Astronomy
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Astronomy
Farthest Bang: A burst that goes the distance
The most-distant gamma-ray burst ever found hails from 900 million years after the birth of the universe, around the time when stars and galaxies first flooded the universe with light.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Deep Impact
Data from the Deep Impact mission reveal that the bullet that slammed into Comet Tempel 1 on July 4 excavated material that likely hadn't seen the light of day since the birth of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Recipe for a Heavyweight: Making a massive star
New findings strongly support the notion that at least some massive stars form much as their lighter-weight siblings do, by packing on material from a surrounding disk of gas and dust.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Hidden black holes
A new study has added to existing evidence that most of the monster black holes at the cores of galaxies are shrouded by dust.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
First Supper: X rays may mark eating habits of baby black holes
Astronomers have evidence that just minutes after their tumultuous birth, baby black holes emit powerful burps of X rays that may be fueled by material left over from their first meal.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Three’s Company: Asteroid 87 Sylvia and her two moons
Astronomers have for the first time discovered an asteroid with two moons, an indication that the rock is highly porous.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Cosmic soot
Astronomers have found a group of complex organic compounds, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, from a time when the universe was less than one-third its current age.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Cosmic Computing
The largest computer simulation of the universe ever compiled uses dark matter to shed light on the formation of galaxies and on the visible structure of the universe.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Planet potential
Observations with the Submillimeter Array on Hawaii's Mauna Kea reveal that, despite their bombardment by a stellar bully, the disks in Orion have enough material to form planets.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
A new X-ray eye on the cosmos
To study some of the hottest regions in the universe, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency has launched the coldest instrument ever flown.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Crater Shake: Tremors erased asteroid’s topography
Seismic shock waves from a large meteor impact on the asteroid Eros might have rearranged surface rubble, destroying crater structures over much of the asteroid.