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Light Pollution Threatens Global Observatories, Jeopardising Deep-Sky Astronomy
Light pollution is brightening skies over observatories at an alarming rate, with artificial light growing by up to 10% each year. Astronomers caution that this glow, intensified by widespread LED use and urban expansion, is threatening the ability of telescopes to detect faint cosmic objects and diminishing humanity’s shared right to experience ...
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Twisted Jet Confirms Most Extreme Binary Black Hole System in the Universe
Astronomers have confirmed that the blazar OJ 287 hosts the most extreme binary black hole system ever found. Using a global radio telescope array, they captured an ultra-sharp image showing a dramatically bent jet—evidence of two supermassive black holes locked in orbit. The system’s 12-year flare cycle and jet twists match predictions of a sm...
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Habitable Zone Explained: The ‘Goldilocks Zone’ Where Life-Friendly Planets May Exist
The habitable zone, or “Goldilocks zone”, is the region around a star where conditions allow liquid water to exist. Varying with star type, this zone is key in the search for life. Earth’s location in the Sun’s habitable zone has made life possible, and astronomers seek similar rocky exoplanets in other systems to explore the possibility of...
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Hubble Delivers Best View Yet of Rare Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Racing Through Solar System
Hubble has captured its sharpest image of 3I/ATLAS, a rare interstellar comet speeding through the solar system at 130,000 mph. The view reveals a dust-filled coma, a faint tail, and activity similar to native comets. Astronomers aim to study its composition before it vanishes forever, offering insight into objects formed around other stars.
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Harvard Astronomer Avi Loeb Suggests Interstellar Object Could Be Alien Probe
A senior Harvard astronomer has reignited speculation about the origins of a vast interstellar object hurtling through the solar system. He has suggested that it might be an engineered probe instead of a natural phenomenon.
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Astronomers Detect Black Hole 36 Billion Times the Sun’s Mass, Among Largest Ever Found
Astronomers have detected a dormant black hole with a mass equal to 36 billion Suns in the Cosmic Horseshoe system, 5 billion light-years away. Identified via gravitational lensing and stellar motion, it ranks among the largest known black holes. The discovery sheds light on the link between galaxy size and central black hole growth.
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James Webb Telescope Detects Potential Gas Giant Exoplanet Just 4 Light-Years Away
Astronomers using JWST have spotted a possible gas giant orbiting Alpha Centauri A, only 4 light-years away. If confirmed, it would be the closest exoplanet to a Sun-like star ever imaged. The discovery could challenge current models of planetary formation in binary systems and open new opportunities for studying nearby worlds.
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Earliest Known Black Hole Found Just 500 Million Years After the Big Bang
Astronomers have confirmed the most distant black hole ever discovered, lurking in a compact galaxy just 500 million years after the Big Bang. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, the team identified clear spectroscopic evidence of the object, offering new insight into early black hole growth and their role in forming galaxies during the universe...
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Chinese Astronomers Use Insight-HXMT to Decode X-ray Outburst of Binary Star System
In a recent study published on July 24 via arXiv, astronomers from Wuhan University have detailed the powerful X-ray outburst of the Be/X-ray binary system RX J0440.9+4431. Using China’s Insight-HXMT satellite, the team tracked the event from its eruption in December 2022 through March 2023.
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Mysterious Planet Nine May Still Lurk in the Outer Solar System
Astronomers have long speculated about a hidden planet—Planet Nine—lurking beyond Neptune. First proposed in 2016, the theory explains the strange orbits of distant Kuiper Belt objects through the gravitational pull of a massive, unseen world. Caltech researchers remain confident, while others suggest alternatives like debris rings or even a bl...
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Massive 200-Light-Year Cloud May Be Channeling Matter to the Milky Way's Core
Astronomers have discovered a massive, 200-light-year-wide cloud of gas and dust—dubbed the Midpoint cloud—hidden in the Milky Way. This giant molecular cloud appears to channel dense material into the galaxy’s core, possibly fueling star formation. The discovery offers rare insights into how matter flows from the galaxy’s disk to its turbu...
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Supergiant Star Wd1-9 Investigated: Know Everything about New Findings and Insights from Supergiant Star
The supergiant star called Wd1-9 has been recently investigated in detail. This detailed, in-depth research was done using NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The new findings suggest that it is a part of the binary system.
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New Rogue Planet Discovered in Hubble Data Using Einstein’s Gravity Theory
Astronomers discovered a rogue planet hidden in Hubble’s archival data using gravitational microlensing based on Einstein’s theory. The event, OGLE-2023-BLG-0524, lasted just eight hours and lacked signs of a host star, suggesting the planet might be truly free-floating.
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Brightest Gamma-Ray Burst Ever Observed Reveals Cosmic Secrets
On October 9, 2022, astronomers detected GRB 221009A, the most powerful gamma-ray burst ever recorded, earning the nickname “BOAT” (Brightest Of All Time). This rare, once-in-10,000-year event came from a galaxy 2 billion light-years away and temporarily blinded gamma-ray detectors. It revealed new insights into stellar death, as the associated...
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Starlink’s Unintended Signals Threaten Astronomical Research, Study Finds
Astronomers have raised concerns over Starlink’s unintended radio emissions interfering with space observation. A Curtin University study found emissions from SpaceX satellites impacting up to 30% of astronomical data. Experts urge updated regulations to protect radio astronomy, as current rules overlook these non-deliberate signals from satellit...
