Astronomers scrutinize scorching-hot exoplanet
An international team led by Stefan Pelletier, a Ph.D. student at Université de Montréal's Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets have made a detailed study of the extremely hot giant exoplanet WASP-76 b......»»
Globular cluster NGC 6558 explored with Gemini Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope
Using the Gemini Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), an international team of astronomers has investigated a Galactic globular cluster known as NGC 6558. Results of the new study, published July 22 on the pre-print server arXiv, deliver.....»»
Astronomers find first emission spectra in brightest GRB of all time
Chance that first detected emission line is a noise fluctuation is one in half a billion. Enlarge / A jet of particles moving at nearly light-speed emerges from a massive star in this artist’s concept of the BOAT. (credit: NASA.....»»
Fermi Telescope finds new feature in brightest gamma-ray burst yet seen
In October 2022, astronomers were stunned by what was quickly dubbed the BOAT—the brightest-of-all-time gamma-ray burst (GRB). Now an international science team reports that data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope reveals a feature never s.....»»
Webb directly images giant exoplanet that isn’t where it should be
Six times bigger than Jupiter, the planet is the oldest and coldest yet imaged. Enlarge / Image of Epsilon Indi A at two wavelengths, with the position of its host star indicated by an asterisk. (credit: T. Müller (MPIA/HdA), E......»»
Webb images nearest super-Jupiter, opening a new window to exoplanet research
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an MPIA-led team of astronomers imaged a new exoplanet that orbits a star in the nearby triple system Epsilon Indi. The planet is a cold super-Jupiter exhibiting a temperature of around 0 degrees Celsius a.....»»
Effects of stellar magnetism could expand criteria for exoplanet habitability
Interest in Earth-like planets orbiting within the habitable zone of their host stars has surged, driven by the quest to discover life beyond our solar system. But the habitability of such planets, known as exoplanets, is influenced by more than just.....»»
Astronomers discover technique to spot AI fakes using galaxy-measurement tools
Researchers use technique to quantify eyeball reflections that often reveal deepfake images. Enlarge / Researchers write, "In this image, the person on the left (Scarlett Johansson) is real, while the person on the right is AI-ge.....»»
Saturday Citations: Scientists study monkey faces and cat bellies; another intermediate black hole in the Milky Way
This is not a rerun of last week's roundup; another group of astronomers found a second intermediate-mass black hole in the Milky Way and I can't avoid highlighting it. They're cool! They may have formed in the primordial universe, they comprise the.....»»
Introducing Ramses, ESA"s 2029 mission to asteroid Apophis
Thirty years ago, on 16 July 1994, astronomers watched in awe as the first of many pieces of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet slammed into Jupiter with incredible force. The event sparked intense interest in the field of planetary defense as people asked:.....»»
Using AI to scrutinize and validate theories on animal evolution
By harnessing the power of machine learning, researchers have constructed a framework for analyzing what factors most significantly contribute to a species' genetic diversity......»»
One half of this wild exoplanet reaches temperatures of 1,450 degrees Fahrenheit
On the planet WASP-39 b, one side is in perpetual morning and the other is in perpetual evening......»»
"It"s unbearable": heat waves scorch southern and eastern Europe
Unrelenting heat is blanketing swathes of southern and eastern Europe, with dozens of cities on red alert as scorching temperatures fuel wildfires, strain power grids, and make daily life unbearable......»»
Observations detect a nearby hypervelocity stellar/substellar object
Using the Keck II telescope, astronomers have detected an object that may be a brown dwarf or a low-mass star, exhibiting a very high radial velocity. The object, designated CWISE J124909.08+362116.0 is located some 400 light years away. The finding.....»»
Exoplanet-hunting telescope to begin search for another Earth in 2026
Europe's next big space mission—a telescope that will hunt for Earth-like rocky planets outside of our solar system—is on course to launch at the end of 2026......»»
Discovery alert: With six new exoplanets, 5,500 discovery milestone passed
On Aug. 24, 2023, more than three decades after the first confirmation of planets beyond our own solar system, scientists announced the discovery of six new exoplanets, stretching that number to 5,502. From zero exoplanet confirmations to more than 5.....»»
Astronomers spot a "highly eccentric" planet on its way to becoming a hot Jupiter
Hot Jupiters are some of the most extreme planets in the galaxy. These scorching worlds are as massive as Jupiter, and they swing wildly close to their star, whirling around in a few days compared to our own gas giant's leisurely 4,000-day orbit arou.....»»
Exoplanet caught in "hairpin turn" signals how high-mass gas giants form
Astronomers have discovered a planet that has the most oblong orbit ever found among transiting planets. The exoplanet's extreme circuit—which looks closer to a cucumber than a circle—follows one of the most drastically stretched-out orbits of al.....»»
Astronomers detect dozens of new pulsating white dwarfs
Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers have detected 32 new bright pulsating DA white dwarfs of the ZZ Ceti subclass. The finding was reported in a research paper published July 9 on the pre-print server arXiv......»»
Astronomers discover what may be 21 neutron stars orbiting sun-like stars
Most stars in our universe come in pairs. While our own sun is a loner, many stars like our sun orbit similar stars, while a host of other exotic pairings between stars and cosmic orbs pepper the universe. Black holes, for example, are often found or.....»»
Telescope tag-team discovers 10 strange and exotic pulsars
Towards the center of our Milky Way galaxy, in the constellation Sagittarius, astronomers have discovered 10 monstrous neutron stars. These particular stars, called pulsars, reside together in globular cluster Terzan 5, a crowded home for hundreds of.....»»