All Articles Tagged As: galaxies

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

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

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

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

XMM-Newton takes astronomers to a black hole's edge (5/31/2009)

Using new data from ESA's XMM-Newton spaceborne observatory, astronomers have probed closer than ever to a supermassive black hole lying deep at the core of a distant active galaxy. ...> Full Article

Giant galaxy Messier 87 finally sized up (5/23/2009)

Using ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have succeeded in measuring the size of giant galaxy Messier 87 and were surprised to find that its outer parts have been stripped away by still unknown effects. The galaxy also appears to be on a collision course with another giant galaxy in this very dynamic cluster. ...> Full Article

Study plunges standard theory of cosmology into crisis (5/6/2009)

New insights into Milky Way satellite galaxies raise awkward questions for cosmologists ...> Full Article

Rogue black holes may roam the Milky Way (5/2/2009)

It sounds like the plot of a sci-fi movie: Rogue black holes roaming our galaxy, threatening to swallow anything that gets too close. In fact, new calculations by Ryan O'Leary and Avi Loeb, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, suggest that hundreds of massive black holes, left over from the galaxy-building days of the early universe, may wander the Milky Way. ...> Full Article

Active galaxies flare and fade in Fermi telescope all-sky movie (4/28/2009)

The gamma-ray sky comes alive in a movie made from data acquired by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope during its first three months of operations. Gamma rays from sources near and far turn the sky into a hypnotic froth. The sun arcs serenely across the northern sky as active galaxies called blazars flare up and fade out. ...> Full Article

Continent-sized radio telescope takes close-ups of Fermi active galaxies (4/25/2009)

An international team of astronomers has used the world's biggest radio telescope to look deep into the brightest galaxies that NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope can see. The study solidifies the link between an active galaxy's gamma-ray emissions and its powerful radio-emitting jets. ...> Full Article

Mysterious space blob discovered at cosmic dawn (4/24/2009)

A team of astronomers, led by Carnegie's Masami Ouchi, have discovered a mysterious, giant object that existed when the universe was only 800 million years old. Dubbed an extended "Lyman-Alpha blob," it is a huge body of gas. It is named Himiko for a legendary Japanese queen and stretches for 55 thousand light years, a record for that early point in time. Its length is comparable to the radius of the Milky Way's disk. ...> Full Article

Researchers 'clear away the dust,' get better look at youngest supernova remnant (4/24/2009)

Researchers at North Carolina State University have used a mathematical model that allows them to get a clearer picture of the galaxy's youngest supernova remnant by correcting for the distortions caused by cosmic dust. Their new data provides evidence that this remnant is from a type Ia supernova -- the explosion of a white dwarf star -- and raises questions about the ways in which magnetic fields affect the generation of the remnant's cosmic ray particles. ...> Full Article

Physicists see the cosmos in a coffee cup (4/17/2009)

A Duke University professor and his graduate student have discovered a universal principle that unites the curious interplay of light and shadow on the surface of your morning coffee with the way gravity magnifies and distorts light from distant galaxies. ...> Full Article

Astronomer's discovery poses challenge to galaxy formation theories (4/14/2009)

A team led by an Indiana University astronomer has found a sample of massive galaxies with properties that suggest that they may have formed relatively recently. This would run counter to the widely-held belief that massive, luminous galaxies (like our own Milky Way Galaxy) began their formation and evolution shortly after the Big Bang, some 13 billion years ago. ...> Full Article

Dramatically backlit dust in giant galaxy (4/10/2009)

A new Hubble image highlights striking swirling dust lanes and glittering globular clusters in oddball galaxy NGC 7049. ...> Full Article

NASA's Fermi mission, Namibia's HESS telescopes explore a blazar (3/20/2009)

An international team of astrophysicists using telescopes on the ground and in space have uncovered surprising changes in radiation emitted by an active galaxy. The picture that emerges from these first-ever simultaneous observations with optical, X-ray and new-generation gamma-ray telescopes is much more complex than scientists expected and challenges current theories of how the radiation is generated. ...> Full Article

A curious pair of galaxies (3/17/2009)

The ESO Very Large Telescope has taken the best image ever of a strange and chaotic duo of interwoven galaxies. The images also contain some surprises -- interlopers both far and near. ...> Full Article

Hubble Space Telescope provides new evidence for dark matter around small galaxies (3/14/2009)

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a strong new line of evidence that galaxies are embedded in halos of dark matter. ...> Full Article

A 3-D view of remote galaxies (3/11/2009)

Astronomers have obtained exceptional 3-D views of distant galaxies, seen when the Universe was half its current age, by combining the twin strengths of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope's acute eye, and the capacity of ESO's Very Large Telescope to probe the motions of gas in tiny objects. By looking at this unique "history book" of our Universe, scientists hope to solve the puzzle of how galaxies formed in the remote past. ...> Full Article

Stars forced to relocate near the Southern Fish (3/7/2009)

A new Hubble image shows three galaxies locked in a gravitational tug-of-war that may result in the eventual demise of one of them. ...> Full Article

The colors of quasars reveal a dusty universe (2/27/2009)

