How to spot a wormhole (if they exist)
Whether wormholes exist is up for debate. But in a recent article, physicists describe a technique for detecting these pathways.
Read moreGalaxies
Monstrous galaxy from dawn of the universe accidentally discovered
The early universe is filled with monsters, a new study revealed. Researchers discovered a previously invisible galaxy, and perhaps a new galaxy population waiting to be discovered.
Read moreStormy cluster weather could unleash black hole power and explain lack of cosmic cooling
'Weather' in clusters of galaxies may explain a longstanding puzzle. Scientists have now used sophisticated simulations to show how powerful jets from supermassive black holes are disrupted by the motion of hot gas and galaxies, preventing gas from cooling, which could otherwise form stars.
Read moreGas 'waterfalls' reveal infant planets around young star
For the first time, astronomers have witnessed 3D motions of gas in a planet-forming disk. At three locations in the disk around a young star called HD 163296, gas is flowing like a waterfall into gaps that are most likely caused by planets in formation. These gas flows have long been predicted and would directly influence the chemical composition of planet atmospheres.
Read moreGoing against the flow around a supermassive black hole
At the center of a galaxy called NGC 1068, a supermassive black hole hides within a thick doughnut-shaped cloud of dust and gas. When astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to study this cloud in more detail, they made an unexpected discovery that could explain why supermassive black holes grew so rapidly in the early Universe.
Read moreHeron survey fishes out detail in ghostly galaxy outskirts
Astronomers have completed the largest survey to date of the faint outskirts of nearby galaxies, successfully testing a low-cost system for exploring these local stellar systems. The team find that the diameters of the galactic outskirts — the haloes — appear to correlate with the brightness and type of galaxy.
Read moreAstronomers use giant galaxy cluster as X-ray magnifying lens
Astronomers have used a massive cluster of galaxies as an X-ray magnifying glass to peer back in time, to nearly 9.4 billion years ago. In the process, they spotted a tiny dwarf galaxy in its very first, high-energy stages of star formation.
Read moreBlack holes stunt growth of dwarf galaxies
Astronomers have discovered that powerful winds driven by supermassive black holes in the centers of dwarf galaxies have a significant impact on the evolution of these galaxies by suppressing star formation.
Read moreMilky Way raids intergalactic 'bank accounts'
Gas blown out of the Milky Way disk from exploding stars falls back onto the galaxy to form new generations of stars. In an effort to account for this recycling process, astronomers were surprised to find a surplus of incoming gas.
Read moreThe Milky Way kidnapped several tiny galaxies from its neighbor
A team of astronomers has discovered that several of the small — or 'dwarf' — galaxies orbiting the Milky Way were likely stolen from the Large Magellanic Cloud, including several ultrafaint dwarfs, but also relatively bright and well-known satellite galaxies, such as Carina and Fornax.
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