Astronomy

Astronomy

Sharpening a Heavenly Image: Clear view of globular cluster’s crowded core

Using innovative optics to take the twinkle out of starlight, the Gemini North Telescope on Hawaii's Mauna Kea has recorded the sharpest infrared images ever of a crowded grouping of Milky Way stars.

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.

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.

Astronomy

Finding a nearby star

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

Astronomy

Satellite begins its ultraviolet survey

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

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.

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.

Astronomy

A black hole that goes the distance

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

Astronomy

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

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

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.

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.

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.