Observatory

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An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial and/or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Historically, observatories were as simple as containing an astronomical sextant (for measuring the distance between stars) or Stonehenge (which has some alignments on astronomical phenomena).

For more information about Observatory, read the full article at Wikipedia.
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News tagged with observatory

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Monster Waves on the Sun are Real

Monster Waves on the Sun are Real (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (20) | comments 2

Sometimes you really can believe your eyes. That's what NASA's STEREO (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory) spacecraft are telling researchers about a controversial phenomenon on the sun known as the "solar ...


Mystery of the Solar Tsunami -- Solved

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

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (27) | comments 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 ...


Carbon atmosphere discovered on neutron star

Carbon Atmosphere Discovered on Neutron Star

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (19) | comments 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 ...


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, ...


Black Holes Go 'Mano a Mano'

Black Holes Go 'Mano a Mano'

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 06, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (15) | comments 11

(PhysOrg.com) -- Two black holes in galaxy NGC 6240 are only 3,000 light years apart -- and getting closer.


New vista of Milky Way center unveiled

New Vista of Milky Way Center Unveiled

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Sep 22, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- A dramatic new vista of the center of the Milky Way galaxy from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory exposes new levels of the complexity and intrigue in the Galactic center. The mosaic of ...


gravitational wave

Galaxy-Sized Observatory for Gravitational Waves

Physics / General Physics

created Sep 17, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (13) | comments 14

(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers are making plans to create a galaxy-sized observatory to look for gravitational waves. The project is part of a joint effort with astronomers from Australia and Europe, who also ...


Planck first light yields promising results

Planck first light yields promising results (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Sep 17, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (11) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Planck, ESA's mission to study the early Universe, started surveying the sky regularly from its vantage point at L2 on 13 August. The instruments of ESA's 'time machine' were fine-tuned for ...


Astronomers find coldest, driest, calmest place on Earth

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Aug 31, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (42) | comments 19

The search for the best observatory site in the world has lead to the discovery of what is thought to be the coldest, driest, calmest place on Earth. No human is thought to have ever been there but it is expected to yield ...


Trifid triple threat

Trifid triple threat

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Aug 26, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (5) | comments 8

Smouldering several thousand light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer), the Trifid Nebula presents a compelling portrait of the early stages of a star's life, from gestation to first ...


Double engine for a nebula

Double engine for a nebula

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Aug 05, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (9) | comments 8

(PhysOrg.com) -- The new image, showing a very rich field of stars towards the Carina arm of the Milky Way, is centred on the star HD 87643, a member of the exotic class of B[e] stars [1]. It is part of a ...


A plume on Betelgeuse (artist’s impression with annotations)

Sharpest views of Betelgeuse reveal how supergiant stars lose mass

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Jul 29, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (31) | comments 78

(PhysOrg.com) -- Betelgeuse -- the second brightest star in the constellation of Orion (the Hunter) -- is a red supergiant, one of the biggest stars known, and almost 1000 times larger than our Sun. It is ...


Fermi Telescope reveals a population of radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsars

Fermi Telescope reveals a population of radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsars

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Jul 02, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (10) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new class of pulsars detected by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is solving the mystery of previously unidentified gamma-ray sources and helping scientists understand the mechanisms ...


The cosmos is green: Researchers catch nature in the act of 'recycling' a star

The cosmos is green: Researchers catch nature in the act of 'recycling' a star (w/Animations)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created May 21, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (17) | comments 12

(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, researchers have observed a singular cosmic act of rebirth: the transformation of an ordinary, slow-rotating pulsar into a superfast millisecond pulsar with an almost infinitely ...


World's observatories watching 'cool' star

World's observatories watching 'cool' star

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created May 15, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (18) | comments 3

The Whole Earth Telescope (WET), a worldwide network of observatories coordinated by the University of Delaware, is synchronizing its lenses to provide round-the-clock coverage of a cooling star. As the star ...