ALMA Creates Its First-ever Movie of Cosmic Explosion Summary: Astronomers using ALMA studied a cataclysmic stellar explosion known as a gamma-ray burst, or GRB, and found its enduring “afterglow.” The rebound, or reverse shock, triggered by the GRB’s powerful jets slamming into surrounding debris, lasted thousands of times longer than expected....
Over the past several years, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has transformed our understanding of protoplanetary disks — the gas- and dust-filled planet factories that encircle young stars. The rings and gaps in these disks provide intriguing circumstantial evidence for the presence of planets. Other phenomena, however,...
Nine more participants are about to embark on an astronomy trip of a lifetime. Each has been selected for the prestigious Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (ACEAP), a behind-the-scenes immersive experience to five astronomical observatories in Chile from June 10 to 18. The participants include educators and public outreach...
Galaxy 13.28 billion light-years away shows surprising signs of chemical maturity Not long after the Big Bang, the first generations of stars began altering the chemical make-up of primitive galaxies, slowly enriching the interstellar medium with basic elements such as oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. Finding the earliest traces of these common...