Astronomy / Astrophysics

Radio-infrared overlay of the W49A molecular cloud. (Image DePree, et al.; Sophia Dagnello, NRAO/AUI/NSF; Spitzer/NASA)

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An article published in “The Astronomical Journal” reports the study of a nursery of stars in the great molecular cloud cataloged as W49A. A team of astronomers led by Professor Christopher De Pree of Agnes Scott College compared new observations conducted with the VLA (Very Large Array) at infrareds and radio waves of ​​W49A’s central area with observations conducted with the same radio telescope between 1994 and 1995. The result is the identification of new activities with supersonic gas movements in three regions and a high-speed jet in one region.

The PDS 70 system seen by Hubble

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An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal” reports the first estimates of the growth of a young gas giant exoplanet. A team of researchers used observations conducted with the Hubble Space Telescope of the exoplanet PDS 70b exploiting its sensitivity to ultraviolets emitted by hot gas that gets swallowed by the young giant. This study opens the door to new possibilities for estimating the growth of gas giant planets.

Artist’s concept of Proxima Centauri during a superflare (Image NRAO/S. Dagnello)

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An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” reports an analysis of a superflare of the star Proxima Centauri observed in 2019 in various bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. A team of researchers led by Meredith MacGregor of the University of Colorado at Boulder used various ground-based and space telescopes to obtain complete observations of a flare one hundred times more powerful than solar flares on the closest star to the Sun. It’s the most powerful flare ever observed on Proxima Centauri and one of the most powerful observed in the entire Milky Way.

AG Carinae (Image NASA, ESA and STScI)

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A new photo of AG Carinae, a hypergiant star that belongs to the Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) class, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope has been released to celebrate the 31st anniversary of Hubble being deployed into orbit. The star is surrounded by a nebula formed by materials ejected from the star itself in a period in which instability caused one or more extremely powerful outbursts. The shell that was created is about five light-years across.

Artistic concept of the LOFAR radio telescope and fast radio burst FRB 20180916B (Image courtesy D. Futselaar / S.P. Tendulkar / ASTRON)

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Two articles, one published in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” and one published in “Nature Astronomy”, report various aspects of a research on the fast radio burst FRB 20180916B, whose emissions include the lowest frequencies at which such an event has been detected so far. Two teams of researchers with various members in common used detections obtained with the LOFAR radio telescope and the European VLBI network to study this fast radio burst that is repeating with a periodicity of just over 16 days. Its origin has been pinpointed in a small region around a neutron star.