Astronomy / Astrophysics

The area around the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy M87 seen in the various bands of the electromagnetic spectrum during the 2017 observation campaign

An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” reports the results of multiband observations of the area around the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy M87. 33 members of the Multiwavelength Science Working Group of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) led a large team of researchers who put together data collected by the various radio telescopes that made up the EHT in the extraordinary campaign of observations which led to the historical photo published in 2019 and other data of observations in other electromagnetic bands conducted with various space and ground-based telescopes. This allows to conduct more in-depth analyzes thanks to the completeness of the emissions detected not only by the supermassive black hole but also by its jets that eject materials at very high speeds.

Distribution of molecular gas around some observed protostars in the Perseus Molecular Cloud

An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal” reports a study of organic molecules detected in 50 regions of protoplanetary disk formation in the Perseus Molecular Cloud. A team of researchers coordinated by the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research used the ALMA radio telescope to detect the various molecules present in that molecular cloud, discovering that the distribution of complex organic molecules varies greatly in different areas. The composition was similar in young protoplanetary disks.

The 12 Einstein crosses

An article accepted for publication in “The Astrophysical Journal” reports the identification of 12 quasars whose image has been quadrupled by gravitational lenses obtaining images similar to the so-called Einstein Cross. Researchers from the Gaia Gravitational Lenses (GraL) group used data collected by ESA’s Gaia space probe and NASA’s WISE space telescope and examined them with machine learning algorithms. In this way, it was possible to recognize quasar candidates whose image was distorted by gravitational lenses leading to the identification of 12 Einstein crosses.

The double quasars cataloged as J0749+2255 and J0841+4825

An article published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” reports the discovery of two double quasars that could be part of a hidden population because two quasars that are very close are difficult to distinguish. A team of researchers used Hubble Space Telescope observations of quasars to find these pairs dating back to about 10 billion years ago. The two quasars of each pair are about 10,000 light-years apart, and the galaxies that host them will merge and at a certain point the supermassive black holes that power the quasars will merge as well.

A part of the Veil Nebula (Image ESA/Hubble & NASA, Z. Levay)

A photo of part of the Veil Nebula captured by the Hubble Space Telescope offers a new view of these supernova remnants after applying new processing techniques. The Veil Nebula has already been at the center of observations, analysis, and processing of the images obtained because those remnants form a vast diffuse nebula that is made up of different parts cataloged with different designations and known by different names. This nebula in turn is only the visible part of the Cygnus Loop, as these supernova remnants must be observed in a wider range of the electromagnetic spectrum to be fully detected.