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A pair of fledgling planets directly seen growing around a young star Astronomers have directly imaged two exoplanets that are gravitationally carving out a wide gap within a planet-forming disk surrounding a young star. While over a dozen exoplanets have been directly imaged, this is only the second multi-planet system to be photographed. (The first was a four-planet system orbiting the star HR 8799.) Unlike HR 8799, though, the planets in this system are still growing by accreting material from the disk. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

Heart of lonesome galaxy is brimming with dark matter Isolated for billions of years, a galaxy with more dark matter packed into its core than expected has been identified by astronomers using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

Precision calibration empowers largest solar telescope An article published in the SPIE publication Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems (JATIS), “Polarization Modeling and Predictions for DKIST Part 5: Impacts of enhanced mirror and dichroic coatings on system polarization calibration,” marks a substantial advance in ensuring the accurate solar information measured and collected by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST). phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

Researchers solve mystery of the galaxy with no dark matter A group of researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has clarified a 2018 mystery in the field of extragalactic astrophysics: The supposed existence of a galaxy without dark matter. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

Fermi observations provide insights into the nature of Terzan 5 globular cluster Using NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, astronomers have collected important data that could disclose the real nature of the globular cluster Terzan 5. The new study, presented in a paper published May 24 on arXiv.org, delivers new information regarding the cluster’s pulsar population and its broadband emission spectrum. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

Three ancient globular clusters found in the galactic bulge Three old and metal-poor globular clusters have been spotted in the Milky Way’s bulge. The newly found clusters, designated Camargo 1107, 1108 and 1109, could offer important clues on structure and nature of the central region of our galaxy. The finding was reported in a paper published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters in January 2019, co-authored by Denilso Camargo and Dante Minniti. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

Giant stellar eruption detected for the first time A group of researchers has identified and characterized for the first time in a complete way a powerful eruption in the atmosphere of the active star HR 9024, marked by an intense flash of X-rays followed by the emission of a giant bubble of plasma, ie hot gas containing charged particles. This is the first time a coronal mass ejection, or CME, has been seen in a star other than our Sun. The corona is the outer atmosphere of a star. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

Image: Hubble sees a galaxy bucking the trend This luminous orb is the galaxy NGC 4621, better known as Messier 59. As this latter moniker indicates, the galaxy is listed in the famous catalog of deep-sky objects compiled by French comet-hunter Charles Messier in the 18th century. However, German astronomer Johann Gottfried Koehler is credited with discovering the galaxy just days before Messier added it to his collection in 1779. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

Study provides new insights into stellar population and gas outflow in the central region of NGC 1068 A new study conducted by French astronomers has delivered new insights about central stellar population and gas outflow in the spiral galaxy NGC 1068. Results of the research, presented in a paper published May 22 on arXiv.org, could be essential in improving our knowledge about physical processes taking place in the inner region of this galaxy. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

Spitzer captures stellar family portrait In this large celestial mosaic taken by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, there’s a lot to see, including multiple clusters of stars born from the same dense clumps of gas and dust. Some of these clusters are older than others and more evolved, making this a generational stellar portrait. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →