Astronomers want your help hunting for asteroids
Anyone can become an asteroid hunter thanks to a new program launched by astronomers at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. As part of the Catalina Sky Survey, the scientists created an online portal that opens their mission—t.....»»
JWST observations find water for the first time in the inner disk around a young star with giant planets
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, the MPIA-led MINDS research collaboration discovered water in the inner region of a disk of gas and dust around the young star PDS 70. Astronomers expect terrestrial planets to be forming in that zone. This is th.....»»
Weird white dwarf is hydrogen on one side and helium on the other
Recently astronomers discovered a very unusual example of a white dwarf: one that seems to have one side composed of hydrogen and the other side of helium......»»
Nearby Supernova Gives Unique View of a Dying Star"s Last Days
Astronomers are piecing together the final moments of supernova 2023ixf and learning more about it than any other in recent history.....»»
NASA"s ComPair gamma-ray hunting mission prepares for balloon flight
Engineers and scientists have shipped NASA's ComPair instrument to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, ahead of its scheduled August flight early in NASA's 2023 fall balloon campaign......»»
This white dwarf star has two “faces”
One side is all helium, and the other side is all hydrogen, baffling astronomers. Astronomers have discovered an unusual blue-tinted white dwarf star with two distinct "faces": one side is hydrogen and the oth.....»»
NASA"s IXPE fires up astronomers with new blazar findings
The universe is full of powerful supermassive black holes that create powerful jets of high-energy particles, creating sources of extreme brightness in the vastness of space. When one of those jets points directly at Earth, scientists call the black.....»»
Hubble sees boulders escaping from asteroid Dimorphos
Wayward asteroids present a real collision hazard to Earth. Scientists estimate that an asteroid measuring several miles across smashed into Earth 65 million years ago and wiped out the dinosaurs, among other forms of life, in a mass extinction. Unli.....»»
New "super-Earth" orbiting M-dwarf star discovered
An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of a new "super-Earth" exoplanet with NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The newfound alien world, designated TOI-1680 b, is about 50% larger than the Earth and orbits an M-.....»»
Scientists one step closer to understanding unexplainable ghost stars in the Milky Way
For over a decade, astronomers have been baffled by ghost stars in the Milky Way. These planetary nebulae, as they are more formally known, were … The post Scientists one step closer to understanding unexplainable ghost stars in the Milky Way a.....»»
Astronomers spot first evidence of two planets sharing the same orbit
Two planets in one orbit? It could be possible, according to new research looking at planetary system PDS 70......»»
Astronomers find new type of stellar object that challenges understanding of neutron star physics
An international team led by astronomers from the Curtin University node of the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) has discovered a new type of stellar object that challenges our understanding of the physics of neutron stars......»»
Two-faced star exposed: Unusual white dwarf with a hydrogen side and a helium side
In a first for white dwarfs, the burnt-out cores of dead stars, astronomers have discovered that at least one member of this cosmic family is two faced. One side of the white dwarf is composed of hydrogen, while the other is made up of helium......»»
VERA unveils surroundings of rapidly growing black holes
An international team of astronomers used the state-of-the-art capability of VERA, a Japanese network of radio telescopes operated by NAOJ, to uncover valuable clues about how rapidly growing "young" supermassive black holes form, grow, and possibly.....»»
Astronomers investigate recent star formation history of the Fireworks Galaxy
Astronomers from the University of Washington in Seattle and elsewhere have conducted Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of the nearby Fireworks Galaxy. Results of the observational campaign, presented July 10 on the preprint server arXiv, yie.....»»
Does this exoplanet have a "sibling" sharing the same orbit?
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have found the possible "sibling" of a planet orbiting a distant star. The team has detected a cloud of debris that might be sharing this planet's orbit, which they believe co.....»»
NASA starts building ice-hunting Moon rover
VIPER is NASA’s first rover that needs headlights. Enlarge / Artist's concept of the VIPER rover working in lunar darkness. (credit: NASA/Daniel Rutter) The search for ice at the Moon’s poles has loomed large in the.....»»
New tidal disruption event discovered by Chinese astronomers
Astronomers from the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei report the discovery of a new faint tidal disruption event (TDE). The newfound TDE, designated AT 2023clx is the faintest and closest optical TDE so far detected. The finding.....»»
Astronomers discover striking evidence of "unusual" stellar evolution
Astronomers have found evidence that some stars boast unexpectedly strong surface magnetic fields, a discovery that challenges current models of how they evolve......»»
Astronomers explore the chromosphere of peculiar white dwarfs
Using the 3.6-m New Technology Telescope (NTT) at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, astronomers have observed three peculiar white dwarfs of the DAHe subtype. In their results, they found dipolar chromospheres in two of these objects. The findings w.....»»
Astronomers observe subpulse drifting and nulling of pulsar PSR J0026–1955
Using the upgraded Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (uGMRT), astronomers from India and Australia have performed radio observations of a pulsar known as PSR J0026–1955. Results of the observational campaign, published July 5 on the preprint server a.....»»