ScienceDaily: Astrophysics News

Galaxy's 'burning ring of fire' is frenetic region of star formation

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:53:53 EDT

Johnny Cash may have preferred this galaxy's burning ring of fire to the one he sang about falling into in his popular song. The "starburst ring" seen at center of a new image in red and yellow hues is not the product of love, as in the song, but is instead a frenetic region of star formation. The galaxy, a spiral beauty called Messier 94, is located about 17 million light-years away.

New method proposed for detecting gravitational waves from ends of universe

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:17:17 EDT

A new window into the nature of the universe may be possible with a device proposed by scientists that would detect elusive gravity waves from the other end of the cosmos.

South Africa's new radio telescope reveals giant outbursts from binary star system

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:52:52 EDT

An international team of astronomers have reported the first scientific results from the Karoo Array Telescope (KAT-7) in South Africa.

NASA completes first part of Webb Telescope's 'eye surgery' operation

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:52:52 EDT

Much like the inside of an operating room, in the clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., engineers worked meticulously to implant part of the eyes of the James Webb Space Telescope. They scrubbed up and suited up to perform one of the most delicate performances of their lives. That part of the eyes, the MIRI, or Mid-Infrared Instrument, will glimpse the formation of galaxies and see deeper into the universe than ever before.

Black hole powered jets plow into galaxy

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:14:14 EDT

The intense gravity of a supermassive black hole can be tapped to produce immense power in the form of jets moving at millions of miles per hour.

Orion's hidden fiery ribbon

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:52:52 EDT

A dramatic new image of cosmic clouds in the constellation of Orion reveals what seems to be a fiery ribbon in the sky. This orange glow represents faint light coming from grains of cold interstellar dust, at wavelengths too long for human eyes to see.

Hubble tells a tale of galactic collisions

Sun, 12 May 2013 14:53:53 EDT

When we look into the distant cosmos, the great majority of the objects we see are galaxies: immense gatherings of stars, planets, gas, dust, and dark matter, showing up in all kind of shapes. A new Hubble picture registers several, but the galaxy catalogued as 2MASX J05210136-2521450 stands out at a glance due to its interesting shape.

Dead stars 'polluted' with planetary debris: Signs of Earth-like planets found

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:36:36 EDT

Astronomers have found signs of Earth-like planets in an unlikely place: the atmospheres of a pair of burnt-out stars in a nearby star cluster. The white dwarf stars are being polluted by debris from asteroid-like objects falling onto them. This discovery suggests that rocky planet assembly is common in clusters, say researchers.

Exotic atoms hold clues to unsolved physics puzzle at the dawn of the universe

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:21:21 EDT

An international team of physicists has found the first direct evidence of pear shaped nuclei in exotic atoms. The findings could advance the search for a new fundamental force in nature that could explain why the Big Bang created more matter than antimatter -- a pivotal imbalance in the history of everything.

Astronomers discover surprising clutch of hydrogen clouds lurking among our galactic neighbors

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:17:17 EDT

In a dark, starless patch of intergalactic space, astronomers have discovered a never-before-seen cluster of hydrogen clouds strewn between two nearby galaxies, Andromeda (M31) and Triangulum (M33). The researchers speculate that these rarefied blobs of gas -- each about as massive as a dwarf galaxy -- condensed out of a vast and as-yet undetected reservoir of hot, ionized gas, which could have accompanied an otherwise invisible band of dark matter.

Milky Way black hole snacks on hot gas

Tue, 07 May 2013 20:15:15 EDT

The Herschel space observatory has made detailed observations of surprisingly hot gas that may be orbiting or falling towards the supermassive black hole lurking at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

Hubble sees the remains of a star gone supernova

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:16:16 EDT

A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows delicate wisps of gas that make up an object known as SNR B0519-69.0, or SNR 0519 for short. The thin, blood-red shells are actually the remnants from when an unstable progenitor star exploded violently as a supernova around 600 years ago. There are several types of supernovae, but for SNR 0519 the star that exploded is known to have been a white dwarf star -- a Sun-like star in the final stages of its life.

