Astronomy

Astronomy

Cosmic Survey: Galaxy map reveals dark business as usual

The most precise map of how galaxies cluster, pulled together by the tug of gravity, has confirmed that most of the cosmos is in the dark, consisting of 5 percent ordinary matter, 25 percent dark matter, and 70 percent dark energy.

Astronomy

When really big winds collide

A newly released image shows dramatic details of the Crescent nebula, a giant gaseous shell created by outbursts of a massive star about to explode as a supernova.

Astronomy

Vanishing planet

An object orbiting a distant star is too heavy to be a planet, researchers have concluded.

Astronomy

Extrasolar planet gets heavier

An extrasolar planet that tightly orbits its parent star is heavier than astronomers had thought.

Astronomy

Super Data: Hail the cosmic revolution

Ten extremely distant supernovas recently discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope provide evidence that something is pushing objects in the cosmos apart at an ever-faster rate.

Astronomy

Craft finds where sun’s corona gets its hots

New findings may help explain an enduring solar riddle: Although the sun's outer atmosphere lies thousands of kilometers above the visible surface of the sun, it's about 1,000 times hotter.

Astronomy

A Low Note in Cosmos: Sounding out a new role for black holes

Astronomers have for the first time detected sound waves generated by a black hole.

Astronomy

Solar system replica?

Carefully monitoring the motion of a star 90 light-years from Earth, astronomers have found what may be the closest analog known to our solar system.

Astronomy

Lights out

Astronomers who have conducted a detailed analysis of the colors of some 37,000 nearby galaxies conclude that the universe is gradually growing darker.

Astronomy

Getting the GOODS on Galaxies

A coordinated effort among the most powerful space and ground-based observatories to stare in detail at the same two patches of sky is revealing how galaxies assembled, how rapidly star formation proceeded in the early universe, and whether dark energy has recently revved up the expansion of the universe.

Astronomy

Hubble Highlights a Riddle: What’s the source of quick-return comets?

New observations from the Hubble Space Telescope demonstrate that scientists don't know where a major class of comets comes from.

Astronomy

Stellar Tantrums: Tracking the flaring cycles of other stars

Astronomers are closely tracking the ebb and flow of magnetic activity and powerful flares on stars other than the sun.