Observatories and Telescopes

6 reports
Observatories and Telescopes research uses observation and physical models to explain a defined class of objects, signals, or cosmic processes. Evidence comes from interferometry, survey design, and detector systems, and competing models remain viable when observations are sparse or indirect.

To assess how observing time is assigned, reports compare science data archives, wavelength coverage, and interferometry. They also ask how telescopes collect light, comparing competing models without treating agreement as proof of mechanism.

Webb Telescope Detects Hidden Giant Planet in Beta Pictoris System

Astronomers have identified a third giant exoplanet in the Beta Pictoris system using the James Webb Space Telescope's spectroscopic capabilities, revealing a world previously concealed by the system's bright debris disk

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Metasurface Grating Demonstrates Compact Solar Magnetic Field Mapping

A polarization-sensitive metasurface grating has matched conventional instruments in mapping solar magnetic fields, offering a route to smaller, simpler, and potentially more robust hardware for future space-based solar telescopes

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NASA's IXPE Maps Magnetic Field of Unusual Pulsar in Milky Way

Astronomers have used NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer to directly map the magnetic field around the pulsar PSR J1101-6101, revealing how high-energy particles stream through the Milky Way and testing long-standing theoretical predictions

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Total Solar Eclipse and Perseid Meteor Shower Align on 12 August 2026

On 12 August 2026, a total solar eclipse will cross parts of Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, coinciding with the Perseid meteor shower and a prominent Venus. Observers in North America and Europe will experience rare overlapping astronomical events

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Hidden White Dwarfs Detected Near Earth in Red Dwarf Binaries

Astronomers have identified four white dwarfs concealed by red dwarf companions within 65 light-years, using ultraviolet observations from the Hubble Space Telescope to reveal these elusive stellar remnants

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Gravitational Wave Data Reveals Black Hole Event Horizon Properties

Researchers have extracted direct physical parameters from a black hole event horizon using an unusually strong gravitational wave signal, providing new experimental access to a region previously studied only through theory

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