Tag: time-domain astronomy
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South Pole Telescope Spots Energetic Stellar Flares Near Galactic Center
Groundbreaking Observation from the South Pole Telescope In a surprising turn for galactic astronomy, researchers with the South Pole Telescope (SPT) project team have detected energetic stellar flares emanating from two accreting white dwarf systems near the center of the Milky Way. This marks the first time such dramatic bursts of light have been observed…
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China Preview: Xuntian Space Telescope Set to Transform Astronomy
Overview: A New Eye for the Cosmos China is poised to add a powerful new instrument to its growing space infrastructure. The Xuntian space telescope, also known as the Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST), is designed to operate in tandem with the Tiangong space station. In a series of recent demonstrations, scientists have completed a…
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Mystery of Bright Blue Cosmic Blasts: Black Holes Shredding Stars Explained
Unraveling a Cosmic Enigma: Blue Blasts in the Sky Astronomers have long chased the origins of unusually bright, fast blue optical transients. These luminous events emit a surge of blue light that outshines typical supernovae, yet their mechanism has remained elusive. In recent years, a growing body of observations has pointed toward a dramatic culprit:…
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M87* Magnetic Field Flips Reveal Dynamic Cosmic Weather
Overview: A Dynamic Magnetic Field Around a Stable Shadow Using observations from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) in 2017, 2018, and 2021, scientists have mapped how the polarization of light around M87* reveals changes in the magnetic field near the black hole’s edge. The results show that while the black hole’s shadow—the dark ring carved…
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The First Black Hole We Saw Changes Its Magnetic Weather: M87*’s Dynamic Magnetism
M87*: A Supermassive Black Hole With Dynamic Magnetic Weather When scientists released the first image of a black hole in 2019, the focus was on the shadow and the surrounding glow. But new time-series data from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) reveal something equally dramatic and unexpected: the magnetic field near M87*’s edge is not…
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M87* Magnetic Field Changes Reveal Dynamic Black Hole Weather
Overview: A Black Hole’s Weather, Not Just Its Shadow The first image of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) in 2019, made M87* a household name in astronomy. But new time‑domain observations—from 2017, 2018, and 2021—reveal that the environment around this giant object is far less static than the shadow on…