Astronomical Discoveries
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Astronomers Find a 200,000-Light-Year Black Hole Jet in the Early Universe
Astronomers have identified the longest black hole jet observed in the early universe, stretching 200,000 light-years—twice the Milky Way’s width. Found in quasar J1601+3102, this jet was detected using the LOFAR telescope. Despite the black hole being 450 million times the Sun’s mass, it isn’t among the most massive. Scientists believe env...
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Astronomers Discover 19 New Quasars Using DESI Legacy Surveys Data
Using data from the DESI Legacy Surveys photometry catalog, 19 new quasars were identified, including strongly-lensed, dual, and projected types. Observations were carried out on October 15–16, 2023, at California's Palomar Observatory using the P200/DBSP instrument. Among the findings are two lensed quasars, J0746+1344 and J2121-0826, which exhi...
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Noida Student Discovers Asteroid, Earns Recognition from NASA with Opportunity to Name It
Daksh Malik, a 14-year-old student from Noida, has made an asteroid discovery that earned him recognition from NASA. Through the International Asteroid Discovery Project (IADP), Malik identified the asteroid “2023 OG40” and will have the opportunity to name it once NASA verifies the discovery. Daksh’s passion for space, sparked by National Ge...
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Astronomers Capture Supermassive Black Hole Plasma Jets at Birth
For the first time, plasma jets from a supermassive black hole have been observed in real time. Located 270 million light-years away in galaxy 1ES 1927+654, the jets traveled at one-third the speed of light. Emerging in 2024 after a radio flare in 2023, the jets broke through dense gas near the black hole, which has a mass 1.4 billion times that of...
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Zombie Star’s Mysterious Spiky Filaments Baffle Astronomers in New Discovery
A zombie star remnant, Pa 30, located 6,500 light-years from Earth, is surrounded by spiky filaments that have baffled astronomers. These filaments, observed for centuries, continue to puzzle scientists, as their formation and long-term stability remain unclear. The star's explosion in 1181 was initially noted by skywatchers, but its remnant struct...
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Astronomers Spot Hundreds of Hidden Supermassive Black Holes Using Infrared
Hundreds of hidden supermassive black holes have been identified using infrared observations, offering fresh insights into their role in galaxy formation. Researchers relied on data from NASA's Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) and the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) to detect emissions from black holes obscured by thick clouds ...
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Astronomers Observe Black Hole Reactivate, Emitting Jets of Plasma
A supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy 1ES 1927+654 has been observed reactivating after a quiet period. Jets of hot gas were released from both sides of the black hole, surprising astronomers. Researchers speculate that a white dwarf star in close orbit may be interacting with the black hole, providing key insights into cosmic behavior....
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Astronomers Discover Unusual X-Ray Oscillations From a Black Hole 100 Million Light-Years Away
A supermassive black hole 100 million light-years away is showing an unprecedented increase in X-ray oscillations, starting from 18-minute intervals and accelerating to 7 minutes in just two years. Astronomers believe a white dwarf, orbiting perilously close to the event horizon, is causing these flashes. The findings offer a glimpse into black hol...
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Astronomers Discover Water and Carbon Dioxide in WASP-166 b's Atmosphere
Astronomers have detected water and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of WASP-166 b, a hot super-Neptune exoplanet. Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the findings also noted ammonia in smaller quantities. WASP-166 b, located 368 light-years away, is a massive planet that orbits its star every 5.44 days, with a temperature of 1,2...
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Supernova Remnant G278.94+1.35 is Closer to Earth, Claims New Study
Astronomers discovered that the supernova remnant G278.94+1.35 is located just 3,300 light years away, much closer than previously believed. Initially thought to span over 500 light years, it is now estimated to measure around 189 by 182 light years. Named "Diprotodon" after Australia’s extinct giant marsupial, this structure remains in an expand...
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Rubin Observatory’s 2025 Debut Could Unveil Hidden Dark Comets in Space
The Vera Rubin Observatory, set to begin operations in 2025, is expected to revolutionise the study of dark comets. These elusive objects, which lack visible tails but exhibit non-gravitational acceleration, have already been identified in our solar system, but their true numbers remain unknown. The observatory's advanced technology, including a po...
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Ammonium Hydrosulfide Identified as Primary Component of Jupiter’s Clouds, Not Ammonia
Jupiter’s clouds, long believed to be made of ammonia ice, are now confirmed to consist primarily of ammonium hydrosulfide combined with photochemical materials. This groundbreaking discovery, achieved through collaboration between amateur and professional astronomers, has redefined our understanding of the planet's atmosphere. Using innovative m...
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Astronomers Discover A Massive Distant Spiral Galaxy from the Early Universe
Astronomers, using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), have identified Zhúlóng, a massive spiral galaxy with a redshift of 5.2. This discovery places the galaxy in a time when the universe was under a billion years old, providing critical insights into early galactic formation. Zhúlóng, named after a mythical Chinese dragon, spans 62,000 lig...
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Karnal Students Recognised by NASA for Discovering Main Belt Asteroid TD40
12 students and two teachers from Dyal Singh Public School in Karnal have been honoured by NASA’s International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) for discovering a main belt asteroid, TD40. The team, under the guidance of Principal Sushma Devgun and Dr Kaveri Chauhan, also registered 11 near-Earth objects. Diksha, a Class XI student, was r...
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Top 5 Black Hole Discoveries of 2024: Plasma Jet, Intermediate Black Hole, and More
Scientists have unveiled extraordinary discoveries about black holes, offering new insights into their evolution and impact on the universe. Among these findings is the potential detection of an intermediate black hole near Sagittarius A*, bridging the gap between stellar-mass and supermassive black holes. The James Webb Space Telescope observed a ...
