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Applying machine learning to the universe's mysteries

Scientists teach machines to analyze simulations of exotic subatomic 'soup'.

Jan 30th, 2018

Astrochemists reveal the magnetic secrets of methanol

Scientists have solved an important puzzle in astrochemistry: how to measure magnetic fields in space using methanol, the simplest form of alcohol. Their results give astronomers a new way of investigating how massive stars are born.

Jan 29th, 2018

Surface explosion sets off final journey of dying star

Scientists discover supernova's ignition mechanism.

Jan 29th, 2018

Chasing dark matter with the oldest stars in the Milky Way

How an international team of researchers is constraining the speed of invisible and undetectable dark matter.

Jan 24th, 2018

Astronomers produce first detailed images of surface of giant star

An international team of astronomers has produced the first detailed images of the surface of a giant star outside our solar system, revealing a nearly circular, dust-free atmosphere with complex areas of moving material, known as convection cells or granules.

Jan 23rd, 2018

New technique for finding life on Mars

Researchers demonstrate for the first time the potential of existing technology to directly detect and characterize life on Mars and other planets.

Jan 18th, 2018

Hubble weighs in on mass of 3 million billion suns

In 2014, astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope found that this enormous galaxy cluster contains the mass of a staggering three million billion suns -- so it's little wonder that it has earned the nickname of El Gordo ('the Fat One' in Spanish).

Jan 17th, 2018

Odd behavior of star reveals lonely black hole hiding in giant star cluster

Astronomers have discovered a star in the cluster NGC 3201 that is behaving very strangely. It appears to be orbiting an invisible black hole with about four times the mass of the Sun -- the first such inactive stellar-mass black hole found in a globular cluster and the first found by directly detecting its gravitational pull.

Jan 17th, 2018

The universe up close

MUSE instrument allows deepest spectroscopic observations ever.

Jan 15th, 2018

Swarm of hydrogen clouds flying away from center of our galaxy

A team of astronomers has discovered what appears to be a grand exodus of more than 100 hydrogen clouds streaming away from the center of the Milky Way and heading into intergalactic space.

Jan 11th, 2018

Black hole breakthrough: New insight into mysterious jets

Supercomputer power enables advanced simulations of relativistic jets' behavior.

Jan 10th, 2018

Alien megastructure not the cause of dimming of the 'most mysterious star in the universe'

The mystery of Tabby's Star is so compelling that more than 1,700 people donated over $100,000 through a Kickstarter campaign in support of dedicated ground-based telescope time to observe and gather more data on the star through a network of telescopes around the world.