Astronomy

  1. Astronomy

    Lucky shot

    To protect its sensitive optics, the Hubble Space Telescope had to turn its back on last November’s Leonid meteor storm, and that fortuitously put the luminous Helix nebula directly in the telescope’s sightline.

    By Ron Cowen
  2. Astronomy

    Galactic RAVE

    A new study of thousands of Milky Way stars and their motion toward and away from Earth should provide new clues about how our galaxy formed.

    By Ron Cowen
  3. Astronomy

    Finding a nearby star

    Astronomers have discovered a star that may be among the very closest known to us.

    By Ron Cowen
  4. Astronomy

    Satellite begins its ultraviolet survey

    NASA last month released the first images taken by the recently launched Galaxy Evolution Explorer satellite.

    By Ron Cowen
  5. Astronomy

    Red Team, Blue Team: Galaxy survey shows that color matters

    Using the largest survey of galaxies ever compiled, astronomers have found that the cosmos divides sharply along color lines.

    By Ron Cowen
  6. Astronomy

    Gorgeous Gas

    Beyond their undeniable beauty, images of nearby, starlit clouds of gas and dust, known as HeII nebulae, may reveal properties of the very first stars in the universe.

    By Ron Cowen
  7. Astronomy

    A black hole that goes the distance

    Astronomers have measured the mass of the most distant black hole known.

    By Ron Cowen
  8. Astronomy

    Supernovas, gamma-ray bursts: Two of a kind?

    Astronomers have uncovered direct evidence that gamma-ray bursts are linked to supernovas.

    By Ron Cowen
  9. Astronomy

    Starry View: Image reveals galaxy’s violent past

    The most detailed visible-light picture ever taken of the heavens reveals that the nearby Andromeda galaxy has had a much more violent history than our own Milky Way has.

    By Ron Cowen
  10. Astronomy

    Fast-track planet

    Astronomers have found a planet that's the closest yet known to its parent star, whipping around the star every 28.5 hours.

    By Ron Cowen
  11. Astronomy

    Chemistry of the Cosmos: Quasars illuminate the young universe

    Measuring the composition of some of the earliest structures in the universe, two teams of astronomers have unveiled new findings about star formation in the young cosmos.

    By Ron Cowen
  12. Astronomy

    Telescope takes close-ups of distant star

    Radio astronomers have for the first time probed ejected gas in the immediate surroundings of a distant star.

    By Ron Cowen