An article published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” describes unprecedented observations of matter around a black hole. A team of researchers used the data detected using an X-ray polarimeter on board the PoGO+ satellite to obtain information on the part of hard X-rays that are reflected from the accretion disk around the black hole of the Cygnus X-1 system and identify the shape of the matter that composes it.
An article published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” describes the discovery of aluminum monofluoride (AlF) molecules containing aluminum-26, a radioactive isotope of this element, in interstellar space. A team of astronomers used the ALMA and NOEMA radio telescopes to trace its origins to the variable star CK Vulpeculae (CK Vul), the remnant of the merger between two stars observed from the Earth between 1670 and 1672 and called Nova Vulpecola 1670. It’s the first observation of aluminum-26 that leads to the identification of its origin, which occurred in a very rare event.
An article published in the journal “Astrophysical Journal” describes the study of a sort of echo generated by a gamma-ray burst cataloged as GRB 161219B emitted by a newborn black hole. The gamma-ray emissions lasted only seven seconds but emissions at other electromagnetic frequencies lasted even for weeks, which enabled a team of astronomers to use the ALMA radio telescope to study the ones at millimeter wavelengths. They offered other information on the gamma-ray burst and on the characteristics of its powerful jets.
An article published in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” describes a verification of a phenomenon predicted by Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Scientists from the GRAVITY collaboration used observations conducted with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile to observe the effects of the motion of a star called S2 as it passes through the extreme gravitational field near the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
An article published in the journal “Science” describes the discovery of an underground lake of liquid water on Mars. A team of researchers led by Roberto Orosei of the National Institute of Astrophysics and composed of researchers belonging to Italian research centers and universities used data collected by ESA’s Mars Express space probe’s MARSIS radar to collect evidence that at the south pole at about 1.5 kilometers of depth there’s water that is liquid.
