ESO

1/2 Astronomers surprised by mysterious shock wave around dead star 😲 As it moves and interacts with the interstellar gas, a white dwarf observed by our VLT creates a type of shock wave called a bow shock — a curved arc of material, similar to the wave that builds up in front of a ship. None of the known mechanisms can fully explain the observations.

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Astronomers surprised by mysterious shock wave around dead star

Gas and dust flowing from stars can, under the right conditions, clash with a star’s surroundings and create a shock wave. Now, astronomers using...

📷 ESO/K. Ilkiewicz and S. Scaringi et al. #astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

"I was completely overwhelmed by the beauty of it all, to the point of forgetting everything around me! A sky of absolute purity, free from artificial light.” This is how astrophotographer Julien Looten remembers the night he captured this extraordinary view of our VLT at Cerro Paranal, #Chile Wondering what all those cosmic objects and phenomena in the image are? Find out:

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"I was completely overwhelmed..."

"I was completely overwhelmed..."

📷 J. Looten /ESO #astrodon #astronomy #astrophotography #astrophysics #space #science

Survey gives astronomers "a latte" to think about ☕️ Using APEX, a radio-telescope in #Chile 's Chajnantor plateau, astronomers carried out the CAFFEINE survey, observing many stellar nurseries — including GAL316 in this image 👇 They wanted to find out whether denser clouds of gas and dust are more efficient at forming new stars. Here's what they discovered:

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Survey gives astronomers a latte to think about

Survey gives astronomers a latte to think about

📷 ESO/M. Mattern, P. André et al. Background: VVV #astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science