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Supernova remnant G11.15-0.71 |
In October 2003 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new supernova remnant using the NRAO Very Large Array radio telescope (VLA) and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). The estimated distance to the new SNR G11.15-0.71 is about 24 kpc (ref: AJ, January 2004).
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 30:08:2004 |
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Galaxy J1320-1427 |
In May 2004 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new galaxy member of the NGC 5044 Group in the course of a Group Evolution Multiwavelength Study (GEMS) investigation into the formation and volution of galaxies in nearby groups using ATNF Parkes telescope. The distance to the irregular type galaxy J1320-1427 is about 33 Mpc (the adopted distance to the NGC 5044 Group) (ref: astro-ph/0405241, accepted for publication in MNRAS).
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30:08:2004 |
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Supernova remnant G11.03-0.05 |
In October 2003 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new supernova remnant using the NRAO Very Large Array radio telescope (VLA) and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). The estimated distance to the new SNR G11.03-0.05 is about 16 kpc (ref: AJ, January 2004).
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25:08:2004 |
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Supernova remnant G11.18 0.11 |
In October 2003 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new supernova remnant using the NRAO Very Large Array radio telescope (VLA) and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). The estimated distance to the new SNR G11.18 0.11 is about 17 kpc (ref: AJ, January 2004).
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25:08:2004 |
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Gravitationally lensed quasar WFI J2033-4723 |
In December 2003 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new gravitationally lensed quasar using the Las Campanas Magellan Observatories telescopes and Hubble Space Telescope. A quadruply lensed quasar WFI J2033-4723 is at z = 1.66. The redshift of the lensing galaxy is about 0.4 (ref: AJ, May 2004).
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25:08:2004 |
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Gravitationally lensed quasar WFI J2026-4536 |
In December 2003 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new gravitationally lensed quasar using the Las Campanas Magellan Observatories telescopes and Hubble Space Telescope. A quadruply lensed quasar WFI J2026-4536 is at z = 2.23. The redshift of the lensing galaxy is about 0.4 (ref: AJ, May 2004).
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25:08:2004 |
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Pulsar RX J0047.3-7312 |
In December 2003 Japanese astronomers reported the discovery of a new X-ray binary pulsar, RX J0047.3-7312, in the Small Magellanic Cloud using XMM-Newton data. Astronomers found periodic variations of about 4000-s and coherent pulsations of 263-s of it's X-ray flux (ref: astro-ph/0312356, submitted to Publ.Astron.Soc.Jap).
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11:08:2004 |
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Galaxy J0249-0806 |
In May 2004 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new galaxy member of the NGC 1052 Group in the course of a Group Evolution Multiwavelength Study (GEMS) investigation into the formation and evolution of galaxies in nearby groups using ATNF Parkes telescope. The galaxy, J0249-0806, is a low surface brightness irregular type galaxy (ref: astro-ph/0405241, accepted for publication in MNRAS).
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11:08:2004 |
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Pulsar PSR J2140-2310A |
In March 2004 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new binary millisecond pulsar in the core-collapsed globular cluster M30 using the Green Bank Telescope. The pulsar, PSR J2140-2310A, is an eclipsing 11-ms pulsar in a 4-hr circular orbit. The discovery of new cluster pulsars is of interest for astronomers because of the wide variety of science that can result from using them as sensitive probes into the natures of the pulsars themselves and the clusters in which they live (ref: ApJ, March 2004).
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03:08:2004 |
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Pulsar PSR J2021 3651 |
In September 2002 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a young and energetic pulsar in the course of observations of X-ray sources coincident with some known gamma-ray sources. The pulsar, PSR J2021 3651, has a rotation period of 104 ms. Astronomers used data obtained with the new Wideband Arecibo Pulsar Processor at the Arecibo Observatory (ref: ApJL, September 2002).
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03:08:2004 |
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Pulsar PSR J1847-0130 |
In July 2003 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a radio pulsar in the Parkes multibeam survey of the Galactic plane. The 6.7-s period of this pulsar, PSR J1847-0130, is the second-longest known. Its inferred surface dipole magnetic field strength is the highest by far among all known radio pulsars. The inferred dipolar magnetic field strength and period of this pulsar are in the same range as those of the anomalous X-ray pulsars, which have been identified as being "magnetars" whose luminous X-ray emission is powered by their large magnetic fields. Astronomers consider the properties of this pulsar as a challenge for understanding the possible relationship between these two manifestations of young neutron stars (ref: ApJL, July 2003).
