ScienceDaily: Cosmology News

Cosmic swirly straws: Galaxies fed by funnels of fuel

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:48:48 EDT

Computer simulations of galaxies growing over billions of years have revealed a likely scenario for how they feed: a cosmic version of swirly straws. The results show that cold gas -- fuel for stars -- spirals into the cores of galaxies along filaments, rapidly making its way to their "guts." Once there, the gas is converted into new stars, and the galaxies bulk up in mass.

Detection of the cosmic gamma ray horizon: Measures all the light in the universe since the Big Bang

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:46:46 EDT

Radiation from all galaxies that ever existed suffuses the universe with a diffuse extragalactic background light (EBL). Measuring the EBL is as fundamental to cosmology as measuring heat from the Big Bang (cosmic microwave background) at radio wavelengths. Researchers describe the best measurement yet of the evolution of the EBL over the past 5 billion years, based on observations from radio waves to gamma rays from NASA spacecraft and ground-based telescopes.

Fragile mega-galaxy is missing link in history of cosmos

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:11:11 EDT

Two hungry young galaxies that collided 11 billion years ago are rapidly forming a massive galaxy about 10 times the size of the Milky Way, according to new research.

NASA launching experiment to examine the beginnings of the universe

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:40:40 EDT

When did the first stars and galaxies form in the universe? How brightly did they burn their nuclear fuel? Scientists will seek to gain answers to these questions with the launch of the Cosmic Infrared Background ExpeRIment (CIBER) on a Black Brant XII suborbital sounding rocket between 11 and 11:59 p.m. EDT, June 4 from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

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.

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.

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.

First biological evidence of a supernova

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:30:30 EDT

In fossil remnants of bacteria, researchers have found a radioactive iron isotope that they trace back to a supernova in our cosmic neighborhood. This is the first proven biological signature of a starburst. An age determination showed that the supernova must have occurred about 2.2 million years ago, roughly around the time when the modern human developed.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

'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.

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.

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.

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 digs up galactic glow worm

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 09:51:51 EDT

The image of a charming and bright galaxy, known as IRAS 23436+5257, was captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. It is located in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia, which is named after an arrogant, vain, and yet beautiful mythical queen.

'Sideline quasars' helped to stifle early galaxy formation

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 11:10:10 EDT

Astronomers targeting one of the brightest quasars glowing in the universe some 11 billion years ago say "sideline quasars" likely teamed up with it to heat abundant helium gas billions of years ago, preventing small galaxy formation.

Best map ever made of universe's oldest light: Planck mission brings universe into sharp focus

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 08:42:42 EDT

The Planck space mission has released the most accurate and detailed map ever made of the oldest light in the universe, revealing new information about its age, contents and origins.

Famous supernova reveals clues about crucial cosmic distance markers

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:11:11 EDT

A new study using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory points to the origin of a famous supernova. This supernova, discovered in 1604 by Johannes Kepler, belongs to an important class of objects that are used to measure the rate of expansion of the Universe.

Life in the universe: Foundations of carbon-based life leave little room for error

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:23:23 EDT

Life as we know it is based upon the elements of carbon and oxygen. Now a team of physicists is looking at the conditions necessary to the formation of those two elements in the universe. They've found that when it comes to supporting life, the universe leaves very little margin for error.

'Monster' starburst galaxies discovered in early universe

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:25:25 EDT

Astronomers have discovered starburst galaxies earlier in the Universe's history than they were previously thought to have existed. These newly discovered galaxies represent what today's most massive galaxies looked like in their energetic, star-forming youth.

Rewriting history of Universe's stellar baby boom: Ancient, highly active galaxies discovered

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:25:25 EDT

New observations show that the most vigorous bursts of star birth in the cosmos took place much earlier than previously thought.

Astronomers discover extremely rare triple quasar

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:25:25 EDT

For only the second time in history, astronomers have discovered an extremely rare triple quasar system. Quasars are extremely bright and powerful sources of energy that sit in the center of a galaxy, surrounding a black hole. In systems with multiple quasars, the bodies are held together by gravity and are believed to be the product of galaxies colliding.

