Star Tau Boo's baffling magnetic flips

(Phys.org) —The first observations of the complete magnetic cycle of a star other than the Sun are proving a puzzle to astronomers. Tau Boötis, known as Tau Boo (τ Boo), is a yellowish star that is a little brighter than ...

Space scientists solve a decades-long gamma-ray burst puzzle

An international team of scientists, led by astrophysicists from the University of Bath in the UK, has measured the magnetic field in a far-off Gamma-Ray Burst, confirming for the first time a decades-long theoretical prediction—that ...

Image: Holes in the Sun's corona

This Solar Dynamics Observatory image of the Sun taken on January 10 in extreme ultraviolet light captures a dark coronal hole just about at sun center.

Life in the galaxy: maybe this is as good as it gets?

Researchers have found that rocky exoplanets which formed early in the life of the galaxy seem to have had a greater chance of developing a magnetic field and plate tectonics than planets which formed later. As both these ...

Do black holes help stars form?

(PhysOrg.com) -- The center of just about every galaxy is thought to host a black hole, some with masses of thousands of millions of Suns and consequently strong gravitational pulls that disrupt material around them. They ...

Researchers use sound waves to advance optical communication

Illinois researchers have demonstrated that sound waves can be used to produce ultraminiature optical diodes that are tiny enough to fit onto a computer chip. These devices, called optical isolators, may help solve major ...

The aurora borealis can be heard even when it can't be seen

Professor Emeritus Unto K. Laine of Aalto University has made recordings of auroral sounds, showing that the phenomenon is much more common than previously believed and occurs even in the absence of visible northern lights. ...

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