PARIS, May 12, 2023 (AFP) – Astronomers said on Friday they have identified the “largest” cosmic explosion ever observed, a fireball 100 times the size of our Solar System that suddenly began blazing in the distant universe more than three years ago. While the astronomers offered what they think is the most likely explanation for the explosion, they emphasised that more research was needed to understand the puzzling phenomenon. The explosion, called AT2021lwx, is not […]
Tag: astronomy
Stargazers witness dazzling solar eclipse in Australia
Professional astronomers and amateur cosmologists flocked to a remote part of Western Australia Thursday to witness a total solar eclipse, with the moon blocking out the sun for 58 seconds. Stargazers in Exmouth, on Australia’s northwest tip, parked their caravans, pitched telescopes and donned protective glasses to watch the moon seemingly creep across the sun’s surface before the totality. “Many people become addicted to that minute or so of eerie otherworldliness” John Lattanzio of […]
Astronomers discover one of biggest black holes ever recorded
Paris, France | AFP | by Daniel Lawler One of the largest black holes ever recorded has been discovered using a new technique that could spot thousands more of the insatiable celestial monsters in the coming years, according to astronomers. The ultramassive black hole, one of just four ever observed, is more than 30 billion times the mass of the Sun, a new study said. It is the first black hole ever observed using […]
Australia starts building ‘momentous’ radio telescope
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia on Monday started building a vast network of antennas in the Outback, its section of what planners say will eventually become one of the most powerful radio telescopes in the world. When complete, the antennas in Australia and a network of dishes in South Africa will form the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), a massive instrument that will aim to untangle mysteries about the creation of stars, galaxies and extraterrestrial life. […]
Partial solar eclipse begins in Iceland headed towards India
Paris, France | AFP | A partial solar eclipse began over Iceland on Tuesday as the rare celestial spectacle started to make its way east across a swathe of the Northern Hemisphere. The partial eclipse began at 0858 GMT and will end off the coast of India at 1302 GMT, crossing parts of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East on its way, according to the IMCCE institute of France’s Paris Observatory. Amateur astronomers must […]
Partial solar eclipse from Iceland to India on Tuesday
Paris, France | AFP | A partial solar eclipse will be visible across a swathe of the Northern Hemisphere on Tuesday, with amateur astronomers warned to take care watching the rare phenomenon. The eclipse will start at 0858 GMT in Iceland and end off the coast of India at 1302 GMT, crossing Europe, North Africa and the Middle East on its way, according to the IMCCE institute of France’s Paris Observatory. Solar eclipses occur […]
Iconic ‘Pillars of Creation’ captured in new Webb image
Washington, United States | AFP | The James Webb Space Telescope captured the iconic “Pillars of Creation,” huge structures of gas and dust teeming with stars, NASA said Wednesday, and the image is as majestic as one could hope. The twinkling of thousands of stars illuminates the telescope’s first shot of the gigantic gold, copper and brown columns standing in the midst of the cosmos. At the ends of several pillars are bright red, lava-like […]
Neptune’s delicate rings captured in new Webb image
Paris, France (AFP) by Daniel Lawler The James Webb Space Telescope has turned its gaze away from the deep universe towards our home Solar System, capturing an image of a luminous Neptune and its delicate, dusty rings in detail not seen in decades, NASA said Wednesday. The last time astronomers had such a clear view of the farthest planet from the Sun was when NASA’s Voyager 2 became the first and only space probe […]
Webb telescope finds CO2 for first time in exoplanet atmosphere
Washington, United States (AFP) The months-old James Webb Space Telescope has added another major scientific discovery to its growing list: detecting for the first time signs of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system. Although the exoplanet would never be able to support life as we know it, the successful discovery of CO2 gives researchers hope that similar observations could be carried out on rocky objects more hospitable to […]
Cosmic cliffs and dancing galaxies: Webb begins era of discovery
by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse The cosmic cliffs of a stellar nursery and a quintet of galaxies bound in a celestial dance: NASA released the next wave of images from the James Webb Space Telescope Tuesday, heralding a new era of astronomy. “Every image is a new discovery,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. “Each will give humanity a view of the universe that we’ve never seen before.” Released one by one starting from 10:30 […]
Webb telescope reveals deepest image of early universe
by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON (AFP) – Humanity’s view of the distant cosmos will never be the same. The James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful to be placed in orbit, has revealed the clearest image to date of the early universe, US space agency NASA said Monday. The stunning shot, released in a White House briefing by President Joe Biden, is overflowing with thousands of galaxies and features some of the faintest objects observed, colorized […]
Astronomers reveal first image of black hole at Milky Way’s centre
by Pierre CELERIER Agence France Presse An international team of astronomers on Thursday unveiled the first image of a supermassive black hole at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy — a cosmic body known as Sagittarius A*. The image — produced by a global team of scientists known as the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration — is the first, direct visual confirmation of the presence of this invisible object, and comes three years […]
