Astronomy news

'Cosmic fruit machine' matches collisions

Space & Earth / Astronomy

7 hours ago | 4.5 / 5 (2) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new website will give everyone the chance to contribute to science by playing a 'cosmic fruit machine' and compare images of colliding galaxies with millions of simulated images of galactic ...

Spitzer Telescope Observes Baby Brown Dwarf

Space & Earth / Astronomy

19 hours ago | 4.7 / 5 (10) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has contributed to the discovery of the youngest brown dwarf ever observed -- a finding that, if confirmed, may solve an astronomical mystery about how these ...

The Crab Nebula: Energy for 100,000 Suns

Space & Earth / Astronomy

20 hours ago | 4 / 5 (9) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- A star's spectacular death in the constellation Taurus was observed on Earth as the supernova of 1054 A.D.

Maps Unveil the Source of Starburst Galaxy's Winds

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 18, 2009 | 5 / 5 (8) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A research group at Kyoto University has discovered that shocks are the primary energy sources that excite the galactic wind region of starburst galaxy NGC 253. Their images of the center ...

Discovery of a Retrograde or Highly Tilted Extrasolar Planet

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 18, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (5) | 1

Astronomers have found that the extrasolar planet HAT-P-7b has a retrograde or highly tilted orbit. Studying such planets is important in understanding the diversity of planetary systems and assessing current ...

Ticking stellar time bomb identified (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 17, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (9) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- "One of the major problems in modern astrophysics is the fact that we still do not know exactly what kinds of stellar system explode as a Type Ia supernova," says Patrick Woudt, from the University ...

NASA's Wise Gets Ready to Survey the Whole Sky (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 17, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (5) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or Wise, is chilled out, sporting a sunshade and getting ready to roll. NASA's newest spacecraft is scheduled to roll to the pad on Friday, Nov. ...

China Joins Thirty Meter Telescope Project

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 17, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (6) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) has joined the Thirty Meter Telescope Project (TMT). As an Observer, China will participate in planning the ...

Close-up movie shows hidden details in the birth of super-suns (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

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 ...

Record-Breaking Radio Astronomy Project to Measure Sky with Extreme Precision

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 16, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (4) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers will tie together the largest collection of the world's radio telescopes ever assembled to work as a single observing tool in a project aimed at improving the precision of the ...

Mysterious X-rays from a Nearby Galaxy

Space & Earth / Astronomy

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 ...

Two Earth-sized bodies with oxygen rich atmospheres found -- but they're stars not planets

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 12, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (20) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Astrophysicists at the University of Warwick and Kiel University have discovered two earth sized bodies with oxygen rich atmospheres - however there is a bit of a disappointing snag for anyone ...

A faraway planet intrigues: Exoplanet with extremely tilted orbit raises new interest in stellar astronomy

Space & Earth / 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 ...

Research gives new insights into 4 billion year-old meteorites

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 12, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have gained new insight into the makeup of ancient meteorites called Carbonaceous Chondrites, in research published in the October edition of the journal Earth Science and Planetary Le ...

Exoplanets Clue to Sun's Curious Chemistry

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 11, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (21) | 15

(PhysOrg.com) -- A ground-breaking census of 500 stars, 70 of which are known to host planets, has successfully linked the long-standing "lithium mystery" observed in the Sun to the presence of planetary systems. ...

Rapid star formation spotted in 'stellar nurseries' of infant galaxies

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 11, 2009 | 4 / 5 (5) | 1

The Universe's infant galaxies enjoyed rapid growth spurts forming stars like our sun at a rate of up to 50 stars a year, according to scientists at Durham University.

Swift, XMM-Newton satellites tune into a middleweight black hole

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 10, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (3) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- While astronomers have studied lightweight and heavyweight black holes for decades, the evidence for black holes with intermediate masses has been much harder to come by. Now, astronomers ...

NASA's Great Observatories Celebrate International Year of Astronomy

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 10, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (6) | 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- A never-before-seen view of the turbulent heart of our Milky Way galaxy is being unveiled by NASA on Nov. 10. This event will commemorate the 400 years since Galileo first turned his telescope ...