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The Hubble telescope continues its series of amazing pictures with one that ensured the most accurate analysis of a far galaxy ever performed. The image embedded in this article presents the photography taken by the device, which resembles an eye, or, more precisely, a stylized image of the eye of Ra, the Egyptian go... |
9 October 2008
11:03 GMT |
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Some gas tendrils between two galaxies indicate that a high-speed collision of the celestial bodies once took place. Scientists look up to this as a possible clue to the reason so many of the galaxies are unable to form new stars.One of the two is the spiral galaxy NGC 4438 situated about 50 million light years away ... |
9 October 2008
06:57 GMT |
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Ever stopped what you were doing just to gaze at the night sky? The stars are fascinating, aren't they? However, you can't make out much without someone (or something) explaining to you what constellations are visible at a time, which star is which, how far it is from the Earth and so on.Starmap for iPhone ... |
7 October 2008
05:34 GMT |
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A recent study indicates that there are stars in the proximity of the Milky Way's core that feed on dark matter, thus prolonging their lifespan with more than a billion years. Finding them would possibly help understanding what dark matter really is and how exactly it functions.Although responsible for 22% of th... |
3 October 2008
05:47 GMT |
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Since the distance between space's bodies is so enormous, astronomers have very hard times counting and measuring all the newly-emerging stars. That's why the H-alpha characteristic signal emitted by the new stars comes as a blessing for those who detect them by telescope. The amount of such rays emitted fr... |
2 October 2008
09:53 GMT |
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As researchers finally conducted their first direct measurement of a young, far galaxy's magnetic field, the result shocked them, since it was found to be ten times stronger than the Milky Way's, exactly the opposite of what they had originally predicted.The 6.5 billion light years away young galaxy DLA-3C2... |
2 October 2008
08:53 GMT |
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The mysterious force that drives the patches of matter at incredible speeds and in uniform directions through space, which can't be explained by comparison to any known gravitational force, and which may also exist outside of the observable universe, was called "dark flow."If you think you already know all there... |
25 September 2008
06:47 GMT |
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Researchers from the University of Montreal, Canada, discovered that the giant star is also accompanied by another huge "sister," weighing 89 times more than our sun. The way stars are formed is known only in theory, based on previous observations and on the limits of science, which proposes models stating that ... |
23 September 2008
03:32 GMT |
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So far, this seems to be the dimmest galaxy in the universe ever discovered. Shining only with the brightness of less than 350 suns, which is very little for an entire galaxy, it is believed to be filled with dark mater in enormous quantities. Segue 1, as it is called, is one of only about 2 dozen dwarf galaxie... |
19 September 2008
06:14 GMT |
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Researchers from Durham University discovered that an enormous black hole located 500 million light years away from Earth emits a strong X-ray pulse. They stumbled upon the phenomenon as they were scouring about the middle of a galaxy called REJ1034+396, and it looks like the pulse is attributed to the gas arou... |
18 September 2008
02:55 GMT |
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Intel's Atom processor has been designed to meet the performance requirements of small-sized desktop computer systems and sub-notebooks (also known as netbooks). As a matter of fact, the increasingly expanding netbook market has been the main catalyst for Intel's impressive sales numbers with its Atom CPU. ... |
26 August 2008
04:14 GMT |
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Barred galaxies, having two arms trailing each other on either side of the galactic center, might have evolved in this particular shape with the passing of time, say astronomers who discovered that, compared to the first half of the universe's past, currently there are three times more galaxies that have bars. M... |
30 July 2008
02:52 GMT |
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The worst place where a star could grow is in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole, as powerful gravitational fields exerted by the latter prevent the clouds of gas to condense into objects such as our Sun. However, astronomers have recently discovered that young stars do form near the center of our galaxy, insi... |
24 July 2008
04:15 GMT |
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Messier 101, also known as the Pinwheel galaxy, is a spiral galaxy located about 27 million light-years in the constellation Ursa Major, having a diameter about twice that of the Milky Way and containing vast amounts of high-density hydrogen gas, which gives it a fluffy-looking appearance. According to some estimatio... |
22 July 2008
03:01 GMT |
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The weight of supermassive black holes found in the center of galaxies is usually estimated by measuring the effects of the huge gravitational fields on the objects located in the vicinity of the black holes in question. Now, a new and precise weighing method developed at the University of California with the help of... |
17 July 2008
11:25 GMT |
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The general belief amongst astrophysicists is that the magnetic field of a galaxy evolves simultaneously with the galaxy, slowly building up in time. New observations of the distant universe on the other hand, appear to suggest that this is not quite true and that young galaxies also possess powerful magnetic fields ... |
17 July 2008
02:51 GMT |
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Currently, our Milky Way galaxy is thought to produce about 10 new stars every year, close to nothing compared to a newly found distant galaxy that appears to generate approximately 4,000 new stars each year. A small calculation reveals that such a galaxy would require as little as 50 million years to evolve into one... |
