Astronomy
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AstronomyThe 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.
By Ron Cowen -
AstronomySolar 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.
By Ron Cowen -
AstronomyBraking 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.
By Ron Cowen -
AstronomyDouble 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 -
AstronomyBlack 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 -
AstronomyRecurrent 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 -
AstronomyA 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 -
AstronomyExplosive 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 -
AstronomyRepaired 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 -
AstronomyAstronomy 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 -
AstronomyPlanet-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 -
AstronomyGalactic de Gustibus
About 13 billion years after its birth, our galaxy is still packing on the stars.
By Ron Cowen