Exploring the digital Universe with Europe’s Astrophysical Virtual Observatory A new European initiative called the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (AVO) is being launched to provide astronomers with a breathtaking potential for new discoveries. It will enable them to seamlessly combine the data from both ground- and space-based telescopes which are making observations of... view more (2001-12-05)
Heavy Metal Stars: La Silla Telescope Detects Lots of Lead in Three Distant Binaries Very high abundances of the heavy element Lead have been discovered in three distant stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. This finding strongly supports the long-held view that roughly half of the stable elements heavier than Iron are produced in common stars during a phase towards the end of their life... view more (2001-08-21)
Measurement of stellar age from uranium decay For the first time, an international team (led by Roger Cayrel, from Paris Observatory), could measure one uranium line in absorption in a star. This observation has several important implications. It is a great discovery, obtained thanks to the high resolution spectrograph UVES, assembled on one... view more (2001-02-05)
A Strange Supernova with a Gamma-Ray Burst On April 25, the BeppoSAX satellite detected a Gamma-Ray Burst from the direction of the constellation Telescopium, deep in the southern sky. Although there is now general consensus that they originate in very distant galaxies, the underlying physical causes of these events that release great... view more (1998-10-15)
