Astronomy / Astrophysics

Blogs about Astronomy and Astrophysics

Two views of Saturn obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. On the right, a view of the planet's south pole, with the decagon that is the subject of this study

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An article published in the journal “Science Advances” reports the discovery of a decagon-shaped structure at the planet Saturn’s south pole. A team of researchers led by Professor Agustín Sánchez-Lavega of the University of the Basque Country combined observations conducted with the Hubble Space Telescope between 2023 and 2025. They observed an evolution of this structure, which was initially only vaguely defined and then took on more defined contours. This decagon has similarities to the hexagon at Saturn’s north pole but also exhibits some differences. The researchers believe it could be generated by a new atmospheric phenomenon.

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope blasting off atop a Falcon Heavy rocket (Image NASA+)

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A little while ago, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center. After just over 31 minutes, it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and set course for the area known as L2 (Lagrange Point 2), where its scientific mission will begin.

Originally known as the Wide Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST) and later named after astronomer Nancy Grace Roman, this space telescope had a complicated and unusual history. Various infrared astronomy projects seemed impossible to approve due to a lack of funding, but in 2012, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) donated two unused spy satellites to NASA, each equipped with a mirror the size of Hubble’s, which has a diameter of 2.4 meters. This allowed this project to get started.

Betelgeuse as seen by the ALMA radio telescope (Image ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/W. Dent et al.)

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An article accepted for publication in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” reports the results of observations of structures that are lasting longer than predicted in the atmosphere of the star Betelgeuse. A team of researchers used the ALMA radio telescope to obtain some of the most detailed views of Betelgeuse’s surface ever obtained. This allowed them to study its really uneven surface and the structures within its atmosphere.

Some of the galaxies included in the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys map (Image: DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys/LBNL/DOE & KPNO/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)

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The DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys team has released the largest 2D map of the universe. Consisting of 5.6 trillion pixels, this map includes nearly 4 billion celestial objects, ranging from asteroids to galaxies, as well as other objects such as stars, black holes, and more. It’s a vast archive spanning approximately three-quarters of the sky, useful for astronomical studies requiring information at optical and near-infrared frequencies. This result isn’t the final one, as the map will be used to determine the distances to objects such as quasars to construct a new map, this time 3D.

An archival image of the galaxy WISEA J014656.04-152214.7 and the location of the TDE 2025abcr event (above), as well as the same area imaged on December 14, 2025, with the tidal disruption event visible in the blue circle

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An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” reports the discovery of a supermassive black hole on the outskirts of its host galaxy WISEA J014656.04-152214.7, approximately 30,000 light-years from its center. A team of researchers found its traces thanks to a so-called tidal disruption event cataloged as TDE 2025abcr. Detected for the first time by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), thanks in part to a new artificial intelligence algorithm, the event was confirmed and studied for months in various electromagnetic bands using various instruments. This discovery supports the theory that wandering supermassive black holes can exist very distant from the center of a galaxy, where they normally reside.