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Unusual X-ray Flash in Large Magellanic Cloud Puzzles Astronomers
A brief yet intense X-ray flash, XRT 200515, was detected in NASA's Chandra telescope data from 2000. The signal, originating from the Large Magellanic Cloud, has left scientists debating its cause. Possible explanations include a neutron star pulling in gas from a companion star or a powerful flare from a distant magnetar. Researchers also specula...
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'MACE' Observatory Detects 'Blast From The Past' Way Before Earth Was Born
Scientists from the Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai part of the Department of Atomic Energy, have detected a distant explosion from a galaxy, of what is also called a Gamma Ray flare.
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A Neptune-Like Exoplanet Is Racing Through Space at Record Speed
Scientists have detected an exoplanet racing through space at 1.2 million mph, making it the fastest known planet. The Neptune-sized world orbits a hypervelocity star, first hinted at in 2011 via gravitational microlensing. Astronomers, using Keck Observatory and Gaia data, have confirmed the system’s extreme speed, suggesting it may even leave t...
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Increased Seismic Activity at Mount Spurr Raises Eruption Concerns
Seismic activity at Mount Spurr, Alaska, has intensified over the past ten months, with recent earthquakes shifting towards Crater Peak, a vent that erupted in 1992 and 1953. Scientists estimate a 50 percent chance of an eruption at Crater Peak, though the main crater remains stable. If an eruption occurs, ashfall and air travel disruptions could b...
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A Star With a Planet May Be Racing Through the Galaxy at Record Speed
Astronomers have identified a potential record-breaking exoplanet system moving at 1.2 million mph. Detected through microlensing, the discovery suggests a low-mass star with an orbiting planet is racing through the Milky Way. Data from the Keck Observatory and ESA’s Gaia satellite indicate a high-speed celestial body that may eventually escape t...
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High-Resolution Observations Provide New Insights into Brown Dwarf HD 206893 B
Astronomers have gained significant insights into brown dwarf HD 206893 B using high-resolution spectroscopy. The study, led by UCSD's Ben Sappey, reveals the object's mass, temperature, and formation details, contributing to brown dwarf research. Located 133 light-years away, HD 206893 B's position within a debris disk invites future investigation...
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Astronomer Captures Breathtaking Time-Lapse Video Of Earth's Rotation From Ladakh
Over four gruelling nights, he faced numerous setbacks, including storage issues, battery failures, and timer malfunctions.
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New Cosmic Surveys Reveal Unexpected Clues About Universe’s Evolution
A new study published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics reveals a potential discrepancy in the expected clumpiness of cosmic structures. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory analysed data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (...
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Gravitational Waves Reveal Black Hole Ancestry Through Spin Analysis
A study published in Physical Review Letters explores how gravitational waves reveal the ancestry of black holes. By examining 69 black hole mergers, researchers found that spin shifts indicate repeated collisions in dense star clusters. This insight supports models suggesting black holes grow through sequential mergers. Observatories like LIGO and...
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Scientists Discover Hidden Clues to the Dark Universe in 3D Galaxy Maps
A breakthrough study has revealed new insights into the "dark universe," which consists of dark matter and dark energy. By using a novel technique called field-level inference (FLI), scientists have discovered previously hidden details in 3D galaxy maps. This method preserves the three-dimensional nature of the data, unlike traditional compression ...
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NASA SPHEREx Telescope to Map the Universe and Search for Life’s Ingredients
NASA’s SPHEREx mission, set to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on February 27, aims to explore the origins of the universe and the formation of galaxies. Using near-infrared light, the telescope will study over 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars in the Milky Way. It will also search for water and organic molecules in regions where ...
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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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Vera C. Rubin Observatory to Detect Millions of Exploding Stars
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, set to begin its 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) later this year, will track millions of Type Ia supernovae to advance our understanding of dark energy. These supernovae, resulting from white dwarf stars in binary systems, will be studied in detail to provide crucial data on the universe’s acceleratin...
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Asteroid 2024 PT5 Linked to Lunar Surface, Reveals Planetary Defense Insights
Asteroid 2024 PT5, sized like a school bus, passed Earth in January at 1.1 million miles. Research suggests it originated from the moon, ejected thousands of years ago by an impact. Spectral analysis matched it to Apollo 14 lunar rocks, ruling out artificial origins. This is the second known lunar asteroid after 469219 Kamo’oalewa. The study hint...
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Comet ATLAS Offers Stunning Display as It Nears the Sun
Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) recently passed within 8 million miles of the Sun, capturing the attention of astronomers. Observed by NASA and ESA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), the comet’s tail extended dramatically as it encountered intense solar winds, providing a unique opportunity to study the Sun’s impact on comets. The event, wh...