The vast expanses of intergalactic space appear to be filled with a haze of tiny, smoke-like "dust" particles that dim the light from distant objects and subtly change their colors, according to a team of astronomers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Knowledge of this dust will help astronomers understand galaxies, but could complicate future measurements of supernovae. ...> Full Article

Cosmological simulations key to understanding the universe (2/26/2009)

Tiziana Di Matteo, associate professor of physics at Carnegie Mellon University is harnessing the power of supercomputing to recreate how galaxies are born, how they develop over time and, ultimately, how they collapse. ...> Full Article

New recipe for dwarf galaxies: Start with leftover gas (2/23/2009)

There is more than one way to make a dwarf galaxy, and NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer has found a new recipe. It has identified dwarf galaxies forming out of nothing more than pristine gas likely leftover from the early universe. ...> Full Article

Clemson astronomers study mysterious antimatter in the Milky Way (2/20/2009)

NASA has awarded Clemson astronomers $244,000 to use data from several space-based gamma-ray telescopes to study a mysterious emission coming from the central regions of the Milky Way galaxy. ...> Full Article

Cosmologists 'see' the cosmic dawn (2/13/2009)

Scientists have used a computer simulation to predict what the very early universe would have appeared like 500 million years after the "Big Bang." ...> Full Article

Infant galaxies - small and hyperactive (2/9/2009)

When galaxies are born, do their stars form everywhere at once, or only within a small core region? Recent measurements of an international team led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy provide the first concrete evidence that star-forming regions in infant galaxies are indeed small -- but also hyperactive, producing stars at astonishingly high rates. ...> Full Article

Astronomers discover link between supermassive black holes and galaxy formation (2/4/2009)

A pair of astronomers from Texas and Germany have used a telescope at The University of Texas at Austin's McDonald Observatory together with Hubble Space Telescope and many other telescopes around the world to uncover new evidence that the largest, most massive galaxies in the universe and the supermassive black holes at their hearts grew together over time. ...> Full Article

Black hole outflows from Centaurus A detected with APEX (2/2/2009)

Astronomers have a new insight into the active galaxy Centaurus A, as the jets and lobes emanating from the central black hole have been imaged at submillimeter wavelengths for the first time. The new data, from the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment telescope in Chile, which is operated by ESO, have been combined with visible and X-ray wavelengths to produce this striking new image. ...> Full Article

New understanding of the origin of galaxies advanced (1/26/2009)

A new theory as to how galaxies were formed in the Universe billions of years ago has been formulated by Hebrew University of Jerusalem cosmologists. The theory takes issue with the prevailing view on how the galaxies came to exist. ...> Full Article

Supermassive black holes not guilty of shutting down star formation (1/24/2009)

A team of Yale University astronomers has discovered that galaxies stop forming stars long before their central supermassive black holes reach their most powerful stage, meaning the black holes can't be responsible for shutting down star formation. ...> Full Article

Frantic activity revealed in dusty stellar factories (1/24/2009)

Thanks to the Very Large Telescope's acute and powerful near-infrared eye, astronomers have uncovered a host of new young, massive and dusty stellar nurseries in nearby galaxy NGC 253. The centre of this galaxy appears to harbor a twin of our own Milky Way's supermassive black hole. ...> Full Article

Astronomers find dust around a primitive star (1/20/2009)

Astronomers have found evidence to suggest that during the early stages of the Universe, cosmic dust -- the building block for the formation of planets and life throughout the cosmos -- was partially created by the gradual death of carbon stars, dispelling theories that it comes solely from stars that have exploded. They observed dust forming around a dying star in a nearby galaxy, similar to the primitive galaxies that formed soon after the big bang, giving them a fascinating glimpse back in time. ...> Full Article

NASA's Swift shows active galaxies are different near and far (1/13/2009)

An ongoing X-ray survey undertaken by NASA's Swift spacecraft is revealing differences between nearby active galaxies and those located about halfway across the universe. Understanding these differences will help clarify the relationship between a galaxy and its central black hole. ...> Full Article

Black holes lead galaxy growth, new research shows (1/12/2009)

Peering deep into the early universe, astronomers may have solved a longstanding cosmic chicken-and-egg problem -- which forms first -- galaxies or the black holes at their cores? ...> Full Article

Gamma-ray burst offers first peek at a young galaxy's star factory (1/11/2009)

Astronomers combining data from NASA's Swift satellite, the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, and other facilities have, for the first time, identified gas molecules in the host galaxy of a gamma-ray burst. ...> Full Article

Stars forming just beyond black hole's grasp at galactic center (1/10/2009)

The center of the Milky Way presents astronomers with a paradox: It holds young stars, but no one is sure how those stars got there. The galactic center is wracked with powerful gravitational tides stirred by a 4 million solar-mass black hole. Those tides should rip apart molecular clouds that act as stellar nurseries, preventing stars from forming in place. Yet the alternative -- stars falling inward after forming elsewhere -- should be a rare occurrence. ...> Full Article

Astrophysicist helps map the Milky Way's 4 spiral arms (1/9/2009)

Martin Pohl, an Iowa State University associate professor of physics and astronomy, is part of a research team that developed the first complete map of the Milky Way galaxy's spiral arms. The map shows two prominent, symmetric spiral arms in the inner part of the galaxy. The arms extend into the outer galaxy where they branch into four spiral arms. ...> Full Article

