Cornell University and Caltech researchers will develop the world's most sensitive sub-millimeter telescope in the Atacama Desert, capable of probing star formation during galaxy formation. The telescope's high sensitivity will enable studies of large-scale universe structure and hidden planets in circumstellar disks.
Astronomers have discovered a possible link between a comet impact in the 6th century and the 'Dark Ages.' The comet's debris caused a prolonged cold period, similar to a nuclear winter, resulting in crop failures and widespread starvation. A small comet size was needed to cause such dramatic effects.
The GEMS consortium presents the largest contiguous color image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, comprising over 40,000 galaxies. The team uses this image to investigate how large galaxies evolved over the last nine billion years.
A new study published in Icarus reveals that planet formation simulations indicate a high probability of finding Earthlike planets near other stars. The research suggests that the presence and orbits of giant planets like Jupiter can greatly impact the amount of water on terrestrial planets.
The Faulkes Telescope project provides UK schools with access to two robotic telescopes in Hawaii and Australia, allowing students to explore the Universe and participate in research programmes. The telescopes can be controlled directly from classrooms via PC and internet connection.
Brookhaven Lab operates the main computing facility for Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and is developing a system for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The laboratory is integrating its RHIC and LHC computing facilities into a comprehensive data grid, providing access to data from large-scale physics and astronomy experiments.
Dark matter forms smaller clumps that resemble galaxies and globular clusters in our luminous universe. Computer simulations show these clumps have intricate substructures and dynamic lives independent of visible matter, leading to a template for the visible universe.
The study confirms the accelerating expansion of the universe due to dark energy, with data from 11 distant supernovae. It provides more precise measures of matter and dark energy composition in the universe.
The $18 million SALT Observatory is nearing completion and will feature the largest optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. The observatory's primary scientific instrument, a spectrograph, will break light down into its constituent wavelengths to study stars and galaxies outside of the Milky Way.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University successfully redesigned software for the FUSE satellite's gyroscopes, enabling precise control and reducing reliance on faulty components. The new system has shown improved performance, even surpassing traditional methods in certain situations.
The DEEP2 Redshift Survey has produced the first detailed maps of galaxy distribution in the early universe, revealing large-scale structures and differences in galaxy clustering. These maps show similar structures to those seen in the local universe but at an earlier stage of development.
The UCLA Center for Astrobiology will focus on four themes: extrasolar planetary systems, habitability of planets and their satellites, Earth's early environment and life, and evolution of biological complexity. The center aims to detect planets beyond our solar system using new methods and study the factors that control habitability.
The new AO76 system, developed by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in New Mexico, produces sharper images under worse seeing conditions than the previous AO24 system. This allows existing solar telescopes to produce higher resolution images and greatly improve their scientific output.
Astronomers have discovered seven planet-forming disks, extending up to 100 times larger than previously seen disks, around infant stars in the constellations Orion and Perseus. These discoveries suggest that planets may form at much greater distances from stars, making them easier to detect.
Scientists estimate a significant increase in low-energy cosmic ray flux, leading to enhanced heating and ionization in diffuse interstellar gas clouds. This finding implies the production of more complex molecules than previously thought, with potential implications for the origin of life.
Researchers found a correlation between fluence and duration for both short and long bursts, but the degree of this relationship is statistically different at a 4.5 sigma significance level. This suggests that short bursts may originate from fundamentally different physical processes than long bursts.
Scientists have developed a new theory explaining the formation of large-scale magnetic fields in galaxies, which twist and expand like elastic ribbons. The theory resolves a long-standing problem in astrophysics by showing how turbulence creates opposing small-scale fields that eventually suppress growth.
The TAOS Project will search for comets by monitoring the brief eclipses of background stars as these objects pass between the telescopes and their light source. This innovative method allows scientists to detect small, faint objects that are too far away to be seen in reflected sunlight.
Researchers conclude dark energy is the dominant form of energy in the universe, contradicting observations of distant supernovae. The accelerating expansion of the universe can be explained by the presence of negative pressure in a vacuum, supporting the existence of dark energy.
Researchers develop waveform templates to analyze gravity wave signals, enabling detection of neutron star collapses and black hole collisions. Gravity waves offer a window to the universe carrying different information than electromagnetic waves.
The UKIRT's new UIST instrument allows astronomers to study galaxies in exquisite detail using infrared spectroscopy and imaging. The instrument's 'image slicer' feature enables the creation of detailed spectra across complex objects, revolutionizing observations at UKIRT.
