Category Astronomy/Space

A study into the azinc isotope composition of meteorites by researchers from the University of St Andrews suggests that material from the outer solar system was an important source of volatile elements during the formation of the Earth.

The question of the origin of the volatile elements present on Earth is fundamental to understanding the evolution of our planet...

Scientists using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) — an international observatory co-operated by the US National Science Foundation’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) — have for the first time recorded millimeter-wavelength light from a fiery explosion caused by the merger of a neutron star with another star. The team also confirmed this flash of light to be one of the most energetic short-duration gamma-ray bursts ever observed, leaving behind one of the most luminous afterglows on record. The results of the research will be published in an upcoming edition of The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the brightest and most energetic explosions in the Universe, capable of emi...

Its potential for high level ionization and as the origin for some of the mysterious UIE bands seen in the universe. Is there now at long last some plausible theoretical basis for the molecular origins and carriers of at least some of the most prominent so-called ‘UIE’ (Unidentified Infrared Emission) bands that have mystified astronomers for decades?

The theoretical astrophysicists and astrochemists at the Laboratory for Space Research (LSR) and Department of Physics at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) seem to think so (at least in theory) in a peer-reviewed paper just published in The Astrophysical Journal.

A team led by Dr SeyedAbdolreza Sadjadi, member of the LSR, and Professor Quentin Parker, Director of the LSR in the Department of Physics, has now placed some interesting...

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has peered into the chaos of the Cartwheel Galaxy, revealing new details about star formation and the galaxy’s central black hole. Webb’s powerful infrared gaze produced a detailed image of the Cartwheel and two smaller companion galaxies against a backdrop of many other galaxies. The image provides a new view of how the Cartwheel Galaxy has changed over billions of years.

The Cartwheel Galaxy, located about 500 million light-years away in the Sculptor constellation, is a rare sight...