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28:07:2004 |
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Pulsar PSR J1829 2456 |
In June 2004 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new binary pulsar using the Arecibo telescope. The pulsar, PSR J1829 2456, has a 41-ms spin period and is in a 28-hr binary orbit. According to the system parameters it is a rare example of a double neutron star system (ref: Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc., June 2004).
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28:07:2004 |
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Pulsar PSR J1747-2958 |
In September 2002 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a young radio pulsar associated with the axially-symmetric "Mouse" radio nebula (G359.23-0.82) using the Parkes telescope. The pulsar, J1747-2958, is a weak radio source and has a spin period of 98 ms (ref: ApJL, September 2002).
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21:07:2004 |
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Pulsar PSR J0609 2130 |
In January 2004 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new isolated pulsar with a 55.7-ms spin period using Arecibo radio telescope. While the spin parameters of the new pulsar, J0609 2130, are similar to other pulsars of its type - so-called "recycled" pulsars - it has no binary companion. Astronomers believe that the pulsar represents the remains of a high-mass X-ray binary system which was disrupted by the supernova explosion of the secondary star (ref: Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc., January 2004).
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21:07:2004 |
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Quasar CXO J084837.9 445352 |
In March 2002 an international team of astronomers reported the detection of a Type II Quasar by Chandra X-ray Observatory. Quasar CXO J084837.9 445352 is at z = 3.288. Astronomers note that gravitational lensing due to the 30" distant z = 1.27 galaxy cluster magnified the quasar only by less than 10% (ref: ApJ, March 2002).
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13:07:2004 |
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Gravitationally lensed quasar HE 0047-1756 |
In March 2004 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new gravitationally lensed quasar. It is the second system found in the course of an ongoing survey for the lensing of quasars using the Magellan consortium 6.5-m telescopes on Cerro Las Campanas. Quasar HE 0047-1756 is at z = 1.67. The redshift of the lensing galaxy is only known to be not less than 0.6. (ref: Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters, June 2004).
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13:07:2004 |
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Pulsar PSR J1944 0907 |
In April 2004 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a recycled pulsar using the Arecibo telescope. Recycled pulsars are believed to be formed when an old neutron star is spun up through the accretion of matter from a binary companion. The pulsar, PSR J1944 0907, has a spin period of 5.2 ms and is isolated (ref: astro-ph/0404181, to appear in proceedings of Aspen Center for Physics Conference on "Binary Radio Pulsars").
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07:07:2004 |
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X-ray source in Holmberg II |
In June 2004 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a powerful X-ray source at the center of a nebula in the dwarf irregular galaxy Holmberg II. Having calculated the amount of X-rays pouring out, astronomers found that the X-ray source, which has about 25-40 solar masses, should be the rare type of intermediate-mass black hole. This discovery is only the second known example of a black hole-illuminated nebula and the first example of a nebula powered by an intermediate-mass black hole. Astronomers used data from Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton spacecraft. (ref: Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc, July 2004).
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07:07:2004 |
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Gravitationally lensed quasar SDSS J092455.87 021924.9 |
In August 2003 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new gravitationally lensed quasar in the course of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Quasar SDSS J092455.87 021924.9 is at z = 1.524. Lensing galaxy is at z = 0.4. Astronomers suppose this quasar to be an example of the relatively rare class of "three component" lens systems (ref: AJ, August 2003).
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29:06:2004 |
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Gravitationally lensed quasar SDSS J090334.92 502819.2 |
In November 2003 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a previously unknown gravitationally lensed quasar in the course of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Quasar SDSS J090334.92 502819.2 is at z = 3.6. Lensing galaxy is at z = 0.388 (ref: AJ, November 2003).
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29:06:2004 |
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Pulsar XTE J1814-338 |
In June 2002 a team of American astronomers reported the discovery of a new pulsar using RXTE observatory. XTE J1814-338 is one of the five currently known so-called accretion-driven millisecond X-ray pulsars. The 4.3 hour orbital period makes it the widest binary system among the accretion-driven millisecond pulsars (ref: IAUC 8144).
