Astronomy news
Hubble images searchlight beams from a preplanetary nebula
(Phys.org) -- The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has been at the cutting edge of research into what happens to stars like our sun at the ends of their lives. One stage that stars pass through as they run ...
Apr 28, 2012 |
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Hubble rules out one alternative to dark energy
(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have ruled out an alternate theory on the nature of dark energy after recalculating the expansion rate of the universe to unprecedented accuracy.
Mar 14, 2011 |
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Swift narrows down origin of important supernova class
(PhysOrg.com) -- Studies using X-ray and ultraviolet observations from NASA's Swift satellite provide new insights into the elusive origins of an important class of exploding star called Type Ia supernovae. ...
Mar 20, 2012 |
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Challenge theoretical models, Crab pulsar beams most energetic gamma rays ever detected from a pulsar
A thousand years ago, a brilliant beacon of light blazed in the sky, shining brightly enough to be seen even in daytime for almost a month. Native American and Chinese observers recorded the eye-catching event. ...
Oct 06, 2011 |
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Fermi's latest gamma-ray census highlights cosmic mysteries
(PhysOrg.com) -- Every three hours, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope scans the entire sky and deepens its portrait of the high-energy universe. Every year, the satellite's scientists reanalyze all of ...
Sep 09, 2011 |
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Old star, new trick
The Big Bang produced lots of hydrogen and helium and a smidgen of lithium. All heavier elements found on the periodic table have been produced by stars over the last 13.7 billion years. Astronomers analyze starlight to determine ...
Apr 30, 2012 |
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WISE mission captures black hole's wildly flaring jet
(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers using NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have captured rare data of a flaring black hole, revealing new details about these powerful objects and their blazing jets. ...
Sep 21, 2011 |
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Astronomers find extreme weather on an alien world
(PhysOrg.com) -- A University of Toronto-led team of astronomers has observed extreme brightness changes on a nearby brown dwarf that may indicate a storm grander than any seen yet on a planet. Because old ...
Sep 12, 2011 |
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Scientists investigate the possibility of wormholes between stars
(PhysOrg.com) -- Wormholes are one of the stranger objects that arise in general relativity. Although no experimental evidence for wormholes exists, scientists predict that they would appear to serve as shortcuts ...
Hubble confirms: galaxies are ultimate recyclers
(PhysOrg.com) -- New observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are expanding astronomers' understanding of the ways in which galaxies continuously recycle immense volumes of hydrogen gas and heavy elements. ...
Nov 17, 2011 |
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Do the Milky Way's companions spell trouble for dark matter?
(Phys.org) -- Astronomers from the University of Bonn in Germany have discovered a vast structure of satellite galaxies and clusters of stars surrounding our Galaxy, stretching out across a million light years. ...
Apr 25, 2012 |
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Astronomers pin down galaxy collision rate
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new analysis of images from the Hubble Space Telescope combined with supercomputer simulations of galaxy collisions has cleared up years of confusion about the rate at which smaller galaxies ...
Oct 27, 2011 |
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Telescopes help solve ancient supernova mystery
(PhysOrg.com) -- A mystery that began nearly 2,000 years ago, when Chinese astronomers witnessed what would turn out to be an exploding star in the sky, has been solved. New infrared observations from NASA's ...
Oct 24, 2011 |
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'Ridiculously' dim bevy of stars found beyond Milky Way
(Phys.org) -- A team of American, Canadian and Chilean astronomers have stumbled onto a remarkably faint cluster of stars orbiting the Milky Way that puts out as much light as only 120 modest Sun-like stars. ...
Apr 27, 2012 |
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Astronomers identify three extrasolar planets
(Phys.org) -- It's not little green men, but it could be a step in that direction: Cornell astronomers, using data from the NASA Kepler Mission, have identified three Earthlike planets orbiting their own suns, all of which ...
Apr 26, 2012 |
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