Universe
Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts May Be Occurring Every Second
And we still don't know what they are.<p>Fast radio bursts are quite the ongoing space mystery. We don't know what they are, and only a couple of dozen …
ScienceNew study indicates mysterious fast radio bursts occur in universe every second
When fast radio bursts, or FRBs, were first detected in 2001, astronomers had never seen anything like them before. Since then, astronomers have …
PhysicsHigh energy cosmic rays which have puzzled scientists for 50 years 'come from beyond our galaxy'
Cosmic rays which have baffled experts for than five decades come from outside our galaxy, according to breakthrough research.<p>The origins of the …
Science-in-progress: Did the Bullet Cluster withstand scrutiny? | Ars Technica
The bullet cluster made dark matter apparent: Has it stood the test of time?<p>Dark matter was first proposed to explain the speed at which stars orbit …
Dark MatterWe Might Finally Know Where All Those Mysterious Cosmic Rays Are Coming From
They're not from this galaxy.<p>The highest energy cosmic rays hitting Earth have finally had their point of origin pinned down. And it isn't from …
ScienceHighest-Energy Cosmic Radiation Comes From a Mysterious Source Beyond Our Galaxy
Not to scare you, but you’re getting hit with radiation constantly. First, there’s just regular old light (yep, that’s a kind of radiation). Then …
PhysicsNew evidence that the highest energy cosmic rays come from beyond our galaxy
When it comes to the highest energy cosmic rays—subatomic particles raining in from space—the sky is lopsided: more come from one direction than the …
Are We About To See A Black Hole?
If there is one thing science is good for, it's going to extremes.<p>A lot of science's history is just one story after another of people figuring out how to do something that, just a few years before, was thought to be impossible.<p>The impossible was heavy on my mind last Wednesday as I found out just …
AstrophysicsSweeping Study Confirms the Unknown About Mysterious Cosmic Rays
All we know is that they come from incomprehensibly far away.<p>Humans can push physics to the absolute extreme within the precisely controlled …
Is the Milky Way an ‘outlier’ galaxy? Studying its ‘siblings’ for clues
The most-studied galaxy in the universe — the Milky Way — might not be as “typical” as previously thought, according to a new study.<p>The Milky Way, …
YaleHubble Captures Blistering Pitch-Black Planet
Think of it as a kind of Vantablack planet<p>A pitch black planet that traps at least 94 percent of starlight entering its atmosphere has been …
ExoplanetsHigh-energy cosmic rays come from outside our Galaxy
Giant observatory announces long-awaited result.<p>The Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina finally has solid evidence that the most energetic …
PhysicsMeteorite found in Qld Gulf tells secrets from 4 billion years ago
“He and wife came across what they thought was at the time this massive gold nugget,” Dr Adland said.<p>“You can imagine their excitement over that. And …
Australian NewsComet or Asteroid? Hubble Discovers that a Unique Object is a Binary
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope helped an international team of astronomers find that an unusual object in the asteroid belt is, in fact, two asteroids …
AstronomyLeon Mestel obituary
Astronomer and astrophysicist who inspired generations of students and discovered the cooling law for white dwarf stars<p>Leon Mestel, who has died aged 90, taught generations of astronomers the importance of magnetic fields inside stars and, on the larger scale, across galaxies. He discovered the …
PhysicsAging red star pictured blowing smoky bubble
With the help of the ALMA observatory, astronomers have captured images of a smoky bubble of debris expelled by the unusual red star, U Antliae.
AstronomyHerschel image of Fomalhaut and its debris disc
This image shows the thermal emission from the young star Fomalhaut and the debris disc surrounding it, as recorded with ESA's Herschel Space …
AstronomyThe Iconic Arecibo Telescope in Puerto Rico Is Being Battered by Hurricane Maria
Oh, no.<p>As Hurricane Maria slams Puerto Rico with devastating force, scientists at the historic Arecibo Observatory are among the millions of people …
ScienceHubble discovers a unique type of object in the Solar System
heic1715 — Science Release<p>Hubble discovers a unique type of object in the Solar System<p>With the help of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, a …
Space ExplorationBoffins discover tightest black hole binary system – and it's supermassive
Sitting less than one light year apart in spiral galaxy NGC 7674Scientists have discovered the closest-ever supermassive black hole binary system. …
AstrophysicsAstronomers find a giant, black, glowing exoplanet
The extra-solar planet ("exoplanet") known as WASP-12b is perhaps the strangest world found yet. While known for almost a decade, astronomers …
ScienceGlowing Red Eye: Cosmic Bubble Surrounds Odd 'Carbon Star'
Gorgeous new imagery shows the enormous, glowing bubble that a strange, dying red star has blown around itself.<p>The huge star, known as U Antliae, …
AstronomyThis scorching black exoplanet takes in all the light it can and gives almost nothing back
As black as day.<p><i>We have discovered a planet. It gathers in light from its sun, and refuses to let go. In return, the star strips away the planet’s atmosphere, slowly devouring it.</i><p>That's how the popular planet-inventing Twitter bot Newfound Planets , might describe this particular gaseous giant, …
SpaceThe cosmic water trail uncovered by Herschel
During almost four years of observing the cosmos, the Herschel Space Observatory traced out the presence of water. With its unprecedented sensitivity …
AstronomyNew Mexico's giant Very Large Array telescopes scanning space for cosmic discoveries
Employing an array of giant telescopes positioned in the New Mexico desert, astronomers have started a massive surveying project aimed at producing …
AstronomyAustralian Scientists Are Changing The Way We Study The Universe
Image: CSIRO<p>A new study from researchers at Western Sydney University shows how radio astronomy can help our understanding of how galaxies form and …
Technology (Australia)Expect the unexpected from the big-data boom in radio astronomy
Third, it will change the way that astronomers do their astronomy at other wavelengths. At the moment, only a small minority of galaxies have been …
AstronomyNew Space Telescope, 40 Times The Power Of Hubble, To Unlock Astronomy's Future
Since humanity first turned our gaze skyward, we’ve realized that the cosmic story of our existence — our origins, all that exists today, and what our ultimate fate is — is literally written across the Universe. Our understanding of what our Universe truly is, what it’s made up of, and how it came …
AstronomyTwo Black Holes Orbiting Each Other Are Surprisingly Close to Earth
The pair of supermassive black holes each weighs more than a million times the mass of our sun.<p>In early 2016, a group of scientists from the LIGO observatory made an incredible announcement: They had detected gravitational waves—ripples in the fabric of spacetime—from the collision of two …
AstrophysicsWhat Earth looks like to far-out celestial bodies
Glance at the stars, glance back in time.<p>When we look at stars in the night sky, we’re actually looking back in time. Since it takes a while for light to cross the vast emptiness of the universe—even at a blistering 186,000 miles per second—we’re seeing each celestial object as it looked eons ago. …
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