Astronomy News & Research

Intense heat killed the Universe's would-be galaxies, researchers say (7/2/2009)

Millions of would-be galaxies failed to develop after being exposed to intense heat from the first stars and black holes formed in the early Universe, according to new research. ...> Full Article

Largest ever survey of very distant galaxy clusters completed (7/1/2009)

An international team of researchers led by Gillian Wilson, an astronomer at the University of California, Riverside, 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. SpARCS is designed to find clusters, snapped as they appeared long ago in time, when the universe was 6 billion years old or younger. ...> Full Article

New instrument has potential to detect water deep underground on Mars (6/30/2009)

With the whoosh of compressed gas and the whir of unspooling wire, a team of Boulder scientists and engineers tested a new instrument prototype that might be used to detect groundwater deep inside Mars. ...> Full Article

Salty ocean in the depths of Enceladus (6/30/2009)

Discovery could have implications for the search for extraterrestrial life ...> Full Article

Galaxies coming of age in cosmic blobs (6/29/2009)

The "coming of age" of galaxies and black holes has been pinpointed, thanks to new data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes. This discovery helps resolve the true nature of gigantic blobs of gas observed around very young galaxies. ...> Full Article

Jets on Saturn's moon Enceladus not geysers from underground ocean, says study (6/28/2009)

Water vapor jets that spew from the surface of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus are not really geysers from an underground ocean as initially envisioned by planetary scientists, according to a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. ...> Full Article

Milky Way's super-efficient particle accelerators caught in the act (6/28/2009)

Thanks to a unique "ballistic study" that combines data from ESO's Very Large Telescope and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have now solved a long-standing mystery of the Milky Way's particle accelerators. They show in a paper published today on Science Express that cosmic rays from our galaxy are very efficiently accelerated in the remnants of exploded stars. ...> Full Article

Better looks at Mars minerals for instrument on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter (6/27/2009)

A new orbit at an earlier time of day is increasing the sensitivity and efficiency of ASU's THEMIS multi-band camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. ...> Full Article

NASA lunar mission successfully enters moon orbit (6/26/2009)

After a four and a half day journey from the Earth,the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has successfully enteredorbit around the moon. Engineers at NASA's Goddard Space FlightCenter in Greenbelt, Md., confirmed the spacecraft's lunar orbitinsertion at 6:27 a.m. EDT Tuesday. ...> Full Article

Magnetic field on bright star Vega (6/25/2009)

Astronomy and Astrophysics publishes the first detection of a magnetic field on the bright star Vega. Using the NARVAL spectropolarimeter of the Bernard-Lyot telescope on top of the Pic du Midi (France), astronomers clearly observe the magnetically-induced effect in the spectrum of Vega, thereby showing that the star possesses a magnetic field, something unknown so far. ...> Full Article

Team finds definitive evidence for ancient lake on Mars (6/24/2009)

First unambiguous evidence for shorelines on the surface of Mars, say researchers ...> Full Article

Newly revised handbook of space technology now available (6/23/2009)

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce that the third edition of the Handbook of Space Technology is now available through AIAA's Library of Flight series. ...> Full Article

Astronomy team among first to use massive new telescope (6/22/2009)

A team of University of Florida astronomers is among the first in the world to make scientific-quality observations of the heavens using the newly completed Gran Telescopio Canarias, the world's largest optical telescope. ...> Full Article

Magnetospheric Multiscale mission enters implementation phase (6/22/2009)

Southwest Research Institute has received confirmation from NASA Headquarters that the Magnetospheric Multiscale misson has been approved to begin its implementation phase. MMS will perform a definitive investigation of one of the most basic and important physical processes in the universe -- magnetic reconnection. The mission is scheduled to launch in August 2014. ...> Full Article

Herschel's daring test: A glimpse of things to come (6/22/2009)

Herschel opened its "eyes" on June 14 and the Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer obtained images of M51, "the whirlpool galaxy" for a first test observation. Scientists obtained images in three colors from the observation, which clearly demonstrate the superiority of Herschel, the largest infrared space telescope ever flown. ...> Full Article