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Study calls into question theories on pulsar phenomena
Researchers have cast doubt over established explanations for certain behaviours in pulsars - highly magnetised rotating neutron stars, formed from the remains of supernovae.
Posted: Jul 3rd, 2017
Read moreUnder pressure - Extreme atmosphere stripping may limit exoplanets' habitability
New models of massive stellar eruptions hint at an extra layer of complexity when considering whether an exoplanet may be habitable or not. Models developed for our own Sun have now been applied to cool stars favoured by exoplanet hunters.
Posted: Jul 3rd, 2017
Read moreNeutron stars could be our GPS for deep space travel
NASA's Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer, or NICER will study the exotic astrophysical objects known as neutron stars and examine whether they could be used as deep-space navigation beacons for future generations of spacecraft.
Posted: Jun 30th, 2017
Read moreThe Bee-Zed asteroid orbits in the opposite direction to planets
The asteroid makes a complete circuit around the Sun every 12 years, corresponding with the orbital period of Jupiter, which shares its orbit but travels in the opposite direction.
Posted: Jun 28th, 2017
Read moreGroundbreaking discovery confirms existence of orbiting supermassive black holes
For the first time ever, astronomers say they've been able to observe and measure the orbital motion between two supermassive black holes hundreds of millions of light years from Earth - a discovery more than a decade in the making.
Posted: Jun 27th, 2017
Read moreNeutrinos as drivers of supernovae
Radioactive elements in gaseous supernova remnant Cassiopeia A provide glimpses into the explosion of massive stars.
Posted: Jun 26th, 2017
Read moreMagnetic memories of a metal world
Research deciphering the hidden magnetic messages encoded in a rare group of meteorites has helped secure nearly half a billion dollars of NASA funding for a journey to their parent asteroid.
Posted: Jun 22nd, 2017
Read moreThe curious case of the warped Kuiper Belt
The plane of the solar system is warped in the outer reaches of the Kuiper Belt, signaling the presence of an unknown Mars-to-Earth-mass planetary object far beyond Pluto.
Posted: Jun 22nd, 2017
Read moreHubble captures massive dead disk galaxy that challenges theories of galaxy evolution
By combining the power of a 'natural lens' in space with the capability of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers made a surprising discovery - the first example of a compact yet massive, fast-spinning, disk-shaped galaxy that stopped making stars only a few billion years after the big bang.
Posted: Jun 21st, 2017
Read moreOur expanding universe: Delving into dark energy
Space is expanding ever more rapidly and scientists are researching dark energy to understand why.
Posted: Jun 21st, 2017
Read moreNew branch in family tree of exoplanets discovered
In a new study, researchers have classified exoplanets in much the same way that biologists identify new animal species.
Posted: Jun 19th, 2017
Read moreRadio astronomers peer deep into the stellar nursery of the Orion Nebula
Astronomers release image of 50-light-year long filament of star-forming gas in the stellar nursery of the Orion Nebula.
Posted: Jun 15th, 2017
Read moreChaotically magnetized cloud is no place to build a star, or is it?
For decades, scientists thought that the magnetic field lines coursing around newly forming stars were both powerful and unyielding, working like jail bars to corral star-forming material. More recently, astronomers have found tantalizing evidence that large-scale turbulence far from a nascent star can drag magnetic fields around at will.
Posted: Jun 14th, 2017
Read moreScientists make waves with black hole research (w/video)
Scientists have made a significant leap forward in understanding the workings of one of the mysteries of the universe. They have successfully simulated the conditions around black holes using a specially designed water bath.
Posted: Jun 14th, 2017
Read moreA most detailed view into distant stellar nurseries (w/video)
An international team discovered almost 11,000 galaxies over an area equivalent to about nine full moons. Thanks to these unique data the life cycle of galaxies over the past 13 billion years could be reconstructed.
Posted: Jun 14th, 2017
Read moreResearchers advocate statistical approach to search for Earth-like planets
A team of astronomers seeks to change the way scientists approach the search for Earth-like planets orbiting stars other than the sun. They favor taking a statistical comparative approach in seeking habitable planets and life beyond the solar system.
Posted: Jun 14th, 2017
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