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Astrophysics

Concept art depicting two white dwarf stars of equal mass but differing temperatures. The hotter white dwarf on the left appears slightly larger and puffier, surrounded by a glowing blue halo, while the cooler white dwarf on the right looks more compact and has a slightly less pronounced halo. The background consists of a dark starry sky with faint nebular patterns.
Astrophysics
Study confirms key details of extreme stellar behavior
Published Dec 18, 2024
Telescope observations of more than 26,000 dying stars match theories of hotter, puffier white dwarfs
A nebula made up of cloudy gas and dust in the form of soft and wispy clouds and, in the centre, thin and highly detailed layers pressed close together. Large, bright stars surrounded by six long points of light are dotted over the image, as well as some small, point-like stars embedded in the clouds. The clouds are lit up in blue close to the stars; orange colours show clouds that glow in infrared light.
Astrophysics
Possible clues to how stars are born
Published Aug 27, 2024
Survey of young star-forming cluster offers evidence that the same cosmic processes that give birth to stars may also play a role in making objects only slightly bigger than Jupiter
Concept art of exoplanet HD 189733b, a blue gas giant with yellow hue bands, up close with its parent star, a K-type that emits warm orange light.
Exoplanets
Nearby exoplanet reeks of rotten eggs
Published July 8, 2024
Johns Hopkins astronomers sniffed out the stinky atmosphere with Webb Telescope
Artist’s conception of the view towards the young star Beta Pictoris from the outer edge of its disk.
Astrophysics
Webb telescope reveals asteroid collision in neighboring star system
Published June 10, 2024
The observations spotlight the volatile processes that shape star systems like our own, offering a unique glimpse into the primordial stages of planetary formation
An artist’s concept of WASP-107 b shows turbulent atmospheric mixing within the planet’s gas envelope, with a hot core emitting light and heat through a brownish interior outwards and a top layer with many shades of blue curling clouds.
Exoplanets
First glimpse of an exoplanet interior
Published May 20, 2024
Methane found in WASP-107 b reveals core mass, turbulent skies, and other key insights in the search for habitable worlds beyond our solar system
A nighttime photo of the CLASS telescopes with a starry sky and milky way galaxy in the background
Astrophysics
A clearer picture of our galaxy and beyond
Published Feb 27, 2024
Results demonstrate novel strategy to probe the physics and history of the universe
An illustration of how a supermassive blackhole would make stars in the first 50 million years of the universe. The foreground shows stars in the making, gas clouds getting crushed by the black hole’s powerful magnetism. The background shows fully formed stars. A spiral of dust and gas revolving like a storm around the black hole also is shown. Also, the black hole shoots out plasma and energy upwards from the center of this storm.
Astrophysics
Which came first: black holes or galaxies?
Published Feb 6, 2024
Black holes not only existed at the dawn of time, they birthed new stars and supercharged galaxy formation, a new analysis of James Webb Space Telescope data suggests
Artist's impression of the Euclid spacecraft, a white cylinder atop a gold platform
Space exploration
Euclid space telescope data will shed light on evolution of dark universe
Published July 11, 2023
Three Hopkins scientists—Chuck Bennett, Brice Ménard, and Graeme Addison—are part of the science team that will analyze mission data
Image showing the gravitational lensing effects caused by no object in an observer’s line of sight, a black hole, and the topological soliton
Astrophysics
Could copycat black hole be a new type of star?
Published April 20, 2023
Though the mysterious object is a hypothetical mathematical construction, new simulations by Hopkins researchers suggest there could be other celestial bodies in space hiding from even the best telescopes on Earth
A map of the universe
Astronomy
This new interactive map lets you scroll through the universe
Published Nov 17, 2022
New map of the universe displays for the first time the span of the entire known cosmos with pinpoint accuracy, sweeping beauty