New discoveries ALMA discovers moons in the making

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Forecast: Cold downpours expected for giant black hole

A giant black hole in a distant galaxy is in for some heavy rain storms. Using ALMA, astronomers have discovered giant clouds of cold gas that shower down on the black hole. An umbrella doesn’t help – it would need to be hundreds of light-years across. Most distant galaxies...

ALMA discovers that planets are born quicker than thought

Adapted from Space Scoop – UNAWE. It takes nine months for a human baby to grow and 22-months for a baby elephant. But how long does it take to grow a planet? It turns out, it takes much less time than we thought. Previously, it was believed to take...

Distant dust belt may hint at as-yet-undiscovered planet

ALMA has imaged a broad band of dust and pebbles around a distant star. There’s one problem, though: the inner edge of the band lies further away from the star than expected. The discovery may hint at the presence of an as-yet-undiscovered planet. The star (HR 8799) is known...

How to Precisely Weight a Black Hole with ALMA?

By carefully looking at other people, you can guess how much they weigh. But if someone wears Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak, you have no idea – the invisible person could be a skinny boy or a fat lady. Astronomers have a similar problem. By carefully looking at stars or...

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