Astronomers know that gravity from Saturn's various moons tug at the planet's rings and make spirals in them. But the catalyst for certain spiral patterns has been difficult to pin down. Now, two Cornell astronomers have determined the source: Saturn itself.
Jun 11th, 2013
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Nearly a decade ago, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory caught signs of what appeared to be a black hole snacking on gas at the middle of the nearby Sculptor galaxy. Now, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), which sees higher-energy X-ray light, has taken a peek and found the black hole asleep.
Jun 11th, 2013
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The least massive galaxy in the known universe has been measured by UC Irvine scientists, clocking in at just 1,000 or so stars with a bit of dark matter holding them together.
Jun 10th, 2013
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NASA has selected 65 graduate students as the 2013 class of Space Technology Research Fellows.
Jun 10th, 2013
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Four years after its first mission, the Sunrise team is preparing the balloon-borne solar observatory for a second flight.
Jun 7th, 2013
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Dramatic flood events carved this impressive channel system on Mars covering 1.55 million square kilometres, shown here in a stunning new mosaic from ESA's Mars Express.
Jun 6th, 2013
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As part of an international team of exoplanets hunters, astronomers at the University of Arizona are developing a technique to detect faint dust clouds around other stars, many of which might hide Earth-like planets.
Jun 6th, 2013
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Based on a treasure trove of recent discoveries, astronomers now know that planets are remarkably plentiful in our galaxy and may be common throughout the Universe. Though planets appear to form readily, the actual process of planet formation remains a mystery and astronomers are searching for the missing pieces to this cosmic puzzle.
Jun 6th, 2013
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By comparing infrared and X-ray background signals across the same stretch of sky, an international team of astronomers has discovered evidence of a significant number of black holes that accompanied the first stars in the universe.
Jun 5th, 2013
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A flash of light from a stellar outburst has been used by NASA Hubble telescope astronomers to probe for the first time the 3-D structure of material ejected by an erupting nova.
Jun 4th, 2013
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Astronomers at NASA and Pennsylvania State University have used NASA's Swift satellite to create the most detailed ultraviolet light surveys ever of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, the two closest major galaxies.
Jun 4th, 2013
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NASA's Hubble Space Telescope will have two opportunities in the next few years to hunt for Earth-sized planets around the red dwarf Proxima Centauri.
Jun 4th, 2013
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Nine years after ESO's Very Large Telescope captured the first image of an exoplanet, the planetary companion to the brown dwarf 2M1207, the same team has caught on camera what is probably the lightest of these objects so far.
Jun 3rd, 2013
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The mission that has enabled German Aerospace Center scientists to study Mars was launched 10 years ago.
Jun 3rd, 2013
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In preparation for a future where parts and tools can be printed on demand in space, NASA and Made in Space Inc. have joined to launch equipment for the first 3-D microgravity printing experiment to the International Space Station.
May 31st, 2013
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With data from NASA's twin spacecraft, STEREO, researchers developed a novel technique, called geometric triangulation, which can determine the trajectory and velocity of coronal mass ejections continuously when they travel in interplanetary space.
May 31st, 2013
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Conventional research on distant galaxies have been carried out mainly with visible light and near infrared light. However, it is possible that many galaxies in the universe have been overlooked as much of that radiation is largely absorbed by cosmic dust.
May 31st, 2013
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The prospects of a robotic manufacturing base operating off Earth is not as far-fetched as it used to be according to a study published by a team of NASA researchers led by a Kennedy Space Center physicist.
May 30th, 2013
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