Astronomy

An Enigmatic Unseen Influence Is Producing Water on the Moon.

Credit: PixaobayWhile we are aware of the existence of lunar ice, its origin remains somewhat uncertain. A recent investigation proposes that streams of electrons, which indirectly originate from both Earth and the Sun, are playing a role in the creation of frozen water on the Moon's surface.These electrons impact the Moon when it traverses...

Webb Unveils Previously Unseen Formations within the Renowned Supernova

Credit: PixaobayThe James Webb Space Telescope from NASA has initiated its examination of the famous supernova, SN 1987A, situated 168,000 light-years distant in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This supernova has been under extensive scrutiny for nearly four decades, spanning from gamma rays to radio waves, since its detection in February 1987. Fresh observations using...

NASA’s TESS Mission has Detected a Small Exoplanet Resembling Neptune in Size

The Target Pixel File (TPF) for TOI-332 (marked as a white cross) from TESS S1. Credit: Osborn et al., 2023.By employing NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a group of astronomers from around the world has detected a fresh, substantial, and compact exoplanet. This recently discovered extraterrestrial planet, named TOI-332 b, ranks among the...

Recently identified Sun “Nanoflares” May Serve as the Origin of Solar Wind

Credit: PixaobayWhile outer space lacks traditional air, it experiences a unique form of wind known as solar wind, composed of charged particles emitted by the Sun. The precise process driving this phenomenon remains unclear, but the Solar Orbiter spacecraft from the European Space Agency (ESA) has recently detected hitherto undiscovered "small-scale" eruptions on the...

Discovery of an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) in the Sombrero Galaxy

Credit: Unsplush.A recent analysis of images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has unveiled an intriguing find within the Sombrero Galaxy. Conducted by Elio Quiroga Rodriguez from the Mid Atlantic University in Spain, this discovery sheds light on a previously unnoticed galaxy that harbors an active galactic nucleus (AGN). The findings were detailed...

The August Night Sky is Set to be Illuminated by the Dazzling Perseid Meteor Shower

A Perseid meteor in the same frame as the galaxy M31. Credit: PixaobayThe Perseid meteor shower is set to peak on the night of 12-13 August this year, promising an exciting spectacle for skywatchers. This meteor shower is most visible from the northern hemisphere, and under perfect conditions with clear skies, observers might be...

Recent Image Unveils the Mysteries Surrounding the Formation of Planets

At the center of this image is the young star V960 Mon, located over 5000 light-years away in the constellation Monoceros. Dusty material with potential to form planets surrounds the star. Observations obtained using the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE - https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/vlt-instr/sphere/) instrument on ESO’s VLT (eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/), represented in yellow in this image, show...

Using Gravitational Waves to Hunt for Dark Matter

Credit: Unsplash.A global team of cosmologists has discovered through computer simulations that observing gravitational waves from merging black holes can reveal the real nature of dark matter. Dr. Alex Jenkins of University College London will co-author their discovery today at the 2023 National Astronomy Meeting.The team studied the production of gravitational wave signals in...

The Oldest Cosmic Web Strands Are Identified by Webb

The configuration of 10 distant galaxies is depicted in this deep galaxy field from Webb's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) as eight white circles arranged in a diagonal, thread-like line. (Two of the circles have many galaxies in them.) This 3 million light-year-long filament is held in place by a quasar, a galaxy with an active...

How a Scientist Weighed Black Holes Invisible to The Naked Eye

Black hole. Credit: Unsplash.Joseph Simon, a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder, employed computer simulations to make predictions about the masses of the largest supermassive black holes existing in the universe.In a press statement, Simon highlighted the substantial mass of the black hole situated...