Ron Cowen

All Stories by Ron Cowen

  1. Astronomy

    Pulsar pas de deux

    Astronomers have for the first time discovered two pulsars orbiting each other, offering the chance for new precision tests of Einstein's theory of general relativity.

  2. Astronomy

    Wrenching Findings: Homing in on dark energy

    In an analysis of a group of distant supernovas, astronomers have found hints that dark energy is distributed uniformly throughout space.

  3. Astronomy

    Finding the star that was

    Sifting through archival images, astronomers have identified the star whose explosive demise was recorded by telescopes last year.

  4. Planetary Science

    A view of Mars, European style

    Although the Mars lander Beagle 2 is presumed dead, its mother craft, the European Space Agency's Mars Express, has transmitted its first data from a polar orbit about the Red Planet.

  5. Astronomy

    Bare-Naked Galaxies

    A decade's worth of observations is spotlighting how the vast sea of gas surrounding a cluster of galaxies can alter the shape of a galaxy plowing through it.

  6. Astronomy

    Poof goes an atmosphere

    Blasted by the heat and radiation from its parent star, a planet 150 light-years from Earth is literally blowing off its atmosphere.

  7. Astronomy

    Cosmic afterglow steals the limelight

    Thanks to a chance cosmic alignment, researchers appear to have resolved the detailed structure of the afterglow of a gamma-ray burst—even though the parent burst erupted halfway across the universe.

  8. Planetary Science

    Red Planet Roundup: Opportunity knocks; Spirit revives

    The NASA rover Opportunity bounced onto an equatorial Martian plain early on Jan. 25 and found an intriguing outcropping of rocks on the other side of the planet from where its ailing but recovering twin, Spirit, had recently stalled.

  9. Astronomy

    Scoping out a stellar nursery

    Penetrating a veil of dust, a space-based infrared observatory has recorded the most complete portrait ever taken of a star-forming region in a nearby galaxy.

  10. Astronomy

    Stellar finding may outshine all others

    Astronomers have found what may be the heaviest, biggest, and brightest star ever observed.

  11. Planetary Science

    Spirit Gets Its Wheels Dirty: Mars rover begins scientific work

    Spirit, the rover that landed on Mars on Jan. 3, last week began studying the rocks and soil at its landing site.

  12. Astronomy

    Gang of four: Debut of a big telescope

    In the desert of northern Chile, a fourth 8.2-meter telescope opened for business, completing a quartet known as the Very Large Telescope.