Astronomy News

Researchers Find Direct Evidence of Cosmic Inflation

The tiny temperature fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background, shown here as color, trace primordial density fluctuations in the early universe that seed the later growth of galaxies. Gravitational waves from inflation are expected to produce much a fainter pattern that includes twisting B-mode polarization, consistent with the B-mode polarization pattern observed by BICEP2, which is shown here as black lines. The line segments show the polarization strength and orientation at different spots on the sky. Image credit: BICEP2 Collaboration.
Mar 18, 2014 by News Staff

Scientists using the BICEP2 Radio Telescope at the South Pole announced they have found the first direct evidence that gravitational waves – disturbances in the curvature of space-time – rippled through the infant Universe during an explosive period of growth called cosmic inflation. The tiny temperature fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background, shown here as color, trace primordial density fluctuations in the early universe that...

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HR 5171A: Astronomers Discover Largest Yellow Hypergiant Star

Mar 12, 2014 by News Staff

An international team of scientists using the Very Large Telescope Interferometer has discovered the largest known yellow hypergiant star in our Galaxy. This...

Multiple images of the quasar RX J1131-1231 are visible in this data from Chandra and Hubble. Image credit: X-ray - NASA / CXC / University of Michigan / R.C. Reis et al; optical – NASA / STScI.

RX J1131-1231: Scientists Directly Measure Spin of Extremely Distant Supermassive Black Hole

Mar 6, 2014 by News Staff

A team of astrophysicists led by Dr Rubens Reis from the University of Michigan has directly measured the spin of a supermassive black hole in a quasar...

This is a composite image of the galaxy ESO 137-001. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CXC.

ESO 137-001: Astronomers Zoom in on Unusual Spiral Galaxy

Mar 5, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-Ray Observatory have captured a stunning new image of the bizarre spiral galaxy ESO 137-001. This...

This Hubble image shows the supernova SN 2014J in the nearby galaxy M82. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Goobar, Stockholm University / Hubble Heritage Team / STScI / AURA.

SN 2014J: Hubble Captures New Image of Bright Supernova in Messier 82

Mar 1, 2014 by News Staff

A new image of a huge supernova discovered six weeks ago in the nearby galaxy Messier 82 has been captured by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. This Hubble...

Nearby spiral galaxy M83 and the MQ1 system with jets, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. The blue circle marks the position of the MQ1 system in the galaxy, shown inset. Credit: M83 – NASA / ESA / Hubble Heritage Team / WFC3 / UVIS / STScI-PRC14-04a; MQ1 inset - W. P. Blair, Johns Hopkins University / R. Soria, ICRAR-Curtin.

MQ1: Powerful Black Hole Discovered in Messier 83

Feb 28, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers have discovered a new black hole in the nearby galaxy Messier 83, also known as M83, the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy or NGC 5236. Nearby spiral...

This is an artist's impression of an exoplanet. Image credit: Ron Miller.

NASA Astronomers Discover 715 New Exoplanets

Feb 27, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers of NASA’s Kepler mission announced yesterday the discovery of 715 new extrasolar planets orbiting 305 stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. This...

This is an artist's impression of Tau Boötis b. Image credit: David Aguilar / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Tau Boötis b: Astronomers Detect Water in Atmosphere of Jupiter-like Exoplanet

Feb 26, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers led by Alexandra Lockwood from California Institute of Technology in Pasadena have detected the water vapor in the atmosphere of an extrasolar...

An image of the flash resulting from the impact of a large meteorite on the lunar surface on 11 September 2013, obtained with the 0.36-m-telescope in Sevilla, Spain. Image credit: Jose M. Madiedo / MIDAS.

Astronomers Document Record-Breaking Lunar Impact

Feb 24, 2014 by News Staff

On September 11, 2013, an object with the mass of a small car hit the lunar surface in Mare Nubium, an ancient lava-filled basin with a darker appearance...

This is an artist's impression of an asteroid breaking up. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Astronomers See Asteroids Hitting Distant Pulsar

Feb 21, 2014 by News Staff

According to astronomers led by Mr Paul Brook, a PhD student from the University of Oxford and CSIRO, a small pulsar dubbed PSR J0738-4042 is being pounded...

This is an artist's concept of a supermassive black hole at the centre of a galaxy. Image credit: NASA / JPL / Caltech.

Scientists Discover Huge Gas Clouds Orbiting Supermassive Black Holes

Feb 21, 2014 by News Staff

A team of astronomers led by Dr Alex Markowitz from the University of California, San Diego and the Karl Remeis Observatory in Bamberg, Germany, has discovered...

This image shows Cassiopeia A, a remnant that blew up as a supernova more than 11,000 years ago, leaving a dense stellar corpse and its ejected remains. Image credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Cassiopeia A: Astronomers Peer into Heart of Supernova

Feb 20, 2014 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers using NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) has revealed how stars blow up in supernova explosions. This...

This new image from La Silla Observatory in Chile shows the star cluster Messier 7. Image credit: ESO.

Astronomers Capture Stunning New Image of Messier 7

Feb 19, 2014 by News Staff

A team of astronomers using the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile has captured a new image of the open star cluster...

This is an artist's impression of the brown dwarf ULAS J222711-004547. Image credit: Neil J Cook / University of Hertfordshire.

Astronomers Discover ‘Extremely Red’ Brown Dwarf

Feb 18, 2014 by News Staff

European astronomers led by Dr Federico Marocco from the University of Hertfordshire have discovered a brown dwarf with unusually red skies. Brown dwarf...

This image shows the galaxy Abell2744 Y1, one of the most distant galaxy candidates known. Image credit: NASA / ESA / STScI / IAC.

Abell2744 Y1: Astronomers Discover Extremely Distant Galaxy

Feb 10, 2014 by News Staff

A multinational team of astronomers has reported the discovery of Abell2744 Y1 – one of the most distant galaxies ever found. This image shows the...

This image, taken from Digital Sky Survey, shows SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 (center of the image). Image credit: DSS.

SM0313: Oldest Known Star Discovered

Feb 10, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers led by Dr Stefan Keller of the Australian National University say they have discovered the oldest star ever seen in the Universe. This image,...

This is an artist's impression of an extrasolar gas giant. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Kepler-413b: Astronomers Discover Wobbly Exoplanet Orbiting Binary Star

Feb 6, 2014 by News Staff

NASA astronomers announced the discovery of a strange super-Neptune circling a pair of orange and red dwarfs known as Kepler-413. This is an artist’s...

This artist's impression shows an extrasolar gas giant orbiting a binary star system. Image credit: NASA / G. Bacon, STScI.

Kepler-34b Helps Explain How Circumbinary Exoplanets Form

Jan 31, 2014 by News Staff

Researchers reporting in the Astrophysical Journal Letters have found that the majority of circumbinary planets – planets that orbit two stars –...

This is an artist's impression of the brown dwarf Luhman 16B based on the first ever map of the weather on its surface. Image credit: ESO / I. Crossfield / N. Risinger.

Astronomers Create Cloud Map of Nearby Brown Dwarf Luhman 16B

Jan 29, 2014 by News Staff

European scientists using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have learned what the weather is like on the surface of one of the objects in a binary...

The Ultraviolet-Optical Telescope aboard Swift captured SN 2014J, circled, on January 22, 2014. Image credit: NASA / Swift / P. Brown, TAMU.

SN 2014J: Swift Zooms in on New Supernova in Messier 82

Jan 28, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Ultraviolet-Optical Telescope aboard NASA’s Swift spacecraft have snapped an image of a newly discovered stellar explosion...

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