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21:06:2004 |
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Pulsar PSR J1806-2125 |
In June 2002 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new pulsar during the Parkes multibeam pulsar survey. The pulsar, PSR J1806-2125, has a rotational period of 0.4s. Between October 1999 and December 2000 this pulsar underwent a glitch - an increase in rotational frequency. The magnitude of this glitch is approximately 2.5 times greater than any previously observed in any pulsar (ref: Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc, June 2002).
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21:06:2004 |
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Pulsar PSR J1830-1135 |
In September 2002 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new pulsar during the Parkes multibeam pulsar survey. The pulsar, PSR J1830-1135, is the second slowest radio pulsar known, with a 6-s period (ref: Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc, September 2002).
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15:06:2004 |
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Pulsar PSR J1734-3333 |
In September 2002 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery and subsequent timing observations of a group of new pulsars during the Parkes multibeam pulsar survey. The Parkes multibeam survey is an on-going survey of a 10 degrees - wide strip along the Galactic plane (|b| < 5 degrees and l = 260 degrees to l = 50 degrees). The survey aims to detect a large sample of pulsars for population studies. One of the objects discovered was PSR J1734-3333 - a young pulsar with the second highest surface magnetic field strength among the known radio pulsars (ref: Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc, September 2002).
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15:06:2004 |
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Galaxy LALA J142442.24 353400.2 |
In March 2004 a team of American astronomers reported the discovery of a new galaxy by its Lyman alpha emission. The galaxy, LALA J142442.24 353400.2, has a redshift of 6.535. Astronomers obtained the data using the Kitt Peak National Observatory, the Gemini Observatory, and the W. M. Keck Observatory (ref: ApL, April 2004).
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07:06:2004 |
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Galaxy HCM 6A |
In February 2002 an international team of astronomers has discovered one of the most distant galaxies in the Universe using the 10-m Keck I telescope, with other images also coming from the Subaru 8.3-m Telescope, also on Mauna Kea. The galaxy HCM 6A has a redshift of 6.56 and is seen as it was when the Universe was only about 780 million years old. The galaxy is lying behind the cluster Abell 370 and is a "Lyman alpha emitter" type object (ref: ApJL, April 2002).
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07:06:2004 |
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Galaxy Canis Major |
In November 2003 an international team of astronomers has discovered a new galaxy colliding with our own Milky Way. The new galaxy, Canis Major dwarf, is about 25000 light years away from the solar system and is the closest galaxy to the centre of the Milky Way. Called after the constellation in which it lies, the new galaxy is quite small, it only contains about a billion stars. The discovery of the Canis Major dwarf galaxy was made possible by a recent survey of the sky in infrared light - the Two-Micron All Sky Survey or 2MASS (ref: Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc., February 2004).
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31:05:2004 |
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Galaxy Andromeda IX |
In April 2004 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new dwarf spheroidal satellite of M31, Andromeda IX. Astronomers used stellar photometry data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Andromeda IX is the lowest surface brightness galaxy found to date. At the distance estimated from the position of the tip of Andromeda IX's red giant branch Andromeda IX is also the faintest galaxy known (ref: astro-ph/0404268, accepted for publication in ApJL).
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31:05:2004 |
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Quasar pair SDSS 0338 0021 |
In June 2003 a team of American astronomers reported the discovery of a clustered quasar pair at z ~ 5. They have found a quasar at z = 4.96 - 0.03 within a few Mpc of the known quasar SDSS 0338 0021 at z = 5.02 - 0.02. Astronomers believe that the two objects probably mark a large-scale structure, possibly a protocluster, at z ~ 5. This is the most distant such structure currently known (ref: ApJ, October 2003).
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24:05:2004 |
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Pulsar PSR J1930 1852 |
In June 2002 an international team of astronomers have found a pulsar in a bright ring of high-energy particles in a distant supernova remnant. The discovery was made using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Arecibo Radio Telescope. Chandra's image of the supernova remnant SNR G54.1 0.3 revealed a bright, point-like central source surrounded by a ring and two jet-like structures in an extended nebula of high-energy particles. The radio data showed that this bright central source is a pulsar rotating 7 times per second. The features observed in SNR G54.1 0.3 are very similar to other "pulsar wind nebulas" found by Chandra (ref: ApJL, March and July 2002).
