The interstellar radiation field (ISRF) as a research area focuses on quantifying and modeling the spatially and spectrally resolved radiation permeating the interstellar medium, excluding discrete stellar sources. It encompasses ultraviolet, optical, infrared, and microwave photons produced by stars, dust re-emission, and the cosmic microwave background, and investigates how this field regulates heating, ionization, chemistry, and pressure balance in interstellar gas and dust. Research addresses radiative transfer in complex geometries, coupling with cosmic rays and magnetic fields, and its role in processes such as photoelectric heating, molecular cloud evolution, and star-formation feedback, often using multiwavelength observations and numerical simulations.
In celebration of the 250th birthday of the United States, NASA has unveiled four cosmic images from its Chandra X-ray Observatory, rendered in red, white and blue, that represent the wonders of the universe the agency explores. ...
Astronomy
Jun 30, 2026
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At the heart of our own galaxy, there is a dense thicket of stars with a supermassive black hole at the very center. NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will provide the deepest-ever view of this zone, revealing stars, ...
Astronomy
Jan 26, 2026
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93
Astronomers have, for the first time, captured a detailed snapshot of planetary systems in an era long shrouded in mystery. The ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures (ARKS), using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter ...
Astronomy
Jan 20, 2026
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Researchers have developed a new technology that can shape the spectrum of light emitted from a laser frequency comb across the visible and near-infrared wavelengths with more precision than previously possible. This advance ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 30, 2025
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69
What role can the relationship between oxygen (O2) and ozone (O3) in exoplanet atmospheres have on detecting biosignatures? This is what a study submitted to Astronomy & Astrophysics hopes to address as an international team ...
Astrobiology
Sep 1, 2025
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36
Gas and dust ejected by a dying star at the heart of NGC 1514 came into complete focus thanks to mid-infrared data from the James Webb Space Telescope. Its rings, which are only detected in infrared light, now look like fuzzy ...
Astronomy
Apr 15, 2025
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124
New studies led by researchers at the University of Central Florida offer for the first time a clearer picture of how the outer solar system formed and evolved based on analyses of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) and centaurs.
Astronomy
Dec 19, 2024
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171
For the first time, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has detected and "weighed" a galaxy that not only existed about 600 million years after the Big Bang, but also has a mass that is similar to what our Milky Way ...
Astronomy
Dec 11, 2024
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340
The simplest possible molecule H2+ was one of the very first molecules to form in the cosmos. This makes it significant for astrophysics, but also an important object of research for fundamental physics. However, it is difficult ...
Optics & Photonics
Feb 27, 2024
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