NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has found the best evidence yet for emission from a neutron star at the site of a recently observed supernova. The supernova, known as SN 1987A, was a core-collapse supernova, meaning the compacted remains at its core formed either a neutron star or a black hole. Evidence for such a compact object has long been sought, and while indirect evidence for the presence of a neutron star has previously been found, this is the first time that the effects of high-energy emission from the probable young neutron star have been detected.
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Contrary to what you might think, galaxy collisions do not destroy stars. In fact, the rough-and-tumble dynamics trigger new generations of stars, and presumably accompanying planets. Now NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has homed in on 12 interacting galaxies that have long, tadpole-like tidal tails of gas, dust, and a plethora of stars.
NOIRLab – Interim Director International Gemini Observatory Before Scott Dahm moved into the Interim Director role, he was Deputy Director of Gemini Observatory. He received his PhD in astronomy from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa under George Herbig, on the study of young stellar clusters. He subsequently served as an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at […]
Vice President for Human Resources Jon is an accomplished Human Resources (HR) professional with a strong ability to assess organizational needs and implement effective action plans to prepare organizations for the future. He brings more than 20 years of experience innovating strategic talent management across all areas of HR. Prior to his last role as […]
The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is pleased to announce that Jon Tuma will join the AURA Corporate Office on January 29, 2024, as our new Vice President of Human Resources.
It’s oh-so-easy to be absolutely mesmerized by these spiral galaxies. Follow their clearly defined arms, which are brimming with stars, to their centers, where there may be old star clusters and – sometimes – active supermassive black holes. Only NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope can deliver highly detailed scenes of nearby galaxies in a combination of near- and mid-infrared light – and a set of these images was publicly released today.
The lenticular galaxy NGC 4753, captured by the Gemini South telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, is a truly remarkable object. Its prominent and complex network of dust lanes that twist around its galactic nucleus define its ‘peculiar’ classification and are the likely result of a galactic merger with a nearby dwarf galaxy about 1.3 billion years ago.
Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope observed the smallest exoplanet where water vapor has been detected in the atmosphere. At only approximately twice Earth’s diameter, the planet GJ 9827d could be an example of potential planets with water-rich atmospheres elsewhere in our galaxy.
AURA is pleased to announce that Dr. Christoph Keller has been appointed as the next Director of the National Science Foundation’s National Solar Observatory (NSO) succeeding Dr. Valentin Pillet, who will be retiring as Director in 2024. Previously Dr. Keller was Director of Science at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.
In the intricate dance of solar activity, a new study led by solar physicist Kiran Jain at the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) National Solar Observatory (NSO) has unveiled the captivating rhythms of Quasi-Biennial Oscillations (QBOs), shedding light on their elusive nature, and the symphony of periodicities within the Sun. Dr. Jain and her collaborators, Partha Chowdhury and Sushanta C. Tripathy, unraveled the nuanced variations in QBOs by using acoustic mode oscillation frequencies from NSF’s Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) spanning over 25 years—delving into the heart of solar cycles 23 and 24.
This image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows a portion of the dense center of our galaxy in unprecedented detail, including never-before-seen features astronomers have yet to explain. The star-forming region, named Sagittarius C (Sgr C), is about 300 light-years from the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*.
The diminutive planet, LTT 1445Ac, was first discovered by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) in 2022. But the geometry of the planet’s orbital plane relative to its star as seen from Earth was uncertain because TESS does not have the required optical resolution. This means the detection could have been a so-called grazing transit, where a planet only skims across a small portion of the parent star’s disk. This would yield an inaccurate lower limit of the planet’s diameter.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope have united to study an expansive galaxy cluster known as MACS0416. The resulting panchromatic image combines visible and infrared light to assemble one of the most comprehensive views of the universe ever taken. Located about 4.3 billion light-years from Earth, MACS0416 is a pair of colliding galaxy clusters that will eventually combine to form an even bigger cluster.
Astronomers using the Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, have captured the eroding remains of more than 100 dwarf galaxies as they transition into ultra-compact dwarf galaxies, objects with masses much greater than star clusters yet much smaller than dwarf galaxies. These findings confirm that many ultra-compact dwarf galaxies are likely the fossil remains of normal dwarf galaxies that have been stripped of their outer layers.
The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jennifer Lotz as the Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). Dr. Lotz will begin her five-year appointment as STScI Director starting February 12, 2024. Previously, Dr. Lotz was the Director of the International Gemini Observatory which is operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, and managed by AURA.
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