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The First Bubble in the Intergalactic Stew
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astrophysicists using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea in Hawaiʻi have discovered a galaxy protocluster in the early universe surrounded by gas that is surprisingly hot. This scorching gas hugs a region that consists of a giant collection of galaxies called COSTCO-I. Observed when the universe was 11 billion years younger, COSTCO-I […]
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Ultracool Dwarf Binary Stars Break Records
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Northwestern University and the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) astrophysicists using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island have discovered the tightest ultracool dwarf binary system ever observed. The two stars are so close that it takes them less than one Earth day to revolve around each other; […]
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The Swansong of a Cloud Approaching the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Two decades of monitoring from W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea in Hawaiʻi reveals a peculiar cloud being pulled apart as it accelerates toward the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Dubbed X7, astronomers from the UCLA Galactic Center Orbits Initiative (GCOI) and Keck Observatory have been […]
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New Aurorae Detected on Jupiter’s Four Largest Moons
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astronomers using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea in Hawaiʻi have discovered that aurorae at visible wavelengths appear on all 4 major moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Using Keck Observatory’s High-Resolution Echelle Spectrometer (HIRES) as well as high-resolution spectrographs at the Large Binocular Telescope and Apache Point Observatory, a […]
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Astronomers Snap First Confirmed Direct Image of a Brown Dwarf Orbiting a Star in the Hyades Cluster
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – A team of astronomers using two Maunakea Observatories in Hawaiʻi – W. M. Keck Observatory and Subaru Telescope – have photographed a brown dwarf orbiting HIP 21152, a young Sun-like star in the Hyades Cluster. Located just 150 light-years away, Hyades is the closest star cluster to Earth in the constellation Taurus; […]
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A Pair of Black Holes Dining Together in Nearby Galaxy Merger
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – While studying a nearby pair of merging galaxies, scientists discovered two supermassive black holes growing simultaneously near the center of the newly coalescing galaxy, dubbed UGC 4211. These super-hungry giants are the closest together that scientists have ever observed in multiple wavelengths. What’s more, the new research reveals that binary black holes […]
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Surprise Kilonova Upends Established Understanding of Long Gamma-ray Bursts
Long Gamma-ray Bursts Can Be Generated by Neutron Star Mergers, Study Finds Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – For nearly two decades, astrophysicists have believed that long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) resulted solely from the collapse of massive stars. Now, a new study upends that long-established and long-accepted belief. Led by Northwestern University, a team of astrophysicists have uncovered […]
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Tracing the Origins of Rare, Cosmic Explosions
Astronomers Produce the Most Robust Catalog to Date of Short Gamma-Ray Burst Hosts Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – A team of astronomers led by Northwestern University has created the most extensive inventory yet of the galaxies where short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) come from. Using several highly sensitive instruments at W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi and […]
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New Record: Nearest Known Black Hole to Earth Discovered
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astronomers using two Maunakea Observatories, W. M. Keck Observatory and the Gemini North telescope, have found the closest known black hole to our planet. Located a mere 1,560 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Ophiuchus, the black hole, named Gaia BH1, is three times closer to us than the previous record-holder. […]
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Massive Stars’ Blasts Hitting Orion’s “Sword” Mapped in Unprecedented Detail Using Hawaiʻi Telescope
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astronomers using W. M. Keck Observatory on Hawaiʻi Island have captured from Maunakea the most detailed and complete images ever taken of the zone where the famed constellation of Orion gets zapped with ultraviolet (UV) radiation from massive young stars. This irradiated neutral zone, called a Photo-Dissociation Region (PDR), is located in […]
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