Milky Way Archives - Page 4 of 4 - Astrobiology

Gigantic infrared map of the Milky Way, ESO Larger images

Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Stellar Cartography

ESO Telescope Captures The Most Detailed Infrared Map Ever Of Our Home Galaxy

by Keith CowingSeptember 27, 2024September 27, 2024

Astronomers have published a gigantic infrared map of the Milky Way containing more than 1.5 billion objects ― the most detailed one ever made. Using the European Southern Observatory’s VISTA […]

Dung beetles use the Milky Way at night to navigate. Engineers have used the same technique to develop an AI sensor for navigation in low light. Credit University of South Australia

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Intelligence & Language, Press Release, Stellar Cartography

Insect Astronomy: How Dung Beetles and the Milky Way Are Helping To Improve Navigation Systems

by Keith CowingAugust 22, 2024August 22, 2024

An insect species that evolved 130 million years ago is the inspiration for a new research study to improve navigation systems in drones, robots, and orbiting satellites.

Position velocity map of Hydrogen recombination line emission for the observed GOT C+ LOS between l = −100◦ and 100◦ at b = 0◦ . The position– velocity map is overlaid with projections of the Scutum–Crux, Sagittarius–Carina, Perseus, and Norma–Cygnus Milky Way spiral arms. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Nitrogen Abundance Distribution in the Inner Milky Way

by Keith CowingJuly 23, 2024July 22, 2024

We combine a new Galactic plane survey of Hydrogen Radio Recombination Lines (RRLs) with far-infrared (FIR) surveys of ionized Nitrogen, N+, to determine Nitrogen abundance across Galactic radius.

Hi column density in contours plotted atop WISE 22µm image that shows emission from the dust along the line of sight. White crosses show the locations of the individual OH pointings described in Tables 2 and 3. HI contours are drawn at 0.5, 1.4, 1.8, 2.9, and 3.8 × 1020 cm−2 . The WISE 22 µm image has arbitrary units as obtained from NASA’s HEASARC SkyView. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Status Report

Limits On The OH Molecule In The Smith High Velocity Cloud

by Keith CowingMarch 14, 2024March 14, 2024

We have used the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) to search for the OH molecule at several locations in the Smith Cloud, one of the most prominent of the high-velocity clouds […]

Maps of distribution of planets for each planet Type in the HESTIA Milky Way–Analogue for stars with M‹ “ 1M@. The assignment is based on the NEmbryo “ 50 NGPPS population. (a) Face-on view. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Populating The Milky Way: Characterising Planet Demographics by Combining Galaxy Formation Simulations and Planet Population Synthesis Models

by Keith CowingFebruary 15, 2024February 15, 2024

Stellar populations and their distribution differ widely across the Galaxy, which is likely to affect planet demographics.

The NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s reveals a portion of the Milky Way’s dense core in a new light. An estimated 500,000 stars shine in this image of the Sagittarius C (Sgr C) region, along with some as-yet unidentified features. A large region of ionized hydrogen, shown in cyan, contains intriguing needle-like structures that lack any uniform orientation. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and S. Crowe (University of Virginia). Download full resolution images for this article from the Space Telescope Science Institute.

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures

Webb’s View Of The Galactic Center. 500,000+ Stars. How Many Have Life-bearing Worlds?

by Keith CowingNovember 26, 2023November 26, 2023

The latest image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows a portion of the dense center of our galaxy in unprecedented detail, including never-before-seen features astronomers have yet to explain. […]

A graphic illustrating the Galactic distribution of phosphorus in the range 0–25 kpc from the Galactic Centre, as identified from stellar and interstellar observations. Detections by atomic transitions in stellar photospheres are denoted by green stars (from ref. 2 and references therein), in diffuse clouds by purple circles (ref. 16 and those therein17,18,19), and in planetary nebulae by blue triangles, while magenta circles and cyan diamonds mark the identifications in molecular clouds and circumstellar envelopes from molecular lines. The red square shows the position of WB89-621. The orange X indicates the solar system. The APOGEE survey detections are not shown per possible contamination. WB89-621 is the only known source of phosphorus in any form beyond 12 kpc.

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Phosphorous Has Been Discovered In The Outer Reaches Of The Milky Way

by Keith CowingNovember 16, 2023November 16, 2023

Despite its importance in planet formation and biology, phosphorus has been identified only in the inner 12 kpc of the Galaxy2-19. The study of this element has been hindered in […]