Astronomy
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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.
By Ron Cowen -
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” […]
By Science News -
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.
By Ron Cowen -
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
By Science News -
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.
By Ron Cowen -
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.
By Ron Cowen -
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.
By Ron Cowen -
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.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Galactic de Gustibus
About 13 billion years after its birth, our galaxy is still packing on the stars.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Magnetic Thrust: Fields force matter into black holes
New observations confirm that magnetic fields provide matter with the last push to plunge into a black hole.
By Eric Jaffe -
Astronomy
Not a planet?
New observations add to the evidence that an image of a planetary-mass object discovered beyond the solar system is not that of a bona fide planet.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Spewing superdust
Astronomers have identified a type of supernova as the main source of space dust.
By Ron Cowen