http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- Just as many people are surprised to find themselves packing on unexplained weight around the middle, astronomers find the evolution of bulges in the centres of spiral galaxies puzzling. A recent NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 4710 is part of a survey that astronomers have conducted to learn more about the formation of bulges, which are a substantial component of most spiral galaxies. http://www.physorg.com/news177764242.html Space & Earth Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:58:27 EST news177764242 (PhysOrg.com) -- The University of Utah will celebrate the initial observations or "first light" of its new $860,000 research telescope in southwest Utah during a Wednesday, Nov. 11 symposium and reception on the Salt Lake City campus. http://www.physorg.com/news176551313.html Space & Earth Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:30:01 EST news176551313 (PhysOrg.com) -- Quite a few distant galaxies turn out to be cosmic delivery rooms. Large numbers of massive stars are born in the hearts of these starburst galaxies, and later explode as supernovae. In the remnants they leave behind, particles are accelerated to very high energies. Astrophysicists have now used the H.E.S.S. telescopes to make detailed measurements of the gamma rays from the NGC 253 galaxy. As predicted, these high-energy rays originate from the region of maximum supernova activity close to the centre. (Science Express, September 2009) http://www.physorg.com/news173695636.html Space & Earth Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:47:47 EST news173695636 (PhysOrg.com) -- Ram pressure is the drag force that results when something moves through a fluid -- much like the wind you feel in your face when bicycling, even on a still day -- and occurs in this context as galaxies orbiting about the centre of the cluster move through the intra-cluster medium, which then sweeps out gas from within the galaxies. http://www.physorg.com/news173529292.html Space & Earth Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:36:07 EST news173529292 (PhysOrg.com) -- The first of three images of ESO's GigaGalaxy Zoom project - a new magnificent 800-million-pixel panorama of the entire sky as seen from ESO's observing sites in Chile - has just been released online. The project allows stargazers to explore and experience the Universe as it is seen with the unaided eye from the darkest and best viewing locations in the world. http://www.physorg.com/news172144911.html Space & Earth Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:02:20 EST news172144911 (PhysOrg.com) -- ESO has released a striking new image of a nearby galaxy that many astronomers think closely resembles our own Milky Way. Though the galaxy is seen edge-on, observations of NGC 4945 suggest that this hive of stars is a spiral galaxy much like our own, with swirling, luminous arms and a bar-shaped central region. These resemblances aside, NGC 4945 has a brighter centre that likely harbours a supermassive black hole, which is devouring reams of matter and blasting energy out into space. http://www.physorg.com/news171105483.html Space & Earth Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:30:06 EST news171105483 (PhysOrg.com) -- As scientists attempt to learn more about how galaxies evolve, an open question has been whether collisions with our dwarf galactic neighbors will one day tear apart the disk of the Milky Way. http://www.physorg.com/news170938716.html Space & Earth Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:59:03 EST news170938716 On June 29th, neighbors of Paul Mortfield in Ontario, Canada, heard "cheers of excitement" coming from the astronomer's house. What caused the commotion? http://www.physorg.com/news166451645.html Space & Earth Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:35:50 EST news166451645 This beautiful image gives a new look at Stephan's Quintet, a compact group of galaxies discovered about 130 years ago and located about 280 million light years from Earth. The curved, light blue ridge running down the center of the image shows X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. http://www.physorg.com/news166371617.html Space & Earth Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:21:24 EST news166371617 Herschel opened its 'eyes' on 14 June and the Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer obtained images of M51, 'the whirlpool galaxy' for a first test observation. Scientists obtained images in three colours from the observation, which clearly demonstrate the superiority of Herschel, the largest infrared space telescope ever flown. http://www.physorg.com/news164624833.html Space & Earth Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:07:37 EST news164624833 (PhysOrg.com) -- Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers has discovered streams of young stars flowing from their natal cocoons in distant galaxies. These distant rivers of stars provide an answer to one of astronomy's most fundamental puzzles: how do young stars that form clustered together in dense clouds of dust and gas disperse to form the large, smooth distribution seen in the disks of spiral galaxies like the Milky Way? http://www.physorg.com/news160410037.html Space & Earth Fri, 01 May 2009 15:20:59 EST news160410037 For decades, distant galaxies that emitted their light six billion years ago were no more than small specks of light on the sky. With the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope in the early 1990s, astronomers were able to scrutinise the structure of distant galaxies in some detail for the first time. Under the superb skies of Paranal, the VLT's FLAMES/GIRAFFE spectrograph - which obtains simultaneous spectra from small areas of extended objects - can now also resolve the motions of the gas in these distant galaxies. http://www.physorg.com/news155940094.html Space & Earth Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:41:56 EST news155940094 About 100 million light-years away, in the constellation of Piscis Austrinus (the Southern Fish), three galaxies are playing a game of gravitational give-and-take that might ultimately lead to their merger into one enormous entity. http://www.physorg.com/news155309518.html Space & Earth Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:32:45 EST news155309518 (PhysOrg.com) -- Today saw the launch of Galaxy Zoo 2, a website that invites members of the public to help create a detailed guide to some of the Universe's most fascinating objects. The online project is led by a team including scientists from Oxford University. http://www.physorg.com/news154108963.html Space & Earth Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:03:02 EST news154108963 (PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers have a new insight into the active galaxy Centaurus A (NGC 5128), as the jets and lobes emanating from the central black hole have been imaged at submillimetre wavelengths for the first time. The new data, from the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope in Chile, which is operated by ESO, have been combined with visible and X-ray wavelengths to produce this striking new image. http://www.physorg.com/news152344528.html Space & Earth Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:56:03 EST news152344528 (PhysOrg.com) -- Three observatories on Mauna Kea have come together to form the world's most powerful facility for detailed submillimeter imaging. An exploratory project, the Extended Submillimeter Array (eSMA) will explore the Universe using light that the human eye cannot see, at wavelengths around 0.8 millimeter. There are many objects in the sky that emit radiation in this submillimeter range, especially the dusty regions in which new stars, planets and even entire galaxies are being born. These clouds of gas and tiny dust particles are completely dark in visible light, but submillimeter waves can penetrate them. http://www.physorg.com/news146410228.html Space & Earth Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:30:28 EST news146410228