Starburst Galaxy Showers The Universe
When a galaxy known as M82 had a near-miss with its neighbour, it set off an explosive burst of star formation that sent plumes of hot gas tens of thousands of light years into space. Now a team of UK and American astronomers has discovered that these gas clouds are like the jets from a high pressure shower head. M82 - which astronomers call a... view more... (2004-05-21)
COROT finds exoplanet orbiting Sun-like star
A team of European scientists working with COROT have discovered an exoplanet orbiting a star slightly more massive than the Sun. After just 555 days in orbit, the mission has now observed more than 50 000 stars and is adding significantly to our knowledge of the fundamental workings of stars. view more (2008-07-28)
Stellar explosion displays massive carbon footprint
While humans are still struggling to get rid of unwanted carbon it appears that the heavens are really rather good at it. view more (2009-06-01)
Scientists piece together the most distant cosmic explosion
In this week's issue of Nature, scientists at Penn State University and their U.S. and European colleagues discuss how this explosion, detected on 4 September 2005, was the result of a massive star collapsing into a black hole. view more (2006-03-09)
Mystery of R Coronae Borealis and other helium stars solved
Astronomers Dr Simon Jeffery of the Armagh Observatory and Dr Hideyuki Saio of Tohoku University, Japan, have finally solved a long-standing mystery concerning the creation of two particular kinds of rare stars. They have found that a class of variable stars named after their prototype R Coronae Borealis (RCrB), and a related group called `extreme... view more... (2002-03-25)
The colourful demise of a Sun-like star
A brand new image taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 shows the planetary nebula NGC 2440 - the chaotic structure of the demise of a star. view more (2007-02-15)
A Stellar Explosion You Could See on Earth!
Astronomers are familiar with seeing amazing things through their telescopes. But nothing prepared them for an incredible explosion detected early Wednesday morning by NASA's Swift satellite. At 2:12 a.m. EDT, Swift detected an explosion from deep space that was so powerful that its afterglow was briefly visible to the naked eye. Even more... view more... (2008-03-24)
First view of a newborn millisecond pulsar?
Combining Hubble Space Telescope images with radio observations has revealed a highly unusual system consisting of a fast spinning pulsar and a bloated red companion star. The existence of the system is something of a mystery - the best explanation so far is that we have our first view of a millisecond pulsar just after it has been `spun up` by... view more... (2002-02-13)
Scientists find 'pinwheels' in Quintuplet cluster
Discovery of pinwheel-shaped dust spirals around two of the mysterious cocoon stars in the Quintuplet cluster tells scientists for the first time that they contain a duo of stars instead of just one. view more (2006-08-21)
New Evidence Links Stellar Remains to Oldest Recorded Supernova
The new study shows that the supernova remnant RCW 86 is much younger than previously thought. As such, the formation of the remnant appears to coincide with a supernova observed by Chinese astronomers in 185 A.D. The study used data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton Observatory, view more (2007-01-05)
Powerful Nearby Supernova Caught By Web
One of the nearest supernovas in the last 25 years has been identified over a decade after it exploded. This result was made possible by combining data from the vast online archives from many of the world's premier telescopes. view more (2008-09-26)
Tackling the threat of nuclear terrorism
The only effective way to tackle the threat of nuclear terrorism is to abolish nuclear weapons and establish strict international control of all fissile materials that could be used to make new weapons, argue three US physicians in this week's BMJ. In the aftermath of 11 September 2001, nuclear terrorism has emerged as a real threat and could... view more... (2002-02-06)
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)
UI researcher challenges explanations of children's 'word spurt'
Researchers have long known that at about 18 months children experience a vocabulary explosion, suddenly learning words at a much faster rate. view more (2007-08-03)
ESA`s X-ray space telescope proves supernova can cause mysterious gamma-ray bursts
Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful explosions ever detected in the Universe. They are also one of the greatest mysteries of modern astronomy, since so far no clear evidence has existed to prove what causes them. Until now, there have been two `prime suspects` for what makes gamma-ray bursts, the collision of neutron stars - dead, ultra-dense... view more... (2002-04-04)
SMART-1 'star tracker' peeks at the approaching lunar surface
While ESA's SMART-1 mission is running on its last orbits around the Moon before its planned lunar impact on 3 September 2006, the spacecraft 'star tracker' - or attitude camera-is taking exciting pictures of the ever approaching surface. view more (2006-08-30)
The Double Firing Burst
Astronomers from around the world combined data from ground- and space-based telescopes to paint a detailed portrait of the brightest explosion ever seen. The observations reveal that the jets of the gamma-ray burst called GRB 080319B were aimed almost directly at the Earth. view more (2008-09-11)
Glasgow astronomers explain hot star disks
Astronomers have been puzzled for decades as to how the rings of hot gas surrounding certain types of star are formed. Now a team of scientists from the Universities of Glasgow and Wisconsin believe they have found the answer. The team studied a type of young, hot star, known as a "Be star", that has a disk of glowing gas around it, similar to the... view more... (2002-11-01)
Gamma-ray bursts: are we safe?
For a few seconds every day, Earth is bombarded by gamma rays created by cataclysmic explosions in distant galaxies. Such explosions, similar to supernovae, are known as 'gamma-ray bursts' or GRBs. Astronomers using ESA's X-ray observatory, XMM-Newton, are trying to understand the cause of these extraordinary explosions from the X-rays given out... view more... (2003-09-17)
Discovery of most recent supernova in our galaxy
The most recent supernova in our Galaxy has been discovered by tracking the rapid expansion of its remains. This result, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and NRAO's Very Large Array (VLA), has implications for understanding how often supernovas explode in the Milky Way galaxy. view more (2008-05-15)
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