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A bright, icy-looking object floats in deep space at the center of the image, surrounded by a large, glowing blue and pale orange cloud that fades softly into the dark background. The blue part of the cloud is largest and mostly on the left-hand side. The orange part is smaller and on the right-hand side. Small stars are scattered throughout the black sky.

ALMA Detects Extremely Abundant Alcohol in Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

March 6, 2026 at 12:00 pm | News Release

Comet 3I/ATLAS continues to make astonishing headlines, thanks to new findings from astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array…

This image shows the complex distribution of molecular gas in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) of the Milky Way. It was obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner. This map is as long as three full Moons side-by-side in the sky, and it is in fact the largest ALMA image ever obtained. This map is part of ACES — the ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey — a project designed to understand how gas condenses into stars in the extreme and chaotic environment at the heart of our galaxy. The survey has charted the distribution of dozens of different molecules, five of which are shown here in different colours: sulphur monoxide (cyan), silicon monoxide (green), isocyanic acid (red), cyanoacetylene (blue), and carbon monosulphide (magenta). The stars in the foreground of this image were observed at infrared wavelengths (Y, Z and J filters) with ESO’s VISTA telescope as part of a different project. The actual density of stars in the CMZ is much higher than what is shown here, where we have opted to highlight the details in the molecular cloud. Note that the edges of the ALMA map appear somewhat sharp because the ALMA observations do not cover the entire rectangular area here.

ALMA Creates Largest-Ever Image of the Milky Way’s Core

February 25, 2026 at 8:00 am | News Release

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), of which the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory…

Artist’s illustration of the binary star system WR 112. A bright blue-white Wolf-Rayet star and a nearby, smaller companion star orbit each other in space. Their powerful stellar winds collide between them, creating a glowing region where dust forms and streams outward in a spiral plume. A magnified inset in the top right corner, shows the dust grains against a reddish background, highlighting mostly extremely tiny, nanometer-sized particles along with a smaller number of grains about 100 times larger.

A Quintillion-to-One: Giant Stars, Tiny Dust

February 23, 2026 at 10:00 am | News Release

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have discovered that some…

VLITE Marks 11 Years of Capturing the Dynamic Radio Sky

February 12, 2026 at 8:00 am | News Release

The U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) are celebrating the 11th anniversary of the VLA Low-band Ionosphere and Transient Experiment (VLITE), a pioneering program that has opened new windows into the low-frequency radio universe.

NSF NRAO Highlights Major AI and Astronomy Advances with NSF-Simons AI Institute for Cosmic Origins at 247th American Astronomical Society Meeting

February 10, 2026 at 1:16 pm | Announcement

The U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) is celebrating significant progress in the NSF-Simons AI Institute for Cosmic Origins (CosmicAI), which is advancing the intersection of artificial intelligence and astronomy

Artist's impression of the NSF Green Bank Telescope gathering data on the center of the Milky Way. The inset image shows the black hole at our Galaxy's center, and a nearby candidate (unconfirmed) pulsar.

Breakthrough Listen, NSF Green Bank Telescope Probe Galactic Heart for Hidden Pulsars

February 9, 2026 at 12:04 pm | News Release

Astronomers from Breakthrough Listen have used the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Green Bank Telescope (NSF…

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