Scientists have used data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the NSF's Jansky Very Large Array to determine the likely trigger for the most recent supernova in the Milky Way. They applied a new technique that could ...
Astronomy
Mar 30, 2016
110
758
Galaxy clusters are enormous collections of hundreds or even thousands of galaxies and vast reservoirs of hot gas embedded in massive clouds of dark matter, invisible material that does not emit or absorb light but can be ...
Astronomy
Mar 11, 2016
19
94
Astronomers have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to discover a jet from a very distant supermassive black hole being illuminated by the oldest light in the Universe. This discovery shows that black holes with powerful ...
Astronomy
Feb 16, 2016
19
1326
The Star Wars franchise has featured the fictitious "Death Star," which can shoot powerful beams of radiation across space. The Universe, however, produces phenomena that often surpass what science fiction can conjure.
Astronomy
Feb 2, 2016
4
1202
Evidence for powerful blasts produced by a giant black hole has been discovered using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This is one of the nearest supermassive black holes to Earth that is currently undergoing such violent ...
Astronomy
Jan 5, 2016
5
79
An extraordinary ribbon of hot gas trailing behind a galaxy like a tail has been discovered using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This ribbon, or X-ray tail, is likely due to gas stripped from the galaxy as it ...
Astronomy
Dec 22, 2015
83
114
The Jellyfish Nebula, also known by its official name IC 443, is the remnant of a supernova lying 5,000 light years from Earth. New Chandra observations show that the explosion that created the Jellyfish Nebula may have also ...
Astronomy
Dec 11, 2015
0
20
One hundred years ago this month, Albert Einstein published his theory of general relativity, one of the most important scientific achievements in the last century.
Astronomy
Nov 23, 2015
6
751
One of the most recognizable constellations in the sky is Orion, the Hunter. Among Orion's best-known features is the "belt," consisting of three bright stars in a line, each of which can be seen without a telescope.
Astronomy
Nov 12, 2015
0
1966
Galaxy clusters are often described by superlatives. After all, they are huge conglomerations of galaxies, hot gas, and dark matter and represent the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity.
Astronomy
Oct 1, 2015
11
105
