ALMA – Astronomy Now

Binary star ‘odd couple’ spotted by ALMA

16 December 2018 Astronomy Now

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array has spotted a young binary star system in which two very different size suns are in the process of forming in a swirling cloud of gas and dust.

ALMA finds well-developed protoplanetary discs around young suns

12 December 2018 Astronomy Now

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array has captured stunning views of 20 protoplanetary discs around young, nearby stars, all of them suggesting planets are forming faster than expected

ALMA helps solve an astronomical cold case

10 October 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers say an apparent nova that appeared in the constellation Cygnus 348 years ago likely was caused by a collision between a compact white dwarf and a ‘failed star’ known as a brown dwarf.

Fierce molecular winds slow runaway starbirth in early galaxy

6 September 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have detected a powerful molecular wind being blasted away from a starburst galaxy in the early universe, the earliest example yet of a mechanism thought to prevent galaxies from growing too large too fast.

ALMA reveals dusty anatomy of an ancient starburst galaxy

3 September 2018 Astronomy Now

New observations of a starburst galaxy using the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array resolve vast, unstable clouds thousands of light years apart that are thought to be sites for rapid-fire star formation.

Astronomers detect radioactive molecules in debris from stellar collision

1 August 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers studying the remnants of a collision between two stars have made the first direct detection of radioactive material outside Earth’s solar system, debris that was blasted into space from one star’s deep interior

‘Radio rebound’ observed in aftermath of gamma ray burst

27 July 2018 Astronomy Now

A powerful gamma ray burst two billion light years away produced a long-lasting “radio rebound” shock wave that surprised astronomers, providing new insights into such cataclysmic explosions.

Quasar provides clues about conditions in the early Universe

10 July 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have found a brilliant quasar harbouring a super-massive black hole some 13 billion light years away, one of the most distant ever discovered, providing a tool of sorts to study conditions in the very early Universe.

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.

Peering into the shrouded heart of a luminous Seyfert galaxy

29 May 2018 Astronomy Now

Seyfert galaxies are unusually luminous, powered by supermassive black holes feeding on galactic dust and debris. It is difficult to peer into the dust-shrouded cores of such galaxies, but the European Southern Observatory, combining radio and optical observations, provides an intriguing glimpse.