Hubble Space Telescope Captures Image of A Lightsaber In Space

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured an image that resembles a lightsaber.

This cosmic object that seems to copy the iconic weapon of a Jedi can be found in the Orion B Molecular Complex in the constellation Orion, 1350 light years away. This object is a result of jets of gas and dust that are spewn out by a newly formed star. These lightsaber like objects are called Herbig-Haro Objects.

This particular object in the image is HH24.

Herbig-Haro Objects are young stars that occasionally blast off hot gas and other material into space. It is a result of stars ejecting materials that collides with nearby clouds of gas and dusty at very high speeds. Herbig–Haro objects are generally found in star-forming regions. Several are often seen around a single star and is aligned along its rotational axis.

Herbig-Haro objects are named after George Herbig and Guillermo Haro who first studied them in detail. The two astronomers (independent of each other) were studying star formations when they came upon these objects. They both recognized that these were a by-product of the star formation process.

Hidden Objects Along Center of Milky Way Detected Through Infrared

The VVV survey (VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea) of the VISTA telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile has allowed astronomers to see the central parts of the Milky Way as never before.

Using infrared light, the VVV imaged the Trifid Nebula and revealed that the gas cloud has been hiding two Cepheid variable stars directly behind it but at a far distance.

The pair of cepheid stars hidden by the Trifid Nebula is estimated to be around 37,000 light years away from Earth while the Trifid Nebula is at 5,200 light years away. Cepheid variables are unstable bright stars that brightens and fades over time, in this case, a period of 11 days.

These two stars are the only two known Cepheid variables that are close to the central plane of the Milky Way which is 27,000 light years away from Earth.

The Vista Variables in the Via Lactea is an astronomical survey to map the Milky Way, it's bulge and the disk area close to the center of the galaxy. The VVV survey previously assisted astronomers in constructing a three dimensional map of the Milky Way

Mysterious Void In Space In Latest MPG/ESO Telescope Image

In the newly released ESO image, the starfield seemed to be devoid of stars in a particular area.

The new image of the MPG/ESO 2.2 meter telescope shows an area of empty space amidst a field of stars. This "dark area" is not really empty space but a dark cloud called LDN 483 or Lynds Dark Nebula 483.

Nebulas or Nebulae are clouds of dust and gas in space where planets and stars are formed. Dark Nebulas are different in the sense that the cloud has enough material of dust inside of it that it completely blocks all the light emitted by the stars behind it. Compared to other types of nebulae, dark nebulae are believed to have the most conducive and fertile environment to create stars.

LDN 483 is around 700 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent).

Two New Habitable Planets Found By NASA Kepler Mission

Eight new Earth-like planets have been found orbiting stars at a distance where water can exist on the surface. Among the eight discovered planets, two of them are believed to most resemble the Earth. These are Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b.

Kepler-438b is located 470 light-years from Earth while the more distant Kepler-442b is 1,100 light-years away. Both stars orbit red dwarf stars which are smaller and cooler than the Sun.

The zone where exoplanets can maintain water in its surface is known as the Goldilocks zone. These planets must receive about as much sunlight as the Earth. The discovery of Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b doubles the number of small planets that are believed to be habitable.

These findings were announced today in a press conference at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Binary Star Systems May Explain Formation of Mysterious Magnetars

Scientists may have found the explanation on how a magnetar is formed. Magnetars are a a type of neutron star and have a very strong magnetic field.

During a supernova explosion, stars collapse and form either a neutron star or a black hole. Neutron stars are so dense that a teaspoon of its material may weigh over a billion tons.

One such type of neutron star is a magnetar. Magnetars are the strongest magnets known in the Universe. They are millions of times more powerful than the strongest magnets on Earth.

Scientists have long believed that magnetars are formed through the interactions of two massive stars that orbit each other in a very tight binary system; an orbit comparable to the distance of the Earth to the Sun. The theory suggests that the mass transfer between the two stars created a rapid rotation of one star which resulted in a very strong magnetic field. A second mass transfer slimmed down that star to it doesn't collapse into a black hole at the moment of its death.

