Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
The Harvard-Smithson Center for Astrophysics (CfA) was founded in 1973 as a collaborative effort between the Smithsonian Astrophysical Laboratory and the Harvard College Observatory. Many CfA scientist and researchers also hold faculty positions with Harvard University. Today, more than 300 Harvard-Smithson scientists are devoted to research at CfA in varied astronomy and astrophysics projects. CfA has a world-wide presence with observatories and labs around the globe. The Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hinode, Spitzer Space Telescope space-based observatories and land based Magellan telescopes, Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory are examples of work being conducted by CfA.
Address
60 GARDEN STREET, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138
News Office
pubaffairs [at] cfa
Phone
(617) 495-7462
Fax
Contact
"Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics" in the news:
The Energy Sources of Ultraluminous Galaxies
7 hours ago |
4.3 / 5 (7) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Ultraluminous infrared galaxies ((ULIRGs) are galaxies whose luminosity exceeds that of a trillion suns; for comparison, the Milky Way galaxy has a typical (and much more modest) luminosity ...
Close-up movie shows hidden details in the birth of super-suns (w/ Video)
Nov 16, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- The constellation of Orion is a hotbed of massive star formation, most prominently in the Great Nebula that sits in Orion's sword. The glowing gas of the Nebula is powered by a group of young ...
Mysterious X-rays from a Nearby Galaxy
Nov 13, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (15) |
8
(PhysOrg.com) -- The nucleus of an active galaxy, an AGN, contains a massive black hole that is vigorously accreting material. In the process it typically ejects jets of particles and radiates brightly at ...
A faraway planet intrigues: Exoplanet with extremely tilted orbit raises new interest in stellar astronomy
Nov 12, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (12) |
6
(PhysOrg.com) -- Two teams of astronomers have found a planet outside the solar system that might be orbiting backwards compared to its star's rotation, a discovery that could shed light on how unique the ...
In a Galaxy Far, Far Away...
Nov 06, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (7) |
36
(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers have published the discovery of the farthest known object in the cosmos: a star that exploded when the universe was only 630 million years old -- only 4.6% of its current age. ...
Dark Matter in a Galaxy
Oct 30, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (20) |
19
(PhysOrg.com) -- Stars, the most familiar objects in the night sky, make up only a tiny percentage of the total amount of matter in the universe -- about 2%.
The Explosive Disintegration of a Young Stellar System in Orion
Oct 23, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (12) |
7
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Orion Nebula is one of the most beautiful sights of the winter night sky, its gas and dust glowing from the intense ultraviolet radiation of a cluster of massive young stars.
X-Ray Jets from Galaxies
Oct 19, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Some dramatic galaxies eject gigantic, collimated jets of ionized gas millions of light-years long, powered by the massive black holes at their centers. The ionized jets are detected at radio ...
Invisible matters: How dwarf galaxies may lose their light
Oct 02, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (8) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study seeking to answer the question of why some galaxies are extremely dark compared with others may eventually help to explain the formation of all galaxies, according to researchers ...
The Hot Saturn Exoplanet
Oct 02, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (11) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- Of the roughly 350 known exoplanets (i.e., extrasolar planets), the one orbiting the star HD149026 is unique.
Very High Energy Gamma Rays
Sep 25, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (10) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- Gamma-rays are the most energetic known form of electromagnetic radiation, with each gamma ray being at least one hundred thousand times more energetic than an optical light photon. The most ...
Magnetic fields play larger role in star formation than previously thought
Sep 09, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (14) |
12
The simple picture of star formation calls for giant clouds of gas and dust to collapse inward due to gravity, growing denser and hotter until igniting nuclear fusion. In reality, forces other than gravity also influence ...
Massive Stars Near the Galactic Center
Aug 28, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (14) |
7
The Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) of our galaxy is a giant complex of molecular gas and dust situated in the innermost 700 light-years of the Milky Way. Although the galaxy is over 100,000 light-years in size, ...
A Look into the Hellish Cradles of Suns and Solar Systems
Aug 19, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (6) |
1
The dense star cluster RCW 38 glistens about 5500 light years away in the direction of the constellation Vela (the Sails). Like the Orion Nebula Cluster, RCW 38 is an "embedded cluster", in that the nascent ...
The Edge of a Black Hole
Aug 18, 2009 |
4 / 5 (27) |
14
The existence of black holes is one of the most amazing and bizarre predictions of Einstein's theory of gravity. Despite his original misgivings about their reality, massive black hole holes are today believed ...
