Astronomy news

New initiative to automate discovery of astrophysical phenomena

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 26, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 2

Automated methods for discovering astrophysical phenomena by sifting through massive amounts of cosmological data are being developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University and the University ...


The Explosive Disintegration of a Young Stellar System in Orion

The Explosive Disintegration of a Young Stellar System in Orion

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 23, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (12) | comments 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.


Building Planet Earth

Building Planet Earth

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 22, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (9) | comments 1

A new study shows how rocky planets are formed from the manic swirl of gas and dust that surround a young star, and determines what chemical building blocks are used to construct the planets. Understanding ...


Galaxy cluster smashes distance record

Galaxy cluster smashes distance record

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 22, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (10) | comments 2

The most distant galaxy cluster yet has been discovered by combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and optical and infrared telescopes. The cluster is located about 10.2 billion light years away, ...


COROT

The CoRoT space mission: Early results

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 22, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (8) | comments 0

Astronomy & Astrophysics is publishing a special issue this week dedicated to the early results of the CoRoT space mission. The CoRoT (Convection, Rotation & planetary Transits) satellite is a 30 centimeter space ...


NASA image shows hot blue stars deep inside an elliptical galaxy

Eyes to the skies for the 'Galilean Nights'

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 22, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Astronomers around the world are gearing up for three days of intense sky-watching in honour of Galileo, whose observations 400 years ago revolutionised our understanding of the cosmos.


Astronomers do it Again: Find Organic Molecules Around Gas Planet

Astronomers do it Again: Find Organic Molecules Around Gas Planet (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 20, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (16) | comments 8

(PhysOrg.com) -- Peering far beyond our solar system, NASA researchers have detected the basic chemistry for life in a second hot gas planet, advancing astronomers toward the goal of being able to characterize ...


Discovery of dwarf galaxy a big find for astronomy team

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 20, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (13) | comments 4

In some ways, discovering a new galaxy is all in a day's work for John Cannon, Macalester College assistant astronomy professor.


X-Ray Jets from Galaxies

X-Ray Jets from Galaxies

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 19, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 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 ...


The system Gliese 667 (Artist’s impression)

32 New Exoplanets Found (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 19, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (27) | comments 6

(PhysOrg.com) -- Today, at an international ESO/CAUP exoplanet conference in Porto, the team who built the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher, better known as HARPS, the spectrograph for ESO's 3.6-metre ...


First IBEX maps reveal fascinating interactions occurring at the edge of the solar system

Galactic magnetic fields may control the boundaries of our solar system

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 16, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (9) | comments 2

The first all-sky maps developed by NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft, the initial mission to examine the global interactions occurring at the edge of the solar system, suggest that the galac ...


Astronomers seek to explore the cosmic Dark Ages

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 15, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (9) | comments 1

No place seems safe from the prying eyes of inquisitive astronomers. They've traced the evolution of the universe back to the "Big Bang," the theoretical birth of the cosmos 13.7 billion years ago, but there's still a long ...


The Milky Way's tiny but tough galactic neighbor

The Milky Way's tiny but tough galactic neighbor

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 14, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (13) | comments 1

In the new ESO image, Barnard's Galaxy glows beneath a sea of foreground stars in the direction of the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer). At the relatively close distance of about 1.6 million light-years, ...


Cosmic archaeology: Astrophysicists use new spectrographs to look far back into the history of the universe

Cosmic archaeology: Astrophysicists use new spectrographs to look far back into the history of the universe

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 13, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (11) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- The distant past of the universe is moving closer. Astronomers are using special spectrographs to investigate galaxies in the depths of the universe as part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey ...


Setting sail in an ecological 'Earthship'

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 13, 2009 | popularity 2.3 / 5 (3) | comments 2

Could sustainable architecture address pollution, climate change and resource depletion by helping us build self-sufficient, off-grid, housing from "waste", including vehicle tires and metal drinks containers? That's the ...




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