Hubble Reveals That Two of Pluto’s Moons Wobble Unpredictably
New research provides important constraints on the sequence of events that led to the formation of the Pluto system, revealing the resonant interactions and chaotic…
Astrophysics News
WISE Helps Chart the Milky Way From the Inside Out
Using data from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, astronomers are helping to trace the shape of the Milky Way galaxy’s spiral arms. Imagine trying to…
Rosetta Uncovers Unexpected Processes at Work in Comet’s Coma
Rosetta’s continued study of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko has revealed an unexpected process at work that causes the rapid breakup of water and carbon dioxide molecules spewing…
Astronomers Study the Interstellar Medium a Billion Years After the Big Bang
In a newly published study, astronomers measured the emission from ionized carbon in seventeen young galaxies, revealing a good measure of the rate of star…
Astronomers Identify Circular Orbits of 74 Earth-Sized Planets
New research from MIT and Aarhus University reveals that 74 exoplanets orbit their respective stars in circular patterns, much like the planets of our solar…
Researchers Predicted Blue, Red and Green Aurorae at Mars
Astronomers believe glowing aurorae of blue, with red and green hues would be visible to astronauts walking on Mars. For the first time, an international…
Astronomers Confirm Link between Galaxy Mergers and Supermassive Black Holes
Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to conduct a large survey to investigate the relationship between galaxies that have undergone mergers and the activity of…
Distant Quasars Help Set Limits On Space-Time Quantum Foam
New X-ray and gamma-ray observations of distant quasars are being used to help scientists set limits on the quantum nature of space-time on extremely tiny…
Astronomers Discover Super-Jupiter Exoplanet around an Evolved Star
Astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have discovered two new giant exoplanets around an evolved star. There are 565 exoplanets currently known that are…
Rare Quasar Quartet Reveals Massive Structure in Distant Universe
Astronomers have discovered four active black holes situated in close proximity to one another in the distant universe, surrounded by a giant nebula of cool…
Hubble Uncovers New Clues about a Hefty, Rapidly Aging Star
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, a team of astronomers has uncovered surprising new clues about a hefty, rapidly aging star whose behavior has never been…
Keck Spectroscopy Confirmation of Large, Diffuse Galaxies in the Coma Cluster
In a newly published study, astronomers detail the discovery of large, diffuse galaxies in the Coma Cluster. A fluffy galaxy is hard to find, but…
Kepler and Swift Capture Early Moments of Baby Supernovae
NASA’s Kepler and Swift spacecraft provides new insight into what triggers a Type Ia supernova, allowing astronomers to better calibrate Type Ia supernovae as standard…
Evidence of a New Type of Star Cluster
Using data from ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have discovered a new class of “dark” globular star clusters around Centaurus A. These star clusters contain…
Hubble Reveals Diffusion of Stars Through the Core of the Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae
New images from the Hubble Space Telescope show for the first time snapshots of white dwarf stars beginning their 40-million-year migration from the crowded center…
Strangulation is the Primary Mechanism for Star Formation Shut Down
Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, astronomers from the University of Cambridge detail why certain galaxies can longer produce stars. As murder mysteries…
Kepler Finds Evidence of Daily Weather Cycles on Exoplanets
Using Kepler data, researchers from the University of Toronto reveal evidence of daily weather cycles on six extra-solar planets. “Cloudy for the morning, turning to…
LBT Reveals Lava Lake on Jupiter’s Moon Io
The Large Binocular Telescope provides the first detailed observations of a lava lake on Jupiter’s moon Io. With the first detailed observations of a lava…
