Astronomy

Astronomy

Magnetic-mapping mission resurrected

The European Space Agency successfully launched Cluster II, a group of four spacecraft that will fly in tandem to generate a three-dimensional map of Earth's magnetosphere.

Astronomy

Spirograph in the sky

Some 2,000 light-years from Earth, an elderly star has ejected its outer layers to form a puffy, gaseous cocoon that resembles a "spirograph" pattern.

Astronomy

It’s Raining Stardust: Spacecraft measures record amount of stellar debris

Stardust is sneaking into our solar system at three times the rate that it had just 4 years ago, and the influx of dust could triple through 2010.

Astronomy

Stellar speed limit

Ripples in the fabric of space-time may put the brakes on the fastest-spinning stars in the universe and prevent them from flying apart.

Astronomy

Swallow Thy Neighbor: Strong evidence of galactic cannibalism

Astronomers have found a compelling case of a large galaxy caught in the act of eating a small fry.

Astronomy

Repulsive Astronomy: Strengthening the case for dark energy

Astronomers have found new evidence that a mysterious substance, dubbed dark energy, is ripping the cosmos apart, causing the universe to expand at an ever-faster rate.

Astronomy

Taking the Crab’s pulse

Simultaneous recordings of a pulsar's radio emissions and its visible beam shed new light on the seemingly chaotic variations in the intensities of those emissions.

Astronomy

Sky Prospecting: Surveying the universe’s middle-aged galaxies

With a new sky survey, astronomers can tell the story of what happened during the universe’s middle years—about 7 billion years ago.

Astronomy

Storms from the Sun

Interested in space weather and the effect of solar storms on Earth? The National Academies Press Web site offers the full text of the fascinating book Storms from the Sun: The Emerging Science of Space Weather, written by Michael J. Carlowicz and Ramon E. Lopez. Learn more about bizarre events on Earth caused by solar […]

Astronomy

Dusty times on Mars

On July 1, a dust cloud emerged from Mars' Hellas Basin, and 3 days later it had become 1,800 kilometers wide, roughly one-fourth the Red Planet’s diameter.

Astronomy

A new receiver for alien broadcasts

A $12.5 million grant will help build the world's largest telescope designed to search for radio broadcasts from alien civilizations.

Astronomy

Taking a census of brown dwarfs

Researchers have completed the most thorough census to date of brown dwarfs in stellar clusters and have confirmed earlier findings about these failed stars.