Origin of Milky Way’s Hypothetical Dark Matter Signal May Not Be So Dark |
https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/...-milky-way-hypothetical-dark-matter-signal-may-not-be-so-dark.aspx

A mysterious gamma-ray glow at the center of the Milky Way is most likely caused by pulsars – the incredibly dense, rapidly spinning cores
of collapsed ancient stars that were up to 30 times more massive than the sun. That’s the conclusion of a new analysis by an international
team of astrophysicists, including researchers from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The findings cast doubt
on previous interpretations of the signal as a potential sign of dark matter – a form of matter that accounts for 85 percent of all matter
in the universe but that so far has evaded detection.

SOFIA Confirms Nearby Planetary System is Similar to Our Own
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/sofia-confirms-nearby-planetary-system-is-similar-to-our-own

Located 10.5 light-years away in the southern hemisphere of the constellation Eridanus, the star Epsilon Eridani, eps Eri for short,
is the closest planetary system around a star similar to the early sun. It is a prime location to research how planets form around stars
like our sun, and is also the storied location of the Babylon 5 space station in the science fictional television series of the same name.

A cosmic conversation | ESA/Hubble
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1718a/
This image from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) shows a spiral galaxy NGC 5917, perhaps best known for its intriguing interactions
with its neighbouring galaxy MCG-01-39-003 (not visible here, but located off the bottom right of the frame — as seen here).



The Hooked Galaxy | ESO United Kingdom
https://www.eso.org/public/unitedkingdom/news/eso0622/?lang
ESO's VLT Image of Supernova in Interacting Galaxy

Life is not easy, even for galaxies. Some indeed get so close to their neighbours that they get rather distorted.
But such encounters between galaxies have another effect: they spawn new generations of stars, some of which explode.
ESO's VLT has obtained a unique vista of a pair of entangled galaxies, in which a star exploded.

Because of the importance of exploding stars, and particularly of supernovae of Type Ia, for cosmological studies
(e.g. relating to claims of an accelerated cosmic expansion and the existence of a new, unknown, constituent of
the universe - the so called 'Dark Energy'), they are a preferred target of study for astronomers. Thus, on several
occasions, they pointed ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) towards a region of the sky that portrays a trio of amazing
galaxies.

Astrophysicists discover a star polluted by calcium
https://phys.org/news/2017-05-astrophysicists-star-polluted-calcium.html

An international team of astrophysicists led by a scientist from the Sternberg Astronomical Institute of the Lomonosov Moscow State University
has reported the discovery of a binary solar-type star inside supernova remnant RCW 86. Spectroscopic observation of this star reveals that its
atmosphere is polluted by heavy elements ejected during the supernova explosion that produced RCW 86. In particular, it was found that the calcium
abundance in the stellar atmosphere exceeds the solar abundance by a factor of six, which hints at the possibility that the supernova might belong
to a rare type of calcium-rich supernova, enigmatic objects whose origin is yet not clear. The research results are published in Nature Astronomy
on 2017 April, 24.

What Shaped Elias 2-27’s Disk?
http://aasnova.org/2017/04/19/what-shaped-elias-2-27s-disk/

The young star Elias 2-27 is surrounded by a massive disk with spectacular spiral arms. A team of scientists
from University of Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy has now examined what might cause this disk’s appearance.

Chandra :: Photo Album :: Abell 262 :: April 28, 2017
http://chandra.si.edu/photo/2017/clusters/

Astronomers have used data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to study the properties of dark matter, the mysterious, invisible substance
that makes up a majority of matter in the universe. The study, which involves 13 galaxy clusters, explores the possibility that dark matter
may be more "fuzzy" than "cold," perhaps even adding to the complexity surrounding this cosmic conundrum.

Astronomers find black hole in Sagittarius constellation
https://phys.org/news/2017-04-astronomers-black-hole-sagittarius-constellation.html

An international team of astronomers led The University of Manchester have found evidence of a new 'missing-link'
black hole in the Milky Way galaxy, hidden in the Sagittarius constellation.

The black hole is located approximately 26,000 light years, or 7.9 Kiloparsecs (kpc), from Earth in a globular cluster called, NGC 6624.
A globular cluster is a gravitationally bound swarm of millions of old stars occupying regions that are just a few light years across.

The team, led by Dr Benetge Perera, have found evidence that the millisecond pulsar (PSR B1820-30A) – a pulsar is highly magnetized,
rapidly rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation – in NGC 6624 is most likely orbiting around an intermediate-
mass black hole (IMBH) located at the cluster's centre. The mass of black hole is so big, it is the equivalent to weight of 7 500 of our suns.

PSR B1820 30A is the closest-known pulsar to the centre of any globular cluster and it is the first pulsar to be found orbiting a black hole.
The detection of IMBHs is extremely important as they can help astronomers understand the 'missing link' between stellar mass black holes
(SMBH), the smallest kind, and supermassive black holes (SMBH), which are the largest.

https://www.facebook.com/...8083924/?type=2&theater%C2%ACif_t=live_video%C2%ACif_id=1493319620251143

Go inside JPL Mission Control where NASA's Cassini Mission to Saturn phoned home earlier today with news
from its first-ever dive between the planet and its rings. Key mission personnel are taking your questions
about Saturn science, new images and what's in store during Cassini's daring "Grand Finale."

First global simulation yields new insights into ring system
https://phys.org/news/2017-04-global-simulation-yields-insights.html

A team of researchers in Japan modeled the two rings around Chariklo, the smallest body in the Solar System known to have rings.
This is the first time an entire ring system has been simulated using realistic sizes for the ring particles while also taking
into account collisions and gravitational interactions between the particles. The team's simulation revealed information about
the size and density of the particles in the rings. By considering both the detailed structure and the global picture for
the first time, the team found that Chariklo's inner ring should be unstable without help. It is possible the ring particles
are much smaller than predicted or that an undiscovered shepherd satellite around Chariklo is stabilizing the ring.

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2017/hubbles-bright-shining-lizard-star

The bright object seen in this Hubble image is a single and little-studied star named TYC 3203-450-1,
located in the constellation of Lacerta (The Lizard). The star is much closer than the much more distant galaxy.

Kepler Stares at Neptune
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUvcaYFEWac

Richard Feynman - The World from another point of view
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNhlNSLQAFE

Bright fireball captured over Hawley, Texas on April 19, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3b9jjFpuxQ

We still haven’t heard from aliens - here’s why we might never | New Scientist
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23431233-900-why-we-might-never-detect-alien-signals/

THE most ambitious search so far for extraterrestrial intelligence has released its first data – and there are no aliens yet.
The lack of success could be explained by the result of a new approach to calculating the likelihood of detecting alien signals.
This calculation suggests we might never make contact, even if extraterrestrial life is common.

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has been active for decades. Breakthrough Listen aims to be the largest,
most comprehensive search ever. The $100 million initiative uses three of the world’s most sensitive telescopes to look for
alien signals from the 1 million closest stars to Earth and the 100 closest galaxies.

“It’s like finding a needle in a haystack,” says Seth Shostak at the SETI Institute in California.
“But we don’t know how many needles are there.”