Astrophysics

The Current Discovery Sheds Light On Very Early Supermassive Black Holes

This system consists of a pair of galaxies, dubbed IC 694 and NGC 3690, which made a close pass some 700 million years ago. As a result of this interaction, the system underwent a fierce burst of star formation. In the last fifteen years or so six supernovae have popped off in the outer...

Using Minnesota Rocks To Illustrate How An Atmosphere Could Have Formed On Mars

Comparison between (proto-)serpentinites of the Duluth Complex and available samples from Mars. Credit: Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add8472A pair of researchers, hailing respectively from the University of Calgary in Canada and the University of Cambridge in the UK, have found that analyzing rocks from Duluth, Minnesota, may yield understanding about the development of the ancient atmosphere...

A New Ring System Found in Our Solar System

Artist impression of Quaoar's rings. Credit: Paris ObservatoryA group of researchers has discovered a previously unknown ring system around a dwarf planet located at the outer edge of the solar system. This ring system is unique in that it orbits much farther out than other known ring systems, which challenges current theories about the...

Ominous Green Lasers Shot Over Hawaii Did Not Come From NASA Satellite After All

A series of green laser beams seen over Hawaii in January. (National Observatory of Japan)Above the islands of Hawaii on January 28th, a green laser was seen piercing the evening sky, silently tracing a course towards the horizon such as a stutter in the Matrix's code.The scene was captured on camera from a telescope atop...

Astronomers Identify Twenty Ultraviolet-Emitting Supernova Remnants in the Andromeda Galaxy

Positions of the 20 SNRs with detected diffuse UV emission (red squares) and of the 5 SNRs with likely, but confused, diffuse emission (blue squares), overlaid on the image of the Andromeda Galaxy in the F148W filter. Credit: Leahy et al, 2023Utilizing the AstroSat satellite, astronomers from the University of Calgary, Canada, have identified...

Earth’s Internal Core Rotation May Have Paused and Perhaps Reversed

Earth's inner core. Credit: Rost-9D/iStockThe rotation of the Earth's solid inner core may have recently stopped briefly as well as could be reversing, according to a study released in Nature Geoscience this week. The authors show proof that oscillation in the rotation of the internal core coincides with periodic changes in the Earth's surface...

Proof Discovered of Tidal Effect on the Plasmasphere

The characteristics of lunar tidal wave in the plasmapause. Credit: Nature Physics (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-022-01882-8A worldwide team of space scientists reports that the moon exerts a tidal effect on the plasmasphere. For their paper released in the journal Nature Physics, the group used information from multiple spacecraft over an almost 40-year period to gauge tidal perturbations...

Rare, Green Comet Passes Earth For the First Time in 50,000 Years

Credit: Awareness Act.Last year, astronomers discovered Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF, which had not been visible until then due to its distance from Earth. However, it is now approaching Earth, and soon it will be making its closest approach in 50,000 years. Astronomers have stated that this will be the only chance to see it...

How Supermassive Fuel-Hungry Black Holes Feed off Intergalactic Gas

Two interacting galaxies viewed from the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage TeamA research study led by the College of Southampton has shown how supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are feeding off gas clouds that reach them by traveling hundreds of thousands of light yrs from one galaxy to another.A worldwide team of scientists has...

Thirteen Recent Pulsars Discovered with MeerKAT

Intensity as a function of time and spin phase for the two detections of the new eclipsing redback pulsar 47 Tuc ad. Left panel: Parkes observation made on 2004/05/27. Right panel: MeerKAT discovery observation. Credit: Ridolfi et al., 2021.Utilizing the MeerKAT radio telescope, astronomers from the Max Planck Institution for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in...