Scientists Find Giant Ring Encircling Exotic Dead Star
One of the most powerful eruptions in the universe might have spun an infrared ring around a rare and exotic star known as a magnetar, a highly magnetized neutron star and the remnant of a brilliant supernova explosion signaling the death throes of a massive star. view more (2008-05-29)
A Curious Pair of Galaxies
The ESO Very Large Telescope has taken the best image ever of a strange and chaotic duo of interwoven galaxies. The images also contain some surprises - interlopers both far and near. view more (2009-03-17)
Depression rife among medical students
Medical students frequently suffer from depression, especially during their internship years. New research published in the open access journal BMC Medical Education reveals the extent of the problem and features a detailed analysis of the symptoms and sufferers. view more (2008-12-05)
VLT Observations Address the Age of the Universe
The stream of important scientific results from ESOs Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Paranal (Chile) is increasing. Astronomers have had access to the first of the four 8.2-m telescopes since April 1999 and research articles based on observations with this new powerful facility are beginning to appear in larger numbers. The work reported here is one... view more... (1999-12-17)
UI researchers discover star orbiting a 'medium-sized' black hole
University of Iowa researchers have found a star orbiting a "medium-sized" black hole - about 1,000 times more massive than the sun - in the nearby starburst galaxy M82, a development that may help explain how medium-sized black holes form and evolve. view more (2006-01-06)
UK Astronomers Survey Galactic Graveyard
An unprecedented source of planetary nebulae, the disk-like relics of elderly, dying stars, has been discovered in the southern part of our Milky Way galaxy. With about 1000 planetary nebulae found so far and many more still to be discovered, the number of aged stars in their death throes revealed by the new survey is rapidly overtaking the entire... view more... (2002-04-07)
How do massive stars form?
Massive stars play a key role in the chemical and dynamical evolution of galaxies. The way massive stars form is still much debated among the astronomers' community: it is currently one of the hottest astrophysical topics. view more (2005-11-09)
Killer electrons in space are now less mysterious
A rare, timely conjunction of ground-based instrumentation and a dozen satellites has helped scientists better understand how electrons in space can turn into 'killers'. ESA's Cluster constellation has contributed crucially to the finding. view more (2007-07-27)
Neutron stars can be more massive, while black holes are more rare, Arecibo Observatory finds
Neutron stars and black holes aren't all they've been thought to be. In fact, neutron stars can be considerably more massive than previously believed, and it is more difficult to form black holes, according to new research developed by using the Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. view more (2008-01-15)
New assessment system for elderly patients
Recent reports have expressed concern that some elderly patients may miss out on treatment because they are assumed to be too old to benefit from it. In the May Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Margaret Farquharson and fellow surgeons from the North Hampshire Hospital describe their simple grading system for assessing how frail older... view more... (2001-04-26)
NASA's Swift Sees Double Supernova in Galaxy
In just the past six weeks, two supernovae have flared up in an obscure galaxy in the constellation Hercules. Never before have astronomers observed two of these powerful stellar explosions occurring in the same galaxy so close together in time. view more (2007-06-27)
Young stars in chaos
It is not only teenagers who like to congregate in intimate groups and disturb their neighbours and surroundings. As Matthew Bate (University of Exeter), will be explaining to the UK National Astronomy Meeting in Bristol on Friday 12 April, young stars also like to hang around in crowds and undergo chaotic close encounters with each other during... view more... (2002-04-04)
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)
Global Telescope to observe Ringing Star
Over the coming weeks an international team, led by Professor Ulrich Heber of the University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, Germany, will use over fifteen different telescopes around the world to make over one hundred nights of observations of just one star to learn about its internal structure. The constellation of the "Serpent" contains a variable... view more... (2002-05-17)
NASA's Fermi Telescope Reveals Best-Ever View of Gamma-Ray Sky
A new map combining nearly three months of data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is giving astronomers an unprecedented look at the high-energy cosmos. To Fermi's eyes, the universe is ablaze with gamma rays from sources ranging from within the solar system to galaxies billions of light-years away. view more (2009-03-12)
Unveiling the Secret of a Virgo Dwarf Galaxy
Dwarf galaxies may not be as impressive in appearance as their larger brethren, but they are at least as interestingfrom a scientific point of view. And sometimes they may have hidden properties that will only be found by means of careful observations, probing the signals of their stars at the faintest level. Such as the entirely unexpected, well... view more... (2000-05-03)
Invading black holes explain cosmic flashes
Black holes are invading stars, providing a radical explanation to bright flashes in the universe that are one of the biggest mysteries in astronomy today. view more (2009-09-21)
Stellar Clusters Forming in the Blue Dwarf Galaxy NGC 5253
Star formation is one of the most basic phenomena in the Universe. Inside stars, primordial material from the Big Bang is processed into heavier elements that we observe today. In the extended atmospheres of certain types of stars, these elements combine into more complex systems like molecules and dust grains, the building blocks for new planets,... view more... (2004-11-18)
Creating linguistic resources for automated translation
A major difficulty in developing automated language translation is that you need a system with a fairly extensive vocabulary from which it can learn, before any degree of reliability or accuracy is possible. The LC-STAR project developed just such a vocabulary. view more (2005-02-10)
HealthGrades study: Bariatric surgery patients have fewer complications at high-volume hospitals
Bariatric surgery patients had 64 percent fewer complications and a 26 percent shorter hospital stay if they went to a five-star rated hospital compared with a one-star rated hospital. view more (2007-07-31)
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