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Light Pollution Threatens Global Observatories, Jeopardising Deep-Sky Astronomy
Light pollution is brightening skies over observatories at an alarming rate, with artificial light growing by up to 10% each year. Astronomers caution that this glow, intensified by widespread LED use and urban expansion, is threatening the ability of telescopes to detect faint cosmic objects and diminishing humanity’s shared right to experience ...
-
Twisted Jet Confirms Most Extreme Binary Black Hole System in the Universe
Astronomers have confirmed that the blazar OJ 287 hosts the most extreme binary black hole system ever found. Using a global radio telescope array, they captured an ultra-sharp image showing a dramatically bent jet—evidence of two supermassive black holes locked in orbit. The system’s 12-year flare cycle and jet twists match predictions of a sm...
-
Habitable Zone Explained: The ‘Goldilocks Zone’ Where Life-Friendly Planets May Exist
The habitable zone, or “Goldilocks zone”, is the region around a star where conditions allow liquid water to exist. Varying with star type, this zone is key in the search for life. Earth’s location in the Sun’s habitable zone has made life possible, and astronomers seek similar rocky exoplanets in other systems to explore the possibility of...
-
Hubble Delivers Best View Yet of Rare Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Racing Through Solar System
Hubble has captured its sharpest image of 3I/ATLAS, a rare interstellar comet speeding through the solar system at 130,000 mph. The view reveals a dust-filled coma, a faint tail, and activity similar to native comets. Astronomers aim to study its composition before it vanishes forever, offering insight into objects formed around other stars.
-
Harvard Astronomer Avi Loeb Suggests Interstellar Object Could Be Alien Probe
A senior Harvard astronomer has reignited speculation about the origins of a vast interstellar object hurtling through the solar system. He has suggested that it might be an engineered probe instead of a natural phenomenon.
-
Astronomers Detect Black Hole 36 Billion Times the Sun’s Mass, Among Largest Ever Found
Astronomers have detected a dormant black hole with a mass equal to 36 billion Suns in the Cosmic Horseshoe system, 5 billion light-years away. Identified via gravitational lensing and stellar motion, it ranks among the largest known black holes. The discovery sheds light on the link between galaxy size and central black hole growth.
-
James Webb Telescope Detects Potential Gas Giant Exoplanet Just 4 Light-Years Away
Astronomers using JWST have spotted a possible gas giant orbiting Alpha Centauri A, only 4 light-years away. If confirmed, it would be the closest exoplanet to a Sun-like star ever imaged. The discovery could challenge current models of planetary formation in binary systems and open new opportunities for studying nearby worlds.
-
Earliest Known Black Hole Found Just 500 Million Years After the Big Bang
Astronomers have confirmed the most distant black hole ever discovered, lurking in a compact galaxy just 500 million years after the Big Bang. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, the team identified clear spectroscopic evidence of the object, offering new insight into early black hole growth and their role in forming galaxies during the universe...
-
Chinese Astronomers Use Insight-HXMT to Decode X-ray Outburst of Binary Star System
In a recent study published on July 24 via arXiv, astronomers from Wuhan University have detailed the powerful X-ray outburst of the Be/X-ray binary system RX J0440.9+4431. Using China’s Insight-HXMT satellite, the team tracked the event from its eruption in December 2022 through March 2023.
-
Mysterious Planet Nine May Still Lurk in the Outer Solar System
Astronomers have long speculated about a hidden planet—Planet Nine—lurking beyond Neptune. First proposed in 2016, the theory explains the strange orbits of distant Kuiper Belt objects through the gravitational pull of a massive, unseen world. Caltech researchers remain confident, while others suggest alternatives like debris rings or even a bl...
-
Massive 200-Light-Year Cloud May Be Channeling Matter to the Milky Way's Core
Astronomers have discovered a massive, 200-light-year-wide cloud of gas and dust—dubbed the Midpoint cloud—hidden in the Milky Way. This giant molecular cloud appears to channel dense material into the galaxy’s core, possibly fueling star formation. The discovery offers rare insights into how matter flows from the galaxy’s disk to its turbu...
-
Supergiant Star Wd1-9 Investigated: Know Everything about New Findings and Insights from Supergiant Star
The supergiant star called Wd1-9 has been recently investigated in detail. This detailed, in-depth research was done using NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The new findings suggest that it is a part of the binary system.
-
New Rogue Planet Discovered in Hubble Data Using Einstein’s Gravity Theory
Astronomers discovered a rogue planet hidden in Hubble’s archival data using gravitational microlensing based on Einstein’s theory. The event, OGLE-2023-BLG-0524, lasted just eight hours and lacked signs of a host star, suggesting the planet might be truly free-floating.
-
Brightest Gamma-Ray Burst Ever Observed Reveals Cosmic Secrets
On October 9, 2022, astronomers detected GRB 221009A, the most powerful gamma-ray burst ever recorded, earning the nickname “BOAT” (Brightest Of All Time). This rare, once-in-10,000-year event came from a galaxy 2 billion light-years away and temporarily blinded gamma-ray detectors. It revealed new insights into stellar death, as the associated...
-
Starlink’s Unintended Signals Threaten Astronomical Research, Study Finds
Astronomers have raised concerns over Starlink’s unintended radio emissions interfering with space observation. A Curtin University study found emissions from SpaceX satellites impacting up to 30% of astronomical data. Experts urge updated regulations to protect radio astronomy, as current rules overlook these non-deliberate signals from satellit...
