Space Telescopes
Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded
A titanic, expanding beam of energy sprang from close to the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way just 3.5 million years ago, sending a cone-shaped burst of radiation through both poles of the galaxy and out into deep space.
Read moreTwin baby stars grow amongst a twisting network of gas and dust
Astronomers have obtained an extremely high-resolution image showing two disks in which young stars are growing, fed by a complex pretzel-shaped network of filaments of gas and dust. Observing this remarkable phenomenon sheds new light on the earliest phases of the lives of stars and helps astronomers determine the conditions in which binary stars are born.
Read moreMassive filaments fuel the growth of galaxies and supermassive black holes
Based on direct observations researchers have discovered massive filaments between galaxies in a proto-cluster, extending over more than 1 million parsecs and providing the fuel for intense formation of stars and the growth of super massive black holes within the proto-cluster.
Read moreThe violent history of the big galaxy next door
Astronomers have pieced together the cannibalistic past of our neighboring large galaxy Andromeda, which has now set its sights on the Milky Way as its next main course.
Read moreAfrican evidence support Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis
A team of scientists from South Africa has discovered evidence partially supporting a hypothesis that Earth was struck by a meteorite or asteroid 12,800 years ago, leading to global consequences including climate change, and contributing to the extinction of many species of large animals at the time of an episode called the Younger Dryas.
Read moreBlack holes and their host galaxies, growing old together
The 'special relationship' between supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and their hosts — something astronomers and physicists have observed for quite a while — can now be understood as a bond that begins early in a galaxy's formation and has a say in how both the galaxy and the SMBH at its center grow over time, according to a new study.
Read moreOldest galaxy protocluster forms 'queen's court'
Astronomers have discovered a collection of 12 galaxies which existed about 13.0 billion years ago. One of the 12 galaxies is a giant object, known as Himiko, which was named for a mythological queen in ancient Japan. This discovery suggests that large structures such as protoclusters already existed when the Universe was only about 800 million years old, 6% of its present age.
Read moreGalaxy found to float in a tranquil sea of halo gas
Using one cosmic mystery to probe another, astronomers have analyzed the signal from a fast radio burst, an enigmatic blast of cosmic radio waves lasting less than a millisecond, to characterize the diffuse gas in the halo of a massive galaxy.
Read moreScientists watch a black hole shredding a star
A satellite searching space for new planets gave astronomers an unexpected glimpse at a black hole ripping a star to shreds. The milestone was reached with the help of a worldwide network of robotic telescopes.
Read more