What looked at first like a sort of upside-down planet has instead revealed a new method for studying binary star systems, discovered by a University of Washington student astronomer.
Apr 22nd, 2014
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Mysteries of one of the most fascinating nearby planetary systems now have been solved. The study presents the first viable model for the planetary system orbiting one the first stars discovered to have planets.
Apr 22nd, 2014
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Ancient Earth might have had an extraterrestrial supply of vitamin B3 delivered by carbon-rich meteorites, according to a new analysis by researchers. The result supports a theory that the origin of life may have been assisted by a supply of key molecules created in space and brought to Earth by comet and meteor impacts.
Apr 17th, 2014
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Like a balloon bobbing along in the air while tied to a child's hand, a tracer has been found in the sun's atmosphere to help track the flow of material coursing underneath the sun's surface.
Apr 17th, 2014
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Using NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered the first Earth-size planet orbiting a star in the 'habitable zone' - the range of distance from a star where liquid water might pool on the surface of an orbiting planet. The discovery of Kepler-186f confirms that planets the size of Earth exist in the habitable zone of stars other than our sun.
Apr 17th, 2014
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Geologists analyzed 40 meteorites that fell to Earth from Mars to understand the history of the Martian atmosphere. They show the atmospheres of Mars and Earth diverged in important ways early in the solar system's 4.6 billion year evolution.
Apr 17th, 2014
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This new image from ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile reveals a cloud of hydrogen called Gum 41. In the middle of this little-known nebula, brilliant hot young stars are giving off energetic radiation that causes the surrounding hydrogen to glow with a characteristic red hue.
Apr 16th, 2014
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A fluctuating tilt in a planet's orbit does not preclude the possibility of life, according to new research. In fact, sometimes it helps.
Apr 15th, 2014
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People around the world are being invited to learn how to hunt for planets, using two new online apps devised by scientists at the University of Texas at Austin and UC Santa Cruz.
Apr 15th, 2014
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Much like an environment influences people, so too do cosmic communities affect even giant dazzling stars: Peering deep into the Milky Way galaxy's center from a high-flying observatory, astronomers have discovered identical, rare stars whose diverging dusty and gaseous garb are strictly influenced by an intrusive cluster of neighbors.
Apr 14th, 2014
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NASA's Cassini spacecraft has documented the formation of a small icy object within the rings of Saturn that may be a new moon, and may also provide clues to the formation of the planet's known moons.
Apr 14th, 2014
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Researchers use supercomputers to understand and predict signs of black holes swallowing stars.
Apr 14th, 2014
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Researchers develop a model to reconstruct spatial structure of molecule clouds.
Apr 10th, 2014
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Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers now can precisely measure the distance of stars up to 10,000 light-years away - 10 times farther than previously possible.
Apr 10th, 2014
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Evidence for an ancient Lake Gusev on Mars has come and gone several times. That lake is looking pretty good today, thanks to new research.
Apr 10th, 2014
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NASA is seeking proposals for the development of new, more capable, energy storage technologies to replace the battery technology that has long powered America's space program.
Apr 9th, 2014
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Created when an aging star blew off its outer layers, planetary nebula PN A66 33 is, by chance, aligned with a foreground star, and bears an uncanny resemblance to a diamond engagement ring. This cosmic gem is unusually symmetric, appearing to be almost circular on the sky.
Apr 9th, 2014
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An unusual structure with a hexagonal shape surrounding Saturn's north pole was spotted on the planet for the first time thirty years ago. Nothing similar with such a regular geometry had ever been seen on any planet in the Solar System.
Apr 8th, 2014
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