Science April 8, 2024

Inexplicable Flying Fox found in Hydra Galaxy Cluster

High sensitivity radio observations have discovered a cloud of magnetized plasma in the Hydra galaxy cluster. The odd location and shape of this plasma defy all conventional explanations. Dubbed the Flying Fox based on its silhouette, this plasma will remain a mystery until additional observations can provide more insight.

Science March 28, 2024

ALMA Finds New Molecular Signposts in Starburst Galaxy

The ALMA radio telescope has detected more than 100 molecular species, including many indicative of different star formation and evolution processes, in a galaxy where stars are forming much more actively than in the Milky Way. This is far more molecules than were found in previous studies. Now the team will try to apply this knowledge to other galaxies.

Science March 22, 2024

Simulations of Europa Craters Suggest Thick Ice Crust

Sometimes planetary physics is like being in a snowball fight. Most people, if handed an already formed snowball, can use their experience and the feel of the ball to guess what kind of snow it is comprised of: wet and puffy, or dry and packable. Using nearly the same principles, planetary scientists have been able to study the structure of Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon.

Science February 1, 2024

Ancient Gas Outflow Suppressed Star Formation

Astronomers have found the earliest known example of a galaxy hosting an active supermassive black hole expelling large quantities of molecular gas. This outflow will suppress star formation in the galaxy. These results will help us to understand how black holes and galaxies have evolved together over the history of the Universe.

Science January 18, 2024

M87* One Year Later: Proof of a persistent black hole shadow

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration has released new images of M87*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87, using data from observations taken in April 2018.

Science December 15, 2023

New Red Galaxies Turn Out to be Already Known Blue Galaxies

Not all discoveries turn out to be actual new discoveries. This was the case for the extremely red objects (EROs) found in James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) data. Analysis shows that they are very similar to blue-excess dust obscured galaxies (BluDOGs) already reported in Subaru Telescope data.

Science December 4, 2023

10 Billion Year, 50,000 Light-year Journey to Black Hole

A star near the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy originated outside of the Galaxy according to a new study. This is the first time a star of extragalactic origin has been found in the vicinity of the super massive black hole.

Science November 15, 2023

ALMA Demonstrates Highest Resolution Yet

ALMA has demonstrated the highest resolution yet with observations of an old star. The observations show that the star is surrounded by a ring-like structure of gas and that gas from the star is escaping to the surrounding space. Future observations with the newly demonstrated high resolution are expected to elucidate, not only the end of a star’s life, but also the beginning, when planets are still forming.

Science November 10, 2023

Rapid Increase in Oxygen in Early Universe

Using new data from the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have measured the abundance of oxygen in the early Universe. The findings show that the amount of oxygen in galaxies increased rapidly within 500-700 million years after the birth of the Universe, and has remained as abundant as observed in modern galaxies since then. This early appearance of oxygen indicates that the elements necessary for life were present earlier than expected.

Science November 3, 2023

Black Holes are Messy Eaters

New observations down to light-year scale of the gas flows around a supermassive black hole have successfully detected dense gas inflows and shown that only a small portion (about 3 percent) of the gas flowing towards the black hole is eaten by the black hole. The remainder is ejected and recycled back into the host galaxy.