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24:05:2004 |
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Galaxy Chandra Deep Field South |
In February 2003 a team of American astronomers reported the discovery of a luminous star-forming galaxy using Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope data. The galaxy is at z=5.78. The galaxy is very compact. It's the highest redshift galaxy discovered and studied using HST data (ref: Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc., July 2003).
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17:05:2004 |
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Pulsar in the Be X-ray binary SAX J2239.3 6116 |
In December 2001 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a pulsar in the Be X-ray binary SAX J2239.3 6116 using Narrow Field Instruments on BeppoSAX and the Proportional Counter Array on RXTE. The pulsar has a rotational period of 1247 s and orbital period of 262 days. It has both the longest orbital period and the longest pulse period of pulsars of its type with measured orbital periods (ref: Astronomy & Astrophysics, December 2001).
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17:05:2004 |
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Pulsar J0514-4002A |
In March 2004 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of the binary millisecond pulsar J0514-4002A, which is the first known pulsar in the globular cluster NGC 1851 and the first pulsar discovered using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) at Khodad near Pune, India. The pulsar has a rotational period of 4.99 ms, an orbital period of 18.8 days, and the most eccentric pulsar orbit yet measured (e = 0.89). Its companion has a minimum mass of 0.9 mass of the Sun and its nature is presently not known (ref: ApJL, May 2004).
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11:05:2004 |
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Pulsar XTE J1751-305 |
In April 2002 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new millisecond "accreting" pulsar in a binary star system using the NASA Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. It is one of only a handful of now-known millisecond pulsars that are presumably spinning up by mass accretion. The star, XTE J1751-305, orbits its companion every 42 minutes, one of the tightest orbits known. The spin period is 2.3 ms. Its companion star is only 15 Jupiter masses, whittled down from a star originally up to half the mass of the Sun (ref: ApJL, August 2002)
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11:05:2004 |
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Pulsar XTE J0929-314 |
In May 2002 a team of American astronomers reported the discovery of a new pulsar in a binary star system using the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer.Pulsar XTE J0929-314 is only the third known "accreting" millisecond pulsar of its kind. It orbits its companion every 43 minutes. This system has one of the lowest-mass companions of any stellar binary. Due to the accretion process the pulsar's companion became only about 10 times more massive than Jupiter (ref: ApJL, September 2002).
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11:05:2004 |
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Black hole in binary system XTE J1550-564 |
In October 2002 astronomers reported the results of their observation of a mini black hole in our Galaxy. For the first time, astronomers have tracked the life cycle of X-ray jets from a black hole. Astronomers have been using Chandra and CSIRO's Australia Telescope to observe two opposing jets of high-energy particles emitted following an outburst, first detected in 1998 by NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, from the double-star system XTE J1550-564. A series of images from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has revealed that as the jets evolved, they traveled at near light speed for several years before slowing down and fading. The black hole in XTE J1550-564 is about ten times the mass of the Sun and is orbited by a low-mass companion star. Astronomers believe that a discovery like this will help them understand how massive black holes produce radiation visible half-way across the Universe (ref: Science, October 4, 2002).
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11:05:2004 |
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X-ray source XTE J1807-294 |
In February 2003 astronomers from the University of Maryland and Goddard Space Flight Center reported the discovery of a new millisecond pulsar, designated XTE J1807-294. This is the fourth known accreting millisecond pulsar. Its period is about 5.25 ms. (ref: The Astronomer's Telegram, Feb. 2003).
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26:04:2004 |
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Pulsar J1740-5340 |
In February 2002 Italian astronomers reported the discovery of an unusual double-star system - a fast spinning pulsar and a bloated red companion star. Pulsar's gravity has deformed its companion star into a giant red teardrop - as the pulsar orbits, it drags the star around. The pulsar, called J1740-5340, spins 274 times a second. It was found in 2000 by an international team using the Parkes telescope to search for millisecond pulsars. A system consisting of a millisecond pulsar and a star that is not a white dwarf has never been seen before. Astronomers believe that they are seeing the system before the bloated red star has been "emptied" of gas and turned into a white dwarf. Astronomers used the combined powers of the Parkes radio telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope (ref: ApJL, November 2001).
