Astronomy
- Astronomy
Safe from a Heavenly Doom: Gamma-ray bursts not a threat to Earth
Gamma-ray bursts are likely to occur in the Milky Way.
- Astronomy
Crust on a star
By analyzing X rays generated by the rumblings of a neutron star 40,000 light-years from Earth, astronomers have estimated the thickness of the dense star's crust.
- Astronomy
Big Breakup: That’s the way the comet crumbles
Scores of telescopes are watching the continuing breakup of a comet as it nears the sun.
- Astronomy
Energy-Saving Space Engines: Black holes can be green
Some seemingly quiet black holes are actually efficient engines that emit jets of high-energy particles.
- Astronomy
Crash: Ripples of space-time debut in black hole simulations
Two teams have for the first time successfully simulated the merger of two black holes and the event's production of gravitational waves.
- Astronomy
Ring around the Pulsar: Planets may form in a harsh environment
Astronomers have found a disk that has the potential to make planets in the harsh environment surrounding the ultradense remains of an exploded star.
- Astronomy
Twin history
The Milky Way and its nearest large galactic neighbor, Andromeda, are more alike than earlier evidence had indicated.
- Astronomy
Comet Sampler: Fire meets ice
The first study of comet dust brought to Earth by a spacecraft has revealed several minerals that could have formed only at the fiery temperatures close to the sun or another star.
- Astronomy
Glassy galaxies
Astronomers have found clouds of sand crystals resembling crushed glass around 21 infrared-bright galaxies.
- Astronomy
Cosmic Triumph: Satellite confirms birth theory of universe
The most detailed portrait ever taken of the radiation left over from the Big Bang provides fresh evidence that the universe began with a tremendous growth spurt, expanding from subatomic scales to the size of a grapefruit in less than a trillionth of a second.
- Astronomy
Magnetic Memory: New model forecasts solar storms
A new computer model predicts that the next solar-activity cycle won't begin until late 2008, a year later than the sun's standard cycle would forecast.
- Astronomy
Peeling Back Orion’s Layers
By studying the most detailed portrait ever assembled of the Orion nebula, astronomers hope to glean new insights about star birth throughout the galaxy.