Without finding a companion star, this theory was hard to prove. They further suggested that the companion star may have been thrown out of orbit during the supernova explosion; a runaway star. With the magnetar found in the star cluster Westerlund 1, the theory may have sound basis as scientists discovered a runaway star, Westerlund 1-5, that could have been the partner star of the magnetar and aided in its formation.

New 3D Model Gives Insight On How Supernovas are Formed

Credit: Arnett, Meakin and Viallet/AIP Advances

A new model on how supernovas are formed was presented that can explain certain properties of supernovas that existing models cannot. The new model depicts the formation in three dimensions compared to previous one or two dimensional models.

In the new model, the material in the stars are violently mixed together which causes them to expand, contract, eject and then explode into a supernova. This 3D model is described in the article, "Chaos and turbulent nucleosynthesis prior to a supernova explosion" by David Arnett, Casey Meakin and Maxime Viallet which appears in the journal AIP Advances.

Supernovas are stars that run out of fuel or reaches critical mass and explodes. The explosion from a supernova can expel stellar materials at a rate of about 30,000 kilometers per second (10% of the speed of light). A supernova remnant is formed after the explosion and its boundaries are based on the shockwave from the exploding supernova and is made up of the ejected stellar material of dust and gas.

The Crab Nebula is the most popular and well known supernova remnant in the Universe In 1987, a supernova erupted in the Large Magellanic Cloud and afterwards formed the Supernova Remnant 1987A. It was the closest exploding star observed in modern times.

Image Caption: Three-dimensional turbulent mixing in a stratified burning oxygen shell which is four pressure scale heights deep. The yellow ashes of sulphur are being dredged up from the underlying orange core. The multi-scale structure of the turbulence is prominent. Entrained material is not particularly well mixed, but has features which trace the large scale advective flows in the convection zone. Also visible are smaller scale features, which are generated as the larger features become unstable, breaking apart to become part of the turbulent cascade. The white lines indicate the boundary of the computational domain.

VLT Successfully Maps Surface Features Of Brown Dwarf Luhman 16B

The European Southern Observatory for the first time has mapped the surface of a brown dwarf. ESO's Very Large Telescope charted the dark and light surface of Luhman 16B, an astronomical object known as a brown dwarf.

Brown Dwarfs are also known as a substar since these objects are too large to be planets but are not massive enough to be called stars. These objects are believed to be formed the way stars are formed but did not have enough density at the core to start a nuclear fusion.

The surface map of Luhman 16B is the first charting of the brown star which included the light and dark features of the surface. It is also the first mapping of the weather on the surface of Luhman 16B.

The brown dwarf, discovered in 2013, is only six light years from Earth and can be found in the southern constellation of Vela (The Sail). Luhman 16B forms a pair with Luhman 16A which is the brighter of the two components. The pair is collectively referred to as Luhman 16AB.

The imaging was made possible with the CRyogenic high-resolution InfraRed Echelle Spectrograph (CRIRES) attached to the VLT.

ALMA Telescope Finds Evidence of Newly Formed Dust Made from Supernova

Artist's impression of dustfilled supernova 1987A
Credit: Alexandra Angelich (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

Researchers have captured an image of supernova 1987A with newly formed dust that was not present when the supernova was discovered. The amount of new dust comprises about 25% of the Sun's mass.

This observation gives direct evidence to support the theory of the dust making abilities of a supernova. It can also explain why young and newly formed galaxies have a dusty, dusky appearance.

When the supernova was discovered in 1987, the closest observed supernova explosion since 1604, there was only a small amount of dust observed at the time. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope, researchers discovered the amount of dust now in the supernova has significantly increased as well as huge amounts of newly formed carbon monoxide and silicon monoxide gas.

The artists impression above shows SN 1987A's inner regions in red where huge amounts of dust were detected and imaged by ALMA. This inner region is contrasted with the outer shell (lacy white and blue circles), where the energy from the supernova is colliding with the envelope of gas ejected from the star prior to its powerful detonation.

