About 400,000 years after the Big Bang, the cosmos was a very dark place. The glow of the universe's explosive birth had cooled, and space was filled with dense gas —mostly hydrogen—with no sources of light.
Astronomy
Mar 2, 2024
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An international team of astronomers has used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to conduct mid-infrared observations of a nearby supernova known as SN 1987A. Results of the observational campaign, published February 21 ...
Discovering exoplanets is almost routine now. We've found over 5,500 exoplanets, and the next step is to study their atmospheres and look for biosignatures. The James Webb Space Telescope is leading the way in that effort. ...
Astrobiology
Feb 27, 2024
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From enraptured voles and space robots on the moon to brain gears and dense objects, it was a heck of a week in science. Let's take a look at some of the most interesting developments over the past seven days.
An international team, including Western astrophysicists Els Peeters and Jan Cami, has found the destruction and re-formation of a large quantity of water in a planet-forming disk located at the heart of the Orion Nebula.
Astronomy
Feb 23, 2024
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An international team of astronomers including UCL's (University College London's) Professor Mike Barlow has discovered the first conclusive evidence that a neutron star exists at the center of Supernova 1987A, a star explosion ...
Astronomy
Feb 22, 2024
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Astrophysicists studying a popular exoplanet in its star's habitable zone have found that electric currents in the planet's upper atmosphere could create sufficient heating to expand the atmosphere enough that it leaves the ...
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have observed a nearby cold brown dwarf designated WISEPA J182831.08+265037.8 (or WISE 1828 for short). The observations delivered important insights into the composition ...
A team co-led by Southwest Research Institute found evidence for hydrothermal or metamorphic activity within the icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake, located in the Kuiper Belt. Methane detected on their surfaces has the ...
Astronomy
Feb 15, 2024
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Astronomers from the Steward Observatory in Tucson, Arizona and elsewhere report the detection of a new massive protocluster. The structure was found around a luminous quasar known as J0910–0414. The discovery was detailed ...