Milky Way a swifter spinner, more massive, new measurements show (1/7/2009)

Our home galaxy is rotating faster, has more mass than previously thought ...> Full Article

Astronomers dissect a supermassive black hole with natural magnifying glasses (12/17/2008)

Combining a double natural "magnifying glass" with the power of ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have scrutinized the inner parts of the disc around a supermassive black hole 10 billion light-years away. They were able to study the disc with a level of detail a thousand times better than that of the best telescopes in the world, providing the first observational confirmation of the prevalent theoretical models of such discs. ...> Full Article

'Missing link' galaxies discovered (12/2/2008)

Astronomers at the University of Nottingham have identified a type of galaxy that could be the missing link in our understanding of galaxy evolution. ...> Full Article

Mystery of missing hydrogen (11/27/2008)

Something vital is missing in the far distant reaches of the Universe: Hydrogen -- the raw material for stars, planets and possible life. ...> Full Article

Iconic rings and flares of galaxies created by violent, intergalactic collisions (11/26/2008)

Findings published in the Astrophysical Journal challenge existing theory about the formation of such galaxies as the Milky Way ...> Full Article

Astronomers detect matter torn apart by black hole (11/22/2008)

VLT and APEX team up to study flares from the black hole at the Milky Way's core ...> Full Article

Black holes are the rhythm at the heart of galaxies (11/21/2008)

The powerful black holes at the center of massive galaxies and galaxy clusters act as hearts to the systems, pumping energy out at regular intervals to regulate the growth of the black holes themselves, as well as star formation, according to new data from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory. ...> Full Article

A pool of distant galaxies -- the deepest ultraviolet image of the universe yet (11/8/2008)

Anyone who has wondered what it might be like to dive into a pool of millions of distant galaxies of different shapes and colors, will enjoy the latest image released by ESO. ...> Full Article

Hubble scores a perfect 10 (10/31/2008)

The Hubble Space Telescope is back in business with a snapshot of the fascinating galaxy pair Arp 147. ...> Full Article

Cosmic Lens Reveals Distant Galactic Violence (10/24/2008)

By cleverly unraveling the workings of a natural cosmic lens, astronomers have gained a rare glimpse of the violent assembly of a young galaxy in the early Universe. Their new picture suggests that the galaxy has collided with another, feeding a supermassive black hole and triggering a tremendous burst of star formation. ...> Full Article

Serendipitous observations reveal rare event in life of distant quasar (10/22/2008)

A bit of serendipity has given astronomers a surprise view of a never-before-observed event in the birth of a galaxy. ...> Full Article

Crossing 'A Bridge to Nowhere' (10/21/2008)

Research describes a bubbly universe in earth's backyard ...> Full Article

Ghostly glow reveals galaxy clusters in collision (10/19/2008)

A team of scientists have detected long wavelength radio emission from a colliding, massive galaxy cluster which, surprisingly, is not detected at the shorter wavelengths typically seen in these objects. ...> Full Article

South Pole Telescope team uses new method to discover clusters of galaxies far, far away (10/12/2008)

New technique to probe the most mysterious component of the universe: dark energy ...> Full Article

Cosmic eye sheds light on early galaxy formation (10/11/2008)

A Cosmic Eye has given scientists a unique insight into galaxy formation in the very early Universe. ...> Full Article

Stars stop forming when big galaxies collide (10/11/2008)

Astronomers studying new images of a nearby galaxy cluster have found evidence that high-speed collisions between large elliptical galaxies may prevent new stars from forming ...> Full Article

Born from the Wind - Unique Multi-wavelength Portrait of Star Birth (10/9/2008)

Telescopes on the ground and in space have teamed up to compose a colourful image that offers a fresh look at the history of the star-studded region NGC 346 ...> Full Article

First detection of magnetic field in distant galaxy produces a surprise (10/6/2008)

Using a powerful radio telescope to peer into the early universe, a team of California astronomers has obtained the first direct measurement of a nascent galaxy's magnetic field as it appeared 6.5 billion years ago. ...> Full Article

Scientists Detect Cosmic 'Dark Flow' Across Billions of Light Years (9/24/2008)

Scientists have identified an unexpected motion in distant galaxy clusters ...> Full Article

Pinning down the Milky Way's spin (9/22/2008)

Pulsating stars enable a new precise determination of the rotation of our Galaxy ...> Full Article

Astrophysicists 'weigh' galaxy's most massive star (9/21/2008)

Theoretical models of stellar formation propose the existence of very massive stars that can attain up to 150 times the mass of our Sun. ...> Full Article

Astronomers Discover Most Dark Matter-Dominated Galaxy in Universe (9/20/2008)

An astronomer has discovered the least luminous, most dark matter-filled galaxy known to exist ...> Full Article

Immigrant Sun: Our star could be far from where it started in Milky Way (9/17/2008)

New simulations show that, at least in galaxies similar to our own Milky Way, stars such as the sun can migrate great distances. ...> Full Article

XMM-Newton's massive discovery (9/5/2008)

X-ray observatory XMM-Newton has discovered the most massive cluster of galaxies seen in the distant Universe until now. The galaxy cluster is so big that there can only be a handful of them at that distance, making this a rare catch indeed. The discovery confirms the existence of dark energy. ...> Full Article

