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An exploding black hole could reveal the foundations of the universe

Physicists have long believed that black holes explode at the end of their lives, and that such explosions happen—at most—only once every 100,000 years. But new research published in Physical Review Letters by physicists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has found a more than 90% probability that one of these black-hole explosions might be […]

Hawking and Kerr black hole theories confirmed by gravitational wave

Scientists have confirmed two long-standing theories relating to black holes—thanks to the detection of the most clearly recorded gravitational wave signal to date.

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Simulations solve centuries-old cosmic mystery—and discover new class of ancient star systems

For centuries, astronomers have puzzled over the origins of one of the universe’s oldest and densest stellar systems, known as globular clusters. Now, a University of Surrey-led study published in Nature has finally solved the mystery using detailed simulations—while also uncovering a new class of object that could already be in our own galaxy.

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Scientists find quasi-moon orbiting the Earth for the last 60 years—and it’s not the first one

Everyone who has ever lived on Earth has been well-aware of the moon, but it turns out Earth also has some frequent temporary companions. These “quasi-moons” are small asteroids that enter into a kind of resonance with Earth’s orbit, although they aren’t technically orbiting Earth. In August, this small group of asteroids, called Arjunas, offered […]

Astronomers confirm wandering black hole in nearby dwarf galaxy

Traditionally, black holes are usually thought to “reside” at the centers of galaxies. However, a research team led by Dr. An Tao from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has discovered a wandering black hole in a dwarf galaxy located about 230 million light-years away (redshift z = 0.017).

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Predicting the green glow of aurorae on the red planet

Planetary scientists believe they can now predict the green glow of an aurora in the night sky above Mars, and they have the images to prove it.

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Discovery of young eclipsing binary system offers insight into early stellar evolution

An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of a new pre-main-sequence eclipsing binary system. The newfound binary, designated MML 48, consists of two young low-mass stars. The finding will be published in the upcoming issue of the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal.

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A hungry star is eating its cosmic twin at a rate never seen before

A greedy white dwarf star not far from Earth is devouring its closest celestial companion at a rate never seen before, space scientists have discovered. Their study found the double star, named V Sagittae, is burning unusually bright as the super-dense white dwarf is gorging on its larger twin in a feeding frenzy.

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AI tool helps astronomers find supernovae in a sky full of noise

A new AI-powered tool has reduced astronomers’ workload by 85%—filtering through thousands of data alerts to identify the few genuine signals caused by supernovae (powerful explosions from dying stars). The findings are published in The Astrophysical Journal.

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One extremophile eats Martian dirt, survives in space and can create oxygen for colonies

Extremophiles are a favorite tool of astrobiologists. But not only are they good for understanding the kind of extreme environments that life can survive in, sometimes they are useful as actual tools, creating materials necessary for other life, like oxygen, in those extreme environments. A recent paper from Daniella Billi of the University of Rome […]

Unprecedented gamma-ray burst hints at rare black hole

A team of astronomers have observed an explosion in the universe unlike any ever witnessed before. The gamma-ray bursts from outside the Milky Way galaxy repeated several times over the course of a day. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most powerful explosions in the universe, normally caused by the catastrophic destruction of stars, but no […]

Methane gas found on dwarf planet Makemake

A Southwest Research Institute-led team has reported the first detection of gas on the distant dwarf planet Makemake, using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This discovery makes Makemake only the second trans-Neptunian object, after Pluto, where the presence of gas has been confirmed. The gas was identified as methane.

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Cosmic accident solves Jupiter–Saturn silicon puzzle

Why has silicon, one of the most common elements in the universe, gone largely undetected in the atmospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, and gas planets like them orbiting other stars? A new study using observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope sheds light on this question by focusing on a peculiar object that astronomers discovered by […]

Comet or alien spaceship? Astrophysicist explains what we know about interstellar traveler 3I/Atlas

The eyes of every astronomer widened this year when an interstellar traveler was discovered in our solar system.

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AI drives discovery of new exoplanets in distant systems

Over the course of more than two decades, researchers at the University of Bern have developed the so-called “Bern model,” a suite of computer programs that can numerically simulate the formation of planetary systems, thus shedding light on system architecture. These models are, however, very complex: each simulation from the Bern model can take a […]