July 2024

The Einstein ring cataloged as PJ0116-24 (Image ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/ESO/D. Liu et al.)

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An article published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” reports the results of a study of the Hyper Luminous Infrared Galaxy (HyLIRG) cataloged as PJ0116-24 which offers some surprises about this type of galaxy. A team of researchers combined observations conducted with the ALMA radio telescope and the Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph (ERIS) instrument mounted on ESO’s VLT to obtain details of PJ0116-24.

The complication in the study comes from the fact that it’s about 10 billion light-years away from Earth and is visible thanks to a gravitational lensing effect that makes it appear like a so-called Einstein ring, a name due to the fact that it’s a result predicted by the theory of general relativity. The surprise is due to the fact that the researchers expected to find traces of a galaxy merger while the details indicate that it’s an orderly galaxy although very active in star formation.

From the left, the globular cluster Omega Centauri, its central area, and the area where the intermediate-mass black hole is probably located

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An article published in the journal “Nature” reports evidence that the globular cluster Omega Centauri contains an intermediate-mass black hole. A team of researchers led by Maximilian Häberle of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Heidelberg, Germany, used two decades of observations conducted with the Hubble Space Telescope to find that evidence. They did this by tracing the orbit of seven stars at the center of Omega Centauri that are moving fast due to an object with a mass that is at least 8,200 times the Sun’s. This also confirms the hypothesis that this star cluster is what remains of a dwarf galaxy absorbed by the Milky Way.

The Ariane 6 rocket blasting off in its maiden flight (Image courtesy ESA)

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A few hours ago the Ariane 6 rocket was launched from the base in French Guiana and conducted its maiden mission in the version with two side boosters. Over the course of approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes, the various phases of the flight were conducted, which among other things tested the great innovation of this rocket which consists of the possibility of restarting the Vinci engine which powers the upper stage. This new possibility allows it to place satellites in different orbits in the same mission.

The quasar cataloged as RX J1131-1231, or simply RX J1131 (Image ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Nierenberg)

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A new image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope depicts the quasar cataloged as RX J1131-1231, or simply RX J1131. About six billion light-years away from Earth, it’s visible in three different copies, recognizable in the upper part of the bright ring in the center of the image, due to a gravitational lensing effect generated by a galaxy between it and Earth. In particular, MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) was used to observe RX J1131 with different mid-infrared filters as part of an observation program that studies dark matter.

Aganippe Fossa

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ESA has published an image captured by its Mars Express space probe’s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) instrument of Aganippe Fossa, a formation that has the appearance of a scar on the surface of the planet Mars which is truly colossal given that it’s approximately 600 kilometers long. This rift valley is a geological formation of the type called graben in jargon. There are no certainties about its formation but it’s probably linked to lava flows under the enormous volcanoes of the Tharsis region, starting with Arsia Mons, the closest to Aganippe Fossa.