Tag: Astrophysics
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Groundbreaking Winners Announced for the 2026 Royal Astronomical Society Awards
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) has revealed its winners for the 2026 awards, celebrating outstanding achievements across astronomy, astrophysics, and related disciplines. This year’s recipients highlight the breadth and depth of modern space science, from the tiniest neutron stars to the dynamic field of geophysics. Here, we profile the two laureates whose work has earned…
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Hot Young Galaxy Clusters Challenge Formation Theories
Unpacking a surprising finding in the cosmos For decades, astrophysicists have offered a fairly consistent picture of how galaxy clusters form. Theories suggested that younger clusters—those that assemble earlier in the universe’s history—should be relatively cooler, having not yet accumulated the most energetic material that heats intergalactic gas. Recent observations, however, tell a different story.…
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Young Galaxy Cluster Defies Expectations with Unexpected Heat
New Observation Upends Theories About Galaxy Clusters In a surprising turn for astrophysics, researchers have identified a very young galaxy cluster that’s hotter than expected. Current theories suggest that young clusters should be relatively cool as their gas hasn’t yet settled into the dense, virialized state seen in older clusters. Yet the latest findings reveal…
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A Very Young Galaxy Cluster Goes Heating Against the Theory: New Findings Shock Researchers
Unexpected Heat in a Very Young Galaxy Cluster New research is turning a widely accepted assumption about galaxy clusters on its head. Prevailing theories suggested that young galaxy clusters should be relatively cool as they assemble and carve out their gravitational wells. But a recently observed, very young cluster has emerged as a striking exception,…
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Wobbling Black Hole Jet Revealed in Nearby Disk Galaxy: A Galaxy-Scale Revelation
Introduction: A Milky Way-Neighbor’s Dramatic Revelation Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea have identified the largest and most extended stream of super-heated gas flowing from a nearby disk galaxy. This discovery provides the clearest evidence yet that a supermassive black hole can launch powerful jets that distort and heat their galactic surroundings,…
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NASA X-ray Eyes Reveal Violent Past of the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole
Introduction: A Quiet Giant Thankful for X-ray Clues For years, the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy—Sagittarius A*—was thought to be a dormant giant, calmly consuming the occasional star or gas cloud with little fanfare. A recent international mission, using state-of-the-art X-ray observations, has turned that assumption on its head. The data…
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Galaxy-wide wobbling black hole jet revealed in a disk galaxy
Overview: A giant, wobbling jet reshapes our view of galactic centers In a landmark discovery from the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi, astronomers have identified a galaxy-wide stream of super-heated gas emanating from a disk galaxy. This jet is not only unusually large and extended, but it also appears to wobble at cosmic…
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How X-ray Discovery Rewrites the Milky Way’s Black Hole History
The Sleeping Giant Awakens in X-ray Light For years, scientists have described the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, as a quiet giant—largely dormant and unremarkable in its activity. Recent data from an international fleet of X-ray observatories tells a dramatic different story. By tracing powerful X-ray echoes and high-energy outbursts, researchers have…
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Former Google CEO Leads Four Next-Gen Telescopes Earth-Space
High-Profile Initiative Unveiled at a National Astronomy Conference In a move that could redefine observational astronomy, a former Google CEO is at the helm of funding and coordinating four next-generation telescopes. The project spans three terrestrial installations and one space-based observatory, aiming to deliver sharper views of the universe and faster data from cut-edge instruments.…
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Whippet: The Tidal Disruption Event That Blasted 400 Billion Suns’ worth of Energy
What is the Whippet and why it matters The cosmos delivered a jaw-dropping spectacle recently when astronomers observed a tidal disruption event (TDE) nicknamed the “Whippet.” In a TDE, a star wanders too close to a supermassive black hole, gets torn apart by gravity, and some of its stellar debris is flung outward. The Whippet…