Ron Cowen

All Stories by Ron Cowen

  1. Astronomy

    Neutron stars twist Einstein’s theory

    Astronomers may finally have found evidence of a key prediction of Einstein's general theory of relativity—that a spinning object drags space-time along with it.

  2. Astronomy

    Sharpening a Heavenly Image: Clear view of globular cluster’s crowded core

    Using innovative optics to take the twinkle out of starlight, the Gemini North Telescope on Hawaii's Mauna Kea has recorded the sharpest infrared images ever of a crowded grouping of Milky Way stars.

  3. Astronomy

    Lucky shot

    To protect its sensitive optics, the Hubble Space Telescope had to turn its back on last November’s Leonid meteor storm, and that fortuitously put the luminous Helix nebula directly in the telescope’s sightline.

  4. Astronomy

    Galactic RAVE

    A new study of thousands of Milky Way stars and their motion toward and away from Earth should provide new clues about how our galaxy formed.

  5. Planetary Science

    Slowdown on Saturn? Windy doings on the ringed planet

    The winds in Saturn’s upper atmosphere are some of the swiftest in the solar system, but recent findings suggest there’s been a dramatic slowdown.

  6. Astronomy

    Finding a nearby star

    Astronomers have discovered a star that may be among the very closest known to us.

  7. Astronomy

    Satellite begins its ultraviolet survey

    NASA last month released the first images taken by the recently launched Galaxy Evolution Explorer satellite.

  8. Astronomy

    Red Team, Blue Team: Galaxy survey shows that color matters

    Using the largest survey of galaxies ever compiled, astronomers have found that the cosmos divides sharply along color lines.

  9. Planetary Science

    Springtime on Neptune: Images hint at seasonal changes on distant planet

    Belying its location in the deep freeze of the outer solar system, Neptune may undergo a change of seasons.

  10. Astronomy

    Gorgeous Gas

    Beyond their undeniable beauty, images of nearby, starlit clouds of gas and dust, known as HeII nebulae, may reveal properties of the very first stars in the universe.

  11. Tech

    Columbia Disaster Working Hypothesis: Wing hit by debris

    The independent board investigating the breakup of the space shuttle presented its first detailed account of what might have caused the Feb. 1 disaster.

  12. Astronomy

    A black hole that goes the distance

    Astronomers have measured the mass of the most distant black hole known.