New observations reveal how stardust forms around a supernova
A group of astronomers has been able to follow stardust being made in real time - during the aftermath of a supernova explosion.
Jul 9th, 2014
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NameExoWorlds: An IAU worldwide contest to name exoplanets and their host stars
For the first time, in response to the public's increased interest in being part of discoveries in astronomy, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) is organizing a worldwide contest to give popular names to selected exoplanets along with their host stars.
Jul 9th, 2014
Read moreNew technology illuminates colder objects in deep space
Researchers engineered a new technology that can detect very long wavelength infrared light.
Jul 9th, 2014
Read moreAstronomers bring the third dimension to a doomed star's outburst
In the middle of the 19th century, the massive binary system Eta Carinae underwent an eruption that ejected at least 10 times the sun's mass and made it the second-brightest star in the sky. Now, a team of astronomers has used extensive new observations to create the first high-resolution 3-D model of the expanding cloud produced by this outburst.
Jul 9th, 2014
Read morePlanet Mercury a result of early hit-and-run collisions
New simulations show that Mercury and other unusually metal-rich objects in the solar system may be relics left behind by hit-and-run collisions in the early solar system.
Jul 8th, 2014
Read moreLaboratory models suggest that stretching forces shaped Jupiter moon's surface
Processes that shaped the ridges and troughs on the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Ganymede are likely similar to tectonic processes seen on Earth, according to a team of researchers led by Southwest Research Institute. To arrive at this conclusion, the team subjected physical models made of clay to stretching forces that simulate tectonic action.
Jul 8th, 2014
Read moreThe Cassini orbiter - orbiting the icy world of Saturn for 10 years
This Methuselah among space explorers, designed to explore celestial bodies in the far reaches of the Solar System, has been circling Saturn for 10 years.
Jul 8th, 2014
Read moreCosmic accounting reveals missing light crisis
Something is amiss in the Universe. There appears to be an enormous deficit of ultraviolet light in the cosmic budget. The vast reaches of empty space between galaxies are bridged by tendrils of hydrogen and helium, which can be used as a precise 'light meter.' In a recent study a team of scientists finds that the light from known populations of galaxies and quasars is not nearly enough to explain observations of intergalactic hydrogen. The difference is a stunning 400 percent.
Jul 8th, 2014
Read moreA hotspot for powerful cosmic rays
An observatory found a 'hotspot' beneath the Big Dipper emitting a disproportionate number of the highest-energy cosmic rays. The discovery moves physics another step toward identifying the mysterious sources of the most energetic particles in the universe.
Jul 8th, 2014
Read moreSmall, but plentiful: How the faintest galaxies illuminated the early universe (w/video)
Light from tiny galaxies over 13 billion years ago played a larger role than previously thought in creating the conditions in the universe as we know it today, a new study has found.
Jul 7th, 2014
Read moreDropship offers safe landings for Mars rovers (w/video)
The dramatic conclusion to ESA's latest StarTiger project: a 'dropship' quadcopter steers itself to lower a rover gently onto a safe patch of the rocky martian surface. StarTiger's Dropter project was tasked with developing and demonstrating a European precision-landing capability for Mars and other targets.
Jul 7th, 2014
Read moreSupermassive black hole blows molecular gas out of a galaxy at 1 million km/h
Findings deepen our understanding of the future of our own galaxy, which will collide with Andromeda in 5 billion years.
Jul 7th, 2014
Read moreForecasting the development of breakthrough technologies to enable novel space missions
A new report, Technological Breakthroughs for Scientific Progress (TECHBREAK), has been published today by the European Science Foundation.
Jul 4th, 2014
Read moreVesta's rocky history
The dark material found on the protoplanet Vesta contains the mineral serpentine - and must therefore be of exogenic origin.
Jul 4th, 2014
Read moreA neutron star's unusual dance
Satellite x-ray observations reveal a neutron star with a donut-shaped magnetic field and axial wobble.
Jul 4th, 2014
Read moreFruit fly immunity fails with fungus after (space)flight
A new study suggests that normal gravity or hypergravity on the space station may help mitigate some of the biological problems in organisms living in space.
Jul 3rd, 2014
Read moreControversial clues of 2 'Goldilocks planets' that might support life are proven false
Mysteries about controversial signals from a star considered a prime target in the search for extraterrestrial life now have been solved. The research proves, for the first time, that some of the signals actually are from events inside the star itself, not from the two so-called 'Goldilocks planets', which were suspected to be just-right for life and orbiting the star at a distance where liquid water potentially could exist. No planets there, just star burps.
Jul 3rd, 2014
Read moreA young star's age can be gleamed from nothing but sound waves
Determining the age of stars has long been a challenge for astronomers. In experiments researchers show that 'infant' stars can be distinguished from 'adolescent' stars by measuring the acoustic waves they emit.
Jul 3rd, 2014
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