New kind of cosmic flash may reveal birth of a black hole

Fri, 03 May 2013 23:04:04 EDT

According to an astrophysicist, a new kind of cosmic flash may reveal something never seen before: the birth of a black hole.

Hubble sees the remains of a star gone supernova

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:15:15 EDT

These delicate wisps of gas make up an object known as SNR B0519-69.0, or SNR 0519 for short. The thin, blood-red shells are actually the remnants from when an unstable progenitor star exploded violently as a supernova around 600 years ago. There are several types of supernovae, but for SNR 0519 the star that exploded is known to have been a white dwarf star -- a sun-like star in the final stages of its life.

'Shockingly bright' burst of gamma rays from dying star in distant galaxy

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:15:15 EDT

A record-setting blast of gamma rays from a dying star in a distant galaxy has wowed astronomers around the world. The eruption, which is classified as a gamma-ray burst, or GRB, and designated GRB 130427A, produced the highest-energy light ever detected from such an event.

New dark matter detector begins its search

Thu, 02 May 2013 18:53:53 EDT

Scientists heard their first pops this week in an experiment that searches for signs of dark matter in the form of tiny bubbles. Scientists will need further analysis to discern whether dark matter caused any of the COUPP-60 experiment’s first bubbles at the SNOLAB underground science laboratory.

An anarchic region of star formation

Thu, 02 May 2013 08:22:22 EDT

The Danish 1.54-meter telescope located at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in Chile has captured a striking image of NGC 6559, an object that showcases the anarchy that reigns when stars form inside an interstellar cloud.

Colossal hot cloud envelopes colliding galaxies

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:15:15 EDT

Scientists have completed a detailed study of an enormous cloud of hot gas enveloping two large, colliding galaxies. This unusually large reservoir of gas contains as much mass as 10 billion Suns, spans about 300,000 light years, and radiates at a temperature of more than 7 million degrees.

Deep, detailed image of distant universe

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:59:59 EDT

Staring at a small patch of sky for more than 50 hours with the ultra-sensitive Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), astronomers have for the first time identified discrete sources that account for nearly all the radio waves coming from distant galaxies. They found that about 63 percent of the background radio emission comes from galaxies with gorging black holes at their cores and the remaining 37 percent comes from galaxies that are rapidly forming stars.

Herschel completes its 'cool' journey in space

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:24:24 EDT

The Herschel observatory, a European space telescope for which NASA helped build instruments and process data, has stopped making observations after running out of liquid coolant as expected. The European Space Agency mission, launched almost four years ago, revealed the universe's "coolest" secrets by observing the frigid side of planet, star and galaxy formation.

Astronomer studies far-off worlds through 'characterization by proxy'

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:46:46 EDT

An astronomer is using Earth's interstellar neighbors to learn the nature of certain stars too far away to be directly measured or observed, and the planets they may host.

Entire galaxies feel the heat from newborn stars: Bursts of star birth can curtail future galaxy growth

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:33:33 EDT

Astronomers have shown for the first time that bursts of star formation have a major impact far beyond the boundaries of their host galaxy. These energetic events can affect galactic gas at distances of up to twenty times greater than the visible size of the galaxy -- altering how the galaxy evolves, and how matter and energy is spread throughout the Universe.

Mysterious hot spots observed in cool red supergiant

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:24:24 EDT

Astronomers have released a new image of the outer atmosphere of Betelgeuse – one of the nearest red supergiants to Earth – revealing the detailed structure of the matter being thrown off the star.

Galaxy goes green in burning stellar fuel

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:37:37 EDT

Astronomers have spotted the "greenest" of galaxies, one that converts fuel into stars with almost 100-percent efficiency. The findings come from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the IRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer in the French Alps.

Jupiter's atmosphere still contains water supplied by the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impact

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:23:23 EDT

Researchers are reporting Herschel observations of water in Jupiter's stratosphere. It is a clear remnant of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impact on Jupiter nearly 20 years ago.

