The Superwind Galaxy NGC 4666

The galaxy NGC 4666 takes pride of place at the centre of this new image, made in visible light with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. NGC 4666 is a remarkable galaxy with very vigorous star formation and an unusual “superwind” of out-flowing gas. It [...]

NASA’s Kepler mission discovers 2 planets transiting same star

NASA’s Kepler Mission has discovered the first confirmed planetary system with more than one planet transiting the same star. Today’s announcement of the discovery of the two planets, Kepler 9b and 9c, is based on seven months of observations of more than 156,000 stars being monitored for subtle brightness changes as part of an ongoing [...]

Our Solar system: now with 2 million years more maturity

New measurements of an old rock show that the solar system may be up to 2 million years older than scientists previously thought. The new birth date could resolve a major controversy among geochemists, and it provides extra evidence that the solar system got its heavy elements from the explosion of a nearby supernova. The [...]

Richest Planetary System Discovered

Up to seven planets orbiting a Sun-like star   Astronomers using ESO’s world-leading HARPS instrument have discovered a planetary system containing at least five planets, orbiting the Sun-like star HD 10180. The researchers also have tantalising evidence that two other planets may be present, one of which would have the lowest mass ever found. This [...]

How Much Mass Makes a Black Hole?

Astronomers Challenge Current Theories Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, European astronomers have for the first time demonstrated that a magnetar — an unusual type of neutron star — was formed from a star with at least 40 times as much mass as the Sun. The result presents great challenges to current theories of how stars [...]

Einstein@Home ‘citizen scientists’ discover a new pulsar in Arecibo telescope data

Idle computers are the astronomers’ playground: Three citizen scientists – a German and an American couple – have discovered a new radio pulsar hidden in data gathered by the Arecibo Observatory. This is the first deep-space discovery by Einstein@Home, which uses donated time from the home and office computers of 250,000 volunteers from 192 different [...]

Ambitious Survey Spots Stellar Nurseries

Astronomers scanning the skies as part of ESO’s VISTA Magellanic Cloud survey have now obtained a spectacular picture of the Tarantula Nebula in our neighbouring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. This panoramic near-infrared view captures the nebula itself in great detail as well as the rich surrounding area of sky. The image was obtained at [...]

Seeing a Stellar Explosion in 3D

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have for the first time obtained a three-dimensional view of the distribution of the innermost material expelled by a recently exploded star. The original blast was not only powerful, according to the new results. It was also more concentrated in one particular direction. This is a strong indication that [...]

Brilliant Star in a Colourful Neighbourhood

A spectacular new image from ESO’s Wide Field Imager at the La Silla Observatory in Chile shows the brilliant and unusual star WR 22 and its colourful surroundings. WR 22 is a very hot and bright star that is shedding its atmosphere into space at a rate many millions of times faster than the Sun. [...]

Potentially hazardous asteroid might collide with the Earth in 2182

The potentially hazardous asteroid, (101955) 1999 RQ36, has a one-in-a-thousand chance of impacting the Earth, and more than half of this probability indicates that this could happen in the year 2182, based on a global study in which Spanish researchers have been involved. Knowing this fact may help design in advance mechanisms aimed at deviating [...]