Supernova SN 1987 was first observed in February 1987 and achieved peak brightness in May of that year. SN 1987 is around 168,000 light-years away and is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

20% of Sun-Stars in the Universe Contain Habitable Planets

Astronomers studying data collected by NASA's Kepler spacecraft announced that based on the analysis, one out of every five sun-like stars in the Universe have Earth-sized planets with a surface temperature conducive to life.

Habitable planets are located in an orbit around a star where the heat of the star is just the right temperature where liquid water can exist. Water is one element that is believed to be important to the existence of life. When a planet is too far, water freezes and if it is too close to the star, water vaporizes.

Although it is presumed that the presence of water is an important factor, the planet's atmosphere and surface terrain is also of importance. Without a suitable atmosphere, the planet is exposed to radiation and extreme temperatures. The surface terrain helps harbor the liquid water to sustain life.

By knowing that 20% of sun-like stars harbor a habitable planet, astronomers can start planning for a mission to take an actual picture of it. This also means that there may be habitable planets as close as 12 light years away from the Earth.

The closest exoplanet to the Earth was discovered orbiting Alpha Centauri B in the Alpha Centauri system 4.3 light years away. Although the planet has a mass similar to the Earth, its orbit around Alpha Centauri B is too close to the star that it is outside of the habitable zone.

New Image of the Orion Molecular Cloud Reveals Fiery Ribbon Like Orange Glow

This dramatic new image of cosmic clouds in the constellation of Orion reveals what seems to be a fiery ribbon in the sky. This orange glow represents faint light coming from grains of cold interstellar dust, at wavelengths too long for human eyes to see. It was observed by the ESO-operated Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) in Chile.

The Large Apex Bolometer Camera (LABOCA) operated at the ESO-operated Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) in Chile has imaged the invisible band of gas and dust at the Orion Molecular Cloud in the constellation Orion the Hunter.

The constellation Orion is a well known formation of stars that can be seen throughout the world. The name Orion is derived from Greek mythology (Orion the Hunter). Zeus elevates him to the stars upon his death and is also mentioned in Homer's Odyssey where Odysseus sees his shade in the underworld.

The two brightest stars in Orion are the blue-white Beta (Rigel) and the red supergiant Alpha (Betelgeuse)

White Dwarf Star Orbiting A Pulsar Discovered By ESO's VLT

Astronomers have used ESO’s Very Large Telescope, along with radio telescopes around the world, to find and study a bizarre stellar pair consisting of the most massive neutron star confirmed so far, orbited by a white dwarf star. This strange new binary allows tests of Einstein’s theory of gravity — general relativity — in ways that were not possible up to now. So far the new observations exactly agree with the predictions from general relativity and are inconsistent with some alternative theories. The results will appear in the journal Science on 26 April 2013.

Scientists using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) has discovered an unusual pairing; a white dwarf star orbiting a neutron star (PSR J0348+0432). The neutron star is a pulsar around 20 kilometres across but is two times heavier than the Sun. This discovery and the observation of how the two stellar objects behave is how Einstein's Theory of General Relativity predicted it would behave.

A white dwarf star is a small star which is very dense and is mostly made up of electron-degenerate matter. It is a star that has reached the end of its normal life cycle and has stopped nuclear fusion (although some fusion reactions happen and can still generate energy). A white dwarf star may be as big as the Earth but has the same mass as that of the Sun.

A pulsar is a neutron star that is formed when a massive star's core is compressed during a super nova. This event collapses the core and forms the neutron star. Pulsars are extermely dense and highly magnetized. They rotate and emit a beam of electromagnetic radiation. This radiation is picked up as radio waves in the form of pulses. The name pulsar is abbreviated from the term "pulsating star".

Starburst Galaxies Effect Far Into The Universe Than Initially Believed

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have shown for the first time that bursts of star formation have a major impact far beyond the boundaries of their host galaxy. These energetic events can affect galactic gas at distances of up to twenty times greater than the visible size of the galaxy — altering how the galaxy evolves, and how matter and energy is spread throughout the Universe.

