Astronomy | SpaceRef

Astronomy TOP STORY

Glimpsing the Infrastructure of a Gamma-ray Burst Jet

Gamma-ray Burst Jet

A new study using observations from a novel instrument provides the best look to date at magnetic fields at the heart of gamma-ray bursts, the most energetic explosions in the universe.

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Astronomy TOP STORIES

Massive Black Hole Duo - Possible Sighting by NASA's WISE

Two black holes are entwined in a gravitational tango

Astronomers have spotted what appear to be two supermassive black holes at the heart of a remote galaxy, circling each other like dance partners.

Home Computers Discover Gamma-Ray Pulsars

The combination of globally distributed computing power and innovative analysis methods proves to be a recipe for success in the search for new pulsars.

Smaller Black Holes Can Eat Plenty

Observations of a black hole powering an energetic X-ray source in a galaxy some 22 million light-years away could change our thinking about how some black holes consume matter.

IceCube Provides Proof of Neutrinos from the Cosmos

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole was the first to discover ultrahigh-energy neutrinos which most likely were the result of cosmic acceleration in outer space.

Herschel's 37,000 Science Observations

This animation shows the timeline of over 37 000 scientific observations made by ESA's Herschel space observatory throughout its entire mission, condensed into less than a minute.

Hubble Sees Anemic Spiral NGC 4921

How far away is spiral galaxy NGC 4921? Although presently estimated to be about 310 million light years distant, a more precise determination could be coupled with its known recession speed to help humanity better calibrate the expansion rate of the entire visible universe.

Cosmic Explosion Seen in Unparalleled Detail

On April 27, a blast of light from a dying star in a distant galaxy became the focus of astronomers around the world. The explosion, known as a gamma-ray burst and designated GRB 130427A, tops the charts as one of the brightest ever seen.

Chandra Helps Confirm Jet in Milky Way's Black Hole

Astronomers have long sought strong evidence that Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, is producing a jet of high-energy particles.

Hubble Reveals First Pictures of Milky Way's Formative Years

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has revealed the first visual evidence of how our home galaxy, the Milky Way, assembled itself into the majestic pinwheel of stars we see today.

Stellar Explosions in NGC 6984

Supernovae are intensely bright objects. They are formed when a star reaches the end of its life with a dramatic explosion, expelling most of its material out into space.

3C 397: An Unusual Galactic Supernova Remnant

3C 397 (also known as G41.1-0.3) is a Galactic supernova remnant with an unusual shape. Researchers think its box-like appearance is produced as the heated remains of the exploded star -- detected by Chandra in X-rays (purple) -- runs into cooler gas surrounding it.

Galaxy NGC 4945

This image provides a view into the central region of a galaxy that is similar in overall appearance to our own Milky Way, but contains a much more active supermassive black hole within the white area near the top.

Suzaku Study Points to Early Cosmic 'Seeding'

Most of the universe's heavy elements, including the iron central to life itself, formed early in cosmic history and spread throughout the universe, according to a new study of the Perseus Galaxy Cluster using Japan's Suzaku satellite.

Astronomers Discover the Most Distant Known Galaxy

University of California, Riverside astronomers Bahram Mobasher and Naveen Reddy are members of a team that has discovered the most distant galaxy ever found. The galaxy is seen as it was just 700 million years after the Big Bang, when the universe was only about 5 percent of its current age of 13.8 billion years.

Most Distant Gravitational Lens Helps Weigh Galaxies

An international team of astronomers has found the most distant gravitational lens yet -- a galaxy that, as predicted by Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, deflects and intensifies the light of an even more distant object.

Galactic Bubble

Nestled within the shell around this large bubble is an embryonic star that is already a hefty eight times more massive than our Sun.

White Dwarf has Water-rich Planetary Building Blocks Around It

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found the building blocks of solid planets that are capable of having substantial amounts of water.