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Telescopes spot the oldest and most distant black hole formed after the big bang
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. CNN — Two powerful NASA telescopes have detected the oldest and most distant black hole ever found. Data captured via energetic X-rays by the Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope has helped astronomers spot…
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Go to infinity and beyond with ‘Wondrous Space’ at the Franklin Institute
Space is no longer the final frontier at The Franklin Institute. In a total re-imagining of one of the more popular exhibits in Philadelphia’s science museum, the $85 million “Wondrous Space” is now open. “I’m so excited that there are now astronomy related exhibits on all four floors (of The Franklin Institute),” said Derrick Pitts,…
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A Supermassive Black Hole’s Strong Magnetic Fields are Revealed in a New Light
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration has published new results that describe for the first time how light from the edge of the supermassive black hole M87* spirals as it escapes the black hole’s intense gravity, a signature known as circular polarization. The way light’s electric field prefers to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise as it…
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Euclid telescope’s first images offer full-color look at the cosmos
The spectacular first images from a dark matter-hunting telescope were unveiled Tuesday, showcasing bustling galaxies, clusters of ancient stars and wispy, dreamlike stellar nurseries. The images, from the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope that launched into space in July, were released to great fanfare. The dramatic views are a tantalizing first glimpse of what the…
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Venus has oxygen all over
Venus’s atmosphere is almost entirely made up of carbon dioxide – but German astronomers have detected oxygen in the planet’s atmosphere on both its day and night sides. The discovery could shed light on why the Venusian atmosphere is so different to our own. It may also help support future space missions to Venus. Earth’s…
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UCLA: A Space Odyssey
It wasn’t the night sky that sparked the explorer spirit in Megan McArthur ’93. “I only made the connection between it and its possibilities when I first saw astronauts,” she says. “I realized that’s a real job that real people do.” Courtesy of NASA McArthur inside the cupola at the International Space Station as it…
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‘Rogue’ star won’t collide with our solar system in 29,000 years after all
The solar system of the far future is safe from a run-in with a runaway dead star. Last year, researchers looked at the trajectory of a rogue white dwarf star called WD 0810–353 with the Gaia space telescope and predicted that it was due for an encounter with our solar system in around 29,000 years.…
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This is the oldest black hole ever found — and it’s huge
Scientists have discovered the oldest black hole yet, a cosmic beast formed a mere 470 million years after the Big Bang. The findings, published Monday, confirm what until now were theories that supermassive black holes existed at the dawn of the universe. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-Ray Observatory teamed up over the…
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Early Black Friday telescope deal: 56% off the Celestron AstroMaster 90AZ
This early Black Friday telescope deal means you can save a massive $180 on a reliable, user-friendly telescope and get the lowest price we’ve seen for it ahead of the annual sales event. Save $177 (55%) on the Celestron AstroMaster 90AZ telescope when you get it from Amazon. There’s a lot to like about this…
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New Cosmology Probe Presents First, Stunning Images
Euclid shows us a spectacularly panoramic and detailed view of the Horsehead Nebula, also known as Barnard 33 and part of the constellation Orion. In Euclid’s new observation of this stellar nursery, scientists hope to find many dim and previously unseen Jupiter-mass planets in their celestial infancy, as well as young brown dwarfs and baby…