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Astronomers Find a 200,000-Light-Year Black Hole Jet in the Early Universe
Astronomers have identified the longest black hole jet observed in the early universe, stretching 200,000 light-years—twice the Milky Way’s width. Found in quasar J1601+3102, this jet was detected using the LOFAR telescope. Despite the black hole being 450 million times the Sun’s mass, it isn’t among the most massive. Scientists believe env...
-
Astronomers Discover 19 New Quasars Using DESI Legacy Surveys Data
Using data from the DESI Legacy Surveys photometry catalog, 19 new quasars were identified, including strongly-lensed, dual, and projected types. Observations were carried out on October 15–16, 2023, at California's Palomar Observatory using the P200/DBSP instrument. Among the findings are two lensed quasars, J0746+1344 and J2121-0826, which exhi...
-
Noida Student Discovers Asteroid, Earns Recognition from NASA with Opportunity to Name It
Daksh Malik, a 14-year-old student from Noida, has made an asteroid discovery that earned him recognition from NASA. Through the International Asteroid Discovery Project (IADP), Malik identified the asteroid “2023 OG40” and will have the opportunity to name it once NASA verifies the discovery. Daksh’s passion for space, sparked by National Ge...
-
Astronomers Capture Supermassive Black Hole Plasma Jets at Birth
For the first time, plasma jets from a supermassive black hole have been observed in real time. Located 270 million light-years away in galaxy 1ES 1927+654, the jets traveled at one-third the speed of light. Emerging in 2024 after a radio flare in 2023, the jets broke through dense gas near the black hole, which has a mass 1.4 billion times that of...
-
Zombie Star’s Mysterious Spiky Filaments Baffle Astronomers in New Discovery
A zombie star remnant, Pa 30, located 6,500 light-years from Earth, is surrounded by spiky filaments that have baffled astronomers. These filaments, observed for centuries, continue to puzzle scientists, as their formation and long-term stability remain unclear. The star's explosion in 1181 was initially noted by skywatchers, but its remnant struct...
-
Astronomers Spot Hundreds of Hidden Supermassive Black Holes Using Infrared
Hundreds of hidden supermassive black holes have been identified using infrared observations, offering fresh insights into their role in galaxy formation. Researchers relied on data from NASA's Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) and the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) to detect emissions from black holes obscured by thick clouds ...
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Astronomers Observe Black Hole Reactivate, Emitting Jets of Plasma
A supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy 1ES 1927+654 has been observed reactivating after a quiet period. Jets of hot gas were released from both sides of the black hole, surprising astronomers. Researchers speculate that a white dwarf star in close orbit may be interacting with the black hole, providing key insights into cosmic behavior....
-
Astronomers Discover Unusual X-Ray Oscillations From a Black Hole 100 Million Light-Years Away
A supermassive black hole 100 million light-years away is showing an unprecedented increase in X-ray oscillations, starting from 18-minute intervals and accelerating to 7 minutes in just two years. Astronomers believe a white dwarf, orbiting perilously close to the event horizon, is causing these flashes. The findings offer a glimpse into black hol...
-
Astronomers Discover Water and Carbon Dioxide in WASP-166 b's Atmosphere
Astronomers have detected water and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of WASP-166 b, a hot super-Neptune exoplanet. Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the findings also noted ammonia in smaller quantities. WASP-166 b, located 368 light-years away, is a massive planet that orbits its star every 5.44 days, with a temperature of 1,2...
-
Supernova Remnant G278.94+1.35 is Closer to Earth, Claims New Study
Astronomers discovered that the supernova remnant G278.94+1.35 is located just 3,300 light years away, much closer than previously believed. Initially thought to span over 500 light years, it is now estimated to measure around 189 by 182 light years. Named "Diprotodon" after Australia’s extinct giant marsupial, this structure remains in an expand...
-
Rubin Observatory’s 2025 Debut Could Unveil Hidden Dark Comets in Space
The Vera Rubin Observatory, set to begin operations in 2025, is expected to revolutionise the study of dark comets. These elusive objects, which lack visible tails but exhibit non-gravitational acceleration, have already been identified in our solar system, but their true numbers remain unknown. The observatory's advanced technology, including a po...
-
Ammonium Hydrosulfide Identified as Primary Component of Jupiter’s Clouds, Not Ammonia
Jupiter’s clouds, long believed to be made of ammonia ice, are now confirmed to consist primarily of ammonium hydrosulfide combined with photochemical materials. This groundbreaking discovery, achieved through collaboration between amateur and professional astronomers, has redefined our understanding of the planet's atmosphere. Using innovative m...
-
Astronomers Discover A Massive Distant Spiral Galaxy from the Early Universe
Astronomers, using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), have identified Zhúlóng, a massive spiral galaxy with a redshift of 5.2. This discovery places the galaxy in a time when the universe was under a billion years old, providing critical insights into early galactic formation. Zhúlóng, named after a mythical Chinese dragon, spans 62,000 lig...
-
Karnal Students Recognised by NASA for Discovering Main Belt Asteroid TD40
12 students and two teachers from Dyal Singh Public School in Karnal have been honoured by NASA’s International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) for discovering a main belt asteroid, TD40. The team, under the guidance of Principal Sushma Devgun and Dr Kaveri Chauhan, also registered 11 near-Earth objects. Diksha, a Class XI student, was r...
-
Top 5 Black Hole Discoveries of 2024: Plasma Jet, Intermediate Black Hole, and More
Scientists have unveiled extraordinary discoveries about black holes, offering new insights into their evolution and impact on the universe. Among these findings is the potential detection of an intermediate black hole near Sagittarius A*, bridging the gap between stellar-mass and supermassive black holes. The James Webb Space Telescope observed a ...
