Stars

Blogs about stars

Galaxy NGC 3621 with the location of supernova SN 2024ggi in the small circle

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An article published in the journal “Science Advances” reports the first reconstruction ever of the shape of a Type II supernova in its early stages. A team of researchers led by Professor Yi Yang of Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, used observations conducted with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile to study the supernova cataloged as SN 2024ggi on April 11, 2024, the day after the explosion began.

The cosmic wave in red and blue, with stars above the galactic disk in red and the ones below it in blue

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An article published in the journal “Astronomy and Astrophysics” reports the results of a study that provides evidence that a sort of giant cosmic wave is crossing the Milky Way, propagating from the center outward from the galactic disk, causing a corrugation. A team of researchers led by Eloisa Poggio of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics used data collected by ESA’s Gaia space probe to map the motions of thousands of young giant stars and Cepheids within the corrugation, reconstructing the wave that generates them. The cause may be the aftermath of an ancient collision with a dwarf galaxy, but follow-up studies are needed to assess this and other possible explanations.

The Calvera pulsar and the diffuse emission region object of this study, seen in X-rays

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An article published in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” describes a candidate supernova remnant that was associated with the pulsar nicknamed Calvera. A team of researchers from the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and the University of Palermo, led by Emanuele Greco of INAF, conducted observations and analyses of a decidedly unusual pair, as finding it approximately 6,500 light-years above the Milky Way’s galactic plane was surprising.

An artist's impression of the UPM J1040−3551 AabBab system

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An article published in the journal “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society” (MNRAS) reports the discovery of a rare hierarchical quadruple system, which was cataloged as UPM J1040−3551 AabBab. A team of researchers used observations conducted with ESA’s Gaia space probe and NASA’s WISE space telescope, followed by spectroscopic detection and analysis, to identify this quartet consisting of a pair of red dwarfs and a pair of brown dwarfs. This relatively young system may offer new information, especially about brown dwarfs, objects halfway between planets and stars.

The Alpha Centauri system as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope on the left, a zoom of the two main stars in the center, and a further zoom on the right indicating the exoplanet candidate designated as S1.

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Two articles accepted for publication in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” report different aspects of the study that led to the possible discovery of a gas giant planet orbiting the star Alpha Centauri A. Astronomers used observations with the James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI instrument to identify a light source whose characteristics make it a candidate exoplanet. The information gathered suggests it may be a gas planet similar in size to Jupiter, although its mass could be close to Saturn’s. If confirmed, it would be the closest exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star in its system’s habitable zone.