All Stories by Ron Cowen
- Astronomy
What’s a Planet?
Recent observations have blurred distinctions among stars, brown dwarfs, and planets.
- Astronomy
Cosmic Pops: Nearby galaxy is hotbed of supernova formation
Large galaxies usually have no more than three supernovas blow up in a century, but the nearby galaxy NGC 1316 has had two such explosions within the past 5 months and four in the past 26 years.
- Astronomy
Dark Fingerprints: Hubble sheds light on cosmic expansion
The mysterious cosmic push that's tearing up the universe began revving up about 5 billion years ago.
- Astronomy
Nearest extrasolar planet
Astronomers have confirmed the existence of the nearest known planet beyond the solar system.
- Astronomy
Black hole survey
Scanning the sky for high-energy X rays, a NASA satellite found more than 200 supermassive black holes within 400 million light-years of Earth.
- Astronomy
New eye on the sun
The recently launched Hinode spacecraft captured an X-ray portrait of several-million-degree gas in the sun's outer atmosphere.
- Astronomy
Rejuvenating Observatory: Green light given for space telescope repairs
NASA this week gave the go-ahead for a shuttle crew to refurbish the Hubble Space Telescope and to install new detectors that would vastly improve its capabilities.
- Astronomy
A Swarm of Umbrellas vs. Global Warming: Astronomer thinks small to save Earth
A trillion miniature spacecraft could provide a giant sunshade for Earth, significantly reducing global warming.
- Astronomy
Web Special: Hubble Repair Mission Is a Go
After several years of uncertainty following the Columbia shuttle disaster, NASA this week gave the go-ahead for a shuttle crew to replace and repair parts on the 16-year-old Hubble Space Telescope.
- Astronomy
Galactic spider
A Hubble Space Telescope image reveals a large galaxy in the early universe assembling from the merger of smaller ones.
- Planetary Science
Jovian storm grows stormier
Jupiter's Little Red Spot has become as strong as its big brother.
- Astronomy
Feeling the heat of an extrasolar planet
Astronomers have measured the temperature variation between the lit and unlit sides of a planet outside the solar system.
