European Association for Astronomy Education

Source:ESO Science Release eso1249

The green bean galaxy J224.
Image credits:CFHT/ESO/M. Schirmer

A new galaxy class has been identified using observations from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), the Gemini South telescope, and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). Nicknamed “green bean galaxies” because of their unusual appearance, these galaxies glow in the intense light emitted from the surroundings of monster black holes and are amongst the rarest objects in the Universe. (read more)

Credit: Gemini

Artist's impression of the events around HD 131488.
Credit: Lynette Cook for Gemini Observatory/AURA

Using the Gemini South telescope in Chile, astronomers at UCLA have found dusty evidence for the formation of young, rocky planets around a star some 500 light years distant. But these potential extrasolar worlds are alien in an even more intriguing way… In the aftermath of collisions between planetary embryos around this star the researchers discovered that the dusty debris bears no resemblance to the planetary building blocks of our own Solar System. (read more)