Astronomer David Kipping, of Cool Worlds fame, has called on other astronomers to use their telescope time to observe a particularly unusual star that appears to have a very strange or “seemingly impossible” chemical composition. In recent years, we have seen some stars behaving really strangely. The classic example is KIC 8462852, better known as … Read more
From mesmerizing “mythical monsters” to stunning distant constellations, the nominees for Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 showcase the exquisite beauty of the skies around us. Here are this year’s stunning nominees. A Night with the Valkyries — Jose Miguel Picon Chimelis (Image credit: A Night with the Valkyries © Jose Miguel Picon Chimelis) In … Read more
These images show the two shock regions of the remnant SNR 1181. The bright white in the center is the white dwarf. Credit: 2024 T. Ko, H. Suzuki, K. Kashiyama et al./ The Astrophysical Journal A mysterious remnant of a rare type of supernova recorded in 1181 has been explained for the first time. Two … Read more
Amaris McCarver, an intern at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) Remote Sensing Division, and a team of astronomers have discovered a rapidly spinning neutron star that is beaming radiation across the universe like a cosmic lighthouse. The rapidly spinning neutron star, or “pulsar,” is located in the dense star cluster Glimpse-CO1, which lies in … Read more
Amaris McCarver, an intern at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) Remote Sensing Division, and a team of astronomers have discovered a rapidly spinning neutron star that is beaming radiation across the universe like a cosmic lighthouse. The rapidly spinning neutron star, or “pulsar,” is located in the dense star cluster Glimpse-CO1, which lies in … Read more
Wherever the JWST looks in space, matter and energy interact in spectacular displays. The Webb reveals more details of these interactions than any other telescope because it can peer through the dense gas and dust that shrouds many objects. In a new image, the JWST sees a young protostar that is only 100,000 years old. … Read more
In what’s been called a “once-in-a-lifetime event,” light from a thermonuclear explosion on a star has been traveling toward Earth for thousands of years and could arrive here at any moment. T Coronae Borealis (also known as T Cor Bor, T CrB, and the Blaze Star) will be as bright as the North Star (for … Read more
This new image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows a young protostar in the process of forming inside a fiery, hourglass-shaped molecular cloud. Captured with the MIRI instrument, the scene reveals dynamic outflows and bright regions caused by interactions with surrounding gases and dust. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Webb’s latest mid-infrared image shows … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has provided a breathtaking glimpse into the early stages of star formation, capturing the dramatic development of a protostar in a luminous hourglass-shaped cloud. This observation, which illuminates the complex processes involved in star birth, provides profound insights into the behavior and evolution of young stellar objects. Observation of … Read more
L1527 and Protostar (MIRI image). Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute The cosmos seems to come to life with a crackling explosion of pyrotechnics in this new image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Taken with Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), this fiery hourglass marks the scene of a very young object in the process of becoming … Read more