Closest Look Ever at the Edge of a Black Hole (9/4/2008)

Astronomers have taken the closest look ever at the giant black hole in the center of the Milky Way ...> Full Article

The Thousand-Ruby Galaxy (9/4/2008)

A prodigious pinwheel shines in the darkness ...> Full Article

Scientists discover minimum mass for galaxies (8/29/2008)

Breakthrough helps researchers better understand mysterious dark matter ...> Full Article

A Clash of Clusters Provides Another Clue to Dark Matter (8/28/2008)

Another powerful collision of galaxy clusters has been captured with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope ...> Full Article

How Do Galaxies Grow? (8/27/2008)

Assembling the Most Massive Galaxies in the Universe ...> Full Article

Hubble sees magnetic monster in erupting galaxy (8/21/2008)

The Hubble Space Telescope has found the answer to a long-standing puzzle by resolving giant but delicate filaments shaped by a strong magnetic field around the active galaxy NGC 1275 ...> Full Article

Globular clusters tell tale of star formation in nearby galaxy metropolis (8/8/2008)

The Hubble Space Telescope has identified thousands of more than 5 billion year-old globular clusters in the Virgo cluster of galaxies. One of the results of these discoveries led astronomers to understand more about the life and evolution of cannibal galaxies. ...> Full Article

Study shows clumps and streams of dark matter in inner regions of the Milky Way (8/8/2008)

Findings suggest GLAST mission could detect evidence of dark matter particles ...> Full Article

'Cosmic ghost' discovered by volunteer astronomer (8/6/2008)

Found image of a strange, gaseous object with a hole in the center ...> Full Article

Astronomers describe the bar scene at the beginning of the universe (7/31/2008)

Bars abound in spiral galaxies today, but this was not always the case. ...> Full Article

The Quiet Explosion (7/28/2008)

Object intermediate between normal supernovae and gamma-ray bursts found ...> Full Article

Astronomers converge on Keele to study The Clouds (7/16/2008)

Astronomers from around the world are to gather at Keele University to learn more about two of our neighbouring galaxies at an event which is only held once every 10 years. ...> Full Article

Rare 'Star-Making Machine' Found In Distant Universe (7/14/2008)

Astronomers have uncovered an extreme stellar machine -- a galaxy in the very remote universe pumping out stars at a surprising rate of up to 4,000 per year. In comparison, our own Milky Way galaxy turns out an average of just 10 stars per year. ...> Full Article

Radio Telescopes Reveal Unseen Galactic Cannibalism (6/24/2008)

Radio-telescope images have revealed previously-unseen galactic cannibalism -- a triggering event that leads to feeding frenzies by gigantic black holes at the cores of galaxies ...> Full Article

Black holes have simple feeding habits (6/19/2008)

The biggest black holes may feed just like the smallest ones ...> Full Article

New map locates metals in millions of Milky Way stars (6/16/2008)

Astronomers have unveiled the most complete and detailed map yet of the chemical composition of our galaxy ...> Full Article

Hubble's sweeping view of the Coma Galaxy Cluster (6/13/2008)

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures the magnificent starry population of the Coma Cluster of Galaxies, one of the densest known galaxy collections in the Universe. ...> Full Article

Milky Way's Inner Beauty Revealed (6/9/2008)

Galaxy isn't as messy as many thought, evidence indicates some balance and order, like the yin and yang of Chinese philosophy ...> Full Article

Milky Way Mapping Project Finds Surprisingly Slow Stars (6/8/2008)

Astronomers get their first good look at the structure of the Milky Way and the motions of its young stars ...> Full Article

The Behemoth Has a Thick Belt (5/30/2008)

Astronomers resolve torus around star in another galaxy ...> Full Article

Astronomers search for orphan stars using newly upgraded telescope (5/28/2008)

New camera sees first light ...> Full Article

Hubble Space Telescope Survey Finds Missing Matter, Probes Intergalactic Web (5/21/2008)

Although the universe contains billions of galaxies, only a small amount of its matter is locked up in these behemoths. Most of the universe's matter that was cooked up during and just after the Big Bang must be found elsewhere. ...> Full Article

Universe shines twice as bright (5/18/2008)

The Universe is actually twice as bright than was previously thought ...> Full Article

A Molecular Thermometer for the Distant Universe (5/14/2008)

First accurate measurement of the temperature of the cosmic background at an early epoch ...> Full Article

The Antennae Galaxies move closer (5/10/2008)

New research on the Antennae Galaxies using the Advanced Camera for Surveys onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows that this benchmark pair of interacting galaxies is in fact much closer than previously thought ...> Full Article

Missing piece of cosmological puzzle found (5/7/2008)

Astronomers detect a part of long-searched baryonic matter in a filament connecting two clusters of galaxies ...> Full Article

Ultra-Dense Galaxies Found in Early Universe (5/1/2008)

A team of astronomers looking at the universe's distant past found nine young, unusually compact galaxies, each weighing in at 200 billion times the mass of the Sun. ...> Full Article

Black hole expelled from its parent galaxy (4/30/2008)

Gravitational rocket propelled the monster at a speed of thousands of kilometres per second ...> Full Article

