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Chandra turns up black hole bonanza in galaxy next door
Using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have discovered an unprecedented bonanza of black holes in the Andromeda Galaxy, one of the nearest galaxies to the Milky Way.
June 12, 2013 Read more
New kind of variable star discovered
Minute variations in brightness reveal whole new class of stars.
June 12, 2013 Read more
Sunny super-Earth?
Researchers observed the atmosphere of super-Earth GJ3470b in Cancer for the first time in the world using two telescopes at OAO (Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, NAOJ). The observational data revealed that this planet is highly likely to not be covered by thick clouds.
June 12, 2013 Read more
Moon radiation findings may reduce health risks to astronauts
Space scientists from the University of New Hampshire and the Southwest Research Institute report that data gathered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show lighter materials like plastics provide effective shielding against the radiation hazards faced by astronauts during extended space travel. The finding could help reduce health risks to humans on future missions into deep space.
June 11, 2013 Read more
Cosmic quiver: Saturn's vibrations create spirals in rings
Astronomers know that gravity from Saturn's various moons tug at the planet's rings and make spirals in them. But the catalyst for certain spiral patterns has been difficult to pin down. Now, two Cornell astronomers have determined the source: Saturn itself.
June 11, 2013 Read more
Black hole naps amidst stellar chaos
Nearly a decade ago, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory caught signs of what appeared to be a black hole snacking on gas at the middle of the nearby Sculptor galaxy. Now, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), which sees higher-energy X-ray light, has taken a peek and found the black hole asleep.
June 11, 2013 Read more
Scientists size up universe's most lightweight dwarf galaxy
The least massive galaxy in the known universe has been measured by UC Irvine scientists, clocking in at just 1,000 or so stars with a bit of dark matter holding them together.
June 10, 2013 Read more
NASA announces 2013 Space Technology Research Grants
NASA has selected 65 graduate students as the 2013 class of Space Technology Research Fellows.
June 10, 2013 Read more
A journey to the active Sun
Four years after its first mission, the Sunrise team is preparing the balloon-borne solar observatory for a second flight.
June 7, 2013 Read more
The floodwaters of Mars
Dramatic flood events carved this impressive channel system on Mars covering 1.55 million square kilometres, shown here in a stunning new mosaic from ESA's Mars Express.
June 6, 2013 Read more
Astronomers gear up to discover Earth-like planets
As part of an international team of exoplanets hunters, astronomers at the University of Arizona are developing a technique to detect faint dust clouds around other stars, many of which might hide Earth-like planets.
June 6, 2013 Read more
'Dust trap' around distant star may solve planet formation mystery
Based on a treasure trove of recent discoveries, astronomers now know that planets are remarkably plentiful in our galaxy and may be common throughout the Universe. Though planets appear to form readily, the actual process of planet formation remains a mystery and astronomers are searching for the missing pieces to this cosmic puzzle.
June 6, 2013 Read more
NASA Chandra, Spitzer study suggests black holes abundant among the earliest stars
By comparing infrared and X-ray background signals across the same stretch of sky, an international team of astronomers has discovered evidence of a significant number of black holes that accompanied the first stars in the universe.
June 5, 2013 Read more
Hubble maps 3-D structure of ejected material around erupting star
A flash of light from a stellar outburst has been used by NASA Hubble telescope astronomers to probe for the first time the 3-D structure of material ejected by an erupting nova.
June 4, 2013 Read more
NASA's Swift produces best ultraviolet maps of the nearest galaxies (w/video)
Astronomers at NASA and Pennsylvania State University have used NASA's Swift satellite to create the most detailed ultraviolet light surveys ever of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, the two closest major galaxies.
June 4, 2013 Read more
Rare stellar alignment offers opportunity to hunt for planets
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope will have two opportunities in the next few years to hunt for Earth-sized planets around the red dwarf Proxima Centauri.
June 4, 2013 Read more
Lightest exoplanet imaged so far?
Nine years after ESO's Very Large Telescope captured the first image of an exoplanet, the planetary companion to the brown dwarf 2M1207, the same team has caught on camera what is probably the lightest of these objects so far.
June 3, 2013 Read more
On board Mars Express, in orbit around the Red Planet (w/video)
The mission that has enabled German Aerospace Center scientists to study Mars was launched 10 years ago.
June 3, 2013 Read more