Amateur astronomer Duncan Milburn has successfully captured the first images of a supernova in a galaxy called NGC 3621, located approximately 22 million light-years away. The supernova, named SN2024ggi, was initially classified as a magnitude 19 and is expected to increase in brightness to 14 magnitude as it continues its explosive process. The galaxy where the supernova is located is visible in the Southern hemisphere, specifically 33 degrees south. This exciting discovery highlights the valuable contributions of amateur astronomers to the field of astronomy and emphasizes the need for more effort in naming supernovae. [14c4c796]
In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have found a new black hole behind Omega Centauri, a collection of 10 million stars, that could be the closest one to Earth. This black hole has a mass of at least 8,200 times that of our Sun and is currently in the middle stage of its evolution. It is considered the missing link between how a stellar black hole turns into a supermassive black hole. The discovery was made by an international team of astronomers using more than 500 images from two decades worth of observations captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The black hole is located about 17,700 light-years away from Earth and is closer than the previously thought closest black hole at 26,000 light-years away. The black hole is located in Omega Centauri, which is visible from Earth with the naked eye in the southern hemisphere. The James Webb Space Telescope will be used for further investigation. [6b0ec168]
The Chandra X-ray Observatory has recorded the aftermath of two supernova explosions that occurred hundreds of years ago. The observatory combined its X-ray images into videos to document the evolution of the Crab nebula and Cassiopeia A. The videos show the remains of the stars being churned by shock waves and illuminated by radiation from the dense, spinning cores left behind. The videos were made to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the observatory. Earlier this year, NASA proposed cutting Chandra's operating funds, but a draft of a House appropriation bill for NASA's 2025 budget expressed support for the continued operation of Chandra. [e9b51b5c]
The NASA Hubble Space Telescope has captured five stunning images of star clusters. The images include the globular cluster NGC 1805, which shows stars orbiting closely to one another. NGC 3603 is a star-forming region with thousands of young stars located 20,000 light years away. NGC 346 is a star-forming region located 210,000 light-years away. Cluster Westerlund 2 was captured during Hubble's 25th anniversary. NGC 1466 is an ancient star cluster with a mass equivalent to 140,000 Suns and is 13.1 billion years old. Scientists study star clusters to understand stellar evolution and ages of stars. [cee8b1c0]