Astronomy | SpaceRef

Astronomy TOP STORY

CAT Scan of Nearby Supernova Remnant Reveals Frothy Interior

Cassiopeia A,

Cassiopeia A, or Cas A for short, is one of the most well studied supernova remnants in our galaxy. But it still holds major surprises.

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Astronomy TOP STORIES

Black Hole Chokes on a Swallowed Star

Computer Simuation

A five-year analysis of an event captured by a tiny telescope at McDonald Observatory and followed up by telescopes on the ground and in space has led astronomers to believe they witnessed a giant black hole tear apart a star.

Galactic Merger Caught by Hubble

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured this striking view of spiral galaxy NGC 7714.

A New View of Galaxy M82

An international team of astronomers led from Chalmers has used the giant radio telescope LOFAR to create the sharpest astronomical image ever taken at very long radio wavelengths.

A Hubble Sweep of the Dust Filaments of NGC 4217

In this image the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope takes a close look at the spiral galaxy NGC 4217, located 60 million light-years away from Earth. The galaxy is seen almost perfectly edge on and is a perfect candidate for studying the nature of extraplanar dust structures -- the patterns of gas and dust above and below the plane on the galaxy, seen here as brown wisps coming off NGC 4217.

Citizen Scientists Lead Astronomers to Mystery Objects in Space

Sometimes it takes a village to find new and unusual objects in space.

NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Captures Best-Ever View of Dwarf Planet

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has returned the sharpest images ever seen of the dwarf planet Ceres. The images were taken 147,000 miles (237,000 kilometers) from Ceres on Jan. 25, and represent a new milestone for a spacecraft that soon will become the first human-made probe to visit a dwarf planet.

Five Earth-Size Planets Discovered by NASA's Kepler Spacecraft

Astronomers poring over four years of data from NASA's Kepler spacecraft have discovered a star that's 11.2 billion years old and has at least five Earth-size planets.

Gigantic Ring System Around Exoplanet J1407b

Astronomers at the Leiden Observatory and the University of Rochester have discovered that the ring system that they see eclipse the very young Sun-like star J1407 is of enormous proportions, much larger and heavier than the ring system of Saturn.

Inside the Wormhole: Milky Way Could Be A Galactic Transport System

Based on the latest evidence and theories our galaxy could be a huge wormhole (or space-time tunnel; have you seen "Interstellar?") and, if that were true, it would be "stable and navigable."

Hubble Views 'Third Kind' of Galaxy

The subject of this image is NGC 6861, a galaxy discovered in 1826 by the Scottish astronomer James Dunlop.

Hubble Space Telescope Town Hall at the AAS 225

On Thursday, January 8, members of the Hubble Space Telescope Mission presented mission status and upcoming plans in a Town Hall at the 225th American Astronomical Society meeting.

Three Nearly Earth-size Planets Found Orbiting Nearby Star

NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, despite being hobbled by the loss of critical guidance systems, has discovered a star with three planets only slightly larger than Earth.

Video: James Webb Space Telescope Town Hall

Last week, at the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, members of the James Webb Space Telescope mission held a town hall to update members of the status and progress of the mission.

Extrasolar Storms: How's the Weather Way Out There?

Orbiting the Earth 353 miles above the ground, the Hubble Space Telescope silently pivots toward its new target. At the same time, flying 93 million miles away in interplanetary space, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope receives commands to point itself at the same celestial target.

NameExoWorlds Contest Opens

The first ever contest allowing members of the public to name ExoWorlds begins its first round today, offering the registered clubs and non-profit organisations the chance to nominate their favourite systems to take through to the next rounds.

Photonic Booms May Help Illuminate Astronomical Secrets

If you sweep a laser pointer across the Moon fast enough, you can create spots that actually move faster than light. Anyone can do it.

Mysterious Molecules in Our galaxy Sheds New Light on Century-old Puzzle

By analyzing the light of hundreds of thousands of celestial objects, Johns Hopkins astronomers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) have created a unique map of enigmatic molecules in our galaxy that are responsible for puzzling features in the light from stars.