NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
18 Jun 2018, 17:00 UTC
A team of researchers using data from ESA's XMM-Newton X-ray space observatory, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and NASA's Swift X-Ray Telescope has found evidence for the existence of an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH).
Star Shredded by Rare Breed of Black Hole
18 Jun 2018, 17:00 UTC
A team of researchers using data from ESA's XMM-Newton X-ray space observatory, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and NASA's Swift X-Ray Telescope has found evidence for the existence of an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH).
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
15 Jun 2018, 13:16 UTC
This sparkling picture features a massive galaxy cluster named RXC J0232.2-4420. This image was taken by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 as part of an observing program called RELICS (Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey). RELICS imaged 41 massive galaxy clusters with the aim of finding the brightest distant galaxies for the forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope to study.
Hubble Captures Cluster of Galaxies and Homeless Stars
15 Jun 2018, 13:16 UTC
This sparkling picture features a massive galaxy cluster named RXC J0232.2-4420. This image was taken by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 as part of an observing program called RELICS (Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey). RELICS imaged 41 massive galaxy clusters with the aim of finding the brightest distant galaxies for the forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope to study.
Royal Astronomical Society
14 Jun 2018, 10:54 UTC
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), believe clouds of dust, rather than twin black holes, can explain the features found in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The team publish their results today (14 June) in a paper in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
One black hole or two? Dust clouds can explain puzzling features of active galactic nuclei
14 Jun 2018, 10:54 UTC
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), believe clouds of dust, rather than twin black holes, can explain the features found in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The team publish their results today (14 June) in a paper in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
11 Jun 2018, 14:00 UTC
On June 11, NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope celebrates a decade of using gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light in the cosmos, to study black holes, neutron stars, and other extreme cosmic objects and events. “Fermi’s first 10 years have produced numerous scientific discoveries that have revolutionized our understanding of the gamma-ray universe,” said Paul Hertz, Astrophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
NASA’s Fermi Satellite Celebrates 10 Years of Discoveries
11 Jun 2018, 14:00 UTC
On June 11, NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope celebrates a decade of using gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light in the cosmos, to study black holes, neutron stars, and other extreme cosmic objects and events. “Fermi’s first 10 years have produced numerous scientific discoveries that have revolutionized our understanding of the gamma-ray universe,” said Paul Hertz, Astrophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
ESA Top News
11 Jun 2018, 07:40 UTC
This turbulent celestial palette of purple and yellow shows a bubble of gas named NGC 3199, blown by a star known as WR18 (Wolf-Rayet 18). Wolf-Rayet stars are massive, powerful, and energetic stars that are just about reaching the end of their lives. They flood their surroundings with thick, intense, fast-moving winds that push and sweep at the material found there, carving out weird and wonderful shapes as they do so. These winds can create strong shockwaves when they collide with the comparatively cool interstellar medium, causing them to heat up anything in their vicinity.
Carving the cosmos
11 Jun 2018, 07:40 UTC
This turbulent celestial palette of purple and yellow shows a bubble of gas named NGC 3199, blown by a star known as WR18 (Wolf-Rayet 18). Wolf-Rayet stars are massive, powerful, and energetic stars that are just about reaching the end of their lives. They flood their surroundings with thick, intense, fast-moving winds that push and sweep at the material found there, carving out weird and wonderful shapes as they do so. These winds can create strong shockwaves when they collide with the comparatively cool interstellar medium, causing them to heat up anything in their vicinity.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory News and Features
9 Jun 2018, 00:17 UTC
Science operations for NASA's Opportunity rover have been temporarily suspended as it waits out a growing dust storm on Mars.
Opportunity Hunkers Down During Dust Storm
9 Jun 2018, 00:17 UTC
Science operations for NASA's Opportunity rover have been temporarily suspended as it waits out a growing dust storm on Mars.
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- 15 Jun 2018
Blogs
Astro Bob
18 Jun 2018, 22:11 UTC
Venus met up with the crescent moon over the weekend. Tonight through Wednesday, it gets cozy with the Beehive star cluster in Cancer the Crab. To see it you have to wait until later in twilight when Venus will be rather low in the western sky and use binoculars. Focus on Venus and look to its left for the star cluster.
Venus Gets Bees In Her Bonnet
18 Jun 2018, 22:11 UTC
Venus met up with the crescent moon over the weekend. Tonight through Wednesday, it gets cozy with the Beehive star cluster in Cancer the Crab. To see it you have to wait until later in twilight when Venus will be rather low in the western sky and use binoculars. Focus on Venus and look to its left for the star cluster.