Oldest Known Celestial Objects Are Surprisingly Immature (4/29/2008)

Some of the oldest objects in the Universe may still have a long way to go ...> Full Article

A Hubble atlas of interacting galaxies (4/27/2008)

Fifty nine new images of colliding galaxies make up the largest collection of Hubble images ever released together. As this astonishing Hubble atlas of interacting galaxies illustrates, galaxy collisions produce a remarkable variety of intricate structures. ...> Full Article

Telescope helps give astronomers insights into blazars (4/24/2008)

For the first time, astronomers have observed a blazar in action, substantiating a prevailing theory about how these luminous and energetic galactic cores work. ...> Full Article

Black hole sheds light on a galaxy (4/18/2008)

Light echo of a high-energy flash from a black hole first observed in detail ...> Full Article

Stellar Birth in the Galactic Wilderness (4/17/2008)

A new image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows baby stars sprouting in the backwoods of a galaxy -- a relatively desolate region of space more than 100,000 light-years from the galaxy's bustling center. ...> Full Article

Milky Way's Giant Black Hole Awoke from Slumber 300 Years Ago (4/16/2008)

Astronomers have discovered that our galaxy's central black hole let loose a powerful flare three centuries ago ...> Full Article

Milky Way seen to be a galactic cannibal (4/13/2008)

A stream of debris across the sky is the result of intergalactic cannibalism ...> Full Article

Quasars Quash Star Formation In Active Galactic Nuclei (4/12/2008)

An ambitious study of active and inactive galaxies has given new insights into the complex interaction between super-massive black holes at the heart of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and star formation in the surrounding galaxy ...> Full Article

Old galaxies stick together in the young universe (4/9/2008)

Astronomers have developed the most sensitive infrared map of the distant universe ever produced, revealing the origins of the most massive galaxies in the cosmos ...> Full Article

New evidence for star formation from recently discovered galaxies (4/6/2008)

The strongest burst of star formation occurred two billion years after the Big Bang ...> Full Article

Newly discovered galaxy cluster in early stage of formation is farthest ever identified (4/4/2008)

More than 11 billion light years away, galaxies illuminate evolution of universe ...> Full Article

Large binocular telescope achieves first binocular light (3/7/2008)

Astronomers hail first views with twin giant mirrors a milestone for science ...> Full Article

The Milky Way is twice the size we thought it was (2/24/2008)

It took just a couple of hours using data available on the internet for scientists to discover that the Milky Way is twice as wide as previously thought. ...> Full Article

Astronomers find one of the youngest and brightest galaxies in the early universe (2/16/2008)

NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, with a boost from a natural "zoom lens," have uncovered what may be one of the youngest and brightest galaxies ever seen in the middle of the cosmic "dark ages," just 700 million years after the beginning of our universe. ...> Full Article

Hubble Finds Strong Contender For Galaxy Distance Record (2/15/2008)

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, with a boost from a natural "zoom lens", has found the strongest evidence so far for a galaxy with a redshift significantly above 7. It is likely to be one of the youngest and brightest galaxies ever seen right after the cosmic "dark ages", just 700 million years after the beginning of our Universe (redshift ~7.6). ...> Full Article

A Cosmic Fossil? Brilliant But Fuzzy Galaxy May Be Aftermath Of Multi-Galaxy Collision (2/7/2008)

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a new image of the galaxy NGC 1132 which is, most likely, a cosmic fossil - the aftermath of an enormous multi-galactic pile-up, where the carnage of collision after collision has built up a brilliant but fuzzy giant elliptical galaxy far outshining typical galaxies. ...> Full Article

Gas 'Finger' Points To Galaxies' Future (2/7/2008)

Like a fork piercing a fried egg, a giant finger of hydrogen gas is poking through our Milky Way Galaxy from outside, astronomers using CSIRO radio telescopes at Parkes and Narrabri have found. ...> Full Article

Cool spacedust survey goes into orbit (2/4/2008)

University of Nottingham astronomers will be studying icy cosmic dust millions of light years away - using the biggest space telescope ever built. ...> Full Article

Hyperfast star proven to be alien (1/29/2008)

A young star is speeding away from the Milky Way so fast that astronomers have been puzzled by where it came from; based on its young age it has traveled too far to have come from our galaxy. Now by analyzing its velocity, light intensity, and for the first time its tell-tale elemental composition, Carnegie astronomers Alceste Bonanos and Mercedes LĂłpez-Morales, and collaborators Ian Hunter and Robert Ryans from Queen's University Belfast have determined that it came from our neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The result suggests that it was ejected from that galaxy by a yet-to-be-observed massive black hole. The research will be published in an upcoming issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters. ...> Full Article

Giant Particle Accelerator Discovered In The Sky (1/28/2008)

ESA's orbiting gamma-ray observatory, Integral, has made the first unambiguous discovery of highly energetic X-rays coming from a galaxy cluster. The find has shown the cluster to be a giant particle accelerator. ...> Full Article

Cosmic Interactions (1/27/2008)

An image based on data taken with ESO's Very Large Telescope reveals a triplet of galaxies intertwined in a cosmic dance. ...> Full Article

Even Thin Galaxies Can Grow Fat Black Holes (1/18/2008)

