf numbers are stable but moose population declining, researchers say
Researchers forced to cut short an annual survey of wildlife on a remote Lake Superior island this winter due to unusually warm weather announced Tuesday that they managed to gather data that shows the wolf population is stable......»»
Island raises $175 million at $3 billion valuation
Island announced its $175 million Series D financing. The new funding round brings Island’s valuation to $3 billion, doubling the last valuation from less than a year ago. The round was led by new investor Coatue and existing investor Sequoia Capit.....»»
Researchers explore an old galactic open cluster
Using data from ESA's Gaia satellite, astronomers from Turkey and India have investigated NGC 188—an old open cluster in the Milky Way. Results of the study, published April 19 on the pre-print server arXiv, deliver important insights into the para.....»»
Astronomers" simulations support dark matter theory
Computer simulations by astronomers support the idea that dark matter—matter that no one has yet directly detected but which many physicists think must be there to explain several aspects of the observable universe—exists, according to the resear.....»»
Neutron stars could be capturing primordial black holes
The Milky Way has a missing pulsar problem in its core. Astronomers have tried to explain this for years. One of the more interesting ideas comes from a team of astronomers in Europe and invokes dark matter, neutron stars, and primordial black holes.....»»
Q&A: How to catch a glimpse of a new star about to appear in the night sky
If you peer up at the constellation Corona Borealis—the Northern Crown—over the next several months, you may catch a glimpse: Astronomers predict that sometime this year, a new star will appear in the night sky, growing as bright as the North Sta.....»»
Tidal disruption event ASASSN-19bt experiences unusual radio evolution, observations show
An international team of astronomers has conducted detailed radio and X-ray observations of a tidal disruption event (TDE) designated ASASSN-19bt. Results of the observational campaign, presented April 18 on the pre-print server arXiv, shed more ligh.....»»
Orion"s erupting star system reveals its secrets
An unusual group of stars in the Orion constellation have revealed their secrets. FU Orionis, a double star system, first caught astronomers' attention in 1936 when the central star suddenly became 1,000 times brighter than usual. This behavior, expe.....»»
Mapping the Milky Way"s magnetic field in 3D
We are all very familiar with the concept of the Earth's magnetic field. It turns out that most objects in space have magnetic fields but it's quite tricky to measure them. Astronomers have developed an ingenious way to measure the magnetic field of.....»»
How bad are invasive plants for birds? Research suggests large-scale removal may not have intended benefits
A prevailing opinion in land management is that non-native invasive plants are of no ecological value and they significantly diminish habitat quality for wildlife. Conservation practitioners allocate significant resources to invasive plant removal, o.....»»
Research investigates radio emission of the rotating radio transient RRAT J1854+0306
Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), Chinese astronomers have investigated radio emission from a rotating radio transient known as RRAT J1854+0306. Results of the study, published April 15 on the preprint server arX.....»»
TESS finds its first rogue planet
Well over 5,000 planets have been found orbiting other star systems. One of the satellites hunting for them is TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. Astronomers using TESS think they are made a rather surprising discovery; their first free.....»»
Recently discovered black hole is part of a nearby disrupted star cluster, study finds
European astronomers have investigated a recently detected black hole designated Gaia BH3. In their results, they found that the black hole is associated with a nearby disrupted star cluster known as ED-2. The finding is reported in a paper published.....»»
Plan to kill Catalina Island deer using sharpshooters in copters is opposed by LA County
A plan to kill all the mule deer on Catalina Island using aerial sharpshooters from helicopters was strongly opposed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on April 23......»»
Quakes do not kill people, bad buildings do
Early on Tuesday (April 23), Taiwan was hit by a series of earthquakes with the highest magnitude at 6.3. The latest tremor came less than three weeks after a magnitude 7.4 quake hit the island, damaging more than 100 buildings and trapping dozens of.....»»
Black hole "traffic jams" discovered in galactic centers by astronomers
An international study, led by researchers from Monash University, has revealed crucial insights into black hole dynamics within massive disks at the centers of galaxies......»»
Star bars show universe"s early galaxies evolved much faster than previously thought
The universe's early galaxies were less chaotic and developed much faster than previously thought, according to new research looking back more than ten billion years in time. An international team of astronomers led by Durham University, UK, has used.....»»
Taiwan hit by dozens of strong aftershocks from deadly quake
Taiwan was shaken by dozens of earthquakes overnight and into Tuesday that left buildings swaying and some tilting, with the government saying they were aftershocks from a huge deadly quake that hit the island more than two weeks ago......»»
Observations explore globular cluster system in the galaxy NGC 4262
Using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), Indian astronomers have performed wide and deep field observations of a polar ring galaxy known as NGC 4262. Results of the observational campaign, published April 15 on the pre-print server arXiv, she.....»»