ExploreAstro at Caltech/IPAC

This wobbly, energetic black hole is the first of its kind, and its discovery offers new insights into how galaxies evolve

https://www.ipac.caltech.edu/news/astronomers-discover-the-first-galaxy-wide-wobbling-black-hole-jet-in-a-disk-galaxy

Using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island, astronomers have uncovered the largest and most extended stream of super-heated gas ever observed flowing from a nearby galaxy, providing the clearest evidence yet that a supermassive black hole can dramatically reshape its host galaxy far beyond its core.

The discovery centers on galaxy VV 340a, where observations revealed vast structures of energized gas stretching up to 20,000 light-years from the galaxy’s center — far beyond what has ever been seen before. The work was led by Justin Kader at the University of California, Irvine and Vivian U at Caltech/IPAC, and is published in Science. Vivian U presented their findings at a press conference on January 8, 2026 at the 247th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Phoenix, AZ.

The team plans to pursue deeper, higher-resolution radio observations to determine whether a second supermassive black hole may be causing the jet’s wobble, a potential first step toward identifying a binary black hole system.

“We’re only beginning to understand how common this kind of activity may be,” said U. “With Keck Observatory and these other powerful observatories working together, we’re opening a new window into how galaxies change over time.”

NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope has completed its first infrared map of the entire sky! This is the most comprehensive spectral view of the infrared sky, with 102 colors (or wavelengths) of infrared light from observations made between May and December 2025. It will complete three additional all-sky scans during its two-year primary mission.

The SPHEREx Science Data Center (SSDC) is based at IPAC and reduces the data for scientists to access in IRSA - Infrared Science Archive. The large amount of data available through IRSA gives users a comprehensive view of the astronomical objects they want to study.

This all-sky mosaic image is built from a selection of the 102 infrared colors the observatory can detect. Infrared colors are invisible to the human eye but are represented here in visible colors. The infrared colors included in these images were selected to show the glow of stars (mapped to blue, green, and red), overlaid with features tracing hot hydrogen gas (blue), and cosmic dust (red). The bright feature running through the middle of the images is the Milky Way Galaxy, lit up by billions of stars within it. Most of the points of light above and below it are other galaxies.

https://spherex.caltech.edu/news/nasa-s-spherex-observatory-completes-first-cosmic-map-like-no-other
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

This giant planet orbiting a tiny star is challenging current theories on planet formation 🧩🤔
https://www.ipac.caltech.edu/news/discovery-of-giant-planet-orbiting-tiny-star-challenges-theories-on-planet-formation

The planet (TOI-6894b) is a low-density gas giant with a radius a little larger than Saturn’s but with only ~50% of Saturn’s mass. The star (TOI-6894) is the lowest mass star to have a transiting giant planet discovered to date and is just 60% the size of the next smallest star to host such a planet.

IPAC scientist Catherine Clark, a co-author on the paper, contributed the high-resolution imaging data, which was used to ensure that the properties of the planet are accurate and not influenced by the presence of a second star.