Latest news with #ESO
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronomers Peer Through Stellar Dust to See Black Holes Eating Whole Stars
In a new study, astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope to study black hole events that would otherwise have been impossible to see—and in the process, they proved that dormant black holes aren't so dormant, after all. A dormant black hole isn't really inactive; it's just all alone. Without any meaningful amount of material around to pull in, a black hole will simply fly through space and present virtually no signal for astronomers looking to find it. Though its mass will bend light in the same characteristic ways as any other black hole, astronomers generally need to see its effect on surrounding matter to identify candidate regions of the sky worth studying at all. An artist's impression of a tidal disruption event. Credit: ESO/L. Calçada However, these 'dormant' singularities will occasionally come into contact with stars and other objects as they move around the galaxy. If they come too close, these objects are gobbled up by the black holes. When the object is a large star, it can be ripped physically apart by the gravitational forces. This star-destroying process is what's known as a tidal disruption event, and it's associated with a huge emission of radiation whenever matter is pulled over the event horizon. Usually, some proportion of the matter is converted to energy and blasted out in a form that astronomers can see. The problem is that very dusty galaxies can hide these events, blocking the X-ray or visible light emissions and hiding information that could help understand black holes and their galaxies. These researchers had previously supposed that in such cases, the radiation from the tidal disruption event should interact with the dust blocking it, producing infrared light that could be detected instead. The James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA So they turned to the Webb telescope, the most advanced infrared detector in existence, to look for these characteristic signals—and found them. The issue was that these galaxies didn't appear to have the structure of an active black hole with a permanent accretion disc. Instead, they looked to be dormant black holes that were transiently eating up a star, producing a short burst of radiation, and then going back to quiescence. Tidal disruption events are surprisingly rare to see, with only a few dozen having been seen in total, but many scientists believe they are actually more common, and just often hidden from view. This study shows how even occluded black holes could be studied in the future—and that even hard-to-study singularities will often provide useful inroads for experimentation.
India Today
a day ago
- Science
- India Today
Astronomers witness birth of a new solar system for the first time
In a remarkable achievement, international astronomers have, for the first time, observed the very moment planets begin to form around a distant star, offering a direct window into the earliest stages of a solar system's historic discovery, combining the power of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), represents a leap forward in our understanding of how worlds like our own come to star in question, known as HOPS-315, sits 1,300 light-years away from Earth. It is a 'proto' star, newly formed and swaddled in a dense disk of gas and dust, the very building blocks from which planets emerge. Using JWST's infrared sensitivity, researchers first identified chemical fingerprints of hot, crystalline minerals, notably silicon monoxide (SiO), beginning to solidify within this disc. Follow-up observations with ALMA pinpointed these minerals' location, revealing they were forming close to where our asteroid belt orbits in the Solar System today. These images illustrate how hot gas condenses into solid minerals around the baby star HOPS-315. (Photo: ESO) 'This is the earliest moment of planet formation ever observed outside our Solar System,' said study lead author Professor Melissa McClure of Leiden University, whose results were published today in Professor Merel van 't Hoff of Purdue University likened the findings to 'a picture of the baby Solar System,' adding that HOPS-315 closely resembles what our Sun and planets would have looked like 4.6 billion years now, astronomers have detected fully formed, massive, newborn planets or observed younger protoplanetary discs, but never witnessed the precise moment when small, rocky solids, the first 'seeds' of planets, began to condense and discovery of solidifying SiO minerals, trapped both in gas and crystal form, confirms that planetesimal formation is underway around HOPS-315.'This process has never been seen before anywhere outside our Solar System,' said co-author Professor Edwin Bergin of the University of Michigan. The location of the mineral signals, equivalent to our asteroid belt, further strengthens the connection to our own origins, echoing the materials found in ancient meteorites and asteroids that predate Elizabeth Humphreys, who wasn't involved in the study, called the findings 'a very early stage of planet formation,' and emphasised the unique synergy between JWST and ALMA in revealing such cosmic are excited that with HOPS-315, they now have an unprecedented laboratory for studying the processes that shaped not just our Solar System, but potentially countless worlds across the galaxy.- EndsTrending Reel
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
This 'super-Earth' exoplanet 35 light-years away might have what it takes to support life
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A fifth planet has been detected within the habitable zone of a neighboring star, where conditions could perhaps support liquid water and potentially life. Located about 35 light-years from Earth, L 98-59 is a cool, dim red dwarf star already known to host a compact system of small, rocky planets. The latest discovery, led by researchers at the Université de Montréal's Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets, confirms the presence of L 98-59 f, a super-Earth with a minimum mass 2.8 times that of our planet. The newly discovered exoplanet follows an almost perfectly circular 23-Earth-day orbit around its star. The world receives roughly the same amount of stellar energy as Earth, placing it in the star's habitable zone — a range of distances where liquid water could exist under suitable atmospheric conditions, according to a statement from the university. "Finding a temperate planet in such a compact system makes this discovery particularly exciting," Charles Cadieux, a postdoctoral researcher at the university and lead author of the study, said in the statement. "It highlights the remarkable diversity of