Astronomy: Get Started
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The Biggest Explosion in The Cosmos
"For three years, telescopes have monitored “one of the most luminous” events ever: a supermassive black hole consuming a gigantic cloud of interstellar gas...
Eight billion light-years from Earth, in the darkness beyond the constellation Vulpecula, a black hole perhaps a billion times as massive as the sun seems to be gorging on a humongous cloud of gas. A study of the phenomenon appeared Friday in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society...
Astronomers said the explosion is a fireball 100 times the size of our Solar System that suddenly began blazing in the distant universe more than three years ago. “Most supernovae and tidal disruption events only last for a couple of months before fading away,” said Philip Wiseman, an astrophysicist at the University of Southampton and the lead author of the new paper. “For something to be bright for two-plus years was immediately very unusual.”
Source: New York Times, May 2023
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Latest Astronomy News from Sky and Telescope
- Most Distant Galaxy Confirmed in New JWST ImagesThis link opens in a new windowMay 30, 2025
New James Webb Space Telescope data shows us what the earliest known galaxy in the universe looks like.
The post Most Distant Galaxy Confirmed in New JWST Images appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
- This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 30 – June 8This link opens in a new windowMay 30, 2025
The waxing Moon poses with Mars, then Regulus, in the west. Double stars await near Vega, while another double star far across the sky points the way.
The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 30 – June 8 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
- China Launches Tianwen 2 Asteroid Sample Return MissionThis link opens in a new windowMay 29, 2025
China joins the asteroid sample return game, with the ambitious Tianwen 2 mission.
The post China Launches Tianwen 2 Asteroid Sample Return Mission appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
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This work by PCC Library is licensed by Portland Community College under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.- Last Updated: May 19, 2025 4:17 PM
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