Space telescope unveils hidden cosmic giant Posted: 11 months ago by AutumnLotus
Astronomers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research have discovered a new cluster of galaxies, hidden behind a previously identified cluster of galaxies. The recently exposed cosmic giant is apparently just as bright as the first group, but is six times further away. The astronomers made the discovery as part of an international team using the space telescope XMM-Newton.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 174 [+].
Cosmic Bird? Triple Cosmic Collision Of Galaxies Stuns Astronomers Posted: 10 months ago by AutumnLotus
Using ESO's Very Large Telescope, an international team of astronomers has discovered a stunning rare case of a triple merger of galaxies. This system, which astronomers have dubbed 'The Bird' - albeit it also bears resemblance with a cosmic Tinker Bell - is composed of two massive spiral galaxies and a third irregular galaxy.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 225 [+].
Infrared galaxies didn't always prefer the 'suburbs' Posted: 1 year ago by AutumnLotus
Dusty infrared galaxies are cosmic "nurseries" for some of the universe's hottest young stars -- and new research from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows that when the universe was approximately six billion years old, these galaxies packed into the densest "zip codes" in space. Astronomers hope that this latest finding will give them insights into why the modern universe looks the way it does.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 213 [+].
The violent lives of galaxies: Caught in the cosmic matter web Posted: 10 months ago by AutumnLotus
Astronomers are using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to dissect one of the largest structures in the Universe as part of a quest to understand the violent lives of galaxies. Hubble is providing indirect evidence of unseen dark matter tugging on galaxies in the crowded, rough-and-tumble environment of a massive supercluster of hundreds of galaxies.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 215 [+].
Galaxies give birth to stars on cosmic highways Posted: 10 months ago by AutumnLotus
Galaxies tend to give birth to their stars on the road, while travelling down intergalactic highways towards cosmic cities called galaxy clusters, new Spitzer Space Telescope observations reveal. Galaxies in relatively empty regions of the universe flock towards densely populated galaxy clusters, attracted there by the clusters' gravity.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 228 [+].
Space telescope makes startling discovery Posted: 2 years ago by AutumnLotus
The Hubble Space Telescope has provided evidence representing a major upset for conventional theories that propose a single period for star birth. The European Space Agency said the telescope, observing globular cluster NGC 2808, has shown three separate generations of stars formed early in the cluster's life.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 40 [+].
Giant galaxy cluster seen in early universe Posted: 3 months ago by AutumnLotus
Astronomers have glimpsed the largest cluster of galaxies ever seen in the distant, early universe. The discovery of this far-off group, estimated to contain as much mass as a thousand large galaxies, offers further proof of the existence of the enigmatic force called dark energy.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 359 [+].
Lifestyles of the galaxies next door Posted: 11 months ago by AutumnLotus
The "lifestyles" of 75 neighboring galaxies are illuminated in this poster from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Scientists say this fresh perspective of our cosmic neighborhood provides valuable insights into growth process of galaxies at a glance.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 223 [+].
The 60's - The beginning of mankind's journeys into space Posted: 2 years ago by suebe
On April 12, 1961, the Soviets launched a 27-year-old fighter pilot named Yuri Gagarin on the world's first piloted space mission.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 28 [+].
Watching Galaxies Grow Old Gracefully Posted: 1 year ago by AutumnLotus
In the early 1900s, Edwin Hubble made the startling discovery that our Milky Way galaxy is not alone. It is just one of many galaxies, or "island universes," as Hubble dubbed them, swimming in the sea of space. Now, a century later, NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer is helping piece together the evolution of these cosmic species.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 123 [+].
Scientists Battle Skunks to Develop the Next Generation of Space Telescopes Posted: 1 year ago by suebe
Scheduled for launch in 2013, the Webb telescope is widely regarded as the premier observatory of the next decade. It is an infrared telescope, which means it senses the heat of stars and galaxies millions and even billions of light years away.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 60 [+].
Astronomers observe acidic Milky Way galaxies Posted: 12 months ago by AutumnLotus
SRON astronomer Floris van der Tak is the first to have observed acidic particulate clouds outside of our own Milky Way galaxy. He did this by focusing the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, located on Hawaii, on two nearby Milky Way galaxies. Astronomers think that acidification inhibits the formation of stars and planets in the dust clouds.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 151 [+].
Telescope gives deepest view of space Posted: 1 year ago by AutumnLotus
Astronomers believe they've glimpsed light from some of the universe's first stars through the world's largest telescope on the Big Island.
Comments: 3 Score: [-] 69 [+].
NASA finds tiny hole in Atlantis caused by space debris Posted: 2 years ago by Fanatic
NASA discovered that space shuttle Atlantis has been holed by a tiny piece of space debris. The 1/10-inch hole represents the second largest debris damage event ever identified. Fortunately, it missed everything that was important to the mission. Space debris is an increasingly challenging problem.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 10 [+].
Big Space Thing Looks Like a Moth Posted: 11 months ago by AutumnLotus
A moth-like structure with a 22-billion-mile wingspan is hovering out in space. This giant is actually a massive cloud of dust surrounding a nearby, young star imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope that has shown astronomers that these dust disks can take on unexpectedly unusual shapes.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 191 [+].
Cosmic Supermagnet Spreads Mysterious 'Morse Code' Posted: 6 months ago by AutumnLotus
Astronomers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research have discovered mysterious pulses that are being emitted by an extremely magnetic star. The magnetic star, a magnetar, emits the pulses as very high energy X-rays.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 242 [+].
First unchanging 'soliton' wave found in space Posted: 8 months ago by AutumnLotus
An unusual electrical disturbance has been spotted in space, travelling unchanged through the ionised gas surrounding Earth. A European space mission called Cluster detected a "soliton" wave, a phenomenon similar to the self-contained solitons that can travel along optical fibres and channels of water on Earth. This is the first known soliton in space.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 277 [+].
Hidden Galaxies Detected Posted: 1 year ago by AutumnLotus
Deer can't see cars at night because of blindingly bright headlights. And until now, astronomers couldn't see foreground galaxies outshined by the dazzling quasars behind them. A new technique can pick apart the intense pattern of light emitted by quasars, finding irregularities in the image where "invisible" galaxies are absorbing some of the quasar light.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 140 [+].
Giant ropes of dark matter found in new sky survey Posted: 9 months ago by AutumnLotus
Huge filaments of dark matter have been detected in a survey of thousands of distant galaxies. The discovery supports the idea that dark matter drove the formation of galaxies and larger cosmic structures and resolves a discrepancy in previous studies about how much dark matter the universe contains.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 250 [+].
Giant space vegetables ‘could feed the world’ Posted: 6 months ago by topofall
Swollen to ten times their normal size and weighing more than an average man, these giant pumpkins would not look out of place in a science fiction film.
Comments: 3 Score: [-] 175 [+].
Famous Space Pillars Feel the Heat of Star's Explosion Posted: 10 months ago by AutumnLotus
The three iconic space pillars photographed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 might have met their demise, according to new evidence from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. A new, striking image from Spitzer shows the intact dust towers next to a giant cloud of hot dust thought to have been scorched by the blast of a star that exploded, or went supernova.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 203 [+].