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Unusual X-ray Flash in Large Magellanic Cloud Puzzles Astronomers
A brief yet intense X-ray flash, XRT 200515, was detected in NASA's Chandra telescope data from 2000. The signal, originating from the Large Magellanic Cloud, has left scientists debating its cause. Possible explanations include a neutron star pulling in gas from a companion star or a powerful flare from a distant magnetar. Researchers also specula...
-
'MACE' Observatory Detects 'Blast From The Past' Way Before Earth Was Born
Scientists from the Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai part of the Department of Atomic Energy, have detected a distant explosion from a galaxy, of what is also called a Gamma Ray flare.
-
A Neptune-Like Exoplanet Is Racing Through Space at Record Speed
Scientists have detected an exoplanet racing through space at 1.2 million mph, making it the fastest known planet. The Neptune-sized world orbits a hypervelocity star, first hinted at in 2011 via gravitational microlensing. Astronomers, using Keck Observatory and Gaia data, have confirmed the system’s extreme speed, suggesting it may even leave t...
-
Increased Seismic Activity at Mount Spurr Raises Eruption Concerns
Seismic activity at Mount Spurr, Alaska, has intensified over the past ten months, with recent earthquakes shifting towards Crater Peak, a vent that erupted in 1992 and 1953. Scientists estimate a 50 percent chance of an eruption at Crater Peak, though the main crater remains stable. If an eruption occurs, ashfall and air travel disruptions could b...
-
A Star With a Planet May Be Racing Through the Galaxy at Record Speed
Astronomers have identified a potential record-breaking exoplanet system moving at 1.2 million mph. Detected through microlensing, the discovery suggests a low-mass star with an orbiting planet is racing through the Milky Way. Data from the Keck Observatory and ESA’s Gaia satellite indicate a high-speed celestial body that may eventually escape t...
-
High-Resolution Observations Provide New Insights into Brown Dwarf HD 206893 B
Astronomers have gained significant insights into brown dwarf HD 206893 B using high-resolution spectroscopy. The study, led by UCSD's Ben Sappey, reveals the object's mass, temperature, and formation details, contributing to brown dwarf research. Located 133 light-years away, HD 206893 B's position within a debris disk invites future investigation...
-
Astronomer Captures Breathtaking Time-Lapse Video Of Earth's Rotation From Ladakh
Over four gruelling nights, he faced numerous setbacks, including storage issues, battery failures, and timer malfunctions.
-
New Cosmic Surveys Reveal Unexpected Clues About Universe’s Evolution
A new study published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics reveals a potential discrepancy in the expected clumpiness of cosmic structures. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory analysed data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (...
-
Gravitational Waves Reveal Black Hole Ancestry Through Spin Analysis
A study published in Physical Review Letters explores how gravitational waves reveal the ancestry of black holes. By examining 69 black hole mergers, researchers found that spin shifts indicate repeated collisions in dense star clusters. This insight supports models suggesting black holes grow through sequential mergers. Observatories like LIGO and...
-
Scientists Discover Hidden Clues to the Dark Universe in 3D Galaxy Maps
A breakthrough study has revealed new insights into the "dark universe," which consists of dark matter and dark energy. By using a novel technique called field-level inference (FLI), scientists have discovered previously hidden details in 3D galaxy maps. This method preserves the three-dimensional nature of the data, unlike traditional compression ...
-
NASA SPHEREx Telescope to Map the Universe and Search for Life’s Ingredients
NASA’s SPHEREx mission, set to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on February 27, aims to explore the origins of the universe and the formation of galaxies. Using near-infrared light, the telescope will study over 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars in the Milky Way. It will also search for water and organic molecules in regions where ...
-
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...
-
Vera C. Rubin Observatory to Detect Millions of Exploding Stars
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, set to begin its 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) later this year, will track millions of Type Ia supernovae to advance our understanding of dark energy. These supernovae, resulting from white dwarf stars in binary systems, will be studied in detail to provide crucial data on the universe’s acceleratin...
-
Asteroid 2024 PT5 Linked to Lunar Surface, Reveals Planetary Defense Insights
Asteroid 2024 PT5, sized like a school bus, passed Earth in January at 1.1 million miles. Research suggests it originated from the moon, ejected thousands of years ago by an impact. Spectral analysis matched it to Apollo 14 lunar rocks, ruling out artificial origins. This is the second known lunar asteroid after 469219 Kamo’oalewa. The study hint...
-
Comet ATLAS Offers Stunning Display as It Nears the Sun
Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) recently passed within 8 million miles of the Sun, capturing the attention of astronomers. Observed by NASA and ESA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), the comet’s tail extended dramatically as it encountered intense solar winds, providing a unique opportunity to study the Sun’s impact on comets. The event, wh...