Using black holes to measure the universe's rate of expansion

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:30:30 EDT

Scientists have developed a method that uses black holes to measure distances of billions of light years with a high degree of accuracy. The ability to measure these distances will allow scientists to see further into the past of the universe than ever before.

Grains of sand from ancient supernova found in meteorites: Supernova may have been the one that triggered the formation of the solar system

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:12:12 EDT

Scientists have discovered two tiny grains of silica (SiO2; the most common constituent of sand) in meteorites that fell to earth in Antarctica. Because of their isotopic composition these two grains are thought to be pure samples from a massive star that exploded before the birth of the solar system, perhaps the supernova whose explosion is thought to have triggered the collapse of a giant molecular cloud, giving birth to the Sun.

Hubble sees a unique cluster: One of the hidden 15

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:13:13 EDT

Palomar 2 is part of a group of 15 globulars known as the Palomar clusters. These clusters, as the name suggests, were discovered in survey plates from the first Palomar Observatory Sky Survey in the 1950s, a project that involved some of the most well-known astronomers of the day, including Edwin Hubble. They were discovered quite late because they are so faint -- each is either extremely remote, very heavily hidden behind blankets of dust, or has a very small number of remaining stars.

NASA's Hubble sees a horsehead of a different color

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 09:41:41 EDT

Astronomers have used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to photograph the iconic Horsehead Nebula in a new, infrared light.

Three super-Earth-size planets found in 'habitable zone'

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:29:29 EDT

NASA's Kepler mission has discovered two new planetary systems that include three super-Earth-size planets in the "habitable zone," the range of distance from a star where the surface temperature of an orbiting planet might be suitable for liquid water. The Kepler-62 system has five planets; 62b, 62c, 62d, 62e and 62f. The Kepler-69 system has two planets; 69b and 69c. Kepler-62e, 62f and 69c are the super-Earth-sized planets.

New techniques allow discovery of smallest super-Earth exoplanets

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:24:24 EDT

New research has perhaps the smallest super-earth planet in its host star habitable zone. Kepler 62f is a small, probably rocky planet orbiting a sun-like star in the Lyra constellation. The planet is about 1.4 times the size of Earth, receives about half as much solar flux, or heat and radiation, as Earth and circles its star in 267.3 (Earth) days.

New Earth-like planets found orbiting a Sun-like star

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:09:09 EDT

A team of scientists has discovered two Earth-like planets in the habitable orbit of a Sun-like star. Using observations gathered by NASA's Kepler Mission, the team found five planets orbiting a Sun-like star called Kepler-62. Four of these planets are so-called super-Earths, larger than our own planet, but smaller than even the smallest ice giant planet in our Solar System. These new super-Earths have radii of 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, and 1.9 times that of Earth. In addition, one of the five was a roughly Mars-sized planet, half the size of Earth.

Distant blazar is a high-energy astrophysics puzzle

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:57:57 EDT

Blazars are the brightest of active galactic nuclei, and many emit very high-energy gamma rays. New observations of the blazar known as PKS 1424+240 show that it is the most distant known source of very high-energy gamma rays, but its emission spectrum now appears highly unusual in light of the new data.

X-ray view of a thousand-year-old cosmic tapestry

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:50:50 EDT

A long Chandra observation reveals the SN 1006 supernova remnant in exquisite detail. By overlapping 10 different pointings of Chandra's field-of-view, astronomers have stitched together a cosmic tapestry of the debris field that was created when a white dwarf star exploded, sending its material hurtling into space as seen from Earth over a millennium ago. In this new Chandra image, low, medium, and higher-energy X-rays are colored red, green, and blue respectively.

Astronomers discover massive star factory in early universe

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:49:49 EDT

A team of astronomers has discovered a dust-filled, massive galaxy churning out stars when the cosmos was a mere 880 million years old -- making it the earliest starburst galaxy ever observed.

SOFIA observations reveal a surprise in massive star formation

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:25:25 EDT

Researchers using the airborne Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) have captured the most detailed mid-infrared images yet of a massive star condensing within a dense cocoon of dust and gas.