11 July 2008
03:33 GMT |
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There's a reason why the Hubble telescope was placed in orbit around Earth, and it's a pretty good one too. The lack of any interference from the planet's atmosphere allows it to see objects that modern ground-based telescopes probably never will - such as a newly discovered galaxy that seems to be fil... |
9 July 2008
02:54 GMT |
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The most detailed map of the chemical composition of the galaxy we live in has been recently released by the research team of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, after completing the study of a population of stars extending on a radius of more than 30,000 light years around the Sun. "This compilation of the compositions of... |
13 June 2008
09:47 GMT |
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Nothing can escape the gravitational pull of black holes, not even light; they draw in every bit of matter and energy passing beyond their event horizon. According to a new study, some of the heaviest black holes in the universe, weighing up to several billion solar masses and found in the cores of active galactic nu... |
5 June 2008
03:45 GMT |
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Why study the star formation process in individual galaxies when the debris left behind by colliding galaxies makes matters so much simpler? In a press conference at the American Astronomical Society, Mederic Boquien from the University of Massachusetts showed that the study of the star formation process is much more... |
4 June 2008
10:25 GMT |
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It is widely believed that every galaxy in the universe hosts a supermassive black hole at its core, with a mass ranging between ten thousand and a few billion times that of the Sun. Marc Sigar from the University of Arkansas claims that with the help of images provided by the Hubble Space Telescope, he and his team ... |
3 June 2008
03:00 GMT |
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Traditional glass mirrors used in telescope manufacturing are very expensive and extremely hard to build, not to mention that they weigh a 'ton' and are incredibly difficult to maneuver. And then there's always the risk that once completed, they may not turn out to be perfect for the job (remember Hubb... |
2 June 2008
06:31 GMT |
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Our galaxy contains about 1 trillion solar masses, says a recent estimation regarding the weight of the Milky Way. All previous estimates showed that the galaxy has a mass ranging between 750 billion to over 2 trillion times that of our Sun, the latter being slightly favored and probably closest to the true weight. H... |
28 May 2008
03:51 GMT |
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If you're still wondering whether or not the 'giant ball of fire' in the sky has special characteristics that enabled the appearance and evolution of life on Earth, you should probably know that the Sun is about as special as several billion other stars in the visible universe. At least that's wh... |
22 May 2008
07:41 GMT |
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The universe contains several billions of billions of galaxies, although less than half of the normal matter in the universe makes up for these structures - which leaves us with half of the mass of normal matter missing. University of Colorado researchers reveal that they have found about half of the missing normal m... |
21 May 2008
03:15 GMT |
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Interstellar dust and gas permeates the whole interstellar and intergalactic space, blocking significant amounts of light along the way. But until now, it was unknown exactly how much light was shielded by dust and gas, mostly because most astronomers believe that the effect is irrelevant. New calculations reveal tha... |
16 May 2008
02:40 GMT |
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As it travels through the Milky Way, the Sun experiences a periodical oscillation in relation to the galactic plane, meaning that the solar system intersects with some of the densest areas of the galaxy. This in turn can send comets and asteroids our way and determine catastrophic impacts with the Earth, such as that... |
13 May 2008
09:31 GMT |
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With the help of the Very Large Telescope, ESO astronomers have recently obtained an ultraviolet signature of carbon monoxide molecules inside a well hidden galaxy located 11 billion light years away from Earth. The VLT used its UVES spectrograph for a period of 8 hours to study the galaxy, during which time it obtai... |
13 May 2008
03:42 GMT |
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It has been theorized some time ago that supermassive black holes may be ejected from their galaxy during a galactic collision. However, until now such event remained unobserved. When two or more galaxies merge into a single one their supermassive black holes may also merge, albeit the energy released during such a p... |
30 April 2008
02:52 GMT |
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While observing galaxies in the early life of the universe, Yale University researchers discovered nine young galaxies presenting unusual high densities of stars. Although measuring only 5,000 light years in diameter, as opposed to the Milky Way which is more than 100,000 light years across, these galaxies contain am... |
29 April 2008
10:09 GMT |
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The Hubble Space Telescope, currently operated by the NASA/ESA collaboration, celebrates 18 years since it was launched into space. In order to mark this moment, the Hubble collaboration is now launching the vastest amount of individual images ever released at once for public use - 59 new images - presenting dramatic... |
24 April 2008
10:42 GMT |
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Light echoes are generated when interstellar or intergalactic gas is ionized by electromagnetic emissions originating several light years away, and responds accordingly by releasing the surplus energy by emitting light. By observing such light echoes, astronomers can witness events that occurred several hundred of th... |
19 April 2008
04:04 GMT |
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Latest observations conducted with the NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer UV space telescope reveal young stars forming in the outer regions of the galaxy, some 100,000 light years away from the galactic nucleus. The galaxy in question is known as M83, a spiral galaxy located about 15 million light-years away, sou... |