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected plump black holes where least expected -- skinny galaxies. Like people, galaxies come in different shapes and sizes. There are thin spirals both with and without central bulges of stars, and more rotund ellipticals that are themselves like giant bulges. Scientists have long held that all galaxies except the slender, bulgeless spirals harbor supermassive black holes at their cores. Furthermore, bulges were thought to be required for black holes to grow. ...> Full Article

Unlocking Galactic Mysteries, Star Formation, Dark Matter (1/16/2008)

Astronomers have produced a scientific gold mine of detailed, high-quality images of nearby galaxies that is yielding important new insights into many aspects of galaxies, including their complex structures, how they form stars, the motions of gas in the galaxies, the relationship of "normal" matter to unseen "dark matter," and many others. ...> Full Article

Dark Energy, the Milky Way galaxy, and giant planets (1/15/2008)

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Continues - new program of four coordinated surveys will revolutionize the study of the distant universe ...> Full Article

The secret life of galaxies (1/15/2008)

Looking up at the night sky you could be forgiven for believing that the sedate progress of the stars across the firmament belies the serene nature of galaxies. But a closer look at our celestial neighbours reveals that the reality is very different. ...> Full Article

Integral discovers the galaxy's antimatter cloud is lopsided (1/13/2008)

The shape of the mysterious cloud of antimatter in the central regions of the Milky Way has been revealed by ESA's orbiting gamma-ray observatory Integral. The unexpectedly lopsided shape is a new clue to the origin of the antimatter. ...> Full Article

Heat from the Heavens - Opening up the Infrared Sky (1/13/2008)

The infrared sky is expanding significantly for the world astronomical community with the first world release of data (DR1) from the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS). ...> Full Article

Powerful new sky surveys to explore dark energy, Milky Way Galaxy, giant planets (1/13/2008)

A team of scientists have announced the beginning of a new multi-year survey, the third generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, which will use a suite of new instruments to investigate a wide range of scientific topics. Building on eight years of extraordinary discoveries by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS and SDSS-II), the new program of four coordinated surveys will revolutionize the study of the distant universe, the Milky Way galaxy, and giant planets orbiting other stars, and the largest of these surveys will use a novel and powerful technique to study dark energy, one of the biggest mysteries in contemporary science. ...> Full Article

Hubble Telescope Helps Physicists Find 'Double Einstein Ring' (1/12/2008)

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a never-before-seen optical alignment in space: a pair of glowing rings, one nestled inside the other like a bull's-eye pattern. The double-ring pattern is caused by the complex bending of light from two distant galaxies strung directly behind a foreground massive galaxy, like three beads on a string. ...> Full Article

Rapidly whirling black holes discovered spinning at near maximum speed (1/12/2008)

A new study using results from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory provides one of the best pieces of evidence yet that many supermassive black holes are spinning extremely rapidly, according to a research team led by a Penn State astronomer. The whirling of these giant black holes drives powerful jets that pump huge amounts of energy into their environment and affects the growth of galaxies. ...> Full Article

Astronomer Produces First Detailed Map of Dark Matter in a Supercluster (1/12/2008)

For the first time astronomers are able to see indirect evidence of dark matter and how this invisible force impacts on the crowded and violent lives of galaxies. University of British Columbia researcher Catherine Heymans has produced the highest resolution map of dark matter ever captured before. ...> Full Article

Astronomers on Team Describing New Evidence of 'Inconvenient' Galaxy (1/10/2008)

Discovery of two new components within a puzzling spiral galaxy confirm it must have a pair of arms winding in the opposite direction from most galaxies, according to results being presented today to the American Astronomical Society meeting in Austin, Texas. Presenting the results are Drs. Gene Byrd and Ron Buta, from The University of Alabama; Tarsh Freeman, Bevill Community College; and Dr. Sethanne Howard, retired from the U.S. Naval Observatory. ...> Full Article

Astronomy Teams Discover Ancestors of Milky Way-Type Galaxies (1/10/2008)

Astronomers at Rutgers and Penn State universities have discovered galaxies in the distant universe that are ancestors of spiral galaxies like our Milky Way. ...> Full Article

Explosive Origin of Cosmic Dust Discovered (1/8/2008)

The first definitive evidence of cosmic dust, important in building planets like our Earth and ultimately ourselves, has been found in the remains of a massive star explosion 11,000 light years away in our own Galaxy. ...> Full Article

Lack Of Gravitational Wave Prompts Fresh Look At Gamma Ray Burst (1/5/2008)

An international team of physicists, including University of Oregon scientists, has concluded that last February's intense burst of gamma rays possibly coming from the Andromeda Galaxy lacked a gravitational wave. That absence, they say, rules out an initial interpretation that the burst came from merging neutron stars or black holes within Andromeda. ...> Full Article

Bumper Christmas for galaxy hunters (1/4/2008)

Armchair astronomers using the galaxyzoo.org website have identified over 500 overlapping galaxies in the local Universe when astronomers had previously only known of 20 such systems. ...> Full Article

Mysterious Cosmic Powerhouses Explored (12/27/2007)

By working in synergy with a ground-based telescope array, the joint Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)/NASA Suzaku X-ray observatory is shedding new light on some of the most energetic objects in our galaxy, but objects that remain shrouded in mystery. ...> Full Article

