Ron Cowen

All Stories by Ron Cowen

  1. Astronomy

    Super Wallops: Tracking the origin of cosmic rays

    Two new studies shed light on the longstanding mystery of where cosmic rays—the energetic charged particles that bombard our galaxy—originate.

  2. Astronomy

    Cosmic Remodeling: Superwinds star in early universe

    New measurements reveal that some of the earliest galaxies in the universe produced winds so powerful and persistent that they blew material from one galaxy to another, temporarily separating dark matter from visible matter and profoundly influencing the evolution of future generations of galaxies.

  3. Astronomy

    Gamma-Ray Burst: A black hole is born

    New evidence supports the notion that gamma-ray bursts, the most violent explosions in the universe, are the primal calling cards of newborn black holes.

  4. Astronomy

    Long Ago and Far Away: Astronomers find distant galaxy, early cluster

    Peering ever deeper into space and further back in time, two teams of astronomers have uncovered new details about the earliest galaxies and galaxy clusters in the universe.

  5. Astronomy

    Repainting the cosmic palette

    After all the hue and cry about the color of the universe, astronomers have now revised their findings: It’s not pale green, but boring old beige.

  6. Planetary Science

    Mars Odyssey instrument revived

    Flight controllers have revived an instrument on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft that measures the amount of radiation bombarding the Martian surface.

  7. Planetary Science

    Probing Jupiter’s big magnetic bubble

    Simultaneous measurements by two spacecraft have probed in greater detail than ever before Jupiter’s magnetosphere, the invisible bubble of charged particles that surrounds the giant planet.

  8. Astronomy

    Rethinking an Astronomical Icon

    Examining the Eagle nebula's pillars of creation with infrared detectors, scientists are viewing an astronomical icon in a whole new light.

  9. Planetary Science

    Odyssey’s First Look: Craft spies signs of ice at the Martian south pole

    Astronomers have for the first time found evidence of large amounts of frozen water in the subsurface of Mars.

  10. Astronomy

    Martian equator: A watery outpost?

    A catastrophic outpouring of water—four times the volume contained in Lake Tahoe—may have gushed from fissures near the equator on Mars as recently as 10 million years ago.

  11. Astronomy

    Ambitious Mission: Hubble slated to get one heckuva tune-up

    If all goes according to plan, astronauts aboard the space shuttle Columbia will embark on the fourth and most technically challenging mission to replace damaged parts and install new detectors on the Hubble Space Telescope.

  12. Planetary Science

    Galileo at Jupiter: The goodbye tour

    After more than 6 years spent touring Jupiter and its four largest moons, the Galileo spacecraft’s mission is beginning to wind down.