The Cosmic Distance Scale

(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1908, Harvard astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt discovered that a class of stars called Cepheids have brightnesses that vary regularly with periods that are directly related to their intrinsic luminosities.

Alien Planet Safari

The premiere observatory of the next decade, the James Webb Space Telescope, will launch in 2014 in search of "big game"--namely, the first stars and galaxies ever formed in our Universe. But the "little game" could turn ...

Flying Telescope Passes Key Test

Most astronomers wouldn't dream of opening their observatory's doors in 100 mph winds. Yet NASA's new SOFIA telescope recently flew in an airplane at 250 mph with doors wide open.

WISE Eye Spies First Glimpse of the Starry Sky

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, has captured its first look at the starry sky that it will soon begin surveying in infrared light.

WISE satellite blasts off on space-map mission

NASA launched Monday a new breed of satellite called WISE on a mission to orbit Earth and map the skies to find elusive cosmic objects, including potentially dangerous asteroids.

NASA's WISE Set to Blast Off and Map the Skies

(PhysOrg.com) -- The countdown clock is ticking, with just days to go before the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, rockets into space on a mission to map the entire sky in infrared light.

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