News tagged with light stars

Do black holes help stars form?

(PhysOrg.com) -- The center of just about every galaxy is thought to host a black hole, some with masses of thousands of millions of Suns and consequently strong gravitational pulls that disrupt material around ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Feb 03, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Elements of ExoPlanets

By looking at the wavelengths of light from nearby stars, researchers have determined the abundance of certain elements for more than a hundred stars. Trace elements in such stars may influence their habitable ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Feb 02, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (8) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

The Helix Nebula in new colors

(PhysOrg.com) -- ESO's VISTA telescope, at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, has captured a striking new image of the Helix Nebula. This picture, taken in infrared light, reveals strands of cold nebular gas ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Jan 19, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Gaseous ring around young star raises questions

(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers have detected a mysterious ring of carbon monoxide gas around the young star V1052 Cen, which is about 700 light years away in the southern constellation Centaurus. The ring is ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Jan 19, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (12) | comments 34 | with audio podcast

Why does Sirius twinkle?

At this time of year, after dark we in the northern hemisphere are able to see the mighty constellation of Orion rise high in the sky with a very bright companion in a nearby constellation: Sirius – The ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Jan 17, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 10

Discovery of three smallest exoplanets: The Barnard's star connection

The discovery of the three smallest planets yet orbiting a distant star, which was announced today at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society, has an unusual connection to Barnard's star, one ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Jan 11, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Rare ultra-blue stars found in neighboring galaxy's hub

(PhysOrg.com) -- Peering deep inside the hub of the neighboring Andromeda galaxy, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a large, rare population of hot, bright stars.

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Jan 11, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Planetary professor shows what alien sunset really looks like

(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the great things about science is how so many people are able to use their imagination to conjure ideas, concepts or in some cases actual images of things in their mind, and then to ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jan 11, 2012 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (9) | comments 5 | with audio podcast report

Stars pop onto the scene in new WISE image

(PhysOrg.com) -- This enormous section of the Milky Way galaxy is a mosaic of images from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The constellations Cassiopeia and Cepheus are featured in this ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Jan 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 2

A universal law for star formation

(PhysOrg.com) -- Star formation is studied by astronomers not only because it produces new stars and planetary systems. It also generates copious amounts of ultraviolet light that heats dust which in turn ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Jan 09, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Through hardship to the stars

"Humanity's adventurous, stubborn, mad and glorious aspiration to reach the stars" is the subject of Physics World's lead feature in January.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jan 04, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (10) | comments 3

How to see the best meteor showers of 2012: Tools, tips and 'save the dates'

(PhysOrg.com) -- Whether you're watching from a downtown area or the dark countryside, here are some tips to help you enjoy these celestial shows of shooting stars. Those streaks of light are really caused ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jan 02, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (15) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

GOP wins battle of the bulb

Congress has dodged a government shutdown, agreeing to a $1 trillion spending bill that features a variety of rare compromises. Both Democrats and Republicans won some concessions, and it's too early to say who came out on ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Dec 26, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 58

The earliest stars in the Universe

(PhysOrg.com) -- Matter in the universe after the big bang consisted almost entirely of hydrogen and helium atoms. Only later, after undergoing fusion reactions in the nuclear furnaces of stars, did these ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 19, 2011 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (10) | comments 15 | with audio podcast

Hot cores in dark clouds

(PhysOrg.com) -- The earliest stages in the life of a star are among the most mysterious. This is primarily because stars form inside dark clouds of material that block optical light, and because they form ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 06, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast