Astronomy | SpaceRef

Astronomy TOP STORY

Magnetic Fields May Be the Key to Black Hole Activity

Cygnus A

Researchers using NASA's SOFIA airborne telescope have found that magnetic fields are trapping the material that feeds the supermassive black hole in the galaxy Cygnus A.

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Astronomy TOP STORIES

Hubble Images Milky Way's Big Sister

NGC 6744

This image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) shows a beautiful spiral galaxy called NGC 6744.

Acrylic Tanks Provide Clear Window into Dark Matter Detection

Scientists have a new window into the search for dark matter -- an acrylic vessel that features a grouping of 12-foot-tall transparent tanks with 1-inch-thick walls.

Kin of Gravitational Wave Source Discovered

About a year ago, astronomers excitedly reported the first detection of electromagnetic waves, or light, from a gravitational wave source. Now, a year later, researchers are announcing the existence of a cosmic relative to that historic event.

Galactic Archaeology

The star Pristine 221.8781+9.7844 is one of the oldest stars in the Milky Way. We know this because of its atmosphere.

Citizen Scientists Give New Life And Value To Old Astrophotos

More than 30,000 celestial images that were all but lost to science are about to find their way back into researchers' hands thanks to the efforts of thousands of citizen scientists.

When Is A Nova Not A Nova?

Researchers from Keele University have worked with an international team of astronomers to find for the first time that a white dwarf and a brown dwarf collided in a 'blaze of glory' that was witnessed on Earth in 1670.

Hubble Is In Safe Mode As Gyroscope Issues Are Diagnosed

NASA is working to resume science operations of the Hubble Space Telescope after the spacecraft entered safe mode on Friday, October 5, shortly after 6:00 p.m. EDT. Hubble's instruments still are fully operational and are expected to produce excellent science for years to come.

Observations Challenge Cosmological Theories

Recent observations create a puzzle for astrophysicists: since the big bang, less galaxy clusters have formed over time than was actually expected.

Gaia Spots Stars Flying Between Galaxies

A team of astronomers using the latest set of data from ESA's Gaia mission to look for high-velocity stars being kicked out of the Milky Way were surprised to find stars instead sprinting inwards - perhaps from another galaxy.

A Universe Aglow

An unexpected abundance of Lyman-alpha emission in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) region was discovered by an international team of astronomers using the MUSE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope.

White Dwarf Orbited By Planetary Fragments Has Been Analyzed

The study, led by Paula Izquierdo, has gone deeply into the analysis of this exceptional white dwarf, which shows periodic transits produced by fragments of a shredded planetesimal

New Simulation Sheds Light on Spiraling Supermassive Black Holes

A new model is bringing scientists a step closer to understanding the kinds of light signals produced when two supermassive black holes, which are millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun, spiral toward a collision.

Powerful Jet Coming from "Wrong" Kind of Star

Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) have discovered a fast-moving jet of material propelled outward from a type of neutron star previously thought incapable of launching such a jet.

Survey Reveals Detailed Dark Matter Map of the Universe

Einstein's general theory of relativity has helped an international team of researchers measure the lumpiness of dark matter in our universe today by analyzing images of 10 million distant galaxies, and further use it to understand dark energy.

Both Halves of Webb Telescope Successfully Communicate

Although it was a significant step forward for the program, this test was an optional "risk reduction" test that took advantage of an opportunity to connect the two halves of the observatory together electrically months earlier than planned.

Herschel's view of the Galactic Center

An odd-shaped formation of gas and dust at the centre of the Milky Way, captured by the far-infrared cameras on board ESA's Herschel space observatory.

Matter Falling Into Black Hole at 30% of the Speed of Light

A UK team of astronomers report the first detection of matter falling into a black hole at 30% of the speed of light, located in the centre of the billion-light-year distant galaxy PG211+143.