Star Bright

"Nearly three decades after the discovery of the first exoplanet, astronomers remain uncertain about how these diverse worlds form. Each young transiting planet offers crucial insights into developing models of planetary formation. This is why, in 2023, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) focused its attention on a young planet named HIP 67522b for a few hours. At just 17 million years old, HIP 67522b was initially thought to be a typical close-in, Jupiter-sized planet. However, JWST’s observations revealed an unexpected surprise: HIP 67522b is nothing like Jupiter. Instead, it has a puffy, extended atmosphere filled with water vapor and carbon dioxide, suggesting it belongs to a completely different category of planets. The planet’s inflated atmosphere puzzled researchers, led by Pa Chia Thao (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). If HIP 67522b had Jupiter’s mass, its strong gravity would have kept its atmosphere compact. But the atmosphere’s far-reaching extension indi...

 Astronomers studying archived images from the James Webb Space Telescope have uncovered a surprisingly large population of the smallest asteroids ever observed in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers analyzing archival data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have uncovered an unexpectedly large population of the smallest asteroids ever observed in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This discovery could improve our ability to track these tiny but potentially dangerous space rocks that may approach Earth. The newly identified asteroids range in size from as small as a bus to several stadiums. Though much smaller than the massive asteroid that caused the extinction of most dinosaurs, these space rocks still hold immense destructive potential. For example, a decade ago, an asteroid only a few tens of meters wide exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, releasing energy 30 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during WWII. These "decamet...

  Astronomers are working to unravel an "intergalactic mystery" about how some of the universe’s largest galaxies came into existence, according to a new study. These massive structures, called elliptical galaxies , resemble bulging footballs in shape, contrasting with the flat disc of the Milky Way. The question of their origin has puzzled researchers for decades. Now, scientists at the University of Southampton believe they are closer to an answer. In a recently published paper, Dr. Annagrazia Puglisi proposes that the formation of these galaxies may be linked to galactic collisions that occurred around 12 billion years ago. "Two disc galaxies smashing together caused gas — the fuel for star formation — to sink into their centers, sparking the creation of trillions of new stars," Dr. Puglisi explained. These cosmic collisions are thought to have occurred during a period of heightened activity in the universe’s evolution, between 8 and 12 billion years ago. ...