CTAO’s Post

🤫 SECRETS OF PLANET BIRTH 🪐🌑🌏 In a series of studies astronomers, among them Til Birnstiel from the ORIGINS Cluster and LMU Munich – Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, shed new light on the fascinating and complex process of planet formation. The beautiful images by the European Southern Observatory's VLT/SHPERE telescope in Chile present one of the largest ever surveys of planet-forming discs. The observations reveal that most of the young stars ✨ that are surrounded by dust- and gas-rich discs 📀 likely have planets 🪐🌑🌏 forming around them. ☀️ 💨 🌖 The latest article: https://lnkd.in/dmDWATQj ESO press release with more info: https://lnkd.in/djBGcdHk #astronomy #astrophysics #astrobiology #stars #planets #disks #starformation #planetformation #dust #gas #universe #cosmos #evolution

I am thrilled to share that our latest research, "Fate and Detectability of Rare Gas Hydride Ions in Nova Ejecta: A Case Study with Nova Templates", has been accepted for publication in the prestigious Astronomy & Astrophysics journal (IF 5-6)! Paper arxiv link: https://lnkd.in/dDrxWtgM Our study used steady-state modeling to explore classical novae, predicting that HeH⁺ could be detected by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Importantly, the novae we studied serve as templates rather than direct observation targets. The detection of these spectral lines could help refine our understanding of the physical conditions within similar systems, testing our predictions grounded in new electron-impact rovibrational collisional data at temperatures up to 20,000 K. Tracking recurrent novae in nearby regions presents a unique opportunity to observe HeH⁺ in real time (could be a good JWST proposal), offering insights into its evolution as a nova progresses. Such observations could provide crucial evidence supporting — or potentially challenging — the hypothesized presence of HeH⁺, advancing our understanding of these dynamic systems. Thank you to my collaborators and supporters for making this research possible! #astrophysics #research #JamesWebbSpaceTelescope #novae #HeH⁺ #AstronomyandAstrophysics #JWST

Using data from various space telescopes and astronomical surveys, Armenian researchers have investigated three star-forming regions. The study identified hundreds of young stellar objects and provided important information regarding the stellar content of these regions. The new findings were presented in a paper published April 5 in the Astrophysics and Space Science journal. Star-forming regions are dense areas within molecular clouds in interstellar space where young stellar objects (YSOs) predominate and are likely being formed. Therefore, studying these regions is crucial for astronomers in order to better understand the formation and evolution of stars. Recently, a team of astronomers led by Naira Azatyan of Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory in Armenia decided to explore three star-forming regions, namely IRAS 05137+3919, IRAS 05168+3634, and IRAS 19110+1045. They analyzed data covering a wide range of near- to far-infrared wavelengths. "The selected regions (IRAS 05137+3919, 05168+3634, and 19110+1045), among other things, hold particular interest due to their considerable distances, providing an opportunity to evaluate the capabilities of the databases we have access to," the authors of the paper explained. All the three investigated star-forming regions are located within 36,000 light years away from the Earth, have substantial sizes (with radii ranging from 5.5 to 6.2 light years) and showcase multi-component structures. The astronomers focused on the inspection of young stellar clusters and interstellar medium in these regions. Azatyan's team managed to identify 33 YSOs in IRAS 05137+3919, 240 YSOs in IRAS 05168+3634 and 37 YSOs in IRAS 19110+1045. The researchers noted that in the IRAS 05137+3919 region the selected YSOs are not uniformly distributed and form two distinct subgroups. #YSOs #Astrophysics #StarformingRegions A color-composite image of the IRAS 05168+3634 star-forming region, combining data of WISE 12 µm (in blue), Herschel 160 µm (in green), and Herschel 500 µm (in red). (Azatyan et al., 2024)

💫 The majority of the stars in our galaxy host planets, notably sub-Neptunes, which range in size between Earth and Neptune. However, calculating their density posed a problem for scientists, who could not achieve consistent results depending on the method used. Was this due to observational bias or the existence of two different populations of planets? An international team led by UNIGE, Université de Berne, and PlanetS has demonstrated that there are indeed two types of sub-Neptunes, putting an end to this scientific debate. Discover their work in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. ✨🪐 More info 👉 https://lnkd.in/eTuM4AUT This research was conducted by Adrien Leleu and Jean-Baptiste Delisle, respectively an assistant professor and a scientific collaborator in the Department of Astronomy at UNIGE, and Yann Alibert, a professor in the Space Research and Planetary Sciences Division at UNIBE. All are members of the PRN PlanetS. 📸 © ESO/L. Calçada/spaceengine.org #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Exoplanets #Research #UNIGE #UNIBE #PlanetS

New type of binary system containing a neutron star. Researchers led by Kareem El-Badry from Caltech, using data taken by Gaia, have uncovered 21 neutron stars orbiting in binary systems with stars similar to our Sun. Binary systems comprising a neutron star and a regular star had been observed before, but those were compact systems in which both stars were really close and the former was discovered when taking mass from the latter. In the newly discovered systems, the stars are further away one from the other, and it's the first time that the neutron stars have been detected only by the gravitational effect on the trajectory of the regular stars. Current models cannot explain how these systems were formed, but the team estimates that there's one of such type in every million. The findings have been published in The Open Journal of Astrophysics (15 July, 2024). https://lnkd.in/e_eaVhDm #physics #physicsnews #astrophysics #astronomy #neutronstar #neutronstars #binarysystem #binarysystems #gaia

For this latest illustration I worked closely with Astrophysicist Josh Lovell. Him and his team had the amazing luck to view a rare event. Right place, right time! A star produced a flare so large it spanned larger than the star itself. The star is quite young, which means that planets might be forming around it. However, if any of these newborn planets were in the path of the flare and they had begun to form environments, those environments would be immediately stripped away by its power. Wrong place, wrong time.😢 Client: Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian Release title: Extreme Eruption on Young Sun-like Star Signals Savage Environment for Developing Exoplanets Caption: An artistic representation of a flare from HD 283572, a young nearby star. During quiescent (or quiet) periods, HD 283572 cannot be detected with the Submillimeter Array (SMA). However, on January 17 2022, an extreme flare event occurred, just when the SMA happened to be observing HD 283572. The SMA detected the rare, millimeter--wavelength part of this event, which could have produced a flaring loop that spanned a size larger than the entire star, with an energy output of over 1,000,000-times that of the millimeter flares produced by the Sun's nearest stellar neighbors. Credit: CfA/Melissa Weiss Link: https://lnkd.in/ey4pRV-P #melissaweiss #melissaweissscienceillustrator #mweiss #scienceillustration #sciart #scienceandart #artandscience #star #flare #submillimeterarray #centerforastrophysics #astrophysics #astronomy #science #space #astroart

𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞'𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐬 🔭📡🔥 A new international study, using observations from the Gran Telescopio Canarias at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, has identified a plasma bubble as the source of the persistent emission observed in some of the so-called fast radio bursts (FRBs), one of the most powerful and unknown cosmic events in the Universe. The data also allow researchers to constrain the nature of the “engine” powering these mysterious sources. The results are published today in Nature. Discovered just over a decade ago, fast radio bursts (FRBs) emit millisecond-long pulses that release an immense amount of energy in the radio wave range, making them one of the most energetic phenomena observed to date. Their origin, however, is still uncertain and there are many efforts by the astrophysics community around the world to understand the physical processes behind them. #InstitutodeAstrofisicadeCanarias #IACastrofísica #IAC_astrofisica #IAC #IACTEC #AmigosdelIAC #scienceandtechnology #science #ciencia #astronomy #astronomia #astrophysics #astrofisica #space #espacio #Canarias #canaryislands #Tenerife #LaPalma #GTC #Grantecan #INAF #VLA

Stellar Chromospheric Activity Database of Solar-like Stars Based on the LAMOST Low-Resolution Spectroscopic Survey: II. the bolometric and photospheric calibration #Astrobiology #astronomy #astrochemistry #exoplanet #spaceweather #heliophysics

North and South are not the same. Researchers led by Bruno Arsioli, of the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences in Portugal, and the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, using data taken during 14 years by the gamma rays satellite Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT), produced a compressed movie of the Sun observed in gamma rays from August 2008 to January 2022. Thanks to the data they discovered that, contrary to the expectations, the solar disk can become brighter on the polar regions when observing the gamma rays. Furthermore, in the south pole, there is a surplus of emissions of higher energy photons with 20 to 150 gigaelectronvolts, while most of the less energetic photons come from the north pole, an asymmetry for which there's still no explanation. The findings have been published in The Astrophysical Journal (7 February, 2024). https://lnkd.in/eG2f9duY #physics #physicsnews #astrophysics #astronomy #heliophysics #sun #gammaray #gammarays

Origin of Unexpected Differences in Giant Binary Stars Revealed | Gemini South FriendsofNASA.org | Cosmoview Episode 80: Using the Gemini South telescope a team of astronomers have confirmed for the first time that differences in binary stars’ composition can originate from chemical variations in the cloud of stellar material from which they formed. The results help explain why stars born from the same molecular cloud can possess different chemical composition and host different planetary systems, as well as pose challenges to current stellar and planet formation models. It is estimated that up to 85% of stars exist in binary star systems, some even in systems with three or more stars. "By showing for the first time that primordial differences really are present and responsible for differences between twin stars, we show that star and planet formation could be more complex than initially thought,” said Carlos Saffe of the Institute of Astronomical, Earth and Space Sciences (ICATE-CONICET) in Argentina, who leads the research team. “The Universe loves diversity!” This research was presented in a paper accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters. DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202449263 Video Credit: Images and Videos: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/ESO/L. Calçada/International Gemini Observatory/Kwon O Chul/CTIO/N. Smith (University of Minnesota)/J. da Silva (Spaceengine)/M. Zamani/N. Bartmann Duration: 1 minute, 18 seconds Release Date: May 8, 2024 NSF NOIRLab CONICET University of Minnesota National Science Foundation (NSF) Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center American Astronomical Society (AAS) European Astronomical Society Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada U.S. Department of Education National Science Teaching Association Patrick CUVELIER #NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #BinaryStars #ChemicalCompositions #Heliophysics #Astrophysics #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #GeminiSouthTelescope #GMOS #GeminiObservatory #Chile #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video