Astronomy news
How did the universe begin?
Jun 24, 2008 |
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One of the most interesting questions considered by astrophysicists deals with the start of our universe. Indeed, there is a great deal of speculation on the subject, with different theories about how the universe began, ...
28 new planets, 7 new brown dwarfs reported by California, Carnegie team
May 29, 2007 |
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The world's largest and most prolific team of planet hunters announced the discovery of 28 new planets outside our solar system, increasing to 236 the total number of known exoplanets.
Ocean Planets on the Brink of Detection
Feb 02, 2007 |
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Imagine a world with no land at all, merely the impenetrable depths of a seething ocean. Models of planet formation predict the existence of such worlds, even though our own solar system has none. Indeed, ...
Terrestrial Planet Formation in Binary Star Systems
Jan 26, 2007 |
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The list of confirmed extrasolar planets keeps growing, and has now passed two hundred members — almost all of which are gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn. But the hunt is on for Earth-like worlds! With the successful launch ...
Cassini Image Shows Saturn Draped in a String of Pearls
Oct 11, 2006 |
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Saturn appears dressed to the nines, "wearing" a strand of "pearls" in a stunning infrared image from the Cassini spacecraft that showcases a meteorological phenomenon.
Researchers Study Formation Of Chemical Precursors to Life
Aug 07, 2006 |
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In just two years of work, an international research team has discovered eight new complex, biologically-significant molecules in interstellar space using the National Science Foundation's Robert C. Byrd Green ...
Mars' dust storms may produce peroxide snow
Jul 31, 2006 |
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The planet-wide dust storms that periodically cloak Mars in a mantle of red may be generating a snow of corrosive chemicals, including hydrogen peroxide, that would be toxic to life, according to two new studies ...
A simple survey yields a cosmic conundrum
Jul 31, 2006 |
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A survey of galaxies observed along the sightlines to quasars and gamma-ray bursts--both extremely luminous, distant objects--has revealed a puzzling inconsistency. Galaxies appear to be four times more common in the direction ...
Pre-life molecules present in comets
Jul 26, 2006 |
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Evidence of atomic nitrogen in interstellar gas clouds suggests that pre-life molecules may be present in comets, a discovery that gives a clue about the early conditions that gave rise to life, according to researchers from ...
Cassini finds evidence for hydrocarbon lakes on Titan
Jul 25, 2006 |
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The Cassini spacecraft, using its radar system, has discovered very strong evidence for hydrocarbon lakes on Titan. Dark patches, which resemble terrestrial lakes, seem to be sprinkled all over the high latitudes ...
Models show one nearby star system could host Earth-like planet
Jul 24, 2006 |
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The steady discovery of giant planets orbiting stars other than our sun has heightened speculation that there could be Earth-type worlds in nearby planetary systems capable of sustaining life. Now researchers running computer ...
The Case for Habitable Exoplanet Moons
Apr 27, 2006 |
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As scientists refine their methods, exoplanets are becoming easier and easier to detect. The current count is 163 planets orbiting 97 main-sequence stars, of which only one is even remotely Earth-like. All ...
Mystery of the Solar Tsunami -- Solved (w/ Video)
Nov 19, 2009 |
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(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 ...
NGC 4710 galaxy: Baffling boxy bulge (w/ Video)
Nov 18, 2009 |
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(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 ...
Ticking stellar time bomb identified (w/ Video)
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(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 ...
