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As the uni�verse expands, it is con�tin�u�ally sub�jected to energy shifts, or 'quan�tum fluc�tu�a�tions', that send out lit�tle pulses of 'sound' into the fab�ric of space�time. In fact, the uni�verse is thought to have sprung from just such an energy shift. Scientists reports a new math�e�mat�i�cal tool that should allow one to use these sounds to help reveal the shape of the uni�verse.
Apr 3rd, 2013
Read moreThe conference brings together world experts on subjects related to planetary defense, including what we currently know about potentially threatening asteroids and comets, techniques that might be used to deflect a threatening object, and political and policy issues that might affect a decision to take action.
Apr 3rd, 2013
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A team of astronomers led by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) have succeeded in observing the death throws of a giant star in unprecedented detail.
Apr 3rd, 2013
Read moreAs the shapes of galaxies go, the spiral disk -- with its characteristic pinwheel profile - is by far the most pedestrian.
Apr 3rd, 2013
Read moreAstronomers from the University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP) and Lowell Observatory have used NASA's Swift satellite to check out comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), which may become one of the most dazzling in decades when it rounds the sun later this year.
Mar 29th, 2013
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Messier 77 is a galaxy in the constellation of Cetus, some 45 million light-years away from us. Also known as NGC 1068, it is one of the most famous and well-studied galaxies. It is a real star among galaxies, with more papers written about it than many other galaxies put together.
Mar 28th, 2013
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Concrete plans for a one-way ticket to Mars have been forged. Food will have to be grown on location. Is this a distant future scenario? Not for Wieger Wamelink, ecologist at Alterra Wageningen UR, for whom the future will begin on 2 April. He will be researching whether or not it is possible to grow plants on the moon.
Mar 28th, 2013
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An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and from the University of Cologne, successfully identified two titanium oxides in the extended atmosphere around a giant star. The object VY Canis Major is one of the largest stars in the known universe and close to the end of its life.
Mar 27th, 2013
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The Universe is an old neighbourhood - roughly 13.8 billion years old. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is also ancient- some of its stars are more than 13 billion years old. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of action: new objects form and others are destroyed.
Mar 27th, 2013
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Stars ten times as massive as the Sun, or more, should not exist: as they grow, they tend to push away the gas they feed on, starving their own growth. Scientists have been struggling to figure out how some stars overcome this hurdle.
Mar 27th, 2013
Read moreWhen the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission begins its journey to the Red Planet in 2013, it will carry a sensitive magnetic-field instrument built and tested by a team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
Mar 26th, 2013
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Supernovae were always thought to occur in two main varieties. But a team of astronomers including Carnegie's Wendy Freedman, Mark Phillips and Eric Persson is reporting the discovery of a new type of supernova called Type Iax.
Mar 26th, 2013
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NASA intentionally crashed the GRAIL twins onto the Moon on Dec. 17, 2012, following successful prime and extended science missions. Both spacecraft hit a mountain near the lunar north pole, which was shrouded in shadow at the time. Developed by Southwest Research Institute, LAMP uses a novel method to peer into the darkness of the Moon's permanently shadowed regions, making it ideal for observations of the Moon's night-side and its tenuous atmospheric constituents.
Mar 26th, 2013
Read moreNew research shows that the speed of light may not be fixed after all, but rather fluctuates.
Mar 25th, 2013
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The astronomers in the UPV/EHU's Planetary Science Group have published a study of the atmospheric vortex of the south pole of Venus, a huge whirlwind the size of Europe.
Mar 25th, 2013
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A little more than a year ago a research team started to develop a vital part of a Finnish invention - an electric solar wind sail for interplanetary journeys. Now, a prototype has been successfully manufactured and tested.
Mar 25th, 2013
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A new article compares in-orbit debris removal options regarding their potential risk of creating new orbital debris or disabling working satellites during deorbit operation.
Mar 22nd, 2013
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University of Colorado Boulder astronomers targeting one of the brightest quasars glowing in the universe some 11 billion years ago say "sideline quasars" likely teamed up with it to heat abundant helium gas billions of years ago, preventing small galaxy formation.
Mar 21st, 2013
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