Frontier science, explained
Space, physics and materials news from NASA, NIST, ESA/Hubble, ESA/Webb, ESO, NOIRLab and ALMA.
ALMA and NSF VLA Reveal Time-Stamped History of Star Birth in a Dazzling Cosmic Jet
Decades of NSF VLA groundwork enable ALMA’s breakthrough images, uncovering rings in a stellar jet that record explosive outbursts from a young star
astrophysicsstars
Bright Blue Cosmic Outbursts Likely Caused by Large Black Holes Shredding Massive Companions
In 2024, astronomers discovered the brightest Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transient (LFBOT) ever observed.
astrophysicsblack holes
Gemini North Color Images Reveal Greenish Glow of Comet 3I/ATLAS
Gemini North captured new images of Comet 3I/ATLAS after it reemerged from behind the Sun on its path out of the Solar System.
astrophysicsthe solar system
Webb identifies earliest supernova to date, shows host galaxy
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has confirmed the source of a super-bright flash of light known as a gamma-ray burst, generated by an exploding massive star when the Universe was only 730 million years old.
astrophysicsgalaxies
Gemini and Blanco Telescopes Unlock Clues to Origin of Longest Gamma-ray Burst Ever Observed
Astronomers have observed the longest-ever gamma-ray burst — a powerful, extragalactic explosion that lasted over seven hours.
astrophysicsstars
ALMA Reveals 57 Faces of a Dying Star
Astronomers expose complex flows and chemistry in W Hydrae
astrophysicsstarsWhat Time Is It on Mars? NIST Physicists Have the Answer.
This calculation is necessary for future space navigation and communication networks.
metrology
Gemini South Celebrates 25th Anniversary With Stunning Snapshot of the Butterfly Nebula
To celebrate 25 years since the completion of the International Gemini Observatory, students in Chile voted for the Gemini South telescope to image NGC 6302 — a billowing planetary nebula that resembles a cosmic butterfly.
astrophysicsnebulae
Webb witnesses a feasting supermassive black hole in the early Universe
Researchers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have confirmed an actively growing supermassive black hole within a galaxy just 570 million years after the Big Bang.
astrophysicsblack holes
Unique shape of star’s explosion revealed just a day after detection
Swift observations with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) have revealed the explosive death of a star just as the blast was breaking through the star’s surface.
astrophysicsLaser trial run kickstarts new era of interferometry
Last week, four lasers were projected into the skies above the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO’s) Paranal site in Chile.
astrophysics
New image captures spooky bat signal in the sky
A spooky bat has been spotted flying over the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO’s) Paranal site in Chile, right in time for Halloween.
astrophysicsnebulaeAstronomers Spot Magnetically-Guided Streamer Funneling Star-Building Material into Newborn System in Perseus
New ALMA observations reveal spiral-shaped gas streamer guided by magnetic fields in a star-forming nursery
astrophysicsstarsAstronomers Discover Fastest-Evolving Radio Signals Ever Observed from Black Hole Tearing Apart Star
An international team of astronomers has discovered the first radio-bright tidal disruption event (TDE) occurring outside a galaxy's center, combining data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and from the Very Large Array (VLA) of the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO), along with several partner telescopes.
astrophysicsblack holesFirst-ever Detection of “Heavy Water” in a Planet-forming Disk
New ALMA data traces water found in comets, and planet formation, back to the dawn of the cosmos
astrophysicsexoplanets