What was it?

Astronomy & Observing News

Update on Hubble Mystery Object

It steadily brightened, then steadily faded in a way like no known variable object. Now astronomers have a tentative distance for it: about 1.8 billion light-years. And it was full of carbon.

NASA logo

Astronomy & Observing News

Earth Sciences Gain in New NASA Budget

Satellites that look down are the biggest winners, but plans to look — and to go — up and away also do well.

Astronomy & Observing News

USAF to Track More Sats for Crashes

The debris-spewing smashup of a Russian and an American satellite last February is prompting the Air Force to step up its collision-predicting efforts.

GOCE satellite

Astronomy & Observing News

Probing Earth's Gravity in Best Detail Yet

Measure anything really, really accurately, and there's no telling what new things doing this will reveal. Europe's GOCE satellite will map Earth's gravitational field to determine, better than ever before, deep ocean currents. And perhaps much more.

Astronomy & Observing News

Orbiting Pulsars @ Home

Einstein@Home, a computer screensaver that searches for space-time ripples, will now hunt for pulsars that whip around other stars or black holes. These could put general relativity to its toughest test yet.

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