Researchers believe that lunar debris may hold fossils from Earth's early microbial life, with potential insights into the evolution of life on our planet. By studying this ancient material, scientists can gain a better understanding of the moon's role as a window into Earth's history.
Adaptive optics systems are expanding ground-based astronomy capabilities, enabling unprecedented views of the universe. The technology has already produced eightfold improvements in image quality at observatories like the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii.
The Johns Hopkins University team won second prize in the Microsoft .Net Best Awards for XML WebServices with their prototype virtual observatory program, SkyQuery. The service allows users to run queries across multiple databases simultaneously, including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and 2 Micron All-Sky Survey.
Alexander Wolszczan, discoverer of the first extra-solar planets, has been featured on a Polish postage stamp celebrating the past millennium. His discovery in 1992 using the Arecibo radiotelescope suggested that planets might be plentiful throughout the universe.
A team led by Tom Murphy will use laser ranging and a large telescope to measure the moon's distance from Earth with accuracy of a millimeter. The project will also test Einstein's equivalence principle and the strength of gravitational interaction, providing insights into gravity's nature.
A new mathematical theory developed by Vanderbilt University professors can produce more accurate digital representations of complex signals, overcoming limitations of current methods. This has significant applications in areas such as music, photography, medical imaging, astronomy, geophysics, and communications.
A new theory suggests that an ancient supernova explosion may have devastated the Earth's ocean ecosystem, causing widespread extinction of plankton and marine organisms. The discovery was made by linking data from paleontology, geology, and astronomy fields.
Researchers used a powerful computing cluster to simulate moon motions over 1 billion years, discovering that the sun's gravity pulls smaller moons from their orbits. The study reveals how giant planets capture and shape the orbits of tiny moons, shedding light on Jupiter's unusual satellite system.
Celera Genomics has adopted Aura's OPUS software to streamline its development processes, saving time and resources. The partnership demonstrates the practical applications of innovative technologies developed for space exploration.
A global map of asteroid 433 Eros reveals that nearly half of the largest rocks were ejected from a single crater, Shoemaker. The rocks were likely created by a meteorite collision about a billion years ago.
CU-Boulder joins a powerful 3.5-meter telescope consortium in southeastern New Mexico, providing the department with its first facility for ground-based observational astronomy. The university has invested $330,000 of its own money and secured private funding to participate in the consortium.
Research suggests that brown dwarfs don't require special conditions to form, but rather are ejected from multiple-star systems due to gravitational interactions. This process affects their growth and ultimately determines their fate as either a normal star or a brown dwarf.
Researchers using NASA's Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) have discovered that water vapor is 10,000 times less abundant than previously thought in interstellar clouds. The satellite's findings also indicate that molecular oxygen is at least 100 times less abundant than predicted, contradicting prevailing wisdom.
Frank Shu, a renowned expert in theoretical astrophysics and star formation, received the Dannie Heinemann Prize for his groundbreaking research on various topics including spiral structure, stellar dynamics, and planetary rings. The award recognizes his significant contributions to the field of astrophysics.
A team of astronomers, including an undergraduate researcher, detect the presence of massive stellar explosions in a distant galaxy using quasar light. The discovery reveals six super bubbles formed at nearly the same time, releasing energy equivalent to 10,000 suns over their lifetimes.
Yale astronomers have discovered that the area around the Milky Way contains remains of small galaxies torn apart by gravity, contradicting previous smooth distribution theories. The study found approximately 150 RR Lyrae variables with proper periods and light variations in a previously surveyed region.
At the American Astronomical Society meeting, NSF highlighted recent breakthroughs in adaptive optics, revealing a solar-system-sized disk around a massive protostar. The NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey also captured 300,000 faint galaxies over a vast area, creating the first three-dimensional map of the universe.
Researchers at UNC-CH find that electrical resistance varies according to how nanotubes are oriented on a flat surface, with peaks six times as much when rotated 360 degrees. This discovery could be useful for telecommunications and electronics industries.
New analysis of astronomical data suggests that galaxies with rapid rates of star formation are linked to active supermassive black holes. The study found evidence that starbursts, regions of frequent and rapid star formation, may be obscuring the central black holes' emissions in some Seyfert galaxies.
