Space

Cosmic Web Imager And The Intergalactic Medium Unveiled

Astronomers have taken unprecedented images of the intergalactic medium (IGM) — the diffuse gas that connects galaxies throughout the universe — with the Cosmic Web Imager, which was designed and built at the California Institute of Technology. Until now, ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 30 2014 - 10:21am

Gamma-Ray Burst Shockwave Findings Rule Out Afterglow Hypotheses

One of the most powerful events in our universe – Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB) – behave differently than previously thought, and this evidence from observation of a GRB rules out most of the existing hypothetical predictions concerning the afterglow of the expl ...

Article - News Staff - May 1 2014 - 10:28am

Using Empty Space As The Galaxy's Biggest Telescope

Astronomers have made a measurement of a distant neutron star that is one million times more precise than the previous world's best- and they did it by using...nothing. The interstellar medium is the 'empty' space between stars and galaxies ...

Article - News Staff - May 6 2014 - 12:51pm

LAMOST–HVS1: A Hypervelocity Star Moving At 1 Million MPH

A newly discovered "hypervelocity star" is the closest, second-brightest and among the largest found so far. It is speeding at more than 1 million mph and may provide clues about the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way. Also, ...

Article - News Staff - May 7 2014 - 12:18am

Mysteries Of 55 Cancri Solved

One of the most fascinating nearby planetary systems, 55 Cancri, is now less mysterious. Hopefully. The authors say theirs is the first viable model for  the planetary system of 55 Cancri, one the first stars discovered to have planets. Numerous studies si ...

Article - News Staff - May 9 2014 - 12:30am

Canali: An Origin By Lava Flows On Mars Goes Against The Current

The astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli first described them as 'canali' in the 19th century. A conspicuous net-like system of deep gorges known as the Noctis Labyrinthus is clearly visible on Mars' equatorial region. The gorge system, in turn ...

Article - News Staff - May 12 2014 - 10:12am

That Square Hole In The Sun

Last year, people began wondering why part of the sun was missing.  What had happened was that changes to the magnetic field were allowing hot plasma to fly off into space toward Earth, creating a coronal hole. Coronal holes are actually happening less rig ...

Article - News Staff - May 12 2014 - 8:03pm

Evidence For HypothesisThat Saturn's Collapsing Magnetic Tail Causes Auroras

Images of Saturn's auroras as the planet's magnetic field is battered by charged particles from the Sun have led a team to claim decisive evidence for the hypothesis that Saturn's auroral displays are often caused by the dramatic collapse o ...

Article - News Staff - May 19 2014 - 10:17am

Crew Tether Spin- With Final Stage- On Routine Mission To ISS- First Human Test Of Artificial Gravity?

You may remember, a while back I talked about Joe Carroll's  ingenious idea to do our first ever true experiment in a gravity tether during a routine Soyuz crew transfer to the ISS, His idea is to use the third stage-which goes into orbit anyway, as t ...

Article - Robert Walker - Apr 7 2019 - 7:33am

JKCS 041: Very Distant Galaxy Cluster Confirmed

The structures and star populations of massive galaxies appear to change as they age, but much about how these galaxies formed and evolved remains mysterious. Many of the oldest and most massive galaxies reside in clusters, enormous structures where numer ...

Article - News Staff - May 24 2014 - 1:22pm