Space

HD 189733b Discovery- Organic Molecule Detected On Planet In Another Solar System

Life on another planet? No, it's far too hot on HD 189733b for that, but the Hubble Space Telescope's first ever detection of an organic molecule in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star is big news. It's an important step in even ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 19 2008 - 3:51pm

HiRes Fly’s Eye Confirms GZK Limits And The Origins Of Cosmic Rays

Located at the University of Utah, the High Resolution Fly's Eye (HiRes) is an experiment to study the highest energy cosmic rays to determine the energy, direction, and chemical composition of the incident particle. Final results show that the most e ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 21 2008 - 9:23am

GRB 080319B- Half The Universe Away, A Doozy Of A Light Show

As Georg von Hippel wrote about here, a powerful stellar explosion detected March 19 by NASA's Swift satellite has shattered the record for the most distant object that could be seen with the naked eye. The explosion was a gamma ray burst. The Very La ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 21 2008 - 8:55am

Cosmic Corpse Of SNR 0509-67.5 Helps Determine The Power Of A Supernova

Astronomers using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Gemini Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton Observatory have made the best determination of the power of a supernova explosion long after it was visible from Earth. By observing the remnant of a ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 22 2008 - 6:30am

IU Vir- White Dwarf Death Watch

White dwarfs are good timekeepers, and as such, hold clues about the age of the cosmos. “Once a white dwarf forms, all it does is sit and cool, so we can measure the temperature of a white dwarf, and, using some theoretical understandings, figure out how l ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 26 2008 - 11:58am

World's First Movie Of Black Hole Birth

March 19,2008 marked the brightest ever cosmic explosion observed from Earth (see Georg von Hippel's article here and the news article here). The outburst denoted as GRB 080319B was probably the death of a massive star leading to the creation of a bla ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 26 2008 - 10:52am

AB Aurigae: Are We Witnessing A Planet In Progress Right Now?

Astrophysicists say may be one step closer to understanding how new planets form. A circumstellar disk with telltale signs of planet formation around the star AB Aurigae could be a new planet in the works. Ben R. Oppenheimer, assistant curator in the Ameri ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 26 2008 - 1:51pm

Enceladus Serves Up An Organic Brew

NASA's Cassini spacecraft tasted and sampled a surprising organic brew erupting in geyser-like fashion from Saturn's moon Enceladus during a close flyby on March 12. Scientists are amazed that this tiny moon is so active, "hot" and brim ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 28 2008 - 1:04am

Spiral Galaxy NGC 2397 Shows Us An Early Look At Supernova SN 2006bc

NGC 2397, pictured in this image from Hubble, is a classic spiral galaxy with long prominent dust lanes along the edges of its arms, seen as dark patches and streaks silhouetted against the starlight. Hubble’s exquisite resolution allows the study of indiv ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 31 2008 - 11:10am

Old Solar Cycle, New Solar Cycle- No, It's Both

Less than three months after forecasters announced the beginning of a new solar cycle (cycle 24), that has been changed. Solar Cycle 23 is still kicking. Last week, three sunspots appeared and their magnetic polarity says they are all old cycle spots. ESA ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 31 2008 - 3:25pm