Space: Cosmology Space: Structures and Features
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.

Space: Structures and Features
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.

Space: Cosmology Space: Structures and Features
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.

Space: Structures and Features
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.

Space: Structures and Features
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.

Space: Cosmology Space: Structures and Features
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.

Space: Structures and Features
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.

Space: Cosmology Space: Structures and Features
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.

Space: Structures and Features
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.

Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
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).

Space: Cosmology Space: Structures and Features
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.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Nuclear Space: Structures and Features
Published

How does radiation travel through dense plasma?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers provide experimental data about how radiation travels through dense plasmas. Their data will improve plasma models, which allow scientists to better understand the evolution of stars and may aid in the realization of controlled nuclear fusion as an alternative energy source.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

WALLABY builds an intergalactic map in the outback      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A radio telescope in remote Western Australia is helping to build a 3-dimensional map of the night sky, mapping nearby galaxies up to a billion light years away.

Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Cosmic chocolate pralines: General neutron star structure revealed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Through extensive model calculations, physicistshave reached general conclusions about the internal structure of neutron stars, where matter reaches enormous densities: depending on their mass, the stars can have a core that is either very stiff or very soft.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs
Published

Prehistoric predator? Artificial intelligence says no      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Artificial intelligence has revealed that prehistoric footprints thought to be made by a vicious dinosaur predator were in fact from a timid herbivore.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

Astronomers capitalize on early access to James Webb Space Telescope data      (via sciencedaily.com) 

First in line to receive data transmissions from the James Webb Space Telescope, a team of astronomers is using the unprecedentedly clear observations to reveal the secret inner workings of galaxies.

Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features
Published

Safety in space: Synthetic hibernation could provide protection from cosmic radiation      (via sciencedaily.com) 

It is still a glimpse into the future: Astronauts could be put into artificial hibernation and in this state be better protected from cosmic radiation. At present, there are already promising approaches to follow up such considerations. An international research team now has found decisive indications of the possible benefits of artificial hibernation for radiation resistance.

Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Study of 'polluted' white dwarfs finds that stars and planets grow together      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of astronomers have found that planet formation in our young Solar System started much earlier than previously thought, with the building blocks of planets growing at the same time as their parent star.

Space: Cosmology Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

2400 new eyes on the sky to see cosmic rainbows      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The Subaru Telescope successfully demonstrated engineering first light with a new instrument that will use about 2400 fiberoptic cables to capture the light from heavenly objects. Full operation is scheduled to start around 2024. The ability to observe thousands of objects simultaneously will provide unprecedented amounts of data to fuel Big Data Astronomy in the coming decade.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

Searching for traces of dark matter with neutron spin clocks      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international research team has succeeded in significantly narrowing the scope for the existence of dark matter. The experiment makes an important contribution to the search for these particles.