Hubble finds 'birth certificate' of oldest known star

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:51:51 EST

Astronomers have taken an important step closer to finding the birth certificate of a star that's been around for a very long time. The star could be as old as 14.5 billion years (plus or minus 0.8 billion years), which at first glance would make it older than the universe's calculated age of about 13.8 billion years, an obvious dilemma.

Universe measured more accurately than ever before: New results pin down distance to galaxy next door

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:40:40 EST

After nearly a decade of careful observations astronomers have measured the distance to our neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, more accurately than ever before. This new measurement also improves our knowledge of the rate of expansion of the Universe — the Hubble Constant — and is a crucial step towards understanding the nature of the mysterious dark energy that is causing the expansion to accelerate.

Herschel space observatory to complete its mission soon

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:17:17 EST

The Herschel space observatory is expected to exhaust its supply of liquid helium coolant in the coming weeks, after spending more than three years studying the cool universe and surpassing the expectations of the international team of scientists involved.

Gravitational telescope creates space invader mirage

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 10:09:09 EST

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most powerful available to astronomers, but sometimes it too needs a helping hand. This comes in the form of Einstein's general theory of relativity, which makes galaxy clusters act as natural lenses, amplifying the light coming from very distant galaxies.

NASA's NuSTAR helps solve riddle of black hole spin

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:25:25 EST

Two X-ray space observatories, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton, have teamed up to measure definitively, for the first time, the spin rate of a black hole with a mass 2 million times that of our sun.

Supernova remnants produce cosmic rays

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:41:41 EST

A new study reveals the first clear-cut evidence the expanding debris of exploded stars produces some of the fastest-moving matter in the universe. This discovery is a major step toward understanding the origin of cosmic rays, one of Fermi's primary mission goals.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to lead U.S. science team for dark energy mission

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:01:01 EST

The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected three NASA-nominated science teams to participate in their planned Euclid mission, including one team led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Researchers explore quantum entanglement

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 11:02:02 EST

Researchers propose a way in which "spooky action at a distance" can be shown experimentally.

Does probability come from quantum physics?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:14:14 EST

Ever since Erwin Schrodinger put his unfortunate cat in a box, his fellow physicists have been using quantum theory to explain and understand the nature of waves and particles. But a new article makes the case that these quantum fluctuations actually are responsible for the probability of all actions, with far-reaching implications for theories of the universe.

Hubble catches the moment the lights went out

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:37:37 EST

The further away you look, the further back in time you see. Astronomers use this fact to study the evolution of the Universe by looking at nearby and more distant galaxies and comparing their features. Hubble is particularly well suited for this type of work because of its extremely high resolution and its position above the blurring effects of Earth's atmosphere. This has allowed it to detect many of the most distant galaxies known, as well as making detailed images of faraway objects.

Astronomers ask 'where are all the dwarf galaxies?'

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:03:03 EST

Astronomers have identified “Cosmic Web Stripping” as a new way of explaining the famous missing dwarf problem: the lack of observed dwarf galaxies compared with that predicted by the theory of Cold Dark Matter and Dark Energy.

New method of measuring the mass of supermassive black holes

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:23:23 EST

Astronomers report the exciting discovery of a new way to measure the mass of supermassive black holes in galaxies. By measuring the speed with which carbon monoxide molecules orbit around such black holes, this new research opens the possibility of making these measurements in many more galaxies than ever before.

Origin and maintenance of a retrograde exoplanet

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:39:39 EST

Astronomers have shown that the HAT-P-7 planetary system, which is about 1040 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus, includes at least two giant planets and one companion star. The discovery of a previously unknown companion (HAT-P-7B) to the central star (HAT-P-7) as well as confirmation of another giant planet (HAT-P-7c) orbiting outside of the retrograde planet HAT-P-7b, offer new insights into how retrograde planets may form and endure.

