Latest news from Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian on News en-us Copyright 2024 News 115 31 / /images/newswise-logo-rss.gif /articles/smithsonian-scientists-help-uncover-how-the-solar-wind-gets-its-energy2/?sc=rsin /articles/smithsonian-scientists-help-uncover-how-the-solar-wind-gets-its-energy2/?sc=rsin Wed, 04 Sep 2024 08:05:50 EST Since the 1960s, astronomers have wondered how the Sun's supersonic "solar wind," a stream of energetic particles that flows out into the Solar System, continues to receive energy once it leaves the Sun. Now, thanks to a lucky line up of two spacecraft currently in space studying the Sun, they may have discovered the answer. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/astronomers-unveil-strong-magnetic-fields-spiraling-at-the-edge-of-milky-way-s-central-black-hole/?sc=rsin /articles/astronomers-unveil-strong-magnetic-fields-spiraling-at-the-edge-of-milky-way-s-central-black-hole/?sc=rsin Wed, 27 Mar 2024 09:00:42 EST A new image from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration-- which includes scientists from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA)-- has uncovered strong and organized magnetic fields spiraling from the edge of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). Seen in polarized light for the first time, this new view of the monster lurking at the heart of the Milky Way Galaxy has revealed a magnetic field structure strikingly similar to that of the black hole at the center of the M87 galaxy, suggesting that strong magnetic fields may be common to all black holes. This similarity also hints toward a hidden jet in Sgr A*. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/extreme-weight-loss-star-sheds-unexpected-amounts-of-mass-just-before-going-supernova/?sc=rsin /articles/extreme-weight-loss-star-sheds-unexpected-amounts-of-mass-just-before-going-supernova/?sc=rsin Wed, 27 Sep 2023 09:00:18 EST A newly discovered nearby supernova whose star ejected up to a full solar mass of material in the year prior to its explosion is challenging the standard theory of stellar evolution. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/nasa-media-call-on-upcoming-air-quality-satellite-launch/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-media-call-on-upcoming-air-quality-satellite-launch/?sc=rsin Fri, 31 Mar 2023 12:40:11 EST Media are invited to participate in a teleconference discussing the upcoming launch of TEMPO on Wednesday, April 5. TEMPO will soon provide the first-ever hourly scans of air pollution over greater North America. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/nasa-smithsonian-media-briefing-new-space-instrument-to-deliver-near-real-time-air-pollution-data/?sc=rsin /articles/nasa-smithsonian-media-briefing-new-space-instrument-to-deliver-near-real-time-air-pollution-data/?sc=rsin Mon, 13 Mar 2023 07:05:02 EST On Tuesday, March 14, NASA and the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian will host a mission and program briefing for the new, space-based instrument TEMPO, which will soon deliver detailed data and analysis of air pollution over greater North America. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/could-space-dust-help-protect-the-earth-from-climate-change/?sc=rsin /articles/could-space-dust-help-protect-the-earth-from-climate-change/?sc=rsin Wed, 08 Feb 2023 14:00:00 EST Dust launched from the moon's surface or from a space station positioned between Earth and the sun could reduce enough solar radiation to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/cosmic-superbubble-s-magnetic-field-charted-in-3d-for-the-first-time/?sc=rsin /articles/cosmic-superbubble-s-magnetic-field-charted-in-3d-for-the-first-time/?sc=rsin Wed, 11 Jan 2023 13:15:00 EST A new strategy for tracing magnetized structures in 3D will help address key questions about the influence of magnetic fields in the cosmos. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/alien-planet-found-spiraling-to-its-doom-around-an-aging-star/?sc=rsin /articles/alien-planet-found-spiraling-to-its-doom-around-an-aging-star/?sc=rsin Mon, 19 Dec 2022 09:00:00 EST The condemned planet could help answer questions about the fate of other worlds as their solar systems evolve. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/astrophysicists-hunt-for-second-closest-supermassive-black-hole/?sc=rsin /articles/astrophysicists-hunt-for-second-closest-supermassive-black-hole/?sc=rsin Mon, 28 Nov 2022 05:00:28 EST As massive as the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, the behemoth is hosted by a dwarf galaxy less than 1 million light-years away. Invisible so far -- maybe not for long. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/new-from-jwst-an-exoplanet-atmosphere-as-never-seen-before/?sc=rsin /articles/new-from-jwst-an-exoplanet-atmosphere-as-never-seen-before/?sc=rsin Tue, 22 Nov 2022 11:00:40 EST New observations of WASP-39 b reveal a never-before-seen molecule in the atmosphere of a planet -- sulfur dioxide -- among other details. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/the-tilt-in-our-stars-the-shape-of-the-milky-way-s-halo-of-stars-is-realized/?sc=rsin /articles/the-tilt-in-our-stars-the-shape-of-the-milky-way-s-halo-of-stars-is-realized/?sc=rsin Fri, 18 Nov 2022 14:10:14 EST New data throws out the textbook picture of a spherical stellar halo and reinforces a dynamic origin story of two galaxies that collided billions of years ago. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/the-most-precise-accounting-yet-of-dark-energy-and-dark-matter/?sc=rsin /articles/the-most-precise-accounting-yet-of-dark-energy-and-dark-matter/?sc=rsin Wed, 19 Oct 2022 09:00:00 EST Analyzing more than two decades' worth of supernova explosions convincingly bolsters modern cosmological theories and reinvigorates efforts to answer fundamental questions. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/we-ve-never-seen-anything-like-this-before-black-hole-spews-out-material-years-after-shredding-star/?sc=rsin /articles/we-ve-never-seen-anything-like-this-before-black-hole-spews-out-material-years-after-shredding-star/?sc=rsin Wed, 12 Oct 2022 09:00:19 EST Astronomers have observed a black hole burping up stellar remains years after it shredded and consumed the star. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/it-s-a-planet-new-evidence-of-baby-planet-in-the-making/?sc=rsin /articles/it-s-a-planet-new-evidence-of-baby-planet-in-the-making/?sc=rsin Wed, 14 Sep 2022 11:00:48 EST Astronomers have developed a new technique to identify small planets hidden in protoplanetary disks. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/case-solved-missing-carbon-monoxide-was-hiding-in-the-ice/?sc=rsin /articles/case-solved-missing-carbon-monoxide-was-hiding-in-the-ice/?sc=rsin Mon, 22 Aug 2022 11:00:00 EST In planetary disks, carbon monoxide is lurking in large chunks of ice, solving the decade-old question, 'Where is the CO?' Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/ready-for-its-close-up-new-technology-sharpens-images-of-black-holes/?sc=rsin /articles/ready-for-its-close-up-new-technology-sharpens-images-of-black-holes/?sc=rsin Tue, 16 Aug 2022 11:00:30 EST Using new computational algorithms, scientists have measured a sharp ring of light predicted to originate from photons whipping around the back of a supermassive black hole. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/hubble-sees-supergiant-betelgeuse-slowly-recovering-after-blowing-its-top/?sc=rsin /articles/hubble-sees-supergiant-betelgeuse-slowly-recovering-after-blowing-its-top/?sc=rsin Thu, 11 Aug 2022 10:00:04 EST Seething monster star had never-before-seen titanic eruption. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/black-hole-police-discover-a-dormant-black-hole-outside-of-the-milky-way-galaxy/?sc=rsin /articles/black-hole-police-discover-a-dormant-black-hole-outside-of-the-milky-way-galaxy/?sc=rsin Mon, 18 Jul 2022 11:00:00 EST It is the first dormant stellar-mass black hole to be detected outside of the Milky Way galaxy, the team claims. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/did-supernovae-help-form-barnard-s-loop/?sc=rsin /articles/did-supernovae-help-form-barnard-s-loop/?sc=rsin Thu, 16 Jun 2022 13:15:42 EST A new view begins to piece together the 3D puzzle of Orion and how Barnard's Loop may have formed. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian /articles/scientists-have-spotted-the-farthest-galaxy-ever/?sc=rsin /articles/scientists-have-spotted-the-farthest-galaxy-ever/?sc=rsin Thu, 07 Apr 2022 01:00:00 EST Shining only ~300 million years after the Big Bang, it may be home to the oldest stars in the universe, or a supermassive black hole. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian