Space Stories: A Dead Galaxy, Newly Discovered Cloud-9, and Preparing for Artemis II

Image (Credit): GS-10578, also called Pablo’s Galaxy. (JADES Collaboration)

Here are some recent space-related stories of interest.

innovation News Network: Astronomers Discover Ancient “Dead Galaxy” Starved by its Supermassive Black Hole

Using observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), researchers found that a growing supermassive black hole can slowly starve a galaxy rather than destroy it outright. The galaxy, catalogued as GS-10578 and nicknamed Pablo’s Galaxy, existed just three billion years after the Big Bang. Despite this early stage in cosmic history, it is enormous – around 200 billion times the mass of the Sun. Most of its stars formed between 12.5 and 11.5 billion years ago, indicating a rapid burst of star formation before the galaxy suddenly shut down.

CNN: Cloud-9’ is a Newly Discovered Celestial Object. It Could Help Solve a Cosmic Mystery

Astronomers may have discovered a previously unknown type of astronomical object, nicknamed “Cloud-9,” that could shed light on dark matter, one of the biggest mysteries in the universe. …Cloud-9 is thought to be a dark matter cloud that could be a remnant of galaxy formation from the early days of the universe, according to new research published Monday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Space.com: NASA to Roll Out Rocket for Artemis 2 Moon Mission on Jan. 17

The first crewed moon mission in more than 50 years remains on track to launch as soon as Feb. 6. NASA announced on Friday evening (Jan. 9) that it plans to roll the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft that will fly the Artemis 2 moon mission out to the pad for prelaunch checks on Jan. 17, weather and technical readiness permitting.