A galaxy merger observed with NASA’s NuSTAR space telescope gave surprising results. The galaxy called Was 49 is being formed from the fusion of a large disk galaxy called Was 49a and a dwarf galaxy called Was 49b. The researchers were surprised when they realized that the supermassive black hole at the center of the dwarf galaxy was much bigger and more powerful than expected, going against current models regarding galactic mergers.
An article published in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” describes the discovery of a supermassive black hole pushed out from its galaxy’s core. A team of astronomers led by Marco Chiaberge of the Space Telescope Science Institute in the USA used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe the quasar 3C 186 in which this phenomenon occurred. Another interesting element is that the black hole’s movement may have been accelerated by gravitational waves.
An article published in the journal “Science” describes a research about two very young galaxies that probably look very wimilar to the Milky Way 12 billion years ago. Called ALMA J081740.86+135138.2 and ALMA J120110.26+211756.2, they were observed by a team of astronomers using the ALMA radio telescope as a follow-up of previous research conducted using the light from a quasar behind the two galaxies. The new research showed that the two galaxies are surrounded by a halo of gas and that their star formation rate is rather high.
An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” describes a research about what used to be a multiple system in the Orion Nebula. A team of researchers led by Kevin Luhman of Penn State University used the Hubble Space Telescope to discover a runaway star that was part of the original system with two other stars already known that are also traveling at high speeds. The three stars were part of a single system untile about 540 years ago.
An article published in the journal “Earth and Planetary Science Letters” describes a research about Arsia Mons, a volcano on the planet Mars. A team led by Jacob Richardson of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center examined high-resolution images taken by the MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) space probe to determine that Arsia Mons was at its peak of activity about 150 million years ago and that its last activity probably ended about 50 million years ago.