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26:04:2004 |
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Star cluster (associated with IRAS source 16177-5018) |
In October 2003 a Brazilian team of astronomers reported the discovery of a young massive stellar cluster associated with the infrared source IRAS 16177-5018. Astronomers combined 2MASS (Two Micron All Sky Survey) data with new observations from LaboratВґorio Nacional de Astrofisica (LNA), Brazil. Astronomers classified the majority of the cluster members as reddened massive stars earlier than spectral type B5 (ref: AJ October 2003).
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19:04:2004 |
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Pulsar PSR J1909-3744 |
In December 2003 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new binary millisecond pulsar. PSR J1909-3744 has a period of 2.95 ms. Its companion was identified as a white dwarf star. Pulsar's narrow pulse width of 43 microseconds makes it an excellent candidate for gravitational waves measuring experiments (ref: ApJ Letters, December 2003).
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19:04:2004 |
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Supernova remnant 0103-72.6 |
In December 2003 American astronomers reported the discovery of a new supernova remnant using Chandra X-Ray Observatory. SNR 0103-72.6 is the second brightest X-ray supernova remnant in the Small Magellanic Cloud (ref: ApJ Letters, December 2003).
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12:04:2004 |
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Pulsar B1951 32 |
In March 2002 an international team of astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope reported the observation of the known pulsar B1951 32. The new results show that the pulsar is considerably younger than previously thought. According to the researchers, this finding, combined with the discovery in 2000 of a pulsar that was older than previously thought, means that many assumptions astronomers have made about pulsars' age must be reexamined. Astronomers believe that each individual pulsar is a very complicated object, and nothing should be assumed about it (ref: ApJ Letters, March 2002).
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12:04:2004 |
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Quasar Pair Q2345 007A,B |
In March 2002 the Chandra X-ray Telescope, orbiting above Earth, has recorded an image of pair of quasars, which was thought to be an illusion as part of a gravitationally lensed system because of the very similar spectra of the pair at both optical and ultraviolet wavelengths. However no intervening galaxy or cluster has been found for this pair and also the X-ray spectra of two objects were found to be distinctly different, which indicates that quasars are distinct objects, rather than a mirage (ref: Chandra X-ray Observatory Center press release, March 2002).
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05:04:2004 |
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Pulsar PSR B1257 12 |
The first planets ever known outside our solar system were discovered by Wolszczan and Frail around an old pulsar PSR B1257 12 in 1991. In May 2003 professor Alexander Wolszczan announced that masses of two of the three known planets orbiting a rapidly spinning pulsar PSR B1257 12 have been successfully measured by a team of astronomers from the California Institute of Technology and Pennsylvania State University. The three pulsar planets, with their orbits spaced in an almost exact proportion to the spacings between Mercury, Venus, and Earth, comprise a planetary system that is strikingly similar in appearance to the inner solar system. The two measured planets are 4.3 and 3.0 times the mass of Earth. Astronomers believe that this finding will provide an important guideline for future searches for Earth-like extrasolar planets (ref: Caltech news release, May 2003).
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05:04:2004 |
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Gravitationally lensed quasar SDSS J115517.35 634622.0 |
An international group of astronomers reported the discovery of a previously unknown gravitationally lensed quasar in the course of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Quasar SDSS J115517.35 634622.0 is at z = 2.89. Lensing galaxy is at z = 0.1756. (ref: AJ, March 2004).
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29:03:2004 |
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Galaxy z6VDF J022803-041618 |
In May 2003 an international team of astronomers have discovered one of the most distant galaxies in the Universe using Canada-France-Hawaii telescope at Mauna Kea. The galaxy has a redshift of 6.17. It was detected because of its unusual colour, being visible only on images obtained through a special optical filter isolating light in a narrow near-infrared band. The galaxy is seen as it was when the Universe was only about 900 million years old.
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29:03:2004 |
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Double pulsar system PSR J0737-3039A and PSR J0737-3039B |
An international team of astronomers from the UK, Australia, Italy and the USA have discovered in January 2004 a double pulsar system - the first ever seen. They have shown that the compact object orbiting the 23-millisecond pulsar PSR J0737-3039A with a period of 2.4 hours is not only, as suspected, another neutron star but is also a detectable pulsar, PSR J0737-3039B, that is rotating once every 2.8 seconds. 64-m CSIRO Parkes radio telescope in New South Wales, Australia has been used. Scientists believe that the discovery has major implications for testing Einstein's general theory of relativity (ref: Science Express, January 8, 2004).
