Articles tagged with Space Telescopes
Physicists at Stanford University developed a new optical detector capable of measuring individual photons' energy, arrival time, and location throughout the spectrum. This breakthrough has potential applications in dark matter detection and improved astronomical observations.
FUSE is the first large-scale space mission fully planned and operated by a university department. It will study the origin and evolution of hydrogen and deuterium, as well as galaxy evolution and star formation, analyzing clouds of gases between stars in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies.
Scientists at Columbia University detected the largest explosion ever witnessed, a gamma-ray burst, which occurred 12 billion years ago. The event released almost as much energy as the 10 billion trillion stars in the universe combined and was detected using a rapid series of phone calls between astronomers around the world.
Scientists have discovered the most distant known object in the cosmos, a young galaxy existing when the universe was only 6% of its present age. The serendipitous discovery raises hopes for resolving two central questions in astrophysics: how and when did galaxies form.
Researchers aim to address wave front errors caused by vibrations and thermal stresses in large space telescopes, affecting their clarity and focus. They've developed software-based solutions to detect and correct these aberrations, enabling better performance for space exploration.
Researchers studied 40 distant supernovae to measure the cosmic expansion rate, finding it will expand forever due to insufficient mass for gravity to slow it down. Type Ia supernovae provide natural mile-markers to track trends in the universe's expansion.
Astronomers use Hubble Space Telescope images and a computer model to study the behavior of stars in their infancy, shedding light on how cosmic dust influences the environment. The findings provide new insights into the formation of solar systems and the role of powerful jets of dust and gas in shaping star formation.
Astronomers calculate that a gamma ray burst has expanded to 85 times the size of our solar system and is still growing. The detection uses the 'twinkling' effect in radio astronomy, where the point where twinkling stops allows for diameter measurement.
A Wake Forest University professor's applied mathematics enable new adaptive optics technology to improve the sight of ground-based telescopes and new laser weapons, resulting in 'Hubble-like' improvements. The tech also enhances missile defense capabilities against enemy missiles and space junk.
Astronomers have detected a thin oxygen atmosphere on Ganymede, the largest of Jupiter's moons. The presence of this atmosphere is similar to that of Earth and Jupiter itself, with evidence suggesting polar aurorae created by charged particles colliding with atmospheric gases.
The Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT) is a fully robotic telescope that can track a given area of the sky for hours and detect objects 10,000 times fainter than other telescopes. KAIT will enable astronomers to conduct nightly studies of changing celestial objects remotely.