Scientists used the unique hydrogen radio recombination lines on MWC 349A to reveal hidden collimated jets.

Shockwaves resulting from the violent collision between an intruder galaxy and Stephan’s Quintet are helping astronomers to understand how turbulence influences gas in the intergalactic medium. New observations with ALMA and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed that a sonic boom several times the size of the Milky Way has kickstarted a recycling plant for warm and cold molecular hydrogen gas. What’s more, scientists uncovered the break-up of a giant cloud into a fog of warm gas, the possible collision of two clouds forming a splash of warm gas around them, and the formation of a new galaxy. The observations were presented today in a press conference at the 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Seattle, Washington, USA.

At the heart of nearly every galaxy lurks a supermassive black hole. But not all supermassive black holes are alike: there are many types. Quasars, quasi-stellar objects, are one of the brightest and most active types of supermassive black holes.

Using ALMA, astronomers have spotted signs of a 'hot spot' orbiting Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of our galaxy. The finding helps us better understand our supermassive black hole's enigmatic and dynamic environment.

While observing a newly-dormant galaxy using the Atacama Large Millimeter/ submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), scientists discovered that it had stopped forming stars, not because it had used up all of its gas, but because most of its star-forming fuel had been thrown out of the system as it merged with another galaxy. The result is a first for ALMA scientists. Moreover, if proven common, the results could change how scientists think about galaxy mergers and deaths.

Using data from ALMA, a research team has discovered that the abundances of different molecular species vary significantly around the site of planets. The team found significant differences in the carbon monoxide isotopologue ratio depending on the region by applying a newly developed method to measure it. This ratio offers astronomers a new "fingerprint" to trace the origins of materials in the protoplanetary disk around the star TW Hydrae and provides a new method for understanding where and how the materials of the Solar System and exoplanets were created and transported.

Scientists using ALMA have for the first time recorded millimeter-wavelength light from a fiery explosion caused by the merger of a neutron star with another star. The team also confirmed this flash of light to be one of the most energetic short-duration gamma-ray bursts ever observed, leaving behind one of the most luminous afterglows on record.

While using ALMA to observe large star-forming regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), scientists discovered a turbulent push-and-pull dynamic in the star-forming region, 30 Doradus. Observations revealed that despite intense stellar feedback, gravity is shaping the molecular cloud, and against scientific odds, is driving the ongoing formation of young, massive stars.

Scientists using ALMA have observed a significant amount of cold, neutral gas in the outer regions of the young galaxy A1689-zD1, as well as outflows of hot gas coming from the galaxy's center. These results may shed light on a critical stage of galactic evolution for early galaxies, where young galaxies begin the transformation to be increasingly like their later, more structured cousins.

Using ALMA, astronomers have imaged the debris disk of the nearby star HD 53143 at millimeter wavelengths for the first time, and it looks nothing like they expected. Based on early coronagraphic data, scientists expected ALMA to confirm the debris disk as a face-on ring peppered with clumps of dust. Instead, the observations took a surprise turn, revealing the most complicated and eccentric debris disk observed.