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22:03:2004 |
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Gravitationally lensed quasar SDSS J1004 4112 |
An international group of astronomers reported the discovery of a lensed quasar in the course of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Quasar SDSS J1004 4112 is at z = 1.734. Lensing cluster of galaxies is at z = 0.68. SDSS J1004 4112 has a maximum separation between the components of 14.62 arcsec. Such a large separation means that the lensing object must be dominated by dark matter. (ref: Nature, December 2003).
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22:03:2004 |
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Planetary nebula Hewett 1 |
In December 2003 largest known planetary nebula was discovered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey team. The discovered nebula (designated as Hewett 1) is closer than any planetary nebula other than Sh 2-216. This object is also the first to be unambiguously associated with a DO white dwarf (ref: ApJ December 2003).
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15:03:2004 |
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Galaxy Andromeda VIII |
Case Western Reserve University astronomers have announced the discovery of a new faint galaxy, termed Andromeda VIII, which orbits the well-known and nearby Andromeda spiral galaxy.The new galaxy is so widespread and transparent that astronomers did not suspect its existence until they mapped the velocity of stars thought to belong to Andromeda galaxy and found them to move independently of Andromeda.Case\'s Burrell Schmidt telescope and the 3.5m WIYN telescope were used to identify the galaxy. Astronomers believe that the discovery will give them further evidence to support the theory that smaller galaxies merge together to form larger, more complex galaxies (ref: ApJL October 2003, Case Western Reserve University press release).
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15:03:2004 |
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Magnetar XTE J1810-197 |
An international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a neutron star in the act of changing into a rare class of extremely magnetic objects called magnetars. This discovery marks only the tenth confirmed magnetar ever found and the first transient magnetar. The transient nature of this object was discovered using NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. Astronomers believe that magnetars could be more common than what is seen but exist in a prolonged dim state (ref: NASA GSFC press release of January 06, 2004).
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08:03:2004 |
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Galaxy IR 1916 |
New record-breaking most distant galaxy in the Universe was detected. The discovery was reported by French and Swiss astronomers on March 1st 2004. Named Abell 1835 IR1916, the galaxy has a redshift of 10 and is located about 13,230 million light-years away. It is therefore seen at a time when the Universe was merely 470 million years young, that is, about 3 percent of its current age. The new discovery was made using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, in Chile, with other images also coming from the Hubble Space Telescope and Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea. To detect such a faint object astronomers had to follow a particular approach – use strong gravitational lensing,which allowed to amplify light approximately 25 to 100 times (ref: European Southern Observatory press release).
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08:03:2004 |
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Nebula IRAS 05436-0007 |
On Jan. 23, 2004 a new nebula was discovered by an amateur astronomer, Jay McNeil, in his backyard observatory in western Kentucky using a 3-inch telescope. The nebula is lit by what astronomers think is a newborn star, catalogued as IRAS 05436-0007 (ref: IAUC 8284).
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01:03:2004 |
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Quasars J114816.64 525150.3,
J104845.05 463718.3,
J163033 |
In April 2003 three new high-redshift quasars were discovered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey team. The farthest of them, the redshift 6.43 quasar is seen at a time when the universe was just 800 million years old and is the most distant known quasar. The object is about 13 billion light years away (ref: AJ April 2003).
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01:03:2004 |
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Supercluster of stars Lynx Arc |
In October 2003 biggest and brightest star-forming region ever seen in space was discovered. The newly identified supercluster of stars appears as a mysterious red arc behind a distant galaxy cluster. The arc is the stretched and magnified image of a mysterious celestial object about 12 billion light-years away (at a redshift of 3.36). Lynx Arc contains about a million blue-white stars that are twice as hot as similar stars in our Milky Way galaxy (ref: Astrophysical Journal, October 2003).
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01:03:2004 |
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High redshift galaxy in Abell 2218 |
On February 15th, 2004 an international team of astronomers reported the discovery of the most distant known galaxy in the universe. The galaxy is located at estimated 13 billion light-years away and is being observed at a time about 750 million years after the big bang, when the universe was about 5 percent of its current age. The discovery was made using combined power of NASA Hubble Space Telescope and W. M. Keck Telescopes on Mauna Kea in Hawaii (ref: STScI press release).
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01:03:2004 |
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