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Image Release: the ngVLA Prototype Handover Ceremony

Image Release: the ngVLA Prototype Handover Ceremony

A landmark event for astronomy took place on April 25, 2025, as mtex antenna technology GmbH officially handed over the prototype antenna for the proposed Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) to the U.S.

NSF VLA Contributes Crucial Puzzle Piece to ‘Peculiar’ High Energy Transient

NSF VLA Contributes Crucial Puzzle Piece to ‘Peculiar’ High Energy Transient

High-energy transient signals are most often determined to be gamma-ray burst events, but the recently-launched Einstein Probe has expanded astronomers’ ability to quickly respond to similar signals occurring at X-ray wavelengths. Now, a multi-wavelength study of EP240408a concludes that while many of the signal’s characteristics might lead to the conclusion that it is a gamma-ray burst, the non-detection at radio wavelengths precludes that possibility.

Helical Magnetic Fields: A Universal Mechanism for Jet Collimation?

Helical Magnetic Fields: A Universal Mechanism for Jet Collimation?

New observations from the National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s (NSF NRAO) Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (NSF VLA) provide compelling evidence supporting a universal mechanism for the collimation of astrophysical jets, regardless of their origin. A new study, published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, reveals the presence of a helical magnetic field within the HH 80-81 protostellar jet, a finding that mirrors similar structures observed in jets emanating from supermassive black holes.