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This image shows a region of space containing distant dwarf galaxies. Image credit: NASA / ESA / GOODS Team / M. Giavalisco, STScI, University of Massachusetts / H. Atek, EPFL / J-P. Kneib, EPFL.

Hubble Observations Shed New Light on Star Formation in Early Universe

Jun 19, 2014 by News Staff

Starbursts in dwarf galaxies played a bigger role than expected in the early Universe, according to new data from the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), onboard...

This artistic concept shows Kepler-186f. Image credit: NASA Ames / SETI Institute / JPL-CalTech.

New Methane-Hunting Tool May Advance Search for Alien Life

Jun 17, 2014 by News Staff

UK and Australian astronomers have developed a powerful new tool that could help detect chemical signs of alien life on planets outside of the Solar System. The...

This image shows the Tadpole galaxy (Arp 188), a disrupted barred spiral galaxy located 420 million light-years from our planet. Material stripped from the galaxy during its collision with a smaller galaxy (seen in the upper left corner of the larger interaction partner) forms a long tidal tail. Young blue stars, star clusters and tidal dwarf galaxies are born in the tidal debris. These objects move in a common direction within a plane defined by the orientation and motion of their tidal tail. A similar galaxy interaction might have occurred in the Local Group in the past, which could explain the distribution of dwarf galaxies in co-rotating planes. Image credit: H. Ford, JHU / M. Clampin, STScI / G. Hartig, STScI / G. Illingworth, UCO, Lick / ACS Science Team / ESA / NASA.

Nearby Dwarf Galaxies Don’t Fit Standard Model of Cosmology, Study Says

Jun 11, 2014 by News Staff

According to a study led by Dr Marcel Pawlowski of Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, dwarf galaxies that orbit our Milky Way Galaxy and the Andromeda...

This image shows the giant, variable star HV 2112. Image credit: Digital Sky Survey / Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg.

First Thorne-Zytkow Object Found 200,000 Light-Years Away

Jun 5, 2014 by News Staff

HV 2112 – a giant, variable star in a nearby galaxy known as the Small Magellanic Cloud – represents a long-sought class of stars called Thorne-Zytkow...

Hubble Ultra Deep Field 2014

Jun 4, 2014 by News Staff

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field 2014 – the most colorful and comprehensive picture ever assembled of the evolving Universe – has been captured...

This artistic representation shows the potentially habitable exoplanet Kapteyn b and the globular cluster Omega Centauri in the background. It is believed that this cluster is the remaining core of a dwarf galaxy that merged with our own Milky Way Galaxy billions of years ago bringing Kapteyn's star along. Image credit: PHL / UPR Arecibo / Aladin Sky Atlas.

Kapteyn b and c: Two Exoplanets Found Orbiting Kapteyn’s Star

Jun 3, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers led Dr Guillem Anglada-Escude from Queen Mary University of London, UK, have announced the discovery of two exoplanets circling a very old...

This artist's conception shows a terrestrial exoplanet, a gas giant and a mid-sized gas dwarf. Image credit: J. Jauch.

Gas Dwarfs: Astronomers Identify New Type of Extrasolar Planets

Jun 3, 2014 by News Staff

Extrasolar planets can be divided into three types: terrestrials, gas giants, and mid-sized gas dwarfs – planets between about one and four times...

This artist's conception depicts the Kepler-10 star system. Image credit: NASA / Ames / JPL-Caltech.

Kepler-10c: Astronomers Find Mega-Earth

Jun 2, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers using the HARPS-North instrument on the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo in the Canary Islands have found that the extrasolar planet Kepler-10c,...

This image shows a star forming region in a nearby galaxy known as the Large Magellanic Cloud. Image credit: ESA / Hubble.

Universe is Not Expanding After All, Controversial Study Suggests

May 23, 2014 by News Staff

According to a team of astrophysicists led by Eric Lerner from Lawrenceville Plasma Physics, the Universe is not expanding at all. This image shows a star...

This image from the 1.5-m robotic telescope at Palomar Observatory shows SN 2013cu in the galaxy UGC 9379. Image credit: Avishay Gal-Yam et al.

Wolf-Rayet Star Linked to Supernova SN 2013cu

May 22, 2014 by News Staff

A group of astronomers led by Dr Avishay Gal-Yam from Weizmann Institute of Science has identified a mysterious Wolf-Rayet star as the likely progenitor...

This image shows the open star cluster NGC 3590. Image credit: ESO / G. Beccari.

Astronomers Capture Stunning New Image of Star Cluster NGC 3590

May 21, 2014 by News Staff

An international group of astronomers using the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile has captured a new image of NGC 3590. This...

Gemini Planet Imager captured this first light image of Beta Pictoris b, a planet orbiting the star Beta Pictoris. The star, Beta Pictoris, is blocked in this image by a mask. Image credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Gemini Planet Imager Zooms in on Exoplanet Beta Pictoris b

May 16, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers using Gemini Planet Imager have captured an amazingly clear and bright image of a gas giant orbiting Beta Pictoris. Gemini Planet Imager captured...

This full-disc image of Jupiter was taken on 21 April 2014 with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Simon, Goddard Space Flight Center.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is Shrinking, Astronomers Say

May 16, 2014 by News Staff

The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is shrinking, says a team of astronomers led by Dr Amy Simon of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. This...

This is an artist's impression of GU Psc b and GU Psc. Image credit: Lucas Granito.

GU Psc b: Newly Discovered Exoplanet Takes 80,000 Years to Orbit its Star

May 14, 2014 by News Staff

A newly discovered extrasolar planet takes about 80,000 years to make a complete orbit around its star, GU Psc. This composite image shows the exoplanet...

HD 162826: Astronomers Discover Second Sun

May 12, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers from the United States, Russia and Australia have discovered the first true solar sibling – HD 162826. HD 162826. Image credit: sky-map.org. HD...

Astronomers Find Nearest Bright Hypervelocity Star

May 9, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers from the United States and China have discovered a hypervelocity star (HVS) that is the closest bright HVS and one of the three most massive...

Large scale projection through the Illustris volume at z=0, centered on the most massive cluster, 15 Mpc/h deep. Image credit: Illustris Collaboration.

First Realistic Virtual Universe Created

May 8, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers led Dr Mark Vogelsberger of MIT/Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have created the first realistic virtual Universe using a computer...

Magnetic field of Milky Way Galaxy as seen by ESA's Planck Space Telescope. Image credit: ESA / Planck Collaboration.

Milky Way’s Magnetic Fingerprint Revealed

May 7, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers using data from ESA’s Planck Space Telescope have created a map of the entire sky that charts the magnetic field shaping our Milky Way...

HVGC-1: Astronomers Discover Hypervelocity Star Cluster

May 1, 2014 by News Staff

A team of astronomers led by Dr Nelson Caldwell from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has discovered a globular star cluster thrown out...