Anatomy of a Bird (12/26/2007)

Using ESO's Very Large Telescope, an international team of astronomers has discovered a stunning rare case of a triple merger of galaxies. This system, which astronomers have dubbed 'The Bird' - albeit it also bears resemblance with a cosmic Tinker Bell - is composed of two massive spiral galaxies and a third irregular galaxy. ...> Full Article

Intergalactic cosmic explosion shocks astronomers (12/25/2007)

A team of astronomers at Penn State and Caltech has discovered a cosmic explosion that seems to have come from the middle of nowhere -- thousands of light-years from the nearest galaxy-sized collection of stars, gas and dust. This "shot in the dark" is surprising because the type of explosion, a long-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB), is thought to be powered by the death of a massive star. ...> Full Article

Intergalactic 'Shot in the Dark' Shocks Astronomers (12/20/2007)

A team of astronomers has discovered a cosmic explosion that seems to have come from the middle of nowhere—thousands of light-years from the nearest galaxy-sized collection of stars, gas, and dust. ...> Full Article

New View of Distant Galaxy Reveals Furious Star Formation (12/19/2007)

A furious rate of star formation discovered in a distant galaxy shows that galaxies in the early universe developed either much faster or in a different way from what astronomers have thought. ...> Full Article

Team discovers a second halo orbiting Milky Way (12/16/2007)

Research by a team of astronomers, including a Michigan State University professor and his students, has found that two halos of stars - not just one - rotate around our Milky Way galaxy. ...> Full Article

Largest Digital Survey Of The Milky Way Released (12/12/2007)

A collaboration of over 50 astronomers, The IPHAS consortium, led from the UK, with partners in Europe, USA, Australia, has released today (10th December 2007) the first comprehensive optical digital survey of our own Milky Way. Conducted by looking at light emitted by hydrogen ions, using the Isaac Newton Telescope on La Palma, the survey contains stunning red images of nebulae and stars. The data is described in a paper submitted to the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. ...> Full Article

Stunning Image Of Nearby Spiral Galaxy (12/2/2007)

Hubble has sent back an early Christmas card with this new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the nearby spiral galaxy Messier 74. It is an enchanting reminder of the impending season. Resembling glittering baubles on a holiday wreath, bright knots of glowing gas light up the spiral arms, with regions of new star birth shining in pink. ...> Full Article

Scientists solve cosmological puzzle (12/1/2007)

Researchers using supercomputer simulations have exposed a very violent and critical relationship between interstellar gas and dark matter when galaxies are born -- one that has been largely ignored by the current model of how the universe evolved. ...> Full Article

Watching Galaxies Grow Old Gracefully (11/29/2007)

In the early 1900s, Edwin Hubble made the startling discovery that our Milky Way galaxy is not alone. It is just one of many galaxies, or "island universes," as Hubble dubbed them, swimming in the sea of space. ...> Full Article

Discovering Teenage Galaxies (11/28/2007)

VLT takes the search for young galaxies to new limits ...> Full Article

Astronomers Observe Acidic Milky Way Galaxies (11/24/2007)

SRON astronomer Floris van der Tak is the first to have observed acidic particulate clouds outside of our own Milky Way galaxy. He did this by focusing the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, located on Hawaii, on two nearby Milky Way galaxies. Astronomers think that acidification inhibits the formation of stars and planets in the dust clouds. Now it is a case of waiting for precise measurements from the SRON-built HIFI space instrument that will be launched on the Herschel space telescope next year. ...> Full Article

Hubble Sees The Graceful Dance Of Two Interacting Galaxies (11/1/2007)

A pair of galaxies, known collectively as Arp 87, is one of hundreds of interacting and merging galaxies known in our nearby Universe. Arp 87 was originally discovered and catalogued by astronomer Halton Arp in the 1970s. Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies is a compilation of astronomical photographs using the Palomar 200-inch Hale and the 48-inch Samuel Oschin telescopes. ...> Full Article

Hubble Spies Shells of Sparkling Stars around Quasar (10/28/2007)

New images taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope - part of a research project led by UC Riverside's Gabriela Canalizo - have revealed the wild side of an elliptical galaxy, nearly two billion light-years away, that previously had been considered mild-mannered. ...> Full Article

Astronomers unmask missing black holes (10/27/2007)

Astronomers unmask hundreds of black holes hidden in galaxies billions of light-years away. ...> Full Article

Dwarf galaxies need dark matter too, astronomers say (10/25/2007)

Stars in dwarf spheroidal galaxies behave in a way that suggests the galaxies are utterly dominated by dark matter, astronomers have found. ...> Full Article

Heaviest Stellar Black Hole Discovered In Nearby Galaxy (10/20/2007)

Astronomers have located an exceptionally massive black hole in orbit around a huge companion star. This result has intriguing implications for the evolution and ultimate fate of massive stars. ...> Full Article

Dark Matter Of The Universe Has A Long Lifetime (10/15/2007)

New research from the Niels Bohr Institute presents new information that adds another piece of knowledge to the jigsaw puzzle of the dark mystery of the universe -- dark matter. ...> Full Article

Astronomers get their hands dirty as they lift the veil on galactic dust (10/13/2007)

