Paul M. Sutter, Author at Universe Today

February 5, 2023January 30, 2023 by Paul M. Sutter

A.I. Finds a New Way to Build Multiple-Star Systems

A false-color image of NGC 6334 from multiple telescopes. The area is believed to be a hotspot of furious star birth. Credit: S. Willis (CfA+ISU); ESA/Herschel; NASA/JPL-Caltech/ Spitzer; CTIO/NOAO/AURA/NSF

Over over 50% of high mass stars reside in multiple star systems. But due to their complex orbital interactions, physicists have a difficult time understanding just how stable and long-lived these systems are. Recently a team of astronomers applied machine learning techniques to simulations of multiple star systems and found a new way that stars in such systems can arrange themselves.

February 4, 2023January 30, 2023 by Paul M. Sutter

Astronomers use Earthquakes to Understand Glitches on Neutron Stars

Simulation of a possible quadrupole magnetic field configuration for a pulsar with hot spots in only the southern hemisphere. Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

A team of astronomers have used a model of earthquakes to understand glitches in the timing of pulsars. Their results suggest that pulsars may have interiors that are far stranger than can be imagined.

February 3, 2023January 30, 2023 by Paul M. Sutter

The James Webb May See the First Stars to Appear in the Universe

An artist's representation of what the first stars to light up the universe might have looked like in the Cosmic Dawn. Image Credit: NASA/WMAP Science Team

Astronomers continue to hunt for the elusive kind of star known as Population III stars, the first stars to appear in the young universe. New research has revealed that the James Webb Space Telescope may be on the cusp of discovering them.

February 2, 2023January 29, 2023 by Paul M. Sutter

The First Stars May Have Weighed More Than 100,000 Suns

The epoch of reionization was when light from the first stars could travel through the infant universe. At this time, galaxies began assembling, as did black holes. — The epoch of reionization was when light from the first stars could travel through the early Universe. At this time, galaxies began assembling, as did black holes.Credit: Paul Geil & Simon Mutch/The University of Melbourne

The universe was simply different when it was younger. Recently astronomers have discovered that complex physics in the young cosmos may have led to the development of supermassive stars, each one weighing up to 100,000 times the mass of the Sun.

February 1, 2023January 29, 2023 by Paul M. Sutter

Astronomers Come Closer to Understanding How Mercury Formed

Artist's concept of the MESSENGER spacecraft on approach to Mercury. Credit: NASA/JPL

Simulations of the formation of the solar system have been largely successful. They are able to replicate the positions of all the major planets along with their orbital parameters. But current simulations have an extreme amount of difficulty getting the masses of the four terrestrial planets right, especially Mercury. A new study suggests that we need to pay more attention to the giant planets in order to understand the evolution of the smaller ones.

January 30, 2023January 29, 2023 by Paul M. Sutter

Astronomers Prepare to Launch LuSEE Night, A Test Observatory on the Far Side of the Moon

Artist's impression of a radio telescope on the far side Moon. Credit: Vladimir Vustyansky

Astronomers have not yet been able to map large portions of the radio emissions from our universe because of interference from the Earth itself. A team of astronomers hopes to change that, beginning with the LuSEE Night mission to the far side of the Moon. It will launch in 2025 and chart a new pathway to Lunar observatories.

January 29, 2023January 29, 2023 by Paul M. Sutter

Molecular Clouds Have Long Lives By Constantly Reassembling Themselves

This is a two-panel mosaic of part of the Taurus Giant Molecular Cloud, the nearest active star-forming region to Earth. The darkest regions are where stars are being born. Inside these vast clouds, complex chemicals are also forming. Image Credit: Adam Block /Steward Observatory/University of Arizona

Astronomers have recently discovered that giant clouds of molecular hydrogen, the birthplace of stars, can live for tens of millions of years despite the facts that individual molecules are constantly getting destroyed and reassembled. This new research helps place a crucial piece of understanding in our overall picture of how stars are born.

January 17, 2023January 11, 2023 by Paul M. Sutter

Using the Shadows of Clusters to Measure the Universe

Artist's impression of a quasar and a relativistic jet emanating from the center. Credit: NASA

Astronomers have begun using a sophisticated suite of simulations, an advanced machine learning model of the formation of galaxy clusters, and an exotic relationship between galaxies to understand the origins of dark matter and dark energy.

January 16, 2023January 11, 2023 by Paul M. Sutter

How did Dimorphos Form?

NASA's DART spacecraft is due to collide with the smaller body of the Didymos binary asteroid system on Sept. 26th, 2022. Credit: ESA

The otherwise unremarkable double asteroid of Didymos and Dimorphos made headlines as the target of NASA’s successful Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART) mission. With new details about the system emerging, astronomers have put together a hypothesis of how this strange double asteroid came to be.

January 15, 2023January 11, 2023 by Paul M. Sutter

How Crazy Magnetic Fields Drive the Sun Mad

Solar coronal jets are fast moving plumes of plasma that erupt suddenly from the polar regions of the Sun. Astronomers believe that these help heat up the solar corona, but the physics behind the formation of these jets is poorly understood. Recently a team of astronomers have used observations with the Solar Dynamic Observatory and the Solar Orbiter to discover that multiple intertwining magnetic fields that connect and reconnect can power these fast moving jets.