Astronomy

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.

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.

Astronomy

Assault on Andromeda: Nearby galaxy had recent collision

New findings suggest that a small galaxy recently plunged into Andromeda, opening a new window on collisions that are rare today but were common in the early universe.

Astronomy

Record-breaking galaxy

Looking ever deeper into space and farther back in time, astronomers have found a galaxy more distant than any other known in the universe.

Astronomy

Enigmatic Eruption

An erupting star near the outskirts of the Milky Way has become one of the most puzzling objects in the galaxy.

Astronomy

Jet Set: Astronomers identify the makeup of quasar streams

Astronomers have identified the particles in jets emanating from supermassive black holes as electrons and protons, which carry much more energy than some computer models had suggested.

Astronomy

Oversize supernova

Researchers have found a supernova so luminous that it must have been produced by a much heavier star than the standard theory allows.

Astronomy

Enigmatic Eruptions: Gamma-ray bursts lack supernova fireworks

The most powerful bursts in the universe may have gotten more mysterious.