Moon-forming disk discovered around distant planet

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Using Earth's most powerful array of radio telescopes, astronomers have made the first observations of a circumplanetary disk of gas and dust like the one that is believed to have birthed the moons of Jupiter.
via Science Daily
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Hubble uncovers black hole that shouldn't exist

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As if black holes weren't mysterious enough, astronomers have found an unexpected thin disk of material furiously whirling around a supermassive black hole at the heart of the magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 3147, located 130 million light-years away.
via Science Daily
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Alternating currents cause Jupiter's aurora

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An international research team has measured the system of currents that generates Jupiter's aurora. The scientists found out that sulphur dioxide gas from the gas giant's Moon Io is the cause of the system of currents.
via Science Daily
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Pair of supermassive black holes discovered on a collision course

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Astronomers have spotted a pair of supermassive black holes on a collision course in a galaxy 2.5 billion light-years away. Coincidentally, the pair will begin producing gravitational waves in roughly 2.5 billion years, the researchers estimate. The duo can be used to estimate how many supermassive black hole pairs are detectable in the nearby, present-day universe and when the historic first detection of the background 'hum' of their gravitational waves will be made.
via Science Daily
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Holes in the Universe sharpen cosmic measurements

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Regions of the Universe containing very few or no galaxies -- known as voids -- can help measure cosmic expansion with much greater precision than before, according to new research.
via Science Daily
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New terahertz sensors work at room temperature, unlike current technology

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Researchers have developed an ultra-sensitive light-detecting system that could enable astronomers to view galaxies, stars and planetary systems in superb detail.
via Science Daily
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Exactly how fast is the universe expanding?

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The collision of two neutron stars (GW170817) flung out an extraordinary fireball of material and energy that is allowing a a team of astrophysicists to calculate a more precise value for the Hubble constant, the speed of the universe's expansion. Previous estimates put the value between 66 and 90 km/s/Mpc, which this team refined to between 65.3 and 75.6 km/s/Mpc.
via Science Daily
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New high-definition satellite radar can detect bridges at risk of collapse from space

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An early warning system to identify at-risk structures using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has been developed. The system could be applied to infrastructure projects including roads, railways and building developments at lower cost and greater accuracy than existing techniques.
via Science Daily
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Interstellar iron isn't missing, it's just hiding in plain sight

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Cosmochemists have found that interstellar iron and carbon form a kind of linked molecule that cloaks the iron -- and helps stabilize large carbon molecules.
via Science Daily
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New method may resolve difficulty in measuring universe's expansion

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Radio telescope observations have made it possible for astronomers to use mergers of neutron-star pairs as a valuable new tool for measuring the Universe's expansion.
via Science Daily
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