Massive galaxy had intense burst of star formation when universe was only 6 percent of current age

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:18:18 EDT

Astronomers find the most prolific star factory yet seen, in a far-distant galaxy that reveals important information about the cosmic environment in the early history of the Universe.

ALMA telescope pinpoints early galaxies at record speed

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:20:20 EDT

Astronomers have used the new ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) telescope to pinpoint the locations of over 100 of the most fertile star-forming galaxies in the early Universe.

NASA's Wind mission encounters 'SLAMS' waves

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:00:00 EDT

To tease out what happens at that boundary of the magnetosphere and to better understand how radiation and energy from the sun can cross it and move closer to Earth, NASA launches spacecraft into this region to observe the changing conditions. From 1998 to 2002, NASA's Wind spacecraft traveled through this foreshock region in front of Earth 17 times, providing new information about the physics there.

Dying supergiant stars implicated in hours-long gamma-ray bursts

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:00:00 EDT

Three unusually long-lasting stellar explosions discovered by NASA's Swift satellite represent a previously unrecognized class of gamma-ray bursts. Two international teams of astronomers studying these events conclude that they likely arose from the catastrophic death of supergiant stars hundreds of times larger than the sun.

Strange new bursts of gamma rays point to a new way to destroy a star

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:47:47 EDT

Scientists have pinpointed a new type of exceptionally powerful and long-lived cosmic explosion, prompting a theory that they arise in the violent death throes of a supergiant star.

NASA-funded asteroid tracking sensor passes key test

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:38:38 EDT

An infrared sensor that could improve NASA's future detecting and tracking of asteroids and comets has passed a critical design test.

Discovery of a blue supergiant star born in the wild

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:42:42 EDT

Astronomers have discovered a blue supergiant star located far beyond our Milky Way Galaxy in the constellation Virgo. Over 55 million years ago, the star emerged in an extremely wild environment, surrounded by intensely hot plasma (a million degrees centigrade) and amidst raging cyclone winds blowing at four million kilometers per hour.

Ghostly green bubble: Detailed image of planetary nebula

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:27:27 EDT

An intriguing new picture shows the glowing green planetary nebula IC 1295 surrounding a dim and dying star located about 3300 light-years away in the constellation of Scutum (The Shield). This is the most detailed picture of this object ever taken.

Dark lightning: Are airplane passengers exposed to radiation from intense bursts of gamma-rays from thunderclouds?

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:27:27 EDT

Scientists have known for almost a decade that thunderstorms are capable of generating brief but powerful bursts of gamma-rays called terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, or TGFs. Because they can originate near the same altitudes at which commercial aircraft routinely fly, scientists have been trying to determine whether or not terrestrial gamma ray flashes present a radiation hazard to individuals in aircraft. In the middle of the storm, radiation doses could be roughly equal to a full-body CT scan, preliminary research suggests.

'Post-mortem' yields insight into Kepler's supernova

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:46:46 EDT

An exploding star observed in 1604 by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler held a greater fraction of heavy elements than the sun, according to an analysis of X-ray observations from the Japan-led Suzaku satellite. The findings will help astronomers better understand the diversity of type Ia supernovae, an important class of stellar explosion used in probing the distant universe.

NASA selects Explorer investigations for formulation

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 05:52:52 EDT

NASA's Astrophysics Explorer Program has selected two missions for launch in 2017: a planet-hunting satellite and an International Space Station instrument to observe X-rays from stars.

TESS project will launch telescopes to perform full-sky search for transiting exoplanets

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 05:50:50 EDT

NASA has selected the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) project for a planned launch in 2017. The $200 million project will use an array of wide-field cameras to perform an all-sky survey to discover transiting exoplanets, ranging from Earth-sized planets to gas giants, in orbit around the brightest stars in the sun's neighborhood.