There is more to a grain of dust than meets the eye, at least for astronomers as they attempt to probe deeper into distant galaxies. Until now dust has been a nuisance because it has obscured galaxies, and the stars within them, by absorbing the radiation they emit. But more recently dust has started to present opportunities because it emits radiation itself as a consequence of being heated up by nearby stars. Aided by new observing instruments and sophisticated computer software, this radiation enables astronomers to reconstruct what lies behind the dust. Furthermore the dust itself plays a vital role in star formation within galaxies. ...> Full Article

Astronomers help locate obscure galaxies (10/12/2007)

Researchers helped to locate what they call the 'Lego building blocks of galaxies.' They did so by looking in a place that other astronomers already had looked, but with fresh eyes. ...> Full Article

Scientists study tiny galaxy halfway across the universe (10/5/2007)

A tiny galaxy nearly halfway across the universe, the smallest in size and mass known to exist at that distance, has been identified and studied by an international team of over a dozen scientists. ...> Full Article

Gamma Ray Delay May Be Sign of 'New Physics' (10/1/2007)

Delayed gamma rays from deep space may provide the first evidence for physics beyond current theories. ...> Full Article

Galaxy 'Hunting' Made Easy (9/22/2007)

Galaxies found under the Glare of Cosmic Flashlights ...> Full Article

Newborn stars discovered in dramatic galaxy tail (9/22/2007)

A team of astronomers has discovered a number of stars forming in a section of our universe that is not normally conducive to the birth of stars. ...> Full Article

The Magellanic Clouds Are First-Time Visitors (9/18/2007)

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) are two of the Milky Way's closest neighboring galaxies. A stunning sight in the southern hemisphere, they were named after Ferdinand Magellan, who explored those waters in the 16th century. For hundreds of years, these galaxies were considered satellites of the Milky Way, gravitationally bound to our home galaxy. New research by Gurtina Besla (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) and her colleagues shows that the Magellanic Clouds are recent arrivals on their first visit to the Milky Way's neighborhood. ...> Full Article

'Missing Dwarf Galaxy' Problem May Be Solved (9/18/2007)

Scientists may have solved a discrepancy between the number of extremely small, faint galaxies predicted to exist near the Milky Way and the number actually observed. ...> Full Article

Hubble Captures Stars Going Out In Style (9/17/2007)

The colorful, intricate shapes in these NASA Hubble Space Telescope images reveal how the glowing gas ejected by dying Sun-like stars evolves dramatically over time. ...> Full Article

Large Binocular Telescope Shows That Hercules is Odd, Flat Dwarf Galaxy (9/16/2007)

An international team of astronomers using the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in Arizona has discovered that the Hercules Dwarf Galaxy is shaped like a cigar. That makes it an oddball among millions of its peers. ...> Full Article

'One Of The Most Curious Objects In The Sky' Delights Astronomers Again (9/5/2007)

Edwin Hubble once called IC 10 "one of the most curious objects in the sky," and new observations of the extremely faint, lightweight dwarf galaxy are giving scientists new clues about how populations of stars are born. ...> Full Article

Stellar Firework in a Whirlwind (9/4/2007)

Stars do not like to be alone. Indeed, most stars are members of a binary system, in which two stars circle around each other in an apparently never-ending cosmic ballet. But sometimes, things can go wrong. When the dancing stars are too close to each other, one of them can start devouring its partner. If the vampire star is a white dwarf â€" a burned-out star that was once like our Sun â€" this greed can lead to a cosmic catastrophe: the white dwarf explodes as a Type Ia supernova. ...> Full Article

Dark Matter Mystery Deepens in Cosmic (8/18/2007)

Astronomers have discovered a chaotic scene unlike any witnessed before in a cosmic "train wreck" between giant galaxy clusters. NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and optical telescopes revealed a dark matter core that was mostly devoid of galaxies, which may pose problems for current theories of dark matter behavior. ...> Full Article

Bright Galaxies Hidden In Distant Universe Unveiled (8/14/2007)

By combining the capabilities of several telescopes, teams of scientists, including University of Massachusetts Amherst astronomers, have spotted extremely bright galaxies hiding in the distant, young universe. They are the most luminous and prolific galaxies seen at that great distance, churning out stars at a rate 1,000 times greater than that of the Milky Way. ...> Full Article

Monster Galaxy Pileup Sighted (8/7/2007)

Four galaxies are slamming into each other and kicking up billions of stars in one of the largest cosmic smash-ups ever observed. ...> Full Article

New Class Of Active Galactic Nuclei (7/31/2007)

An international team of astronomers using NASA's Swift satellite and the Japanese/U.S. Suzaku X-ray observatory has discovered a new class of active galactic nuclei (AGN). ...> Full Article

Team Discovers Cosmic Rain 3-Million Light Years Away (7/18/2007)

A team of astronomers, headed by Wits Professor David Block, have discovered a gargantuan ring of carbon bearing stars spanning up to 4,000 light years in width, in the Triangulum Galaxy (also known as Messier 33). In a paper to appear in Europe's premier astronomy journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, the astronomers show that these carbon stars are the results of cosmic rain 3-million light years away - rain in the form of hydrogen gas falling onto the outer galactic disk. ...> Full Article