April 8, 2014 Abell 7, an ancient planetary nebula in Lepus Image Credit & Copyright: Don Goldman, Astrodon Imaging Abell 7 (also known as PNG 215.5-30.8 and PK 215-30.1) is a very faint and old planetary nebula of about 8 light-years across, located some 1,800 light-years away from Earth in the southern constellation of [continue reading]
November 30, 2013 Abell 70, a planetary nebula in Aquila Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona (http://skycenter.arizona.edu/gallery/nebulae/Abell70) Abell 70 (also known as PN G038.1-25.4) is a planetary nebula that lies between 13,500 and 17,500 light-years away from Earth in the northern constellation of Aquila (the Eagle). It is approaching us at [continue reading]
On the edge of the nearby galaxy Messier 86, astronomers have observed a strange X-ray flash. This flash has almost certainly been caused by a rare cosmic accident in which a small star is pulled apart by a medium-sized black hole. The discovery may provide the missing evidence for the existence of medium-sized black [continue reading]
Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have found the building blocks of solid exoplanets that are capable of having substantial amounts of water. This rocky debris, currently orbiting a white dwarf star called GD 61, is considered a relic of an exoplanetary system that survived the burnout of its parent star. The finding suggests [continue reading]
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has found signs of Earth-like planets in an unlikely place: the atmospheres of a pair of burnt-out stars in a nearby star cluster. The white dwarf stars are being polluted by debris from asteroid-like objects falling onto them. This discovery suggests that rocky planet formation is common in clusters, [continue reading]
TAU finds white dwarf stars may hold the key to detecting life on other planets Because it has no source of energy, a dead star — known as a white dwarf — will eventually cool down and fade away. But circumstantial evidence suggests that white dwarfs can still support habitable planets, says [continue reading]