News – Page 73 – Astronomy Now

Supermassive black holes squelch star formation in ancient galaxies

23 June 2018 Astronomy Now

Observations by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory of two five-billion-solar-mass black holes at the cores of two ancient ‘red nugget’ galaxies show they squelched star formation early on while consuming surrounding gas.

Relativity passes another test, this one beyond the Milky Way

22 June 2018 Astronomy Now

Putting general relativity to the test, astronomers compared the known gravity of a galaxy with the bending of spacetime needed to produce a spectacular ‘Einstein ring’ and found, once again, that Einstein was correct.

ESA releases complete Rosetta archive, including a final surprise

21 June 2018 Astronomy Now

The European Space Agency has released a complete archive of high-resolution imagery from the Rosetta spacecraft charting the probe’s historic exploration of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, including a final unexpected frame.

Explosive volcanoes on Mars explain mysterious rock formation

20 June 2018 Astronomy Now

A huge deposit of porous rock straddling the Martian equator likely formed as a result of explosive volcanoes erupting three billion years ago that were powered by climate-changing volatile gases trapped in the red planet’s interior

X (rays) mark the spot where mid-size black hole devours passing star

19 June 2018 Astronomy Now

In the most clear-cut observation yet, ESA and NASA X-ray telescopes spot the telltale flare of an elusive intermediate-mass black hole devouring a passing star in the outskirts of a galaxy 740 million light years away

Dust clouds may explain emissions from active galactic nuclei

18 June 2018 Astronomy Now

Changes in the light emerging from active galactic nuclei, powered by supermassive black holes, may be explained by clouds of intervening dust that can dim and redden the radiation, eliminating the need for more exotic explanations.

New experiment to probe dark matter interactions

17 June 2018 Astronomy Now

A new experiment is proposed to measure dark matter interactions with normal matter, using ultra-precise observations of a binary pulsar to search for signs of a possible “fifth force” acting across the cosmos.

Astronomers ‘see’ aftermath of black hole lunching on doomed star

15 June 2018 Astronomy Now

For the first time, astronomers have directly witnessed the aftermath of a black hole consuming a nearby star, imaging the formation and expansion of a high-speed jet of material ejected in the maelstrom.

Three planets found around dust-shrouded star

14 June 2018 Astronomy Now

By measuring the motion of carbon monoxide molecules in a protoplanetary disc, two teams of astronomers have found three planets lurking in the rings of dust around a star just a few million years old.

NASA managers hopeful Opportunity will survive its trial by dust

13 June 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA managers are optimistic the agency’s Opportunity Mars rover will survive a huge dust storm that is preventing sunlight from recharging the robot’s solar arrays, knocking it out of contact with Earth.