NASA officially joins ESA's 'dark universe' mission

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:07:07 EST

NASA has joined the European Space Agency's (ESA's) Euclid mission, a space telescope designed to investigate the cosmological mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.

How the universe has cooled since the Big Bang fits Big Bang theory

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:16:16 EST

Astronomers have taken the universe's temperature, and have found that it has cooled down just the way the Big Bang theory predicts.

NASA'S Webb Telescope team completes optical milestone

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:03:03 EST

Engineers working on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope met another milestone recently with they completed performance testing on the observatory's aft-optics subsystem at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp's facilities in Boulder, Colo. Ball is the principal subcontractor to Northrop Grumman for the optical technology and lightweight mirror system.

Nearby universe's 'cosmic fog' measured

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 18:50:50 EST

Researchers have carried out the first measurement of the intensity of the diffuse extragalactic background light in the nearby universe, a fog of photons that has filled the universe ever since its formation.

Dynamic, dark energy in an accelerating universe

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 09:25:25 EST

A new model is contributing towards understanding the nature of dark energy. If dark energy did not exist, the gravitational pull exerted by matter would slow down the expansion of the universe, but observations have concluded that the opposite is the case. Dark energy is what makes the universe expand in an accelerating way.

Astronomers find massive supply of gas around modern galaxies

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:39:39 EST

Galaxies have a voracious appetite for fuel -- in this case, fresh gas -- but astronomers have had difficulty finding the pristine gas that should be falling onto galaxies. Now, scientists have provided direct empirical evidence for these gas flows using new observations from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Biggest structure in universe: Large quasar group is 4 billion light years across

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:25:25 EST

Astronomers have found the largest known structure in the universe. The large quasar group (LQG) is so large that it would take a vehicle traveling at the speed of light some 4 billion years to cross it. Quasars are the nuclei of galaxies from the early days of the universe that undergo brief periods of extremely high brightness that make them visible across huge distances. These periods are ‘brief’ in astrophysics terms but actually last 10-100 million years.

First 'bone' of the Milky Way identified

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:22:22 EST

Our Milky Way is a spiral galaxy -- a pinwheel-shaped collection of stars, gas and dust. It has a central bar and two major spiral arms that wrap around its disk. Since we view the Milky Way from the inside, its exact structure is difficult to determine. Astronomers have identified a new structure in the Milky Way: a long tendril of dust and gas that they are calling a "bone."

New telescopes to give researchers glimpse of the beginning of time

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:19:19 EST

Where do we come from? What is the universe made of? Will the universe exist only for a finite time or will it last forever? These are just some of the questions that physicists are working to answer in the high desert of northern Chile.

At least one in six stars has an Earth-sized planet, analysis finds

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 16:22:22 EST

The quest for a twin Earth is heating up. Using NASA's Kepler spacecraft, astronomers are beginning to find Earth-sized planets orbiting distant stars. A new analysis of Kepler data shows that about 17 percent of stars have an Earth-sized planet in an orbit closer than Mercury. Since the Milky Way has about 100 billion stars, there are at least 17 billion Earth-sized worlds out there.

Eulogy to Herschel

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 08:35:35 EST

With its 2160 liters of liquid helium about to run out, the Herschel Space Observatory will, by the end of March, become just another piece of space junk. The astronomer who leads one of the telescope’s largest surveys, explains how this space facility has advanced our understanding of star and galaxy formation.

Magnetic forces without magnets: Physicist calculates field strengths in the early universe

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 08:35:35 EST

Magnets have practically become everyday objects. Earlier on, however, the universe consisted only of nonmagnetic elements and particles. Just how the magnetic forces came into existence has now been researched. A theoretical physicist describes a new mechanism for the magnetization of the universe even before the emergence of the first stars.

Measurements hint why the universe is dominated by matter, not anti-matter

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 15:30:30 EST

Physicists have made a precise measurement of elusive, nearly massless particles, and obtained a crucial hint as to why the universe is dominated by matter, not by its close relative, anti-matter.