Science Daily

Subscribe to Science Daily feed Science Daily
Astronomy news. New! Earth-like extrasolar planet found; double helix nebula; supermassive black holes, astronomy articles, astronomy pictures. Updated daily.
Updated: 19 hours 43 min ago

Cosmic building blocks of life discovered through the electron microscope

Mon, 01/29/2024 - 12:24pm
Meteorites are fragments of asteroids which find their way to Earth as shooting stars and provide information on the origins of our solar system. A team of researchers has examined the so-called Winchcombe meteorite and demonstrated the existence in it of nitrogen compounds such as amino acids and heterocyclic hydrocarbons -- without applying any chemical treatment and by using a new type of detector design.

Astronomers unravel mysteries of planet formation and evolution in distant planetary system

Fri, 01/26/2024 - 2:05pm
TOI-1136, a dwarf star located more than 270 light years from Earth, is host to six confirmed exoplanets and a seventh as yet unconfirmed candidate. The system has provided a rich source of information on planet formation and evolution in a young solar system. Researchers used a variety of tools to compile radial velocity and transit timing variation readings to derive highly precise measurements of the exoplants' masses, orbital information and atmospheres.

Stars travel more slowly at Milky Way's edge

Fri, 01/26/2024 - 2:05pm
Physicists discovered stars near the edge of the Milky Way travel more slowly than those closer to its center -- a surprise suggesting our galaxy's gravitational core may have less dark matter than previously thought.

'Old smokers' and 'squalling newborns' among hidden stars spotted for first time

Fri, 01/26/2024 - 12:19am
'Hidden' stars including a new type of elderly giant nicknamed an 'old smoker' have been spotted for the first time by astronomers. The mystery objects exist at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy and can sit quietly for decades -- fading almost to invisibility -- before suddenly puffing out clouds of smoke, according to a new study.

Faint features in galaxy NGC 5728 revealed

Thu, 01/25/2024 - 3:00pm
A new study describes the best method to improve images obtained by the James Webb Science Telescope (JWST) using a mathematical approach called deconvolution.

Astrophysical jet caught in a 'speed trap'

Thu, 01/25/2024 - 2:59pm
The microquasar SS 433 stands out as one of the most intriguing objects within our Milky Way. A pair of oppositely directed beams of plasma ('jets') spirals away perpendicularly from the binary systems disk's surface at just over a quarter of the speed of light. The H.E.S.S. observatory in Namibia has now succeeded in detecting very high energy gamma rays from the jets of SS 433, and identifying the exact location within the jets of one of the galaxy's most effective particle accelerators.

Pages