Can JWST see galaxies made of primordial stars?
All stars are composed of mostly hydrogen and helium, but most stars also have measurable amounts of heavier elements, which astronomers lump into the category of "metals." Our sun has more metals than most stars because the nebula from which it form.....»»
Following a star: Study explores the remarkable ways traditional cultures use their environment to navigate
A study has shed new light on remarkable feats of navigation from cultures across the world: from sailors in the Marshall Islands using wave patterns to navigate the vast Pacific Ocean to indigenous communities in Alaska using stars to find their way.....»»
Analysis finds that organic compounds in asteroids likely formed in colder regions of space
Analysis of organic compounds—called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)—extracted from the Ryugu asteroid and Murchison meteorite has found that certain PAHs likely formed in the cold areas of space between stars rather than in hot regions n.....»»
Research team models different signatures of a kilonova explosion simultaneously for the first time
Neutron stars are the end products of massive stars and gather together a large part of the original stellar mass in a super-dense star with a diameter of only around ten kilometers. On 17 August 2017, researchers observed the manifold signatures of.....»»
Webb spots a second lensed supernova in a distant galaxy
In November 2023, the James Webb Space Telescope observed a massive cluster of galaxies named MACS J0138.0-2155. Through an effect called gravitational lensing, first predicted by Albert Einstein, a distant galaxy named MRG-M0138 appears warped by th.....»»
Galaxy-scale winds spotted in the distant Universe
These winds can drive gas out of galaxies, shaping their future evolution. Enlarge / X-ray emissions (purple) superimposed on a visible light image of a galaxy shows the galaxy winds being launched. (credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/The O.....»»
New 1.5-billion-pixel image shows Running Chicken Nebula in unprecedented detail
While many holiday traditions involve feasts of turkey, soba noodles, latkes or Pan de Pascua, this year, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is bringing you a holiday chicken. The so-called Running Chicken Nebula, home to young stars in the maki.....»»
Mapping out star formation in the famous Whirlpool Galaxy
Scientists are turning to the beautiful and famous Whirlpool Galaxy to detect areas where stars could eventually be born......»»
Astronomers scan hundreds of stars for "anomalous transits"
Telescopes have been collecting copious amounts of data on exoplanets in recent years. One of the most common datasets tracks what are known as transits, when an exoplanet crosses in front of its host star and dims the star's light slightly as it doe.....»»
NGC 2264: Telescopes illuminate "Christmas tree cluster"
This new image of NGC 2264, also known as the "Christmas Tree Cluster," shows the shape of a cosmic tree with the glow of stellar lights. NGC 2264 is, in fact, a cluster of young stars—with ages between about one and five million years old—in our.....»»
NASA"s GUSTO prepares to map space between the stars
On a vast ice sheet in Antarctica, scientists and engineers are preparing a NASA experiment called GUSTO to explore the universe on a balloon. GUSTO will launch from the Ross Ice Shelf, near the U.S. National Science Foundation's McMurdo Station rese.....»»
Dark matter might be keeping an even darker secret
Researchers compare a theorized behavior of dark matter to actual galaxies. Enlarge / A compact dwarf galaxy, which may have features that are difficult to explain with standard models of dark matter. (credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA).....»»
Photonic crystals could be exactly what Breakthrough Starshot is looking for
Light sail technology is a fascinating concept and a step change in rocket propulsion. It may not be big and impressive like the Saturn V, the Space Shuttle or the new Starship rocket but when it comes to traveling among the stars, light sails could.....»»
5 best Christmas movies on Disney+ you should watch
These are the best Christmas movies to watch on Disney+, with everything from Stars Wars to Marvel, The Santa Clause, and more......»»
Astronomers look billions of years into the past to study Pandora"s Cluster
Two McMaster astronomers have used recent deep imaging data from the James Webb Space Telescope to look 3.5 billion years into the past to study a remote giant cluster of galaxies......»»
Hubble captures a formation of galaxies neatly lined up
A new Hubble image shows both an interacting galaxy system, and a string of galaxies which happen to line up in a neat procession......»»
Breakthrough Listen scans entire galaxies for signals from extremely advanced civilizations
In 1960, Dr. Frank Drake led the first Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) experiment at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia. In the more than sixty years that have since passed, astronomers have conducte.....»»
New action comedy movie ‘The Family Plan’ now streaming on Apple TV+
Apple TV+ today debuts a new comedy action adventure film The Family Plan, starring Mark Wahlberg. Wahlberg stars as Dan Morgan, an undercover assassin trying to live a new life as a family man. Here’s how to watch. more….....»»
Astronomers discover first population of binary stripped stars
Astronomers at the University of Toronto have discovered a population of massive stars that have been stripped of their hydrogen envelopes by their companions in binary systems. The findings, published in Science, shed light on the hot helium stars t.....»»
Unexpected chemistry reveals cosmic star factories" secrets
Two galaxies in the early universe, which contain extremely productive star factories, have been studied by a team of scientists led by Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. Using powerful telescopes to split the galaxies' light into individua.....»»
Astronomy toolkit allows users to create their own sky map, find the weirdest stars and explore the surface of the moon
A new set of tools for astronomers and planetary explorers use interactive visual analytics and machine learning to reveal and contrast properties of objects in our galaxy......»»