Astronomy
- Astronomy
Old stars shed light on young Milky Way
Analyzing the composition of 70 of the oldest stars in the galaxy—the largest such sample so far—scientists have found new evidence that a generation of short-lived stars that died explosively must have preceded this elderly population and that the oldest part of the Milky Way originated not as a single component, but as bits and pieces that may have taken several hundred million years to form and coalesce.
- Astronomy
Explosive News: Telescopes find signs of gentler gamma-ray bursts
Astronomers appear to have discovered an unexpected population of low-energy gamma-ray bursts, and they could be 10 times more numerous than previously-known higher-energy bursts.
- Astronomy
Young star’s glow suggests planet find
The X-ray outburst of a young, sunlike star might provide new insights about planet formation.
- Astronomy
Universal Truths: Distant quasars reveal content, age of universe
Using quasars as searchlights on the distant universe, astronomers have mapped the distribution of gas between galaxies with unprecedented precision, allowing precise determinations of the age of the universe.
- Astronomy
Cassini eyes Iapetus
Only a few days after it entered orbit around Saturn, the Cassini spacecraft captured an image of Saturn's split- personality moon Iapetus.
- Astronomy
Two newly found space molecules
Researchers have detected two new organic chemicals in a large interstellar cloud.
- Astronomy
End of the Line for Hubble?
With a space shuttle mission to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope now canceled, astronomers are pondering how to best use the flying observatory during its final years.
- Astronomy
Controlling the speed of solar eruptions
The billion-ton blobs of magnetized gas that the sun sporadically hurls into space can't reach Earth in less than half a day.
- Astronomy
Heavenly Passage
On June 8, the black dot of Venus passed across the face of the sun, the first time it did so in 122 years.
- Astronomy
Powerhouse Astronomy: Blazing black hole from the early universe
A jet of matter and radiation emanating from a newly discovered black hole could provide a new probe of the first stars and the radiation left over from the Big Bang.
- Astronomy
Variable quasar may help measure the cosmos
A flickering cosmic mirage, recorded for the first time in X rays, promises to provide a new estimate of how rapidly the universe is expanding.
- Astronomy
Tracking Solar Activity
Part of the Student Observation Network, this NASA Web site offers information and activities related to solar flares and storms. Vividly illustrated online tutorials provide guidelines and background for observing sunspots, recording radio waves, collecting data from magnetometers, and viewing auroras. Learn how to make a sunspot viewer or magnetometer. See live images of the […]
