Astronomy news

Mysterious X-rays from a Nearby Galaxy

Space & Earth / Astronomy

19 hours ago | 3.9 / 5 (8) | 9

(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

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 12, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (11) | 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 ...

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

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 12, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (19) | 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 ...

'Dropouts' pinpoint earliest galaxies

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 06, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (11) | 13

Astronomers, conducting the broadest survey to date of galaxies from about 800 million years after the Big Bang, have found 22 early galaxies and confirmed the age of one by its characteristic hydrogen signature ...

In a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 06, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (6) | 31

(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. ...

Rapid supernova could be new class of exploding star

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 05, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (17) | 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- An unusual supernova rediscovered in seven-year-old data may be the first example of a new type of exploding star, possibly from a binary star system where helium flows from one white dwarf ...

Hubble Image Showcases Star Birth in M83, the Southern Pinwheel

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 05, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (10) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- The spectacular new camera installed on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope during Servicing Mission 4 in May has delivered the most detailed view of star birth in the graceful, curving arms of ...

Starring Intelligent Aliens

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 05, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (9) | 6

The most probable place to find intelligent life in the galaxy is around stars very similar to our sun, a new study has found.

New type of supernova explosion reported; predicted by theoretical physicists at UCSB

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 05, 2009 | 4.2 / 5 (5) | 0

A new class of supernova was discovered by scientists at Berkeley and may be the first example of a new type of exploding star. A team of astrophysicists at UC Santa Barbara had predicted this kind of explosion in their t ...

Carbon Atmosphere Discovered on Neutron Star

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 04, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (19) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Evidence for a thin veil of carbon has been found on the neutron star in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant. This discovery, made with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, resolves a ten-year ...

Unsettled Youth: Spitzer Observes a Chaotic Planetary System

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 04, 2009 | 4.1 / 5 (7) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Before our planets found their way to the stable orbits they circle in today, they wiggled and jostled about like unsettled children. Now, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has found a young ...

University of Utah celebrates telescope's 'first light'

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 04, 2009 | 4 / 5 (2) | 0

(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 ...

Shedding Light on the Cosmic Skeleton

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 03, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (22) | 7

(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers have tracked down a gigantic, previously unknown assembly of galaxies located almost seven billion light-years away from us. The discovery, made possible by combining two of the ...

Precise picture of early Universe supports 'dark matter' theory

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 02, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (17) | 9

A detailed picture of the seeds of structures in the universe has been unveiled by an international team co-led by a Cardiff University scientist.

Fermi Telescope Detects Gamma-Ray From 'Star Factories' in Other Galaxies

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 02, 2009 | 4 / 5 (2) | 0

Nearby galaxies undergoing a furious pace of star formation also emit lots of gamma rays, say astronomers using NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Two so-called "starburst" galaxies, plus a satellite ...

Solar winds triggered by magnetic fields

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 02, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (4) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Solar wind generated by the sun is probably driven by a process involving powerful magnetic fields, according to a new study led by UCL (University College London) researchers based on the ...

Starburst galaxy sheds light on longstanding cosmic mystery

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 02, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (3) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- An international collaboration that includes scientists from the University of Delaware's Bartol Research Institute in the Department of Physics and Astronomy has discovered very-high-energy ...

The Ring Nebula

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Nov 02, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (7) | 2

The diversity of colours, shapes, and sizes of planetary nebulae make them fascinating objects. In this photo release Calar Alto presents a rather unique view combining both optical and near-infrared data ...