74427445
submission
Aspiring Astronomer writes:
According to a recent study, when two galaxies of a similar mass collide, both galaxies will begin producing more stars. However, when one galaxy considerably outweighs the other, the larger galaxy begins producing more stars, whereas the smaller galaxy's star production begins to slow. This may be because the larger galaxy is able to draw gases from the smaller one, resulting in the formation of more stars.
The Milky Way may experience a collision of it's own, because the Andromeda Galaxy is moving towards us at speeds upwards of 200,000 miles per hour. No need to worry, though; this collision is a few billion years away.
71904867
submission
Aspiring Astronomer writes:
Astronomers discover a gas planet 13,000 light-years away in our galaxy by using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. This newfound planet is one of the most distant planets known, as it is located much closer to our galaxy's central disk than our solar system.
The telescope was able to determine an approximate distance of this planet by joining techniques of microlensing and parallax to create a measurement for the planet. This combined the use of a ground telescope in Chile with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Knowing the distance of this newly discovered planet helps scientists calculate the mass of the planet, which is about half that of Jupiter.
71765053
submission
Aspiring Astronomer writes:
Scientists reported that stars have formed near the supermassive black hole in the heart of the Milky Way Galaxy. How could this be if a black hole exerts so much gravitational force that not even light can escape? Many astronomers believe that this may actually be what is facilitating the formation of these stars. According to Yusef-Zadeh, the gases and dusts constantly flowing towards black holes compress and heat up, creating enough disturbance to cause the materials to collapse and then form a star. Yusef — Zadeh now speculates that in addition to stars forming near black holes, that planets may, too. The disk around a protostar (a mass of gas and materials that form early in star formation) breaks off into clumps of matter, and when paired with the extreme force of a black hole, may cause the formation whole planets.
