New Atlas

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New algorithm digs up 18 Earth-like exoplanets from old Kepler data

Michael Irving May 23, 2019

Another 18 exoplanets have been added to the haul, but the difference this time is that all of them are roughly Earth-sized – much smaller than the Neptune-sized average found so far. The discovery was made in old data, using a new and more sensitive algorithm.

An artist's impression of an Earth-sized exoplanet

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Bizarre celestial object spotted is one of the rarest in the galaxy

Michael Irving May 21, 2019

The cosmos is full of strange things, like planets made of diamond, mysterious radio bursts and quasars that shine like 600 trillion Suns. Now astronomers have spotted a bizarre star that may prove to be one of the rarest objects ever, with maybe as few as five or six of them in the galaxy.

A white dwarf star, which is at the heart of the strange new object

Space

Hubble captures the good side of a stunning, scarred "two-faced" galaxy

Michael Irving May 17, 2019

Hubble has been photographing the cosmos for 30 years now, but it still manages to surprise us with some absolutely breathtaking shots. Case in point, the latest image shows the two-faced galaxy NGC 4485, which still bears the stunning scars of a close call with another galaxy millions of years ago.

The galaxy NGC 4485 appears normal on the left side, but on the right it bears ...

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"Stellar baby boom" may have given birth to half the Milky Way's stars

Michael Irving May 13, 2019

Scientists have been poring over the Gaia galactic census of Milky Way stars for about a year. Now, a team of researchers has found evidence of a “stellar baby boom,” a short period of time in which more than half the stars in the thin disc were born.

Gaia's all-sky-view, showing the clear center of the Milky Way and the galactic disc

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Nearby collision of two neutron stars sprinkled our solar system with precious heavy elements

Anthony Wood May 3, 2019

A cataclysmic collision between a pair of dead stars may have seeded our solar system with precious heavy metals including gold and uranium, according to a newly published study. If such an event were to be observed in the present day, it would be the brightest point in the night sky.

Artist's impression of two neutron stars merging

Space

Most detailed Hubble image ever captures 265,000 galaxies across the cosmos

Michael Irving May 3, 2019

The Hubble Space Telescope has a knack for making us feel incredibly small. The latest image, named the Hubble Legacy Field, is a mosaic of thousands of exposures over the years and constitutes the largest and most comprehensive image ever put together by the Hubble science team.

The Hubble Legacy Field contains over 265,000 galaxies. Credit: NASA, ESA, G. Illingworth and D. Magee ...

Physics Audio available

New-and-improved LIGO may have detected a black hole eating a neutron star

Michael Irving May 2, 2019

We’re now getting new gravitational wave detections so often it almost doesn’t seem special anymore. Barely a month into a new observation run, the LIGO/Virgo collaboration has now reported five new events, including what may be the first ever detection of a black hole swallowing a neutron star.

An artist's rendition of two neutron stars colliding, which is believed to be responsible for one ...

Space

Star unlike any found in the Milky Way appears to be an intergalactic intruder

Michael Irving April 30, 2019

Astronomers have discovered a star in the Milky Way that doesn’t belong. Known as J1124+4535, the star has a chemical composition unlike any others ever observed in our home galaxy, suggesting it’s an intergalactic interloper that may have come from a dwarf galaxy swallowed up by the Milky Way.

A computer simulation of a spiral galaxy, like the Milky Way, forming. These simulations suggest that ...

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Wonky black hole seen firing off plasma "bullets"

Michael Irving April 30, 2019

Many black holes have been found to spew jets of high-speed particles. Those usually form long, straight beams but now astronomers have discovered a weird black hole that’s spinning like a wonky top, firing off “bullets” of plasma in all directions.

As it spins, the black hole is firing off "plasma bullets"

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Grain of dust found from dead star that predates the Sun

Michael Irving April 29, 2019

Meteorites can tell us stories of ancient stars and long-lost planets. One of these stories has now been uncovered in a piece of space rock retrieved from Antarctica, containing grains from a stellar explosion that predates the Sun.

An illustration of a nova, which is believed to be responsible for the presolar grain LAP-149