NASA taps the power of zombie stars in two-in-one instrument

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 03:53:53 EDT

Neutron stars have been called the zombies of the cosmos. They shine even though they're technically dead, occasionally feeding on neighboring stars if they venture too close. Interestingly, these unusual objects, born when a massive star extinguishes its fuel and collapses under its own gravity, also may help future space travelers navigate to Mars and other distant destinations. NASA recently selected a new mission called the Neutron-star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) to not only reveal the physics that make neutron stars the densest objects in nature, but also to demonstrate a groundbreaking navigation technology that could revolutionize the agency's ability to travel to the far reaches of the solar system and beyond.

Hubble sees light and dust in a nearby starburst galaxy

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:39:39 EDT

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken an image of a small, sparkling hook in the dark sky -- a beautiful object is known as J082354.96+280621.6, or J082354.96 for short. It is a starburst galaxy, so named because of the incredibly (and unusually) high rate of star formation occurring within it.

Dead star warps light of companion red star, astronomers say

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:47:47 EDT

Astronomers have observed the effects of a dead star bending the light of its companion red star. The findings are among the first detections of this effect -- a result predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity -- in binary, or double, star systems.

Listening to the Big Bang -- in high fidelity

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:01:01 EDT

Physicist have updated the decade-old re-creation of the sound of the Big Bang that started the universe.

Rocket powered by nuclear fusion could send humans to Mars

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:52:52 EDT

Scientists are building components of a fusion-powered rocket aimed to clear many of the hurdles that block deep space travel, including long times in transit, exorbitant costs and health risks.

Hubble breaks record in search for farthest supernova

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:45:45 EDT

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has found the farthest supernova so far of the type used to measure cosmic distances. Supernova UDS10Wil, nicknamed SN Wilson after American President Woodrow Wilson, exploded more than 10 billion years ago.

Green Pea galaxies could help astronomers understand early universe

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:14:14 EDT

The rare Green Pea galaxies discovered by the general public in 2007 could help confirm astronomers' understanding of reionization, a pivotal stage in the evolution of the early universe.

Search for dark matter: Experiment measures antimatter excess in cosmic ray flux

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:53:53 EDT

The international team running the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) today announced the first results in its search for dark matter. They report the observation of an excess of positrons in the cosmic ray flux. The results are consistent with the positrons originating from the annihilation of dark matter particles in space, but not yet sufficiently conclusive to rule out other explanations.

Taken under the 'wing' of the small magellanic cloud: First detection of X-ray emission from young stars with masses similar to our Sun outside our Milky Way galaxy

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:42:42 EDT

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is one of the Milky Way's closest galactic neighbors. In fact, it was so bright that many navigators used this object to make their way across the oceans. A new composite image shows this galaxy like Ferdinand Magellan, who lends his name to the SMC, could never have imagined. New Chandra data of the SMC have provided the first detection of X-ray emission from young stars with masses similar to our Sun outside our Milky Way galaxy.

New insights on how spiral galaxies get their arms

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:48:48 EDT

Spiral galaxies are some of the most beautiful and photogenic residents of the universe. Our own Milky Way is a spiral. Our solar system and Earth reside somewhere near one of its filamentous arms. And nearly 70 percent of the galaxies closest to the Milky Way are spirals. But despite their common shape, how galaxies like ours get and maintain their characteristic arms has proved to be an enduring puzzle in astrophysics.

Hubble sees J 900 masquerading as a double star

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:19:19 EDT

A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows Jonckheere 900 or J 900, a planetary nebula -- glowing shells of ionized gas pushed out by a dying star. Discovered in the early 1900s by astronomer Robert Jonckheere, the dusty nebula is small but fairly bright, with a relatively evenly spread central region surrounded by soft wispy edges.

Supernova remnant 1987A continues to reveal its secrets

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:28:28 EDT

A team of astronomers has succeeded in observing the death throes of a giant star in unprecedented detail. In February of 1987, astronomers observing the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby dwarf galaxy, noticed the sudden appearance of what looked like a new star. In fact they weren't watching the beginnings of a star but the end of one and the brightest supernova seen from Earth in the four centuries since the telescope was invented. By the next morning news of the discovery had spread across the globe and southern hemisphere stargazers began watching the aftermath of this enormous stellar explosion, known as a supernova.