Young stars ejecting plasma could give us clues into the Sun’s past Kyoto, Japan — Down here on Earth we don’t usually notice, but the Sun is frequently ejecting huge masses of plasma into space. These are called coronal mass ejections (CMEs). They often occur together with sudden brightenings called flares, and sometimes extend far enough to disturb Earth’s magnetosphere, generating space weather phenomena including auroras or geomagnetic storms, and even damaging power grids on occasion. Scientists believe that when…
Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in solar physics by providing the first direct evidence of small-scale torsional Alfvén waves in the Sun’s corona – elusive magnetic waves that scientists have been searching for since the 1940s. Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in solar physics by providing the first direct evidence of small-scale torsional Alfvén waves in the Sun’s corona – elusive magnetic waves that scientists have been searching for since the 1940s. The discovery, published today in Nature Astronomy, was…
Using a global network of telescopes, astronomers have detected the lowest-mass dark object yet found in the universe. Finding more such objects and understanding their nature could rule out some theories about the nature of dark matter, the mystery substance that makes up about a quarter of the universe. The work is described in two papers published Oct. 9 in Nature Astronomy and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Because the object does not emit any light or other radiation, it was…
Scientists digging through data collected by the Cassini spacecraft have found new complex organic molecules spewing from Saturn’s moon Enceladus. This is a clear sign that complex chemical reactions are taking place within its underground ocean. Some of these reactions could be part of chains that lead to even more complex, potentially biologically relevant molecules. Published today in Nature Astronomy, this discovery further strengthens the case for a dedicated European Space Agency (ESA) mission to orbit and land on Enceladus….
European astronomers have produced the most accurate three-dimensional map to date of star-forming regions within our Milky Way galaxy, using data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope. The new map offers an unprecedented look at the dense, cloudy regions where new stars are born, shedding light on the young, hot stars that sculpt these cosmic nurseries. Mapping Star Formation Hidden Behind Dust Studying star-forming regions is challenging because thick clouds of gas and dust obscure them from view,…
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Tiny crimson specks discovered by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) could represent an entirely new class of cosmic object — massive black holes wrapped in star-like atmospheres — offering fresh insights into how the first galaxies may have formed. Unexpected Red Dots Challenge Existing Theories When JWST began sending data in 2022, astronomers were startled by the presence of tiny “little red dots” scattered across the early universe. Initially, researchers, including a team from Penn…
AMHERST, Mass. — Black holes may not be as eternal as they seem. New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, published in Physical Review Letters, suggests there’s a more than 90% chance that a black hole will explode within the next decade—and that our current telescopes could detect it. Such an explosion would be the first-ever observation of a primordial black hole (PBH)—a theorized type of black hole that could have formed less than a second after the Big…
SOUTHAMPTON, UK — Astronomers have discovered a white dwarf star locked in a deadly dance with its stellar companion—devouring it at a rate never seen before. The doomed pair, known as V Sagittae, lies around 10,000 light-years from Earth and has long puzzled scientists with its unusual brightness. The new study, led by Dr Pasi Hakala from the University of Turku (Finland) and involving Professor Phil Charles from the University of Southampton (UK) and Dr Pablo Rodríguez Gil from the…
A new study proposes that building a rectangular-shaped telescope, instead of the traditional circular design, could dramatically improve our chances of finding habitable Earth-like planets orbiting nearby stars. The Challenge of Spotting Another Earth Finding an exoplanet that resembles Earth is notoriously difficult. Stars are millions to billions of times brighter than the planets orbiting them, making the faint planetary light nearly impossible to distinguish. Liquid water is considered essential for life as we know it, and the best candidates…
MAUI, HI – August 25, 2025 — Astronomers using the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope have captured the highest-resolution images of a solar flare ever recorded at the H-alpha wavelength (656.28 nm). The observations, taken during the decay phase of an X1.3-class flare on August 8, 2024, reveal razor-thin coronal loops averaging just 48.2 km in width—and possibly as narrow as 21 km. These are the smallest coronal loops ever imaged, offering a breakthrough in…
SAN ANTONIO — August 18, 2025 — A team led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has confirmed decades-old theoretical models of magnetic reconnection — the explosive process that releases stored magnetic energy and powers solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and other space weather events. The breakthrough comes from data gathered by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP), the first spacecraft to fly directly through the Sun’s upper atmosphere. Understanding Magnetic Reconnection Magnetic reconnection occurs when magnetic field lines in plasma break…
Hubble Telescope Reveals Clues to Unusual White Dwarf’s Origins Astronomers at the University of Warwick have uncovered compelling evidence that a nearby white dwarf star is the result of a rare stellar collision. Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, researchers identified subtle carbon signatures in the star’s ultraviolet spectrum — a discovery that points to a past merger between two stars. White dwarfs are the dense, compact cores left behind after stars exhaust their fuel. Typically Earth-sized but with…
Astronomers may have caught a young planet in the process of forming, sculpting its surroundings within a disc of gas and dust encircling its host star. Using the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT), researchers observed striking spiral arms in a protoplanetary disc — and for the first time, found evidence of a planet candidate nestled within such a spiral. “We will never witness the formation of Earth, but here, around a young star 440 light-years away, we…
Osaka, Japan – A research team at the University of Osaka has introduced a groundbreaking approach to generating ultrahigh magnetic fields using a technique known as bladed microtube implosion (BMI). By leveraging laser-driven implosions of specially structured microtubes, the team has demonstrated the potential to reach magnetic field strengths nearing one megatesla—a remarkable leap in compact plasma science. These extreme fields, theoretically comparable to those observed near highly magnetized neutron stars and astrophysical jets, are created using a compact experimental…
Astronomers have identified a colossal exoplanet, measuring between three and ten times the size of Jupiter, concealed behind the swirling disc of gas and dust encircling a nascent star. Previous investigations of the star MP Mus indicated that it existed in isolation, devoid of any orbiting planets, encircled by a uniform cloud of gas and dust. However, a further analysis of MP Mus using a combination of data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter…
The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has unveiled the very first “mega” images of the cosmos obtained thanks to the extraordinary features and wide-field view of its LSST camera—the largest in the world. The camera took nearly two decades to build and involved hundreds of scientists across the globe, including a number of CNRS teams. The world-wide First Look unveiling event is held on 23 June at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. The impressive, car-sized…
Feedback
