Astronomers
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Space & Cosmos
Astronomers discover hundreds of new galaxies by ignoring the avoidance zone
A galaxy observed within the Vera supercluster. Credit: Sambatriniaina HA Rajohnson et al. There are regions of the sky that astronomers are afraid to see. Filled with a cloud of black dust, hiding an invisible mass. It has a very large mass and attracts the Milky Way and other galaxies. Well, that may be an exaggeration, but it’s true. This…
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Space & Cosmos
Astronomers predict potentially dangerous comet’s trajectory from meteor shower
Illustration of a long-period comet and the Oort cloud. Credit: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan Comets have long been considered omens and omens, and it’s easy to understand why. They first appear as faint smears of light in the sky, sometimes quickly disappearing, sometimes brighter than the planets, and accompanied by long, glowing tails. Although they have been observed throughout…
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Space & Cosmos
Innovative model offers new way for astronomers to analyze powerful cosmic explosions
The explosion of a massive star leads to the ejection of its outer shell, and this “ejecta” expands outward over time and interacts with the star’s surrounding medium upon its death. This interaction creates two shock waves and a contact discontinuity (collectively known as a “shell”) that dissipates kinetic energy in exchange for producing more light. Eric Coughlin’s new model…
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Space & Cosmos
Astronomers map ‘danger zone’ of planet-forming disks in star clusters
X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Drake et al, IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Spitzer; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. walk Most stars form collections called clusters or federations that contain very massive stars. These massive stars emit large amounts of high-energy radiation that can destroy relatively fragile disks of dust and gas that are in the process of merging to form new planets. A team of astronomers uses NASA’s…
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Space & Cosmos
Astronomers find Webb’s data inconsistent with reionization model
Simulation of a galaxy (bright region) ionizing hydrogen gas during the reionization phase. Credit: M. Alvarez, R. Kaehler, T. Abel / European Southern Observatory (ESO). Reionization is a critical period in which the first stars and galaxies change the physical structure of their surroundings and, ultimately, the entire universe. The established theory is that this era ended about a billion…
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Space & Cosmos
Astronomers discover new feature in distribution of exoplanets between Neptune’s deserts and savannas
Voyager 2 took this photo of Neptune in 1989. Credit: NASA Astronomers have discovered a new feature in the distribution of exoplanets: the “Neptunian Ridge.” The discovery, led by an international team including members from the University of Geneva, NCCR PlanetS, and the Centre for Astrobiology (CAB), highlights the complex dynamics within the Neptunian desert, where hot planets are almost…
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Space & Cosmos
Astronomers discover black hole is ‘starving’ its host galaxy
Astronomers have used the NASA/ESA James Webb Space Telescope to confirm that a supermassive black hole may be robbing its host galaxy of the fuel it needs to form new stars. Using Webb, an international team co-led by the University of Cambridge observed a galaxy roughly the same size as the Milky Way in the early universe, about 2 billion…
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Space & Cosmos
Astronomers discover new tidal tilt pulsator
~3.5 day portion of the TESS light curve for TIC 435850195. Credit: Jayaraman et al., 2024. Astronomers have discovered a new tidal pulsator star (TTP) by analyzing data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The newly discovered pulsator star, named TIC 435850195, belongs to a rare class of pulsator stars known as triaxial TTPs. The discovery is detailed in…
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