18 April 2008
03:19 GMT |
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Three weeks ago, the Swift satellite detected the brightest gamma-ray burst in the visible universe in a galaxy located more than 7 billion light years away from Earth. It is though that the supernova explosion could have been the result of the collapse of a massive star into a black hole, and that, during the explos... |
12 April 2008
03:47 GMT |
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Globular star clusters are believed to be amongst the oldest objects in the universe, some of them probably being more than 12 billion years old. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is home to about 200 globular star clusters, amongst which the Omega Centauri star cluster, the biggest and brightest of all. Although it is loca... |
11 April 2008
03:31 GMT |
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Take a patch of the sky with an area four times that of the apparent size of the Moon, study it over a period of three years and you may obtain the most sensitive infrared map of the distant universe. By doing so, researchers from the University of Nottingham obtained the image of more than 100,000 galaxies, as they ... |
9 April 2008
04:11 GMT |
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Quasars are basically massive black holes surrounded by large accretion disks of matter and can be mostly found in active galactic nuclei. As they swallow large quantities of matter, quasars may eject gas into the interstellar space, so that star formation processes are stopped and the galaxy housing it evolves passi... |
9 April 2008
03:37 GMT |
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Weighing supermassive black holes located in the center of galactic nuclei is more like looking through a solid brick wall, since matter in quantities of billions of times the mass of the Sun may stand in the way. Nonetheless, we are capable today to approximate the masses of supermassive black holes just by observin... |
9 April 2008
02:51 GMT |
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It's not the first time - and probably not the last either - when your galaxy commits acts of cannibalism against its smaller companions orbiting around it. Researchers from the Research School of Astronomy at the Australian National University reveal that they have discovered debris of a possible encounter betw... |
8 April 2008
02:42 GMT |
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Omega Centauri is one of Milky Way's most massive globular star cluster, located about 17,000 light years away from Earth and containing several millions of stars. Evidence suggests that there may be a massive object in its core, with tremendous gravitational pull, possibly a medium-sized black hole with a mass ... |
2 April 2008
10:32 GMT |
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The biggest black hole ever found in the universe weighs a staggering 18 billion times the mass of the Sun; however, NASA now discovered what seems to be the smallest black hole ever known. It has a mass 3.8 times that of the Sun and a diameter of about 24 kilometers. It was discovered with the help of NASA's Ro... |
2 April 2008
03:37 GMT |
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Because light does not travel instantaneously through space, when we look towards distant objects in the universe we actually see them as they appeared in their past. By using this property, astronomers are able to observe how galaxies looked, back in the early days of the universe. Just recently, they discovered wha... |
2 April 2008
02:44 GMT |
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NGC 2397 is just another spiral galaxy presenting prominent dust lanes along its arms; older stars in its central regions and newly forming stars in the spiral arms are shown blue in this image. The galaxy is located about 60 million light-years away from Earth, however the Hubble Space Telescope is still able to pro... |
1 April 2008
04:06 GMT |
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LBG-2377 is a galaxy proto-cluster located 11.4 billion light years away from Earth - the most distant galaxies ever observed. In fact, these galaxies are so far away from us, that they appear as they looked when they were in the first days of their lives. Previously, the most distant such galaxy proto-cluster was lo... |
1 April 2008
03:28 GMT |
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Astronomers from the Ohio State University reveal that they have discovered two new star systems which present particularities that associate them to a rare type of supernova. While studying a unique star system 13 million years away from Earth, hidden inside Holmberg IX, a small galaxy orbiting the M81 galaxy, resea... |
1 April 2008
02:48 GMT |
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More than eighteen years after it was launched into space, the Hubble Space Telescope is still the spearhead of our space exploration program, systematically mapping and bringing new and wondrous insight into what we call home, our universe. Recently, the Walters Art Museum has organized an exposition named "Maps: Fi... |
10 March 2008
10:17 GMT |
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The most powerful ground based telescope in the world, the Large Binocular Telescope located on Mount Graham, equipped with two 8.4 meter mirrors and the only operational telescope functioning in binocular light, has recently released its first three images featuring a galaxy more than 102 million light years away fr... |
6 March 2008
04:36 GMT |
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"Leave your telescopes at home, we won't need them for the next observation," would probably say Einstein. Indeed, the universe is dominated on the large scale by this mysterious force we call gravity, but it is not only responsible for keeping the universe from falling apart. Gravitational lensing, for example,... |
4 March 2008
10:07 GMT |
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According to new observations conducted with the Chandra X-ray Space Observatory, stars are no longer restricted to form inside the accretion disk of matter of a particular galaxy, but could easily start a star formation process far away if provided with the required amount of material. Such a process is currently ta... |
29 February 2008
09:42 GMT |
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