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Categories: Geoscience: Volcanoes, Space: Structures and Features
Published NASA missions probe game-changing cosmic explosion
(via sciencedaily.com) On Dec. 11, 2021, astronomers detected a blast of high-energy light from the outskirts of a galaxy around 1 billion light-years away. The event has rattled scientists' understanding of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the most powerful events in the universe.
Published Meteorites plus gamma rays could have given Earth the building blocks for life
(via sciencedaily.com) Even as detailed images of distant galaxies from the James Webb Space Telescope show us more of the greater universe, scientists still disagree about how life began here on Earth. One hypothesis is that meteorites delivered amino acids -- life's building blocks -- to our planet. Now, researchers have experimentally shown that amino acids could have formed in these early meteorites from reactions driven by gamma rays produced inside the space rocks.
Published Peekaboo! Tiny, hidden galaxy provides a peek into the past
(via sciencedaily.com) Peeking out from behind the glare of a bright foreground star, astronomers have uncovered the most extraordinary example yet of a nearby galaxy with characteristics that are more like galaxies in the distant, early universe. Only 1,200 light-years across, the tiny galaxy HIPASS J1131-31 has been nicknamed "Peekaboo" because of its emergence in the past 50-100 years from behind the fast-moving star that was obscuring astronomers' ability to detect it.
Published Researchers say space atomic clocks could help uncover the nature of dark matter
(via sciencedaily.com) Studying an atomic clock on-board a spacecraft inside the orbit of Mercury and very near to the Sun could be the trick to uncovering the nature of dark matter.
Published Characterizing the earliest galaxies in the universe -- only 200 million years after the Big Bang
(via sciencedaily.com) An international team of astrophysicists has managed to statistically characterize the first galaxies in the Universe, which formed only 200 million years after the Big Bang.
Published New analysis approach could help boost sensitivity of large telescopes
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers detail an analysis method that could improve telescopes at the Simons Observatory by evaluating their performance before installation. This is the first time the optical performance of a telescope has been confirmed prior to its deployment.
Published Rare sighting of luminous jet spewed by supermassive black hole
(via sciencedaily.com) Astronomers discover a bright optical flare caused by a dying star's encounter with a supermassive black hole.
Published Mysteriously bright flash is a black hole jet pointing straight toward Earth, astronomers say
(via sciencedaily.com) Astronomers have determined the source of an incredibly bright X-ray, optical and radio signal appearing from halfway across the Universe.
Published Non-detection of key signal allows astronomers to determine what the first galaxies were -- and weren't -- like
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have been able to make some key determinations about the first galaxies to exist, in one of the first astrophysical studies of the period in the early Universe when the first stars and galaxies formed, known as the cosmic dawn.
Published Astrophysicists hunt for second-closest supermassive black hole
(via sciencedaily.com) As massive as the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, the behemoth is hosted by a dwarf galaxy less than 1 million light-years away. Invisible so far -- maybe not for long.
Published Astronomers observe intra-group light -- the elusive glow between distant galaxies
(via sciencedaily.com) Pioneering a new technique, researchers have peered into the extremely faint light that exists between galaxies to describe the history and state of orphan stars.
Published International team observes innermost structure of quasar jet
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have observed the narrowing of a quasar jet for the first time by using a network of radio telescopes across the world. The results suggest that the narrowing of the jet is independent of the activity level of the galaxy which launched it.
Published An exoplanet atmosphere as never seen before
(via sciencedaily.com) New observations of WASP-39 b reveal a never-before-seen molecule in the atmosphere of a planet -- sulfur dioxide -- among other details.
Published Short gamma-ray bursts traced farther into distant universe
(via sciencedaily.com) Astronomers have developed the most extensive inventory to date of the galaxies where short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) originate. Using several highly sensitive instruments and sophisticated galaxy modeling, the researchers pinpointed the galactic homes of 84 SGRBs and probed the characteristics of 69 of the identified host galaxies.
Published Monitoring 'frothy' magma gases could help evade disaster
(via sciencedaily.com) Volcanic eruptions are dangerous and difficult to predict. A team has found that the ratio of atoms in specific gases released from volcanic fumaroles (gaps in the Earth's surface) can provide an indicator of what is happening to the magma deep below -- similar to taking a blood test to check your health. This can indicate when things might be 'heating up.' Specifically, changes in the ratio of argon-40 and helium-3 can indicate how frothy the magma is, which signals the risk of different types of eruption. Understanding which ratios of which gases indicate a certain type of magma activity is a big step. Next, the team hopes to develop portable equipment which can provide on-site, real-time measurements for a 24/7 volcanic activity monitoring and early warning system.
Published The tilt in our stars: The shape of the Milky Way's halo of stars is realized
(via sciencedaily.com) New data throws out the textbook picture of a spherical stellar halo and reinforces a dynamic origin story of two galaxies that collided billions of years ago.
Published Black holes in eccentric orbit
(via sciencedaily.com) A research team has reconstructed the origin of an unusual gravitational wave signal. The signal GW190521 may result from the merger of two massive black holes that captured each other in their gravitational field and then collided while spinning around each other in a rapid, eccentric motion.
Published Elusive, dusty inner region of distant galaxy
(via sciencedaily.com) An international team of scientists has achieved the milestone of directly observing the long-sought, innermost dusty ring around a supermassive black hole, at a right angle to its emerging jet. Such a structure was thought to exist in the nucleus of galaxies but had been difficult to observe directly because intervening material obscured our line of sight.
Published NASA's Webb catches fiery hourglass as new star forms
(via sciencedaily.com) NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has revealed the once-hidden features of the protostar within the dark cloud L1527, providing insight into the beginnings of a new star. These blazing clouds within the Taurus star-forming region are only visible in infrared light, making it an ideal target for Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam).
Published NASA's Webb draws back curtain on universe's early galaxies
(via sciencedaily.com) A few days after officially starting science operations, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope propelled astronomers into a realm of early galaxies, previously hidden beyond the grasp of all other telescopes until now.