John Wenz, Author at Astronomy.com | Page 3 of 19

Europa was captured by JunoCam, during the mission's close flyby on Sept. 29, 2022. The circular dark feature at the lower right is Callanish Crater.

Alien Life, Science, Solar System

Circular patterns on Europa suggest how deep a lively ocean may be

Scientists have found a large black hole that “hiccups,” giving off plumes of gas. Analysis revealed a tiny black hole was repeatedly punching through the larger black hole’s disk of gas, causing the plumes to release. Powerful magnetic fields, to the north and south of the black hole and represented by the orange cone, slingshot the plume up and out of the disk. Each time the smaller black hole punches through the disk, it would eject another plume, in a regular, periodic pattern. Credit: Jose-Luis Olivares, MIT

Exotic Objects, Science

A galaxy’s bright flicker turned out to be two black holes dancing in the night

This artist’s concept shows a planet gradually spiraling into its host star. Credit: R. Hurt & K. Miller (Caltech/IPAC)

More than a few nearby stars show signs they ate young planets

An artist's conception of the pair of supermassive black holes.

Exotic Objects, Science

These supermassive black holes, equal to 28 billion Suns, are the heaviest ever measured

The Orion nebula as seen by the JWST, appears like a pillowy, colorful, massive cloud of gas and dust.

JWST data show intense bursts of radiation are vaporizing parts of a young star’s disk in the Orion Nebula

An illustration of the dwarf planets Makemake and Eris.

Alien Life, Science, Solar System

Distant worlds Eris and Makemake unveil surprisingly active natures to the world’s largest space telescope

Supernova 1987A, imaged by the Hubble and JWST. The faint blue source in the centre is the emission detected with the JWST/NIRSpec instrument. The bright stars to the left and right of the inner ring are unrelated to the supernova. Credit: Hubble Space Telescope WFPC-3/James Webb Space Telescope NIRSpec/J. Larsson

Exotic Objects, Stars

JWST’s new look at Supernova 1987A reveals a neutron star

Saturn’s moon Mimas shows off its heavily cratered surface — including the large impact crater Herschel — in this rendering. Credit: Frédéric Durillon, Animea Studio | Observatoire de Paris – PSL, IMCCE

Robotic Spaceflight, Science, Solar System, Space Exploration

Evidence grows for a young ocean lurking under Mimas’ surface

In this artist's conception, a black hole (center) is contained in a small host galaxy in the distant universe (left). In the nearby universe (right), the same sized black hole would be hosted in a much bigger galaxy. Credit: CfA/Melissa Weiss

Exotic Objects, Science

JWST turns up even more heavier-than-expected black holes

A Hubble Space Telescope image of the host galaxy of an exceptionally powerful fast radio burst, FRB 20220610A. Hubble’s sensitivity and sharpness reveals a compact group of multiple galaxies that may be in the process of merging. They existed when the universe was only 5 billion years old. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, Alexa Gordon (Northwestern)

Exotic Objects, Galaxies, Science

Scientists trace unusual fast radio burst to ‘blob’ of dwarf galaxies

This artist’s impression is based on the aftermath of a supernova explosion, which resulted in a compact object. Credit: ESO/L. Calçada

Exotic Objects, Science

Scientists find a direct link from the death of massive stars to black holes and neutron stars

Voyager’s views of Jupiter’s colorful cloud tops reminded many people of an impressionist painter’s canvas. Fine details in and around the Great Red Spot changed significantly in the four months between the Voyager 1 flyby and Voyager 2 (pictured). Credit: NASA/JPL.

Robotic Spaceflight, Science, Solar System, Space Exploration

Jets detected around Jupiter using data from 1979’s Voyager 2 mission