ESOcast is a video podcast series dedicated to bringing you the latest news and research from ESO, the European Southern Observatory. Here we explore the Universe's ultimate frontier.
Astronomers have found the strongest evidence yet that some planets outside our Solar System may have magnetic fields. Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the Gemini North telescope, the researchers measured wind speeds on seven very hot, Jupiter-like exoplanets.
Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have observed two exoplanets forming around the young star WISPIT 2. Both planets are gas giants, more massive than Jupiter, and are carving out gaps in the disc of gas and dust around their host star. The WISPIT 2 system could therefore resemble a young Solar System. This video summarises the discovery.
Astronomers are surprised by a mysterious shock wave around the dead star RXJ0528+2838, studied with ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The dead star moves through space creating a so-called bow shock, as the surrounding material is pushed away. Structures like this one are typically caused by a strong outflow from the star. However, in the case of RXJ0528+2838, no known mechanism could be causing the outflow. A hidden energy source, perhaps magnetic fields, might be the answer to this mystery.
Astronomers have observed a supernova just a day after it was first detected. In the early stages of the blast, the explosion has not yet interacted with the material around the star, retaining its true shape. This initial shape has now been revealed for the first time. This video summarises the discovery.
Astronomers have found an intense ‘growth spurt’ in a rogue planet –– a planet that doesn’t orbit a star. Observations with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) reveal that this free-floating planet is eating up gas and dust from its surroundings at a rate of six billion tonnes a second, the strongest ever found for a planet of any kind. This video summarises the discovery.