Astrophysics

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  JWST Reveals Salt Clouds in the Atmosphere of the ‘Pink Planet’ GJ 504b

  Using just two hours of observations, JWST decoded the atmosphere of GJ 504b, a cool pink world 57 light-years away. Scientists detected water vapor, methane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide, while deep salt clouds helped explain the object's unusual appearance and temperature.

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  IceCube Traces High-Energy Neutrino to Distant Starburst Galaxy

  Scientists have identified the source of a high-energy neutrino detected by IceCube in 2021. The particle originated from a distant starburst galaxy known as Shadow Blaster, suggesting that intensely star-forming galaxies can act as powerful cosmic accelerators without relying on active black holes.

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  JWST Watches HD 80606 bExoplanet Heat Up by 1,100 Degrees in Hours

  The James Webb Space Telescope observed HD 80606 b undergo a dramatic temperature surge during its closest approach to its star. The data revealed extreme heating and detected methane and carbon dioxide, offering a rare look at how giant exoplanet atmospheres respond to intense stellar energy.

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  Chandra Captures Sharpest-Ever X-Ray View of M87 Black Hole Jet

  Using 13 years of observations, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory produced its sharpest-ever view of the jet from M87's supermassive black hole. The data reveal new structures, cooling particles, and magnetic fields that help scientists understand how black holes shape galaxies.

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  Scientists May Have Solved the Missing Sulfur Mystery in Star-Forming Clouds

  A new simulation suggests sulfur in star-forming clouds may be locked inside icy dust grains through previously overlooked chemical reactions. The findings offer fresh clues to a decades-old cosmic mystery and could improve our understanding of life's essential ingredients in space.

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  Astronomers Discover Why Massive Galaxies Died Early in the Universe

  Astronomers have discovered a powerful galactic wind in the merging galaxy system CRISTAL-02. The outflow is removing star-forming gas faster than it can be replenished, providing the first direct evidence for a mechanism that may have shut down star formation in massive early galaxies.

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  Astronomers Detect Star-Forming Fuel in a Galaxy 13 Billion Light-Years Away

  Using ALMA and the Very Large Array, astronomers directly detected a massive reservoir of molecular gas in REBELS-25, a galaxy from just 700 million years after the Big Bang. The finding provides the clearest evidence yet that some early galaxies were already loaded with the fuel needed for rapid star formation.

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  Astronomers Discover Two Galaxies That Appear to Lack Dark Matter

  Researchers studying FCC 224 and FCC 240 in the Fornax Cluster found evidence that both galaxies contain surprisingly little dark matter. The discovery supports the idea that galaxy collisions can strip away dark matter and raises new questions about how galaxies evolve.

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  James Webb Space Telescope Weighs Most Distant Dormant Black Hole Ever Detected

  Using JWST and a natural gravitational lens, astronomers measured a six-billion-solar-mass dormant black hole more than 10 billion light-years away. The discovery offers a rare glimpse into how galaxies and black holes evolved when the universe was just three billion years old.

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  James Webb Space Telescope Detects Most Distant Dormant Black Hole Ever Found

  JWST has identified the most distant dormant black hole ever observed, a six-billion-solar-mass giant in galaxy MRG-M0138. Seen when the universe was only three billion years old, the discovery provides rare evidence that black holes and galaxies evolved together in the early cosmos.

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  SETI Scientists Searched Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS for Alien Signals

  SETI researchers used the Allen Telescope Array to scan interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS for artificial radio signals. No techno-signatures were detected, but the observations improved methods for future searches.

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  JWST Discovers Ancient Black Hole Older Than Its Own Galaxy

  JWST has identified a supermassive black hole from the early universe that outweighs most of its own galaxy, suggesting black holes may form before galaxies themselves.

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  Most Powerful Neutrino Ever Detected May Have Come From a Blazar

  A 220 PeV neutrino detected beneath the Mediterranean Sea may have originated from a distant blazar. Simulations suggest these powerful black hole systems can generate ultra-high-energy ghost particles.

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  Scientists Discover 77 Rare Red Quasars Hidden Behind Cosmic Dust

  Scientists have discovered 77 rare red quasars hidden behind cosmic dust using NASA’s SPHEREx telescope. The findings support theories linking galaxy mergers to rapid black hole growth and galaxy evolution.

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  New Black Hole Study Suggests Singularities May Not Exist

  A new study suggests charged black holes may avoid singularities through quantum effects and Hawking radiation. The findings could reshape theories of gravity, space-time, and even the origins of dark matter.