Planetaria
18 Jun 2018, 19:58 UTC
With the discovery of thousands of exoplanets orbiting other stars, the search for life elsewhere has entered an exciting new phase. So far, most of these worlds have been found many light-years away (largely due to the fact that the Kepler Space Telescope, which has discovered the majority of them so far, has focused on a specific patch of sky which contains very distant stars). But what about closer stars? Including, of course, Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our Sun, only just over four light-years away. According to Tom Ayres of the University of Colorado Boulder: “Because it is relatively close, the Alpha Centauri system is seen by many as the best candidate to explore for signs of life. The question is, will we find planets in an environment conducive to life as we know it?”
Life at Alpha Centauri? Maybe, NASA says
18 Jun 2018, 19:58 UTC
With the discovery of thousands of exoplanets orbiting other stars, the search for life elsewhere has entered an exciting new phase. So far, most of these worlds have been found many light-years away (largely due to the fact that the Kepler Space Telescope, which has discovered the majority of them so far, has focused on a specific patch of sky which contains very distant stars). But what about closer stars? Including, of course, Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our Sun, only just over four light-years away. According to Tom Ayres of the University of Colorado Boulder: “Because it is relatively close, the Alpha Centauri system is seen by many as the best candidate to explore for signs of life. The question is, will we find planets in an environment conducive to life as we know it?”
Astrobiology Magazine
18 Jun 2018, 13:34 UTC
A little stream in the south of England could guide the way towards finding evidence for ancient life on Mars, in the form of fatty acids preserved in an iron-rich mineral called goethite. Researchers from Imperial College London ventured to the county of Dorset on the UK’s south-coast to sample an acidic stream running into St Oswald’s Bay, which is close to the famous Durdle Door limestone rock formation. The acidity of the stream, which has a pH of 3.5, is believed to be similar to water that flowed on early Mars during its Hesperian epoch over three billion years ago.
Iron-rich minerals on Mars could contain life’s fatty acids
18 Jun 2018, 13:34 UTC
A little stream in the south of England could guide the way towards finding evidence for ancient life on Mars, in the form of fatty acids preserved in an iron-rich mineral called goethite. Researchers from Imperial College London ventured to the county of Dorset on the UK’s south-coast to sample an acidic stream running into St Oswald’s Bay, which is close to the famous Durdle Door limestone rock formation. The acidity of the stream, which has a pH of 3.5, is believed to be similar to water that flowed on early Mars during its Hesperian epoch over three billion years ago.
Many Worlds
15 Jun 2018, 16:20 UTC
Just as the number of planets discovered outside our solar system is large and growing — more than 3,700 confirmed at last count — so too is the number of ingenious ways to find exoplanets ever on the rise. The first exoplanets were found by measuring the “wobble” in their host stars caused by the gravitational pull of the planets, then came the transit technique that measured dips in the light from stars as planets passed in front of them, followed by the direct imaging of moving objects deemed to be planets, and numerous more. A new technique can now be added to the toolkit, one that is useful only in specific galactic circumstances but is nonetheless ingenious and intriguing.
Planets Still Forming Detected in a Protoplanetary Disk
15 Jun 2018, 16:20 UTC
Just as the number of planets discovered outside our solar system is large and growing — more than 3,700 confirmed at last count — so too is the number of ingenious ways to find exoplanets ever on the rise. The first exoplanets were found by measuring the “wobble” in their host stars caused by the gravitational pull of the planets, then came the transit technique that measured dips in the light from stars as planets passed in front of them, followed by the direct imaging of moving objects deemed to be planets, and numerous more. A new technique can now be added to the toolkit, one that is useful only in specific galactic circumstances but is nonetheless ingenious and intriguing.
Astronomy Now
15 Jun 2018, 14:31 UTC
Wolf-Rayet stars are massive, high-energy suns near the end of their lives, pumping out thick, fast-moving stellar winds that can create vast bubbles in space as they ram into the cooler interstellar medium. Shockwaves heat up any gas in the region, occasionally to temperatures high enough to produce X-rays. But it is a relatively rare phenomenon, and only three such Wolf-Rayet stars have been found. This one, WR18, has extremely powerful winds, and once it exhausts its nuclear fuel it likely will explode in a supernova blast. This image was captured by the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton space telescope. Hot X-ray emitting gas is shown in blue with yellow-green oxygen and red sulphur emissions are seen in optical wavelengths.
Blowing bubbles – Wolf-Rayet stars put on dramatic show
15 Jun 2018, 14:31 UTC
Wolf-Rayet stars are massive, high-energy suns near the end of their lives, pumping out thick, fast-moving stellar winds that can create vast bubbles in space as they ram into the cooler interstellar medium. Shockwaves heat up any gas in the region, occasionally to temperatures high enough to produce X-rays. But it is a relatively rare phenomenon, and only three such Wolf-Rayet stars have been found. This one, WR18, has extremely powerful winds, and once it exhausts its nuclear fuel it likely will explode in a supernova blast. This image was captured by the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton space telescope. Hot X-ray emitting gas is shown in blue with yellow-green oxygen and red sulphur emissions are seen in optical wavelengths.
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