In 2020, astronomers added a new member to an exclusive family of exotic objects with the discovery of a magnetar. New observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory help support the idea that it is also a pulsar, meaning ...
Astronomy
Jan 8, 2021
6
546
Brown dwarfs are the middle child of astronomy, too big to be a planet yet not big enough to be a star. Like their stellar siblings, these objects form from the gravitational collapse of gas and dust. But rather than condensing ...
Astronomy
Jun 2, 2020
4
728
Determined to find a needle in a cosmic haystack, a pair of astronomers time traveled through archives of old data from W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauankea in Hawaii and old X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory ...
Astronomy
Jun 1, 2020
0
102
When fuel companies explore northern Alaska for oil, federal regulations require them to steer clear of polar bears. To locate the endangered species during winter months, fixed-wing planes mounted with forward-looking infrared ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 13, 2020
0
71
Allen Lawrence, wrapping up a long career as an electrical engineer, was serious about moving his astronomy hobby beyond the 20-inch telescope he'd hauled to star parties under the dark skies of Texas and Arizona.
Astronomy
Feb 5, 2020
11
803
When it comes to galaxies, how fast is fast? The Milky Way, an average spiral galaxy, spins at a speed of 130 miles per second (210 km/sec) in our Sun's neighborhood. New research has found that the most massive spiral galaxies ...
Astronomy
Oct 17, 2019
146
2617
Astronomers have spotted three giant black holes within a titanic collision of three galaxies. Several observatories, including the Chandra X-ray Observatory and other NASA space telescopes, captured the unusual system.
Astronomy
Sep 25, 2019
24
2088
Astronomers at the University of Bonn and their colleagues from Moscow have identified an unusual celestial object. It is most likely the product of the fusion of two stars that died a long time ago. After billions of years ...
Astronomy
May 21, 2019
2
435
Astronomers have put together the largest and most comprehensive "history book" of galaxies into one single image, using 16 years' worth of observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
Astronomy
May 16, 2019
13
396
A stellar flare ten times more powerful than anything seen on our sun has burst from an ultracool star almost the same size as Jupiter.
Astronomy
Apr 17, 2019
13
1437