Scientists observing 20 galaxies undergoing a starburst noted that they have an ionizing effect on gases as far as 650,000 light years from its center. Ionized gas is a gas that have lost one or more electrons. In a starburst, the electrons are lost when energetic winds from the starburst excites the galactic gas and knocks the electrons out of the atoms within.

A galaxy that is experiencing a very high rate of stars being formed within it is known as a starburst galaxy. Within a starburst galaxy, the rate of star formation is so high that the galaxy consumes all of its gas. They are known as starbursts because of the frantic episodes of activity when stars are formed.

The burst is triggered by certain events such as being in close proximity with another galaxy, colliding with another galaxy, or by a process where interstellar material is forced into the center of the galaxy. Most stars formed in a starburst burn very bright and very fast. They are likely candidates to explode into a supernova at the end of its life cycle.

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Pinpoints More Than A Hundred Star Forming Galaxies

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array image shows close-ups of galaxies. The ALMA observations, at submillimetre wavelengths, are shown in orange/red and are overlaid on an infrared view of the region as seen by the IRAC camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope.

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array imaged in deep detail 126 galaxies where stars are formed. Previously, these dusty galaxies were difficult to observe because of the available imaging technology. But with the ALMA, each galaxy were imaged in rich detail in minutes.

In the constellation Fornax, meaning The Furnace, lies the Chandra Deep Field South. This region is extensively observed and studied by scientists. Using the ALMA telescope, 126 galaxies were captured in deep and high resolution images.

New Type of Gamma Ray Bursts That Can Destroy Stars Discovered

Scientists have discovered a cosmic explosion of gamma rays that lasted several hours instead of common minutes-long gamma ray bursts. Gamma ray bursts are the most luminous explosions in the universe

Gamma rays are the highest form of light. They have the highest energy level, they can have over a billion times the energy of visible light.

There are different forms of light, different ranges of radiation levels on the electromagnetic radiation spectrum. It starts with the lowest energy level which are radio waves then to microwave, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays and gamma rays at the end with the highest energy level. They are so powerful that they can pass right through any lens or mirror.

Gamma rays are harmful if it reaches the Earth's surface. The atmosphere protects the Earth from gamma rays burning up the planet. These rays are produced by high energy interstellar objects like neutron stars, pulsars, supernova explosions, and regions around black holes.

In the image above is an artist's impression of gamma rays created by stars. The blue star in the background, called a Wolf Rayet star, is the progenitor of a standard long duration gamma-ray burst. It is about the same size as the Sun but has ten times more mass. The star in front is the suggested progenitor of an ultra-long gamma-ray burst (GRB). It is a thousand times larger than the Sun and is twenty times more massive. In both cases the GRB is produced by a jet punching through the star, but in the case of the ultra-long GRBs the much larger size of the star creates a much longer lived jet.

Studying the Evolution of a Supernova Through Supernova Remnant 1987A

Astronomers are intensively studying Supernova Remnant 1987A to find out more about the inner workings of stars, supernovas, and how they interact with the surroundings.

A supernova is an astronomical event where a star runs out of fuel or reaches critical mass and explodes. The explosion from a supernova can expel stellar materials at a rate of about 30,000 kilometers per second (10% of the speed of light).

After the explosion, what is left of the star is a structure called a Supernova Remnant (SNR). The boundaries of a SNR is based on the shockwave from the supernova and is made up of the ejected stellar material of dust and gas.

One of the most popular and well known supernova remnant is the Crab Nebula. Most supernova remnants are named after objects or animals they resemble. Just recently, a SNR was discovered that resembled a Florida Manatee.

In early 1987, a supernova erupted in the Large Magellanic Cloud and afterwards formed the Supernova Remnant 1987A. It was the closest exploding star observed in modern times.

