All articles tagged with #astronomy and astrophysics
A fresh reanalysis of 14 years of Hubble data weakens the case for intermittent water vapor plumes on Jupiter’s moon Europa, reducing certainty from 99.9% to below 90% and leaving open the possibility that plumes exist but not yet definitively confirmed; future missions like Europa Clipper are expected to settle the question.
A study in Astronomy & Astrophysics presents the most precise combined value for the Hubble constant, about 73.5 km/s/Mpc (≈45.7 miles/s/Mpc), derived from a new distance-network framework that unifies multiple distance indicators. While it clarifies the measurement, the result reinforces the Hubble tension and suggests that cosmology may require new physics or revisions to current models.
Observations of an ultra-bright supernova suggest a wobbling magnetar engine, caused by Lense–Thirring precession, could explain why some supernovae are 10–100 times brighter than expected.
A study from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias has shown that hydrogenated amorphous carbon (HAC) grains can participate in the formation of fullerenes, complex carbon molecules crucial for life development in the universe and potential nanotechnology applications. Spectroscopic analysis of the planetary nebula Tc1 revealed the presence of HAC, suggesting that fullerenes may have formed during the destruction of dust grains by energetic ultraviolet radiation. This interdisciplinary research opens the door for future collaborations between laboratory chemistry and astrophysics to advance our understanding of astrophysical and astrochemical processes.
A groundbreaking survey using ESO's VLT has provided new insights into planet formation by capturing images of over 80 young stars with potential planet-forming disks. The research, presented in three papers, reveals the diversity of planet-forming disks and their intricate features, such as spiral arms and large cavities carved out by forming planets. The observations, gathered from three different star-forming regions, offer valuable data for understanding the processes that lead to planet formation and could inspire future scientific exploration.
New modelling suggests that protoplanets formed within fragmentary protostar accretion discs may take on a strongly oblate spheroid shape rather than a spherical one, based on simulations run by researchers at the University of Central Lancashire. This research not only enhances our understanding of our own solar system's formation, including Earth's oblate spheroid shape, but also aids in interpreting observations from telescopes like Hubble and James Webb as we study actively forming star regions like the Orion Nebula, potentially refining simulations and reevaluating previous observational interpretations.
Astrophysicists from the University of Central Lancashire have discovered that young planets have flattened shapes like oblate spheroids rather than being spherical, challenging previous assumptions. Using computer simulations, the researchers found that protoplanets form as flattened structures called oblate spheroids, similar to smarties, and grow predominantly from their poles rather than their equators. This finding has important implications for understanding planet formation mechanisms and suggests that observations of young planets through telescopes may depend on the viewing angle. The researchers are now working on improved computational models to further examine the shape and chemical composition of these young planets.
The German eROSITA consortium has released the largest X-ray catalog ever published, containing about 900,000 distinct sources from the first eROSITA All-Sky Survey (eRASS1). The data, which includes scientific papers describing new results, will revolutionize our knowledge of the universe at high energies. The catalog covers half the X-ray sky and includes supermassive black holes, X-ray-emitting stars, clusters of galaxies, and other exotic sources. The release also provides images of the X-ray sky, individual photon lists, and software for data analysis, with cosmology results expected in approximately two weeks.
Researchers have developed a method to calculate the forces affecting galaxies in tidal cycles, aiming to find lopsided galaxies in the universe to study the velocity of dark matter relative to the galaxies. The speed of dark matter can be measured by observing how galaxies affect the trajectory of dark matter particles as they pass by, causing a phenomenon called dynamical friction. Identifying lopsided galaxies isolated from other influences is crucial for accurately measuring the velocities of dark matter, which could provide valuable insights for testing new dark matter models and understanding the nature of dark matter.