Astronomy news

Herschel takes a peek at the ingredients of the galaxies

Space & Earth / Astronomy

13 minutes ago | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The European Space Agency has today released spectacular new observations from the Herschel Space Observatory, including the UK-led SPIRE instrument. Spectrometers on board all three Hershel ...

Fermi Telescope Peers Deep into Microquasar (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

1hour ago | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has made the first unambiguous detection of high-energy gamma-rays from an enigmatic binary system known as Cygnus X-3. The system pairs a hot, massive ...

The Energy Sources of Ultraluminous Galaxies

Space & Earth / Astronomy

2 hours ago | 5 / 5 (1) | 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 ...

Spitzer Telescope Observes Baby Brown Dwarf

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 23, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (12) | 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

Nov 23, 2009 | 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.

3 Questions: Sara Seager on searching for Earth-like planets

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 23, 2009 | 3.3 / 5 (3) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- MIT planetary scientist Sara Seager has been studying exoplanets — planets circling stars other than the sun — for many years.

NJIT receives funding to improve Big Bear Telescope, study solar energy

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 20, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (5) | 1

NJIT researchers are at work on many scientific and technological frontiers. The National Science Foundation has recently provided support that totals nearly $4.3 million for the diverse efforts of the following ...

Mystery of the Solar Tsunami -- Solved (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 19, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (27) | 9

(PhysOrg.com) -- Sometimes you really can believe your eyes. That's what NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) is telling researchers about a controversial phenomenon on the sun known as ...

Hunting for Planets in the Dark

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 19, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (4) | 5

A proposed space mission that aims to measure dark energy could also detect planets that current surveys are unable to find.

NGC 4710 galaxy: Baffling boxy bulge (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 18, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (13) | 0

(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 ...

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 ...