Bok Globule Barnard 86 - A Dark Cloud Against A Sea Of Stars

Star Cluster NGC 6520

The Wide Field Imager takes a picture of Barnard 86, a Bok Globule, set against a sea of stars from The Large Sagittarius Star Cloud.

Star clusters are groups of stars held together by their own gravitational field. These star clusters, formerly known as star clouds, are made up of more than a hundred thousand stars that are more than a million years old.

One prominent star cluster is the Large Sagittarius Star Cloud. It is about 600 light years wide and the multitude of stars in the area makes it the "most dense concentration of individual stars visible using binoculars". Within the Large Sagittarius Star Cloud is Barnard 86. It is a cold, dark cloud of gas and dust that absorbs background light making it almost opaque to visible light. These objects are known as Bok Globules.

It is this area of the sky that is imaged above, taken by the Wide Field Imager at the La Silla Observatory in Chile.

Hubble Space Telescope Captures Image of LHC 120-N 11 in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The Hubble Space Telescope captures an image of LHC 120-N 11, a region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy 200,000 light years from Earth. (Image by Hubble/ESA)

The Large Magellanic Cloud is an irregular galaxy but has a clearly visible bar, and a single spiral-arm-like structure. These properties are similar to that of spiral galaxies leading to the belief that the LMC was once a small spiral galaxy but was pulled out of shape by the gravitational effect of the Milky Way.

Star Forming Molecular Cloud Lupus 3 Captured In Amazing Detail

Most interstellar clouds of dust and gas are where stars are formed. The surrounding matter start to form large masses which will eventually become stars. Planets and other objects are also formed within these regions. Clouds like Lupus 3 are called 'dark clouds' or 'molecular clouds'.

A molecular cloud is a type of star forming region where molecules, most commonly molecular hydrogen (H₂), are formed. The stars formed in the image are called Herbig Ae/Be stars (named after astronomer George Howard Herbig).

Herbig Ae/Be stars are still in their star forming space and are not yet burning hydrogen for fuel. Instead, they shine by converting gravitational potential energy into heat as they contract.

Planet Floating Freely Through Space Without An Orbit Discovered

The Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope have discovered a planet that is freely wandering through space. It has no orbit nor a star attached to it. This planet free-floating planet is labeled CFBDSIR2149 and also referred to as CFBDSIR J214947.2-040308.9.

Free-floating planets are objects in space that are not paired up or connected to a star. They roam the universe without a predetermined orbit since there is no star to supply the gravity to put them in their place.

Two Black Holes Discovered Inside Globular Star Cluster M22

Star clusters are a group of stars that are attracted to each other by their gravitational fields or are moving in the same direction. Star clusters were used to be called star clouds.

There are two kinds of star clusters, the open star cluster and the globular star cluster. Open star clusters are loosely clustered groups of young stars. The gravitational attraction between the stars may be weak or non existent.

Globular star clusters are made up of hundreds of thousands of very old stars that are gravitaionally bound. These stars are attracted to each other and form a very tight sphere. The stars within a globular star cluster orbit a galactic core and the amount of stars within get denser going toward the center.

There are about 160 known globular clusters in the Milky Way. The Andromeda galaxy has 500 while Galaxy M87 has 13,0000. The first discovered globular star cluster was M22 in the constellation Sagittarius by Abraham Ihle in 1665.

The image above is an artist's conception of two black holes in globular cluster. Image credit goes to Benjamin de Bivort; Strader, et al.; NRAO/AUI/NSF.

Surprising black-hole discovery changes picture of globular star clusters

An unexpected discovery by astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is forcing scientists to rethink their understanding of the environment in globular star clusters, tight-knit collections containing hundreds of thousands of stars.

The astronomers used the VLA to study a globular cluster called Messier 22 (M22), a group of stars more than 10,000 light-years from Earth. They hoped to find evidence for a rare type of black hole in the cluster's center. They wanted to find what scientists call an intermediate-mass black hole, more massive than those a few or more times the Sun's mass, but smaller than the supermassive black holes found at the cores of galaxies.