New discoveries ALMA discovers moons in the making

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ALMA sniffs out atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan

The planet Saturn is known for its beautiful rings. But Saturn also has dozens of moons. The largest one is called Titan. It’s a bit larger than the planet Mercury and a bit smaller than Mars. And it’s the only moon in the solar system with a thick atmosphere. ...

Peering into the heart of a supernova, ALMA maps a huge cloud of dust

Thirty years ago, astronomers saw a star exploding in a nearby galaxy. Now, using ALMA, they have imaged the huge cloud of dust that resulted from the explosion. When a building collapses, it produces a large dust cloud. That’s because buildings are made of stone. The dust is just...

New insight in birth of stellar twins

Many stars in the Milky Way galaxy are actually twins – two stars that were born at the same time. Sometimes, such stellar twins form a ‘close binary’: they orbit each other at a small mutual distance. But astronomers have also discovered many ‘wide binaries’, where the twin stars...

Chaotic magnetic fields pose no obstacle to star birth

Have you ever seen how a magnet creates patterns in a sprinkling of iron filings? Every material that conducts electricity (like iron) responds to magnetic forces. In the universe, magnetic fields are important, too. They strongly influence the motions of gas particles. Little wonder then that magnetic fields also...

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