Astronomy

Astronomy

New Solar System? Twelve planets and counting (Updated)

According to a new proposal, the solar system has 12 planets instead of the familiar 9, with several dozen more to come.

Astronomy

The Sun’s Halo in 3-D

A new computer map of the sun's outer atmosphere and spacecraft ready for launch are expected to shed new light on the origin of solar eruptions and provide more accurate warning of their impact on Earth.

Astronomy

Solar System Small Fry: Stellar blinks reveal tiny bodies near Pluto

By measuring tiny dips in the intensity of X rays from a distant star, astronomers say they have detected more than 50 of the tiniest chunks of ice ever found in the outer solar system.

Astronomy

Braking news: Disks slow down stars

Astronomers have the first clear-cut evidence that rotating young stars are slowed by the planet-forming disks of gas and dust that surround many of them.

Astronomy

Double disks

Astronomers have confirmed that the nearby star Beta Pictoris has two disks of dust orbiting it, each of which is generated by debris likely to be left over from planet formation.

Astronomy

Black Hole Explorations

What would it be like to orbit a black hole—or even to fall into one? You can find out by exploring the world of black holes in a Web site created by a team at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md. For a fully interactive multimedia experience, click “Journey to a Black Hole” […]

Astronomy

Recurrent Eruption: Explosive stellar saga

Six thermonuclear explosions have ripped off the outer layers of a dense, nearby star in the past 108 years.

Astronomy

A Meteoroid Hits the Moon

This NASA Web page describes observations of a recent meteoroid impact on the moon, which created a new crater. It includes audio and a remarkable video of the impact. Go to: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/13jun_lunarsporadic.htm?list43643

Astronomy

Explosive Aftermath: Sluggish neutron star puzzles astronomers

An X-ray–emitting object at the heart of a young supernova remnant doesn't fit the textbook view of what a stellar explosion is supposed to leave behind.

Astronomy

Repaired Vision: Hubble’s camera sees again

The main camera on the Hubble Space Telescope is operating normally again after being blinded for 2 weeks by an electrical failure.

Astronomy

Astronomy Gets Polarized

Studies using polarized light, an endeavor once considered astronomy's stepchild, are now elucidating the shape of supernovas as well as providing new details about the early universe.

Astronomy

Planet-making disk has a banana split

Two banana-shaped arcs of gas and dust face each other within a newly discovered planet-forming disk that surrounds a young, nearby star.