Nomads of the galaxy
Recently, a study was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society proposing planets simply adrift in space may be something of a common phenomenon. View More (2012-05-24)
Herschel Space Observatory study reveals galaxy-packed filament
A McGill-led research team using the Herschel Space Observatory has discovered a giant, galaxy-packed filament ablaze with billions of new stars. View More (2012-05-18)
Free-floating planets in the Milky Way outnumber stars by factors of thousands
A few hundred thousand billion free-floating life-bearing Earth-sized planets may exist in the space between stars in the Milky Way. View More (2012-05-11)
One Supernova Type, Two Different Sources
The exploding stars known as Type Ia supernovae serve an important role in measuring the universe, and were used to discover the existence of dark energy. View More (2012-05-08)
Black Hole Caught in a Feeding Frenzy
When it comes to scary things in the universe, it's hard to get much scarier than supermassive black holes. View More (2012-05-04)
Record-Breaking Radio Waves from Ultra-Cool Star
Penn State University astronomers using the world's largest radio telescope, at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, have discovered flaring radio emissions from an ultra-cool star, not much warmer than the planet Jupiter, shattering the previous record for the lowest stellar temperature at which radio waves were detected. View More (2012-04-30)
Some Stars Capture Rogue Planets
New research suggests that billions of stars in our galaxy have captured rogue planets that once roamed interstellar space. View More (2012-04-18)
Black Holes Grow Big by Eating Stars
Most galaxies, including the Milky Way, have a supermassive black hole at their center weighing millions to billions of suns. View More (2012-04-03)
Explosive Stars with Good Table Manners
An exploding star known as a Type Ia supernova plays a key role in our understanding of the universe. View More (2012-03-21)
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble discover quasars acting as gravitational lenses
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found several examples of galaxies containing quasars, which act as gravitational lenses, amplifying and distorting images of galaxies aligned behind them. View More (2012-03-16)
Planets Circling Around Twin Suns
In the last two decades, the study of extrasolar planets - those that lie outside our own solar system - has become one of the most important fields of astrophysics. View More (2012-02-03)
Fusion plasma research helps neurologists to hear above the noise
Fusion plasma researchers at the University of Warwick have teamed up with Cambridge neuroscientists to apply their expertise developed to study inaccessible fusion plasmas in order to significantly improve the understanding of the data obtained from non-invasive study of the fast dynamics of networks in the human brain. View More (2012-01-11)
Strange New 'Species' of Ultra-Red Galaxy Discovered
In the distant reaches of the universe, almost 13 billion light-years from Earth, a strange species of galaxy lay hidden. View More (2011-12-02)
VLBA observations key to 'complete description' of black hole
For the first time, astronomers have produced a complete description of a black hole, a concentration of mass so dense that not even light can escape its powerful gravitational pull. View More (2011-11-18)
NASA's Chandra adds to black hole birth announcement
New details about the birth of a famous black hole that took place millions of years ago have been uncovered, thanks to a team of scientists who used data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory as well as from radio, optical and other X-ray telescopes. View More (2011-11-18)
A 3-D way to release magnetic energy... fast!
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have discovered a new process at work in a mysterious magnetic phenomenon that occurs both in the earth's atmosphere and in space, playing a role in events such as the aurora borealis and solar flares. View More (2011-11-11)
City Lights Could Reveal E.T. Civilization
In the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, astronomers have hunted for radio signals and ultra-short laser pulses. In a new paper, Avi Loeb (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) and Edwin Turner (Princeton University) suggest a new technique for finding aliens: look for their city lights. "Looking for alien cities would be a long shot, but wouldn't require extra resources. And... View More (2011-11-04)
Dark Matter Mystery Deepens
Like all galaxies, our Milky Way is home to a strange substance called dark matter. Dark matter is invisible, betraying its presence only through its gravitational pull. View More (2011-10-18)
Exotic Galaxy Reveals Tantalizing Tale
A galaxy with a combination of characteristics never seen before is giving astronomers a tantalizing peek at processes they believe played key roles in the growth of galaxies and clusters of galaxies early in the history of the Universe. View More (2011-08-26)
Researchers Detail How A Distant Black Hole Devoured A Star
Two studies appearing in the Aug. 25 issue of the journal Nature provide new insights into a cosmic accident that has been streaming X-rays toward Earth since late March. NASA's Swift satellite first alerted astronomers to intense and unusual high-energy flares from the new source in the constellation Draco. View More (2011-08-25)
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