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    Category Astronomy/Space

    Researchers Capture the First Example of an Extremely Bright, and Fast-Evolving Astronomical Event in the Distant Universe

    July 19, 2022, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The schematic light curves of MUSSES2020J and other typical energetic transients (green and orange points denote the stages that MUSSES2020J was observed by the 8.2-m Subaru and follow-up telescopes, respectively). HSC g, r, and i composite multicolor thumbnail image of the host galaxy is shown in the bottom-right corner. A blue cross indicates the location of MUSSES2020J, which is almost at the nucleus of the host galaxy. (Credit: Kavli IPMU)

    A team of astronomers have discovered a mysterious short-duration astronomical event, or transient, that is as bright as a superluminous supernova, but evolving much faster, reports a study in The Astrophysical Journal Letters published on July 12.

    The universe is full of energetic transient phenomena, astronomical events that occur over a sho...

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    An Ocean of Galaxies Awaits

    July 14, 2022, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Photo of COMAP's radio dish
    COMAP’s 10.4-meter “Leighton” radio dish at Owens Valley Radio Observatory.Credit: OVRO/Caltech

    New COMAP radio survey will peer beneath the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of galaxies to unveil a hidden era of star formation. Sometime around 400 million years after the birth of our universe, the first stars began to form. The universe’s so-called dark ages came to an end and a new light-filled era began. More and more galaxies began to take shape and served as factories for churning out new stars, a process that reached a peak about 4 billion years after the Big Bang.

    Luckily for astronomers, this bygone era can be observed. Distant light takes time to reach us, and our telescopes can pick up light emitted by galaxies and stars billions of years ago (our universe is 13.8 billion years old)...

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    Astronomers detect a Radio ‘Heartbeat’ Billions of light-years from Earth

    July 14, 2022, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    CHIME telescope against starry sky with streaks of light
    Caption: Using the CHIME large radio telescope, astronomers detected a persistent radio signal from a far-off galaxy that appears to flash with surprising regularity.
    Credits:Image: Photo courtesy of CHIME, with background edited by MIT News

    The clear and periodic pattern of fast radio bursts may originate from a distant neutron star. Astronomers at MIT and elsewhere have detected a strange and persistent radio signal from a far-off galaxy that appears to be flashing with surprising regularity.

    The signal is classified as a fast radio burst, or FRB — an intensely strong burst of radio waves of unknown astrophysical origin, that typically lasts for a few milliseconds at most. However, this new signal persists for up to three seconds, about 1,000 times longer than the average FRB...

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    Undead Planets: The nusual Conditions of the First Exoplanet Detection

    July 13, 2022, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The artist's impression shows a blue and white hued pulsar in the background and a large dark planet in the foreground.
    Artist impression of the pulsar-planet system PSR B1257+12 detected in 1992. The pulsar and three radiation-doused planets are all that remains of a dead star system.
    Credit
    NASA/JPL-Caltech
    Licence type
    Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

    The first ever exoplanets were discovered 30 years ago around a rapidly rotating star, called a pulsar. Now, astronomers have revealed that these planets may be incredibly rare. The new work will be presented tomorrow (Tuesday 12 July) at the National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2022) by Iuliana Nițu, a PhD student at the University of Manchester.

    The processes that cause planets to form, and survive, around pulsars are currently unknown...

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