Category Astronomy/Space

ESO’s VISTA survey telescope has spied a horde of previously hidden massive galaxies that existed when the Universe was in its infancy. By discovering and studying more of these galaxies than ever before, astronomers have for the first time found out exactly when such monster galaxies first appeared. The newly discovered massive galaxies are marked on this image of the UltraVISTA field. Credit: ESO/UltraVISTA team. Acknowledgement: TERAPIX/CNRS/INSU/CASU

By discovering and studying more of these galaxies than ever before, astronomers have, for the first time, found out exactly when such monster galaxies first appeared...

An image of LX Cyg and its surroundings, obtained with the 80cm telescope at the University of Vienna Observatory. Credit: Stefan Uttenthaler et al./University of Vienna

A carbon star is a giant red star nearing the end of its life, with an atmosphere containing more carbon than oxygen. LX Cygni could be an interesting example of an object that is currently in the process of transitioning into a carbon star. “These observations are important to understand the chemical evolution of the universe, because most of the carbon in the universe is thought to come from stars just like LX Cygni,” Uttenthaler said.

Most of the carbon in our bodies comes from an earlier generation of stars such as LX Cygni...

The monstrous elliptical galaxy M87, located 53 million light-years from Earth is the dominant galaxy at the center of the neighboring Virgo cluster of galaxies. Astronomers have measured the ‘heartbeats’ of stars within M87 and used that data to determine the galaxy’s age in a new way. This photograph was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys instrument. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team

In many ways stars are like living beings. They’re born; they live; they die. And they even have a heartbeat. Using a novel technique, astronomers have detected thousands of stellar ‘pulses’ in the galaxy Messier 87 (M87). Their measurements offer a new way of determining a galaxy’s age.

We tend to think of stars as stable and unchanging...

Visualising the local solar neighbourhood in 3D. Credit: ESA. Acknowledgement: H. Bouy (CSIC-INTA) & J. Alves (U. Vienna

Astronomers have used modern techniques to visualise data from ESA’s Hipparcos space astrometry mission in 3D. This offered insights into the distribution of nearby stars and uncovered new groupings of stars in the solar neighbourhood, shedding light on the origins of the stars in Orion and calling into question the existence of the Gould Belt – an iconic ring-shaped structure of stars in the Milky Way. The results show the potential of 3D visualisation of the solar neighbourhood, an approach which is of particular relevance to ESA’s Gaia mission which will map the Milky Way and Local Group in 3D with unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy.

3D map of massive O and B ty...