261–280 of 373 results

Space Missions

Black Hole Caught Spinning?

X-ray observations of a distant supermassive black hole might end a decades-long debate over the nature of these X-ray signals. But not everyone’s convinced that the observations are what they appear to be.

Meteor trail over Chelyabinsk

Astronomy and Society

Info on Russian Meteor Pours In

The fireball that exploded over Russia on February 15th left more than a million square feet of damaged windows, bringing home how fragile life on Earth can be. Here's what S&T's staff has managed to piece together about what happened.

Stellar Science

Culprit Pegged for Cosmic Rays

Astronomers working with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope say they might finally have the “smoking gun” they’ve needed to convict supernova remnants as the origin of energetic particles called cosmic rays.

Exoplanets

Earth-Size Planets Common, But Are They Habitable?

The best place to look for nearby Earth-size planets might be the smallest, coolest stars — but these stars could also be bad for creating Earth-like planets.

pulsar with beam

Stellar Science

Pulsar Twitches Perplex Astronomers

New X-ray and radio observations detected a strange switcheroo in the radiation from a pulsar. The repeated hiccups have left scientists scratching their heads.

Stellar Science

Astronomers Zoom in on Solar Hairs

New observations with a rocket-launched imager reveal individual strands of plasma wound around each other in the Sun’s corona. These strands could be tied to the mysteriously high temperature of this region.

Galaxies

Galactic Bubbles Spark Debate

New microwave and radio observations resurrect controversy over gigantic lobes seen ballooning from the Milky Way’s center.

Astrobiology

Floating Ice on Titan?

Astronomers had thought that ice on the Saturnian moon's methane-ethane seas would sink. But a new study suggests that, if the right conditions are met, ice could actually float on this alien-Earth world.

Celestial News & Events

Watch the Moon Pass Mars

A beautiful crescent Moon passes Mars shortly after sunset this weekend. But make sure you find the right spot to skygaze, or you might not see it.

Exoplanets

Kepler Hits Planet Bonanza?

Kepler observations have revealed several thousand potential planetary transits. The results are preliminary, but if they hold up there could be more than 200 habitable planets in the mix.

Exoplanets

Planets Around Tau Ceti? Not So Fast.

News media have pounced on the recent announcement of a five-planet system around Tau Ceti, a nearby Sun-like star. But is the hubbub merited?

distant galaxies seen by Hubble

Galaxies

Hubble Takes Galaxy Census

New observations by the Hubble Space Telescope reveal some of the earliest galaxies in the universe.

Solar System

Big River on Titan

The Cassini spacecraft has spotted what could be the longest river system seen beyond Earth. The river looks like it's feeding into a sea on Saturn's moon Titan.

Binary white dwarf

Black Holes

Spacetime Ripples on the Horizon?

Scientists might be closer to detecting one prediction of Einstein's theory of gravity than they thought they were.

Celestial News & Events

The 2012 Leonid Meteor Shower

The annual Leonids should peak early Saturday morning. While they probably won't make a big impression this year, an absent Moon and the possibility of a second meteor peak next week raise the cool factor.

Milky Way

Cosmic Web Weeds Dwarf Galaxies

Astronomers have discovered an unexpected explanation for why they can only find a small fraction of the satellite galaxies the Milky Way is supposed to have.

Solar System

Great Red Spot Shrinking

Observations by amateur astronomers confirm that Jupiter's gargantuan storm is still tightening its waistline.

Cosmology

Fermi Detects Cosmic Fog

An international team has used the disappearance of high-energy photons to narrow in on the origin of the light suffusing the cosmos.

Black Holes

Beads on a Galaxy-Scale String

A new image from the Australia Telescope Compact Array shows a series of brilliant knots along the jet shooting from a supermassive black hole. While not the first sighting of a string of pearls gracing a galaxy's jet, the new image is a striking look at a mysterious phenomenon.

Exoplanets

Planet Found in Alpha Centauri System

Astronomers announced what might be the closest exoplanet to Earth, a roasted Earth-mass world whipping around the Sun-like star Alpha Centauri B.

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