Astronomy / Astrophysics

The eROSITA bubbles seen in X-rays (green) and the magnetic field in the halo (white). The red color shows the polarized intensity of synchrotron radiation. The light blue circles represent the Fermi bubbles seen in gamma rays.

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An article published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” reports a study of the so-called eROSITA bubbles that reveals magnetized structures that form a galactic halo aligned with them reaching heights of more than 16,000 light-years above the galactic plane. A team of researchers led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics conducted an investigation that spans the entire electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays to examine the eROSITA bubbles and map them. The alignment of the magnetized halo with the bubbles suggests a common origin, which could be given by star formation activity.

The Arp 107 pair seen in the near and mid-infrared by a combination of several filters of the James Webb Space Telescope's MIRI and NIRCam instruments

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An image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope shows Arp 107, a pair of interacting galaxies. The spiral galaxy UGC 5984 (or PGC 32620) and the elliptical galaxy MCG +05-26-025 (or PGC 32628) will eventually merge. The Arp 107 pair was already studied several times with various telescopes but the combination of the MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instruments allowed to capture many new details of the star formation activity triggered by the interaction between the two galaxies.

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field with an inset that shows a magnification of two primordial galaxies, one of which contains a supermassive black hole

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An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” reports the results of a census of the youngest supermassive black holes that existed in the early universe. A team of researchers used observations conducted with the Hubble Space Telescope that started from the so-called Hubble Ultra Deep Field to search for primordial supermassive black holes with the addition of data recently collected using the James Webb Space Telescope. The conclusion is that these objects are more numerous than expected, a confirmation that they formed very quickly. This new study will help to understand how.

Digel Cloud 2S

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An article published in “The Astronomical Journal” reports the discovery of areas of remarkable star formation in the molecular clouds known as Digel Clouds, more than 58,000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way. A team of researchers used the James Webb Space Telescope to obtain the detail needed to recognize protostars, outflows and jets of material, and nebular structures. Star formation is more intense than what was visible in observations conducted with other instruments and is interesting also because the Digel Clouds are poor in elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, a characteristic that makes them similar to the primordial Milky Way.

Kuiper Belt Objects (Image created with NightCafé)

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An article accepted for publication in the “Planetary Science Journal” reports the detection of 239 candidate trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). NASA’s New Horizons Kuiper Belt search team discovered the candidates using the Subaru telescope in Hawaii. Estimates indicate that the candidates are located at distances up to 90 times that of the Earth from the Sun. This supports the theory that the Kuiper Belt is wider than expected or that there’s a second Kuiper Belt further out.