exoplanetary systems and strengthens the case for studying potentially habitable worlds around low-mass stars." L 98-59 f was discovered by reanalyzing data from the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) HARPS (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher) and ESPRESSO (Echelle Spectrograph for Rocky Exoplanet and Stable Spectroscopic Observations) spectrographs. Since the exoplanet doesn't transit, or pass in front of, its host star from our perspective, astronomers spotted it by tracking subtle shifts in the star's motion that are caused by the planet's gravitational pull. By combining the spectrograph data with observations from NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) and James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) — and using advanced techniques to filter out stellar noise — researchers were able to determine the size, mass and key properties of all five planets. The study shows that L 98-59 b, the innermost planet, is just 84% the size of Earth and half its mass, making it one of the smallest exoplanets measured. Tidal forces may drive volcanic activity on the system's two innermost planets, while the third's unusually low density suggests it could be a water-rich world unlike any in our solar system. This diversity offers a rare opportunity to investigate the formation and evolution of planetary systems beyond our own, team members said. RELATED STORIES — Exoplanets: Everything you need to know about the worlds beyond our solar system — Nearby exoplanet could offer clues about atmospheres around hot, rocky alien worlds — Goldilocks zone: Everything you need to know about the habitable sweet spot "These new results paint the most complete picture we've ever had of the fascinating L 98-59 system," Cadieux said. "It's a powerful demonstration of what we can achieve by combining data from space telescopes and high-precision instruments on Earth, and it gives us key targets for future atmospheric studies with the James Webb Space Telescope." Because L 98-59 is small and nearby, its planets are especially well-suited for follow-up atmospheric studies. If L 98-59 f has an atmosphere, telescopes like JWST may be able to detect water vapor, carbon dioxide — or even biosignatures. The new study was published July 12 in the journal Earth and Planetary Astrophysics. Solve the daily Crossword
New Straits Times
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
ESO wraps up three-night KL tour under Maestro Jaap van Zweden
KUALA LUMPUR: The Evergreen Symphony Orchestra (ESO), led by its Artist-in-Residence Jaap van Zweden, concluded its three-night tour in Kuala Lumpur with a final concert at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP) on July 20. The tour, titled "Destiny Symphony – Jaap van Zweden and the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra," featured a VIP performance on July 18 and a charity concert the following day. All three performances were held at DFP, marking ESO's first international tour under Maestro van Zweden since his appointment in early 2025. "This was a meaningful milestone for the orchestra and a testament to the deepening cultural exchange between Taiwan and Malaysia. The concert was a demonstration of the power of unbounded charity and music without borders," ESO said in a statement. Some 300 guests from more than 10 organisations for disadvantaged communities attended the charity concert on July 19, including the National Autism Society Malaysia (Nasom), the National Council for the Blind Malaysia (NCBM), and the Down Syndrome Association of Selangor (PWSDNS). The concerts showcased a range of classical works, with the first half featuring Mendelssohn's "Fingal's Cave" Overture, evoking the sweeping imagery of the ocean. It was followed by Mozart's Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra in C major, with Malaysian flutist Yew-Kia Koh and Taiwanese harpist Menglu Chiu performing as dual soloists. "This collaboration symbolised the beauty of international artistic cooperation," said van Zweden. The second half of the programme featured Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, widely known as the "Symphony of Fate", and concluded with two encores: Dvořák's Slavonic Dance Op. 46, No. 8, and the beloved Malaysian classic "Getaran Jiwa." The ESO said the Malaysian tour not only promoted Taiwanese musical excellence but also strengthened ties between the peoples of Taiwan and Malaysia. Plans are already in motion for tours next year and beyond. Future tours are expected to include stops in major cities across Asia, Europe, and the United States, further elevating Taiwan's presence on the global classical music stage.
Time of India
19-07-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Birth of planet captured: Astronomers share rare glimpses of newborn planet about 1,300 light-yrs away
For the first time, a team of researchers has captured the birth of a planet around a star beyond our Sun. The observations captured the very beginnings of planet formation , a rare glimpse into the cosmic process that gives rise to Earth-like planets around a star. Observations were made using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope and NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to capture the formation of a new planetary system. Scientists detected the formation of the first specks of planet-building material around a baby star named HOPS-315 , located about 1,300 light-years away. HOPS-315 is considered a 'proto-star', meaning it's in the earliest stage of stellar evolution. These young stars are often surrounded by protoplanetary discs - rotating clouds of gas and dust where planets are born. This image shows jets of silicon monoxide (SiO) blowing away from the baby star HOPS-315. (Pic credit: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al.) by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Apartments Just Listed – Take a Look Apartments | Search Ads Learn More Undo "For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our Sun," said Melissa McClure, lead author of the study from Leiden University in the Netherlands. The findings were published in the journal Nature . The team found evidence of silicon monoxide (SiO) gas and solid crystalline minerals in the disc surrounding HOPS-315. This suggests that planet-forming materials are beginning to condense from gas into solid particles, an evolutionary phase in the birth of planets. "This process has never been seen before in a protoplanetary disc — or anywhere outside our Solar System," said Edwin Bergin, co-author and professor at the University of Michigan, USA. The discovery unveils a never-before-seen phase in planet formation and opens a new window into studying how planetary systems like our own come into being.
