A star known by the unassuming name of KIC 8462852 (Tabby's star) in the constellation Cygnus has been raising eyebrows both in and outside of the scientific community for the past year. The researchers analyzed further Kepler observations of the puzzling star and showed that in addition to its rapid unexplained brightness changes, the star also faded slowly and steadily during the four years it was watched by Kepler.
Oct 3rd, 2016
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Astronomers have found a distinct structure involving spiral arms in the reservoir of gas and dust disk surrounding the young star Elias 2-27. While spiral features have been observed on the surfaces of protoplanetary disks, these new ALMA observations are the first to reveal that such spirals occur at the disk midplane, the region where planet formation takes place.
Sep 30th, 2016
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Astronomers have discovered a 'hot molecular core', a cocoon of molecules surrounding a newborn massive star, for the first time outside our Galaxy. The discovery, which marks the first important step for observational studies of extragalactic hot molecular cores and challenges the hidden chemical diversity of our universe.
Sep 29th, 2016
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Researchers have developed a new experimental Meteoric Ablation Simulator (MASI) that can help answer questions about cosmic dust and how it impacts Earth and everything on it.
Sep 27th, 2016
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Two theoretical physicists have demonstrated that what occurs on the space-time boundary of the two merging objects can be explained using simple equations, at least when a giant black hole collides with a tiny black hole.
Sep 26th, 2016
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Plants will play a critical role in the survival of human beings on long-duration space missions, such as a mission to Mars. However, as a new study shows, many challenges need to be addressed if astronauts are to successfully grow enough food on board spacecraft and on other planets.
Sep 21st, 2016
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Astronomers have discovered the power source illuminating a so-called Lyman-alpha Blob - a rare, brightly glowing, and enormous concentration of gas in the distant universe.
Sep 21st, 2016
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A new radial acceleration relation found among spiral and irregular galaxies challenges current understanding - and possibly existence - of dark matter.
Sep 21st, 2016
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Astronomers found signs of a growing planet around TW Hydra, a nearby young star. Based on the distance from the central star and the distribution of tiny dust grains, the baby planet is thought to be an icy giant, similar to Uranus and Neptune in our Solar System.
Sep 21st, 2016
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Almost imperceptible imperfections in camera sensor technology will not hold back the search for cosmic dark matter and dark energy.
Sep 16th, 2016
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The first results from the Gaia satellite, which is completing an unprecedented census of more than one billion stars in the Milky Way, are being released today to astronomers and the public.
Sep 14th, 2016
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A recent article argues that X-ray radiation coming from fast spinning black holes encompasses quantum information.
Sep 14th, 2016
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Scientists have taken a critical step towards understanding why different types of galaxies exist throughout the Universe.
Sep 14th, 2016
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New research findings explain why the universe has enough energy to become transparent. The study marks the first quantitative study of how the gas content within galaxies scales with the amount of interstellar dust.
Sep 13th, 2016
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Astronomers have created the most detailed computer simulation to date of our Milky Way galaxy's formation, from its inception billions of years ago as a loose assemblage of matter to its present-day state as a massive, spiral disk of stars.
Sep 9th, 2016
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From November 12 to 15, the Technical University of Munich will host the 'European Space Elevator Challenge' for the third time, an international competition for developing space elevator prototypes. Seven teams from Germany, India and Japan will be competing with their concepts - in the hope of laying the foundation for a revolution in astronautics.
Sep 8th, 2016
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The comet lander Philae has been found. The OSIRIS camera on board the Rosetta orbiter took the revealing images of the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. They show the landing craft lying sideways in a crevasse.
Sep 7th, 2016
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Using colors to identify the approximate ages of more than 130,000 stars in the Milky Way's halo, Notre Dame astronomers have produced the clearest picture yet of how the galaxy formed more than 13.5 billion years ago.
Sep 6th, 2016
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