All articles tagged with #space discovery
Astronomers have directly measured the mass of a Saturn-sized rogue planet drifting in space using gravitational microlensing, marking a significant advancement in studying free-floating planets that do not orbit stars. This breakthrough was achieved through a rare cosmic alignment observed from Earth and the Gaia space telescope, demonstrating a new method to analyze these elusive celestial bodies.
A new high-resolution image of the reflection nebula NGC 1333 and the binary star system SVS 13 reveals over 400 molecular rings, each marking past energetic outbursts from a young star, providing direct observational evidence of star formation processes and the history of stellar activity.
Dr. Larry Denneau, an engineer-turned-astronomer, discovered the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS using automated software from the ATLAS sky survey, marking only the third interstellar object observed passing through our solar system, highlighting the crucial role of software in modern astronomy.
Astronomers have discovered a rogue planet, Cha 1107-7626, that is rapidly accreting gas and dust at a record rate, acting like a star, which could provide insights into planetary and stellar formation processes.
A 12-year-old Canadian boy from Ontario, Siddharth Patel, has potentially discovered two new asteroids through a citizen science program in partnership with NASA, highlighting his passion for astronomy and his aspirations to become an astronaut.
Astronomers discovered the asteroid 2025 SC79, which orbits the sun within Venus's path in just 128 days, making it the second-fastest asteroid in the solar system. It was found hiding in the sun's glare and is about 700 meters long. The discovery highlights the importance of detecting twilight asteroids that could pose impact risks, with follow-up observations planned to study its composition and origin.
Scientists have discovered a tiny companion to the red supergiant star Betelgeuse, nicknamed Betelbuddy, which challenges current understanding of binary star systems due to its extreme mass ratio, and the discovery was made using multiple space telescopes.
Astronomers discovered a small, likely dark matter clump within a distant Einstein ring, providing new insights into dark matter's properties and distribution, using advanced radio telescope data and novel analysis methods, marking a significant step in understanding the universe's unseen components.
Astronomers have captured the first direct radio image of two supermassive black holes orbiting each other within the quasar OJ287, providing the clearest evidence yet of binary black holes, and confirming long-standing predictions about their existence.
Astronomers have discovered the most powerful and distant odd radio circle (ORC) ever seen, named RAD J131346.9+500320, which features two overlapping rings and provides new insights into cosmic structures possibly formed by superwinds from active galaxies or black hole events. This discovery, aided by citizen scientists and advanced telescopes, suggests ORCs are more common and complex than previously thought, offering clues about galaxy and black hole evolution.
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has discovered a turbulent and fiery boundary at the edge of our solar system, known as the heliopause, where solar influence ends and interstellar space begins, revealing unexpected heat, magnetic activity, and turbulence that challenge previous assumptions about this frontier.
Scientists have discovered a rogue planet, Cha 1107-7626, in the Chamaeleon constellation that is actively accreting gas and dust at an unprecedented rate, suggesting some rogue planets can grow similarly to stars, especially during violent growth spurts fueled by magnetic fields, challenging previous notions of these solitary worlds.
Astronomers observed a rogue planet, Cha 1107-7626, exhibiting unprecedented growth through accretion, similar to star formation, suggesting it formed independently in space rather than around a star, challenging previous notions of planetary stability and formation.
A new potential quasi-moon asteroid, 2025 PN7, may have been orbiting Earth for decades undetected, highlighting the possibility of more such objects lurking in our vicinity, with advanced telescopes like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory potentially uncovering more in the future.
NASA's Juno spacecraft has for the first time detected the auroras of Jupiter's moon Callisto, completing the set of auroral signatures from all four Galilean moons, thanks to a rare shift in Jupiter's auroral oval in September 2019 that allowed clear observation.