News tagged with astrophysicist
How black holes grow: New study indicates they eat binary star partners
A study led by a University of Utah astrophysicist found a new explanation for the growth of supermassive black holes in the center of most galaxies: they repeatedly capture and swallow single stars from pairs ...
Apr 02, 2012 |
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Space diamonds reveal supernova origins
Space diamonds may now be an astrophysicist's best friend.
Feb 15, 2012 |
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Disaster looms for gas cloud falling into Milky Way's central black hole
The normally quiet neighborhood around the massive black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy is being invaded by a gas cloud that is destined in just a few years to be ripped, shredded and largely eaten.
Dec 14, 2011 |
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Our galaxy might hold thousands of ticking 'time bombs'
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the Hollywood blockbuster "Speed," a bomb on a bus is rigged to blow up if the bus slows down below 50 miles per hour. The premise - slow down and you explode - makes for a great action ...
Sep 06, 2011 |
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Fermi telescope spots 'superflares' in the Crab Nebula (w/ video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- The famous Crab Nebula supernova remnant has erupted in an enormous flare five times more powerful than any flare previously seen from the object. On April 12, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space ...
May 12, 2011 |
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Flipping hot Jupiters: Why some planets orbit the wrong way
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the last few years astronomers have observed that in some extrasolar systems the star is spinning one way and the planet, a "hot Jupiter," is orbiting the star in the opposite direction. ...
May 11, 2011 |
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Hubble observations of supernova reveal composition of 'star guts' pouring out
Observations made with NASA's newly refurbished Hubble Space Telescope of a nearby supernova are allowing astronomers to measure the velocity and composition of "star guts" being ejected into space following ...
Sep 02, 2010 |
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Backwards Black Holes Might Make Bigger Jets
(PhysOrg.com) -- Going against the grain may turn out to be a powerful move for black holes. New research suggests supermassive black holes that spin backwards might produce more ferocious jets of gas. The ...
Jun 01, 2010 |
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Does prebiotic material exist in space?
Spanish and French astrophysicists have identified a band in the infrared range that serves to track the presence of organic material rich in oxygen and nitrogen in the interstellar dust grains. Should any ...
Mar 26, 2009 |
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The origin of supernovae confirmed
Where do supernovae come from? Astronomers have long believed they were exploding stars, but by analysing a series of images, researchers from the Dark Cosmology Centre at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen ...
Mar 19, 2009 |
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Scientists Build Anti-Mosquito Laser
(PhysOrg.com) -- In an effort to prevent the spread of malaria, scientists have built a laser that shoots and kills mosquitoes. Malaria, which is caused by a parasite and transmitted by mosquitoes, kills about ...
Mar 16, 2009 |
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Three-telescope interferometry allows astrophysicists to observe how black holes are fueled
(Phys.org) -- By combining the light of three powerful infrared telescopes, an international research team has observed the active accretion phase of a supermassive black hole in the center of a galaxy tens ...
May 16, 2012 |
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Penn astrophysicists zero in on gravity theory
(Phys.org) -- Most people take gravity for granted. But for University of Pennsylvania astrophysicist Bhuvnesh Jain, the nature of gravity is the question of a lifetime. As scientists have been able to see ...
May 11, 2012 |
4.4 / 5 (39) |
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Runaway planets zoom at a fraction of light speed
Seven years ago, astronomers boggled when they found the first runaway star flying out of our Galaxy at a speed of 1.5 million miles per hour. The discovery intrigued theorists, who wondered: If a star can ...
Mar 22, 2012 |
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Encounters of another kind: meteorite chunk falls on Oslo
A Norwegian family was flabbergasted to find that what appeared to be a piece of a meteorite had crashed through the roof of their allotment garden hut in the middle of Oslo, media reported Monday.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 12, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (5) |
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Astrophysics
Astrophysics (Greek: Astro - meaning "star", and Greek: physis – φύσις - meaning "nature") is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior. Among the objects studied are galaxies, stars, planets, exoplanets, the interstellar medium and the cosmic microwave background. Their emissions are examined across all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the properties examined include luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition. The study of cosmology addresses questions of astrophysics at scales much larger than the size of particular gravitationally-bound objects in the universe.
Because astrophysics is a very broad subject, astrophysicists typically apply many disciplines of physics, including mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, relativity, nuclear and particle physics, and atomic and molecular physics. In practice, modern astronomical research involves a substantial amount of physics. The name of a university's department ("astrophysics" or "astronomy") often has to do more with the department's history than with the contents of the programs. Astrophysics can be studied at the bachelors, masters, and Ph.D. levels in aerospace engineering, physics, or astronomy departments at many universities.
For more information about Astrophysics, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
