Shockwaves resulting from the violent collision between an intruder galaxy and Stephan’s Quintet are helping astronomers to understand how turbulence influences gas in the intergalactic medium. New observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed that a sonic boom several times the size of the Milky Way has kickstarted a recycling plant for warm and cold molecular hydrogen gas. What’s more, scientists uncovered the break-up of a giant cloud into a fog of warm gas, the possible collision of two clouds forming a splash of warm gas around them, and the formation of a new galaxy. The observations were presented today in a press conference at the 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Seattle, Washington.
VLA Finds Cosmic Rays Driving Galaxy’s Winds
VLA observations revealed that cosmic rays can play an important role in driving winds that rob galaxies of the gas needed to form new stars. This mechanism may be an important factor in galactic evolution, particularly at earlier times in the history of the universe.
VLBA Produces First Full 3-D View of Binary Star-Planet System
Astronomers using the VLBA have produced the first-ever full, 3-D view of binary star system with a planet orbiting one of the stars. Their achievement promises important new insights into the process of planet formation.
ALMA Witnesses Deadly Star-Slinging Tug-of-War Between Merging Galaxies
While observing a newly-dormant galaxy using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), scientists discovered that it had stopped forming stars not because it had used up all of its gas but because most of its star-forming fuel had been thrown out of the system as it merged with another galaxy. The result is a first for ALMA scientists. What’s more, if proven common, the results could change the way scientists think about galaxy mergers and deaths.
Out With a Bang: Explosive Neutron Star Merger Captured for the First Time in Millimeter Light
Scientists using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)— an international observatory co-operated by the US National Science Foundation’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)— have for the first time recorded millimeter-wavelength light from a fiery explosion caused by the merger of a neutron star with another star. The team also confirmed this flash of light to be one of the most energetic short-duration gamma-ray bursts ever observed, leaving behind one of the most luminous afterglows on record.
Astronomers Find Evidence for Most Powerful Pulsar in Distant Galaxy
Astronomers using data from the VLA Sky Survey have discovered one of the youngest known neutron stars — possibly as young as only 14 years. The dense remnant of a supernova explosion was revealed when bright radio emission powered by the pulsar’s powerful magnetic field emerged from behind a thick shell of debris from the explosion.