FUor stars flare suddenly, erupting in brightness, before dimming again many years later. It is now understood that this brightening is due to the stars taking in energy from their surroundings via gravitational accretion, the main force that shapes stars and planets. However, how and why this happens remained a mystery—until now, thanks to astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
Astronomers have discovered the secrets of a starburst galaxy producing new stars at a rate much faster than our Milk Way. This research revealed many different molecules, more than ever seen before in a galaxy like this.
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration has observed spirals of light escaping from the edge of the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. The results were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Iris González and Camila Pérez have lived their entire lives in San Pedro de Atacama. Living in a town so close to the ALMA Observatory, they experienced science up close in a privileged natural setting, to today become the first university students in their families.