STELLAR CHEMISTRY - SKY NIGHTLY

Mar 16, 2015 (SPX)

This dramatic landscape in the southern constellation of Ara (The Altar) is a treasure trove of celestial objects. Star clusters, emission nebulae and active st...

UK physicists getting closer to reading the inside of stars

Mar 16, 2015 (SPX)

UK nuclear physicists are one step closer to being able to read the inside of stars and discover new elements that exist for only a trillionth of a trillionth o...

A grand extravaganza of new stars

Mar 13, 2015 (SPX)

At the centre of the image is the open star cluster NGC 6193, containing around thirty bright stars and forming the heart of the Ara OB1 association. The two br...

Mysterious Phenomena in a Gigantic Galaxy-Cluster Collision

Mar 13, 2015 (SPX)

Researchers using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) have produced the most detailed image yet of a fascinating region where clusters of hundreds of gala...

Queen's astronomers discover fastest ever unbound star in our galaxy

Mar 13, 2015 (SPX)

A fast-moving unbound star discovered by astronomers at Queen's University Belfast has broken the galactic speed record. The unbound star, named US708, is trave...

Rare split images of supernova put Johns Hopkins astronomer in the spotlight

Mar 13, 2015 (SPX)

A Johns Hopkins astronomer played a key role in the recent discovery of a distant exploding star whose light split into four distinct images in a display seen f...

Solving the riddle of neutron stars

Mar 13, 2015 (SPX)

It has not yet been possible to measure the gravitational waves predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity. They are so weak that they get lost in the...

Gamma rays from dwarf galaxy may point to dark matter

Mar 12, 2015 (SPX)

A newly discovered dwarf galaxy orbiting our own Milky Way has offered up a surprise - it appears to be radiating gamma rays, according to an analysis by physic...

Cosmic dust discs withstand hellfire

Mar 12, 2015 (SPX)

A team of scientists led by astronomers at the University of Bonn discovered an unusual phenomenon in the centre of the Milky Way: They detected about 20 rotati...

Rare dwarf galaxy candidates found in Dark Energy Survey data

Mar 12, 2015 (SPX)

Scientists on two continents have independently discovered a set of celestial objects that seem to belong to the rare category of dwarf satellite galaxies orbit...

New dwarf galaxies discovered in orbit around the Milky Way

Mar 12, 2015 (SPX)

A team of astronomers from the University of Cambridge have identified nine new dwarf satellites orbiting the Milky Way, the largest number ever discovered at o...

Milky Way isn't a flat disk, it's corrugated

Mar 11, 2015 (UPI)

According to a new study by a team of international astronomers, the Milky Way's galactic disk resembles the undulating ripples seen after a pebble is tossed in...

Carina Nebula survey reveals details of star formation

Mar 11, 2015 (SPX)

A new Rice University-led survey of one of the most active star-forming regions in the galactic neighborhood is helping astronomers better understand the proces...

Fastest Star in Our Galaxy Propelled by a Thermonuclear Supernova

Mar 06, 2015 (SPX)

A team of astronomers, including University of Hawaii at Manoa astronomer Eugene Magnier, used the 10-meter Keck II and Pan-STARRS1 telescopes in Hawaii to find...

An explosive quartet

Mar 06, 2015 (ESA)

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have, for the first time, spotted four images of a distant exploding star. The images are arranged in a cr...

Astronomers see star explode 4 times

Mar 06, 2015 (SPX)

Astronomers have glimpsed a far off and ancient star exploding, not once, but four times. The exploding star, or supernova, was directly behind a cluster of hug...

UGR scientists provide new data on the nature of dark matter

Mar 05, 2015 (SPX)

Recent research conducted by scientists from the University of Granada can contribute to determine the nature of dark matter, one of the most important mysterie...

NASA's Chandra Observatory Finds Cosmic Showers Halt Galaxy Growth

Mar 05, 2015 (SPX)

Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have found that the growth of galaxies containing supermassive black holes can be slowed down by a phenomeno...

Galactic 'rain' could be key to star formation

Mar 05, 2015 (SPX)

Some of the galaxies in our universe are veritable star nurseries. For example, our own Milky Way produces, on average, at least one new star every year. Others...

Astronomers Find Dust in the Early Universe

Mar 03, 2015 (SPX)

Dust plays an extremely important role in the universe -- both in the formation of planets and new stars. But dust was not there from the beginning and the earl...