Rutgers University has five faculty members recognized as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for their outstanding research and achievements in various fields. Jolie Cizewski, Joan Ehrenfeld, Doina Ganea, Paul Kantor, and Thomas Rudel were cited by AAAS for their contributions to physics, ecology,...
A new X-ray telescope will allow astrophysicists to peer down the mouths of black holes with unprecedented resolution. The instrument can resolve an object the size of a Frisbee on the sun, enabling the study of stellar systems and astrophysical jets.
The Green Bank Telescope (GBT) is the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope, opening a new era of astronomical research. With its record-breaking capabilities, scientists will be able to study the universe in unprecedented detail, making groundbreaking discoveries and advancing our understanding of the cosmos.
Cornell University has been selected by NASA to lead the science team for the next Mars mission, which will include a large roving vehicle carrying six scientific instruments. The rover's Pancam panoramic camera system will reveal terrain around the vehicle and help select rock targets for study.
Loren Acton, a former astronaut and solar physicist, has won the prestigious George Ellery Hale Prize for his outstanding contributions to solar astronomy. Acton's research focuses on understanding the Sun's behavior, shapes, colors, and motions.
Astronomers use NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to study the growth of Perseus A, a supergiant galaxy at the center of a large galaxy cluster. The research reveals that Perseus A has accumulated hundreds of billions of stars by cannibalizing gas and smaller galaxies in the vicinity.
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory's Burst And Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) discovered nearly 30 new exotic astrophysical objects and phenomena, rewriting astronomy textbooks. The instrument also contributed to 10 scientific prizes and 18 Ph.Ds.
University of Florida researchers Richard Elston and Zhuomin Zhang won the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. The award includes a $500,000 research grant to support their independent research careers. The recipients' work focuses on advancing basic science in heat transfer and thermodynamics.
The Cornell University-led Comet Nucleus Tour mission aims to conduct close-proximity comet flybys, studying the comets' geology and composition. The spacecraft will be launched in July 2002 and explore Comets Encke, Schwassmann-Wachmann-3, and potentially others.
Raymond Davis Jr.'s groundbreaking work on detecting solar neutrinos led to a significant discovery of the sun's energy production and sparked ongoing investigations into the cause of the solar neutrino deficit. Masatoshi Koshiba's contributions to neutrino astronomy with his Kamiokande detectors also earned him the Wolf Prize.
A new study suggests that planetary systems similar to ours are not common in the galaxy, with only 44.7% of stars capable of supporting such systems. This finding contradicts the theory that planetary systems are necessary for extraterrestrial life.
A recent study suggests that planetary systems similar to our own are rare in the galaxy, with less than 45% of stars capable of hosting Jupiter-like planets at specific distances. The study's findings were made possible by a new method developed by graduate student B. Scott Gaudi and his team using gravitational lensing anomalies.
A Yale researcher has discovered up to 70 new and very distant RR Lyrae stars in the Milky Way that can provide valuable clues about the galaxy's history and composition. The stars are thought to be among the oldest in the galaxy, with ages of over 12 billion years.
A recent search using an Arizona-based telescope failed to detect evidence supporting a 13-year-old theory that small comets composed of snow continually bombard the Earth. The researchers found no conclusive evidence for small comets weighing 20-40 tons each, which were predicted to disintegrate in the atmosphere every minute.
Astrophysicists use 'forensic science' to study gamma-ray bursts, seeking clues about their causes. Observations suggest that many bursts are linked to star formation and blue galaxies.
A team of astronomers has discovered a new molecule, nitrogen sulfide, in comets, which may offer insights into the formation of the early solar system. The compound's presence in comets suggests that it could have originated from the material that formed the planets.
Scientists are working on developing new technologies to store, access, and search large volumes of data. The team aims to improve data management for next-generation science projects like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, which will produce 40 terabytes of data.
The High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer has made the most precise measurements ever recorded of a star's corona, revealing new insights into stellar behavior. The instrument's success marks a major milestone for modern astronomy, enabling scientists to study the chemical composition and temperature of the corona with unpreced...
Researchers suggest that a rare radioactive isotope found in deep-sea sediments may be evidence of a nearby supernova. The explosion could have caused a 'cosmic-ray winter' leading to mini-extinctions about 5 million years ago, with effects still detectable today.
A powerful numerical simulation reveals that gravitational waves from merging neutron stars can be detected by highly specialized detectors. The simulation, which included relativistic radiation reactions, showed tidal arms forming during the merger, significantly altering the dynamics and energy of the event.