Like a scene out of a sci-fi movie, astronomers using NASA telescopes have found “Space Jaws.” Lurking 600 million light-years away, within the inky black depths between stars, there is an invisible monster gulping down any wayward star that plummets toward it. The sneaky black hole betrayed its presence in a newly identified tidal disruption […]
Category: Astrophysics
New Visualization From NASA’s Webb Telescope Explores Cosmic Cliffs
In July 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope made its public debut with a series of breathtaking images. Among them was an ethereal landscape nicknamed the Cosmic Cliffs. This glittering realm of star birth is the subject of a new 3D visualization derived from the Webb data. The visualization, created by NASA’s Universe of Learning […]
New Visualization From NASA’s Webb Telescope Explores Cosmic Cliffs
In July 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope made its public debut with a series of breathtaking images. Among them was an ethereal landscape nicknamed the Cosmic Cliffs. This glittering realm of star birth is the subject of a new 3D visualization derived from the Webb data. The visualization, created by NASA’s Universe of Learning […]
NASA’s NICER Maps Debris From Recurring Cosmic Crashes
Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí. For the first time, astronomers have probed the physical environment of repeating X-ray outbursts near monster black holes thanks to data from NASA’s NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) and other missions. Scientists have only recently encountered this class of X-ray flares, called QPEs, or quasi-periodic eruptions. […]
NASA’s NICER Maps Debris From Recurring Cosmic Crashes
Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí. For the first time, astronomers have probed the physical environment of repeating X-ray outbursts near monster black holes thanks to data from NASA’s NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) and other missions. Scientists have only recently encountered this class of X-ray flares, called QPEs, or quasi-periodic eruptions. […]
NASA’s Webb Lifts Veil on Common but Mysterious Type of Exoplanet
Though they don’t orbit around our Sun, sub-Neptunes are the most common type of exoplanet, or planet outside our solar system, that have been observed in our galaxy. These small, gassy planets are shrouded in mystery…and often, a lot of haze. Now, by observing exoplanet TOI-421 b, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is helping scientists […]
Hubble Images a Peculiar Spiral
A beautiful but skewed spiral galaxy dazzles in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. The galaxy, called Arp 184 or NGC 1961, sits about 190 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Camelopardalis (The Giraffe). The name Arp 184 comes from the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies compiled by astronomer Halton Arp in 1966. It […]
NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Begins Capturing Entire Sky
After weeks of preparation, the space observatory has begun its science mission, taking about 3,600 unique images per day to create a map of the cosmos like no other. Launched on March 11, NASA’s SPHEREx space observatory has spent the last six weeks undergoing checkouts, calibrations, and other activities to ensure it is working as […]
NASA Gathers Experts to Discuss Emerging Technologies in Astrophysics
The future of astrophysics research could unlock the secrets of the universe, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum sensing, and advanced materials may hold the key to faster, more efficient discovery. Advancements and implementations of new technologies are imperative for observational astrophysics to achieve the next level of detection. NASA’s Emerging Technologies for Astrophysics […]
How Are We Made of Star Stuff? We Asked a NASA Expert: Episode 58
How are we made of star stuff? Well, the important thing to understand about this question is that it’s not an analogy, it’s literally true. The elements in our bodies, the elements that make up our bones, the trees we see outside, the other planets in the solar system, other stars in the galaxy. These […]