NGC 2392: A beautiful end to a star's life

(Phys.org) —Stars like the Sun can become remarkably photogenic at the end of their life. A good example is NGC 2392, which is located about 4,200 light years from Earth. NGC 2392, (nicknamed the "Eskimo Nebula") is what ...

Universe's secrets closer thanks to ultrafast lasers

Research from the Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences (IPaQS) at Heriot-Watt, has the potential to revolutionise how we observe the universe using telescopes, with a new approach that exploits ultrashort pulses of ...

Comet ISON brings holiday fireworks (w/ Video)

This July Fourth the solar system is showing off some fireworks of its own. Superficially resembling a skyrocket, comet ISON is hurtling toward the sun presently at a whopping 48,000 mph.

Liverpool Telescope plans double-sized successor

(Phys.org) —Planning is underway for a successor to the world's largest fully robotic telescope. The Liverpool Telescope (LT) is a 2-metre optical telescope located on La Palma that has been in operation since 2004. It ...

Earth-passing asteroid is 'an entirely new beast'

On the last day of May 2013 asteroid 1998 QE2 passed relatively closely by our planet, coming within 6 million kilometers… about 15 times the distance to the Moon. While there was never any chance of an impact by the 3 ...

James Webb Telescope's last backbone component completed

(Phys.org) —Assembly of the backbone of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the primary mirror backplane support structure, is a step closer to completion with the recent addition of the backplane support frame, a fixture ...

Japan signals commitment to the TMT project

In an important milestone for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project, Japan, one of the project's five international partners, has indicated its strong national backing for the next-generation astronomical observatory.

'Population census' of galaxies buried in dust

A research team led by Bunyo Hatsukade, a postdoc researcher, and Kouji Ohta, a professor, both from the Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, revealed that approximately 80% of the unidentifiable millimeter wave ...

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