Stars always evolve in the universe in large groups, known as clusters. Astronomers distinguish these formations by their age and size. The question of how star clusters are created from interstellar gas clouds and why they then develop in different ways has now been answered by researchers at the Argelander Institute for Astronomy at the University of Bonn with the aid of computer simulations. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Hundreds of millions — or even billions — of years after planets would have initially formed around two unusual stars, a second wave of planetesimal and planet formation appears to be taking place. "This is a new class of stars, ones that display conditions now ripe for formation of a second generation of planets, long, long after the stars themselves formed." picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Australian astronomers have discovered that the universe is full of tiny blue dwarf galaxies.

Known as 'blue fuzzies', these tiny galaxies are made up mostly of young hot stars that shine brightly, dominating the light from the galaxies they're in. picked by AutumnLotus 1 day ago

Debris spots found on stars reveal planets that went splat like bugs on a windshield. The finding could help unravel mysteries of planet formation. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Create your own system of planets. Change the direction and velocity of celestial bodies and keep them within your stars gravitational pull. Be sure to "select preset" at the top right & "set number of bodies" at bottom left. picked by ogri2003 2 years ago

Miss Universe 2007, the 56th Miss Universe pageant, will be held today(on 28/05/2007) at the National Auditorium in Mexico City, Mexico. 77 contestants compete for the title. Here are the videos and swimsuit photos of all the contestants. Enjoy! picked by SunSeven 2 years ago

Looking almost 11 billion years into the past, astronomers have measured the motions of stars for the first time in a very distant galaxy and clocked speeds upwards of one million miles per hour, about twice the speed of our Sun through the Milky Way. picked by AutumnLotus 4 months ago

For years scientists have wrestled with a puzzling fact: The universe appears to be remarkably suited for life. Its physical properties are finely tuned to permit our existence. Stars, planets and the kind of sticky chemistry that produces fish, ferns and folks wouldn't be possible if some of the cosmic constants were only slightly different. Well, there's another property of the universe that's e... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Colossal impacts in the outer reaches of the solar system may have bowled over remote, frozen moons, leading to vast cracks across their surfaces. The many impact craters that have pocked our moon and Earth reveal our solar system can be like a shooting gallery, with asteroids and comets regularly striking planets and their companions. These monumental blows can literally set moons rocking. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

UK astronomers have developed the most sensitive infrared map of the distant universe ever produced, revealing the origins of the most massive galaxies in the cosmos. Using images obtained with the United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope (UKIRT), astronomers combined data over a period of three years. This produced a map encompassing more than 100,000 galaxies over an area of sky four times the size of... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Microsoft’s answer to Google Sky, WorldWide Telescope promises to bring us even closer of the planets and stars in our universe. Here is the presentation on TED. The pplication will be available in Spring of 2008 free of charge. picked by wildminou 2 years ago

The hottest planet ever discovered is charcoal black and makes even some stars seem cool. Scientists think the exoplanet absorbs nearly all the starlight that reaches its surface and then reradiates it back out into space as heat. picked by AutumnLotus 3 years ago

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. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

It is the rare gas giant planet that inhabits the outskirts of its solar system. Most are like our own Jupiter and prefer to stick close to their stars, a new study suggests. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Super Massive Black Holes at the heart of galaxies may have been their progenitors and not the other way round as had been thought according to new research. picked by pocksucket 11 months ago

Preliminary results from the volunteers indicate that the universe possesses the property called “handedness.” That is, most galaxies seem to be left-handed, or prefer to rotate counterclockwise when looked at from our position on the planet Earth. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Planet-seekers who have spotted 28 new planets orbiting other stars in the past year say Earth's solar system is far from unique and there could be billions of habitable planets. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

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. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

View the Milky Way at 10 million light years from the Earth. Then move through space towards the Earth in successive orders of magnitude until you reach a tall oak tree just outside the buildings of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. After that, begin to move from the actual size of a leaf into a microscopic world that reveals leaf cell walls, the cell nucleus, ch... read full post picked by wags273 2 years ago

Perhaps we should thank rapid-assembly asteroids for spawning the planets. New simulations suggest that dense swarms of boulders collapsed under their own gravity to make the building blocks of our solar system. picked by kakana 3 months ago