Turbulence responsible for black holes' balancing act
We live in a hierarchical Universe where small structures join into larger ones. Earth is a planet in our Solar System, the Solar System resides in the Milky Way Galaxy, and galaxies combine into groups and clusters. view more (2009-07-15)
First Image and Spectrum of a Dark Matter Object
HST and VLT Identify MACHO as a Small and Cool Star An international team of astronomers has observed a Dark Matter object directly for the first time. Images and spectra of a MACHO microlens - a nearby dwarf star that gravitationally focuses light from a star in another galaxy - were taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the... view more... (2001-12-05)
The accretion disks around super-massive black holes: do they really exist?
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and quasars (QSO) are the most luminous objects in the sky. These are powered by accretion of interstellar gas onto a supermassive black hole (BH) of about 100 millions solar masses which stands at the center of galaxies. For Seyfert galaxies, a few tenths of solar masses of gas per year is required to fuel the black... view more... (2001-04-17)
Mapping the cosmic web of dark matter
What is Dark Matter and where is it found? These are two of the major mysteries in current studies of the Universe. Although the nature of this invisible material remains elusive, astronomers are beginning to produce detailed maps of the Cosmos, showing its location in relation to the ordinary matter that we can see in telescopes. One of the... view more... (2002-04-03)
Astronomers report unprecedented double helix nebula near center of the Milky Way
Astronomers report an unprecedented elongated double helix nebula near the center of our Milky Way galaxy, using observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. view more (2006-03-16)
Mapping the Milky Way
A new map of the centre of our own galaxy, The Milky Way, is the biggest, most detailed, and most sensitive yet made. The map shows giant streamers and huge clouds of interstellar gas where stars are being born 26,000 light years from Earth - shedding new light on the exotic structures in this unusual region of our own galaxy. An international... view more... (2000-12-19)
Hubble finds that "blue blobs" in space are orphaned clusters of stars
Hubble has revealed that mysterious "blue blobs" in a structure called Arp's Loop between M81 and M82 are blue clusters of stars less than 200 million years old with many stars as young as, and even younger than, 10 million years. view more (2008-01-09)
The Purple Rose of Virgo
ntil now NGC 5584 was just one galaxy among many others, located to the West of the Virgo Cluster. Known only as a number in galaxy surveys, its sheer beauty is now revealed in all its glory in a new VLT image. Since 1 March, this purple cosmic rose also holds the brightest stellar explosion of the year, known as SN 2007af. view more (2007-03-28)
Swift XMM-Newton Satellites Tune Into a Middleweight Black Hole
While astronomers have studied lightweight and heavyweight black holes for decades, the evidence for black holes with intermediate masses has been much harder to come by. view more (2009-11-11)
Cold Dust At The Heart Of TheUniverse
The Universe contains vast quantities of very cold dust and gas; from the relatively dense regions where young stars are born to the most distant galaxies, still in the process of forming after the Big Bang. The new SCUBA instrument, conceived, designed and built at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh and installed on the James Clerk Maxwell... view more... (1996-06-28)
Study finds two supermassive black holes spiraling toward collision
A pair of supermassive black holes in the distant universe are intertwined and spiraling toward a merger that will create a single super-supermassive black hole capable of swallowing billions of stars. view more (2006-04-06)
Adaptive optics leads the way to supermassive black holes
Astronomers have discovered the exact location and makeup of a pair of supermassive black holes at the center of a collision of two galaxies more than 300 million light years away. view more (2007-05-18)
The Last Cry Of Matter
'Black holes' are truly black. When an object gets within a certain distance from a black hole, it will get swallowed forever with no chance to escape. That includes light, which means that black holes do not shine. How do astronomers detect black holes if they are unable to see them? Well, to be precise, astronomers do not detect black holes.... view more... (2003-11-27)
X-ray satellites discover the biggest collisions in the Universe
The orbiting X-ray telescopes XXM-Newton and Chandra have caught a pair of galaxy clusters merging into a giant cluster. The discovery adds to existing evidence that galaxy clusters can collide faster than previously thought. view more (2007-07-18)
RIT study predicts how fast a black hole can be booted from a galaxy
Scientists have discovered for the first time just how fast a supermassive black hole can be thrown from a galaxy when it merges with another black hole. The crucial factor in producing large "kicks" turns out to be the spin that the black holes carry prior to the merger. view more (2007-05-31)
Astronomers report mysterious giant star clusters
An international team of astronomers reported evidence for the formation of mysterious "super star clusters" Jan. 9 at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington, D.C. view more (2006-01-11)
Astronomers Discover Mysterious New Star Clusters
A UK-led team of astronomers has discovered a completely new type of star cluster around a neighbouring galaxy. view more (2005-04-02)
Giant Galaxy Messier 87 finally sized up
Using ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have succeeded in measuring the size of giant galaxy Messier 87 and were surprised to find that its outer parts have been stripped away by still unknown effects. view more (2009-05-21)
Duke physicists see the cosmos in a coffee cup
A Duke University professor and his graduate student have discovered a universal principle that unites the curious interplay of light and shadow on the surface of your morning coffee with the way gravity magnifies and distorts light from distant galaxies. view more (2009-04-15)
First Image and Spectrum of a Dark Matter Object
Astronomers have observed a Dark Matter object directly for the first time. Images and spectra of a MACHO microlens - a nearby dwarf star that gravitationally focuses light from a star in another galaxy - were taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. The Riddle of Dark Matter The... view more... (2001-12-05)
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