Astronomy

Astronomy

Hubble Space Telescope: Eye wide open

Two months after the failure of a fourth gyroscope shut it down, and 3 weeks after a shuttle crew paid it a service call, the Hubble Space Telescope is back in business.

Astronomy

Planetary System in the Making? Stellar eclipse hints at planet-forming debris

Astronomers reported the first evidence that a young star is periodically eclipsed by a stream of debris, possibly an orbiting belt of asteroids held in place by a massive, unseen planet.

Astronomy

Outlier Planet: Extrasolar places that are like home

A team of veteran hunters of planets outside the solar system has come up with a landmark finding: a Jupiterlike planet orbiting a Sunlike star at a Jupiterlike distance.

Astronomy

X-ray Data Reveal Black Holes Galore

Using a sensitive, new X-ray telescope, astronomers have identified the origin of the high-energy part of the X-ray background and found that supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies are far more numerous than visible-light surveys indicate.

Astronomy

Seeing Red: A cool revival of Hubble’s infrared camera

New images provide a graphic demonstration that the Hubble Space Telescope's infrared vision has been restored.

Astronomy

Rare Find: Odd type of ammonia detected in space

The discovery of deuterated ammonia in space could help astronomers better understand the complex chemistry of dark clouds in star-forming regions.

Astronomy

A Dark View of the Universe

Two new studies suggest that galaxies may be surrounded by vast halos of dark matter extending at least 1.5 million light-years from each galaxy's center.

Astronomy

Cosmic Dawn

New computer simulations suggest that the first stars in the universe were extremely massive and left behind gamma-ray bursts that may already have been detected by telescopes orbiting Earth.

Astronomy

More evidence for a revved-up universe

By studying the clustering pattern of galaxies, astronomers have obtained additional evidence that cosmic expansion is accelerating.

Astronomy

Heavenly Taffy: Galaxies in collision

Astronomers have discovered a pair of colliding galaxies connected by a bridge of high-speed electrons and elongated magnetic fields.

Astronomy

Physics-astronomy merger wins big

A new report recommends fostering the extraordinary collaboration taking place between particle physics and astronomy.

Astronomy

Sharper Images: New Hubble camera goes the distance

Astronomers have unveiled a picture of the distant universe that ranks as the sharpest and most detailed ever recorded.