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CfA Astronomers Help Find Most Distant Galaxy Using James Webb Space Telescope | Center for Astrophysics
The Harvard Astronomical Glass Plate Collection is an archive of roughly 500,000 images of the sky preserved on glass photographic plates, the way professional astronomers often captured images in the era before the dominance of digital technology. These plates are more than historical curiosities: they provide over a century’s worth of data that can be…
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Speedy stars point to intermediate-mass black hole in globular cluster
<a data-fancybox data-src="https://static.beescdn.com/news.myworldfix.com/2024/07/20240719044505671.jpg" data-caption="Hubble zooms in A wide view of Omega Centauri reveals a dense collection of stars (left). The middle image shows a closer view of the central region of the cluster. The image on the right shows the location of the IMBH candidate in the cluster. Courtesy: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M Häberle (MPIA)”…
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The greatest astronomical discoveries of the past 25 years
This summer, Space.com is celebrating its 25th anniversary! To mark the occasion, here’s a look back at the past 25 years of discoveries in astronomy. These are findings that have been absolutely revolutionary for exoplanetary research, cosmology and astrophysics. Astronomy as a field aims to answer big-yet-fundamental questions about our place in the universe, so…
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Astronomers want to change how we define a planet
Astronomers are proposing a new definition of a planet, nearly two decades after a previous such change led to Pluto‘s demotion. The new definition would add measurable criteria, including considerations of the planet’s mass — and it would still leave Pluto with its dwarf planet status. Currently, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) defines a planet…
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Astronomers spot a highly “eccentric” planet on its way to becoming a hot Jupiter
Hot Jupiters are some of the most extreme planets in the galaxy. These scorching worlds are as massive as Jupiter, and they swing wildly close to their star, whirling around in a few days compared to our own gas giant’s leisurely 4,000-day orbit around the sun. Scientists suspect, though, that hot Jupiters weren’t always so…
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Astronomers spot a highly “eccentric” planet on its way to becoming a hot Jupiter
Hot Jupiters are some of the most extreme planets in the galaxy. These scorching worlds are as massive as Jupiter, and they swing wildly close to their star, whirling around in a few days compared to our own gas giant’s leisurely 4,000-day orbit around the sun. Scientists suspect, though, that hot Jupiters weren’t always so…
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Join Space.com’s 25th Anniversary Virtual Panel on July 17: The Next 25 Years of Space Exploration — To the Moon, Mars and Beyond
In the 25 years since Space.com first launched its space news mission on July 20, 1999, humanity has accomplished amazing feats in astronomical research and spaceflight. But what lies ahead in the next quarter century? Join Space.com as they celebrate their 25th anniversary by looking to the future of humanity’s reach into the cosmos with…
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Florida Tech, KSC Visitor Complex launch astronomy partnership featuring portable telescope
Astronomy events and scientific talks will be offered to thousands of future visitors at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, courtesy of a new partnership featuring faculty and students from the Florida Institute of Technology. Announcing the partnership, Florida Tech President John Nicklow evoked the words of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking: “Look up at the…
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‘What exactly is a planet?’ Astronomers want to amend the definition
Three astronomers last week proposed expanding the official definition of a planet to encompass worlds orbiting stars other than our own, a nuance not currently included in the formal definition of the term established in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union, or IAU. If the trio’s new definition pans out, thousands of celestial bodies across…
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A Colorado town threw a 100th birthday party for its pet space rock
The Johnstown meteorite, on loan from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of its fall. Credit: Richard Binzel On the evening of July 6, 1924, John Moore’s funeral was interrupted. A meteorite, trailing smoky plume, announced its arrival with a series of thunderous bangs. As the attendees…