Astronomy
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Astronomy
Hole power
New computer simulations and observations are adding to the evidence that supermassive black holes control the growth of the galaxies they inhabit, wielding an influence far beyond their gravitational grasp.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Big Flash: Record-breaking explosion in outer space
The brightest flash of light ever recorded from beyond the solar system could help account for a puzzling group of extremely short-lived gamma-ray bursts from distant galaxies.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Ghostly Galaxy: Massive, dark cloud intrigues scientists
Astronomers say they have found the only known galaxy devoid of stars.
By David Shiga -
Astronomy
Images from the Edge
Examining nearby reaches of the universe at ultraviolet wavelengths, a recently launched spacecraft has found regions of star birth in unexpected places.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Swift detection of a gamma-ray burst
A telescope has for the first time detected X rays directly from an ongoing gamma-ray burst, the most powerful type of explosion in the universe.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Proton storm erupts from the sun
A storm of high-speed protons, triggered by a Jan. 20 solar eruption, bombarded spacecraft and was the most energetic such squall recorded in 15 years.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Puny Parent? Planets may form around tiny orbs
Barely more massive than a planet itself, a tiny failed star 500 light-years from Earth is nonetheless cloaked in a disk of gas and dust from which planets may coalesce.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Hubble views bar in galaxy
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a strikingly detailed image of the starlit arms, glowing gas, and dark dust clouds of a barred spiral galaxy called NGC 1300, which lies 69 million light-years from Earth.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Black Hole Bonanza: 10,000 objects near our galaxy’s center
Astronomers have found the first evidence of a suspected population of black holes near the Milky Way's center, each hole with 10 times the mass of the sun.
By David Shiga -
Astronomy
Stars in the dust
The dusty disks surrounding three nearby stars show that they played host to massive collisions between asteroid-like objects as recently as 100 years ago.
By David Shiga -
Astronomy
Zooming in on a great void
New X-ray observations provide the most detailed view yet of the environment near a supermassive black hole.
By David Shiga