ESOcast 126 Light: Titanium oxide in exoplanetary atmosphere (4K UHD) Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have detected titanium oxide in an exoplanet atmosphere for the first time. This discovery around the hot-Jupiter planet WASP-19b exploited the power of the FORS2 instrument. It provides unique information about the chemical composition and the temperature and pressure structure of the atmosphere of this unusual and very hot world. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

ESOcast 123 Light: Best Ever Image of a Star’s Surface and Atmosphere (4K UHD) Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer astronomers have constructed the most detailed image ever of a star — the red supergiant star Antares. They have also made the first map of the velocities of material the atmosphere of a star other than the Sun, revealing unexpected turbulence in Antares’s huge extended atmosphere. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

ESOcast 122 Light: Supermassive Black Holes Feed on Cosmic Jellyfish (4K UHD) Observations of “Jellyfish galaxies” with ESO’s Very Large Telescope have revealed a previously unknown way to fuel supermassive black holes. It seems the mechanism that produces the tentacles of gas and newborn stars that give these galaxies their nickname also makes it possible for the gas to reach the central regions of the galaxies, feeding the black hole that lurks in each of them and causing it to shine brilliantly. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →