Astrophysicists detect gamma rays emitting from heart of distant galaxyOctober 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Astrophysicists have used the H.E.S.S. telescopes to detect gamma rays emitting from the heart of the NGC 253 galaxy.
Herschel telescope sees deep-space pearls on a cosmic stringOctober 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Herschel telescope has captured images of cold gas clouds lying near the plane of the Milky Way, a region that is dotted with stellar factories, like pearls on a cosmic string. On September 3, Herschel aimed its telescope at a reservoir of cold gas in the constellation of the Southern Cross near the Galactic Plane.
NASA's Swift satellite makes best-ever ultraviolet portrait of Andromeda galaxySeptember 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - NASA's Swift satellite has acquired the highest-resolution view of a neighboring spiral galaxy ever attained in the ultraviolet. The galaxy, known as M31 in the constellation Andromeda, is the largest and closest spiral galaxy to our own.
Astronomers prove next door galaxy Andromeda is cannibal by finding 'partly digested remains'September 2nd, 2009 No strain for Andromeda: Galaxy is cosmic cannibalWASHINGTON — Our nearest major galactic neighbor is a cosmic cannibal. And it's heading this way eventually.
Cosmic impact caused mass extinction event in North America 12,900 years agoJuly 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of scientists has found what may be the smoking gun of a much-debated proposal that a cosmic impact about 12,900 years ago ripped through North America and drove multiple species into extinction. University of Oregon archaeologist Douglas J.
Star clusters point to supermassive black holes kicked from host galaxiesJuly 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research has determined that the tight cluster of stars surrounding a supermassive black hole after it has been violently kicked out of a galaxy represents a new kind of astronomical object and a fossil record of the kick. The research, published in The Astrophysical Journal discusses the theoretical properties of "hypercompact stellar systems" and suggests that hundreds of these faint star clusters might be detected at optical wavelengths in our immediate cosmic environment.
Largest ever survey of very distant galaxy clusters completedJuly 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - An international team of researchers led by a UC (University of California) Riverside astronomer has completed the largest ever survey designed to find very distant clusters of galaxies. Named the Spitzer Adaptation of the Red-sequence Cluster Survey, "SpARCS" detects galaxy clusters using deep ground-based optical observations from the CTIO 4m and CFHT 3.6m telescopes, combined with Spitzer Space Telescope infrared observations.
Cosmic "ghost" found lurking around supermassive black holeMay 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has found a cosmic "ghost" lurking around a distant supermassive black hole, which is the first detection of such a high-energy apparition, and may be evidence of a huge eruption produced by the black hole. The X-ray ghost, so-called because a diffuse X-ray source has remained after other radiation from the outburst has died away, is in the Chandra Deep Field-North, one of the deepest X-ray images ever taken.
NASA's Fermi telescope reveals new details in cosmic mysteryMay 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has revealed new details about high-energy particles implicated in a nearby cosmic mystery. "Fermi's Large Area Telescope is a state-of-the-art gamma-ray detector, but it's also a terrific tool for investigating the high-energy electrons in cosmic rays," said Alexander Moiseev, who presented the findings.
Starbursts in dwarf galaxies last 100 times longer than astronomers thoughtMay 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - An analysis of archival images of small, or dwarf, galaxies taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope suggests that starbursts, intense regions of star formation, sweep across the whole galaxy and last 100 times longer than astronomers thought. The longer duration may affect how dwarf galaxies change over time, and therefore may shed light on galaxy evolution.
Giant galaxies born 6-7 billion years earlier than expectedApril 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Astronomers have discovered large galaxies that have not changed much in size for the last 9 billion years, which suggests these cosmic giants were born 6-7 billion years earlier than expected. The most popular model for galaxy formation is a bottom-up or hierarchical model in which small galaxies gradually develop into larger ones over a long period of time.
Hubble detects "cosmic fountain of youth" in spaceApril 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Hubble Space Telescope celebrated its 19th anniversary by detecting a peculiar galactic system that contains several galaxies, along with a "cosmic fountain" of stars, gas, and dust that stretches over 100,000 light-years. Known as Arp 194, the northern (upper) component of the system of galaxies appears as a haphazard collection of dusty spiral arms, bright blue star-forming regions, and at least two galaxy nuclei that appear to be connected and in the early stages of merging.
Hubble spots swirling dust lanes in oddball galaxyApril 8th, 2009 BERLIN - The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured the image of an oddball galaxy that is highlighted with striking swirling dust lanes and glittering globular clusters. Dubbed NGC 7049, the galaxy is found in the constellation of Indus, and is the brightest of a cluster of galaxies, a so-called Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG).
Galactic freak could reveal how galaxies formMarch 25th, 2009 SYDNEY - Astronomers have located a galactic freak, an extremely rare ultra-compact dwarf galaxy, that could be the missing link in understanding how galaxies and their clusters evolve. The dwarf galaxy, which is the closest yet found to Earth, is far brighter and more massive than the clusters of stars that usually surround galaxies, and was born in the very early stages of the formation of the universe.
Hubble provides new evidence for dark matter around small galaxiesMarch 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a strong new line of evidence that halos of dark matter are embedded around small galaxies. Looking into the turbulent center of the nearby Perseus galaxy cluster, Hubble discovered a large population of small galaxies that have remained intact while larger galaxies around them are being ripped apart by the gravitational tug of other galaxies.
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