http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/ Astronomy News. Read the latest astronomy news and articles from around the world. Space and time theory and more. Full-text, images, updated daily. en-us Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:05:01 EST Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106195056.htm The spectacular new camera installed on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope during Servicing Mission 4 in May has delivered the most detailed view of star birth in the graceful, curving arms of the nearby spiral galaxy M83. Nicknamed the Southern Pinwheel, M83 is undergoing more rapid star formation than our own Milky Way galaxy, especially in its nucleus. Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106195056.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143718.htm Astronomers were looking through seven-year-old data when they chanced upon a very strange supernova that flashed and was gone in less than a month, when 3-4 months is typical. The unusually rapid supernova appears to match the predicted behavior of a thermonuclear explosion on a white dwarf that is drawing helium from its binary companion. This mechanism is quite different from the two standard types of supernovae. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143718.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106104413.htm The operations of the CoRoT mission has been extended for three additional years, until 31 March 2013. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106104413.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132808.htm Evidence for a thin veil of carbon has been found on the neutron star in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant. This discovery resolves a ten-year mystery surrounding this object. In Earth's time frame, the estimated age of the neutron star in Cas A is only several hundred years, making it about ten times younger than other neutron stars with detected surface emission. Therefore, the Cas A neutron star gives a unique window into the early life of a cooling neutron star. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132808.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091103102244.htm Astronomers have tracked down a gigantic, previously unknown assembly of galaxies located almost seven billion light-years away from us. The discovery, made possible by combining two of the most powerful ground-based telescopes in the world, is the first observation of such a prominent galaxy structure in the distant Universe, providing further insight into the cosmic web and how it formed. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091103102244.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104122526.htm Is there such a thing as "weather" on Mars? There are some doubts, considering the planet's atmosphere is only 1 percent as dense as that of the Earth. Mars, however, definitely has clouds, drastically low temperatures and out-of-this-world dust storms. A professor of atmospheric sciences now hopes to analyze and forecast Martian weather. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104122526.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121644.htm A detailed picture of the seeds of structures in the universe has been unveiled. These measurements put limits on proposed alternatives to the standard model of cosmology and provide further support for the standard cosmological model, confirming that dark matter and dark energy make up 95 percent of everything in existence. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121644.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102172043.htm Researchers are collaborating on a study to determine if an imaging technique used by NASA to inspect the space shuttle can be used to predict tissue damage often experienced by breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. The study is examining the utility of three-dimensional thermal tomography in radiation oncology. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102172043.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171716.htm Nearly 100 years ago, scientists detected the first signs of cosmic rays -- subatomic particles that zip through space at nearly the speed of light. The most energetic cosmic rays hit with the punch of a 98-mph fastball, even though they are smaller than an atom. Astronomers questioned what force could accelerate particles to such a speed. New evidence from the VERITAS telescopes shows that cosmic rays likely are powered by exploding stars and stellar "winds." Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171716.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091103121616.htm Launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., aboard an United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle, Oct. 18, 2009, the Special Sensor Ultraviolet Limb Imager (SSULI) developed by the Naval Research Laboratory offers a first of its kind technique for remote sensing of the ionosphere and thermosphere from space. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091103121616.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171724.htm Dust samples collected from the stratosphere have yielded an unexpectedly rich trove of relicts from the ancient cosmos, scientists report. The dust includes presolar grains and material from interstellar molecular clouds. This "ultra-primitive" material likely wafted into the atmosphere after the Earth passed through the trail of an Earth-crossing comet in 2003, giving scientists a rare opportunity to study cometary dust in the laboratory. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171724.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102172245.htm Nearby galaxies undergoing a furious pace of star formation also emit lots of gamma rays, say astronomers using NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Two so-called "starburst" galaxies, plus a satellite of our own Milky Way galaxy, represent a new category of gamma-ray-emitting objects detected both by Fermi and ground-based observatories. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102172245.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102110050.htm Until Oct. 24, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover had gone more than six months without an episode of amnesia-like symptoms like those that appeared on four occasions earlier this year. In these amnesia events, Spirit fails to record data from the day's activities onto the type of computer memory -- non-volatile "flash" memory -- that can retain the data when the rover powers down for its energy-conserving periods of "sleep." Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102110050.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102112048.htm Solar wind generated by the sun is probably driven by a process involving powerful magnetic fields, according to a new study led by researchers based on the latest observations from the Hinode satellite. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102112048.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102110228.htm A new image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows channels to the southeast of Hale crater on southern Mars. Taken by the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, this view covers an area about 3 kilometers (2 miles) wide. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102110228.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102103329.htm Using Einstein's theory of special relativity to speedup computer simulations, scientists have designed laser-plasma accelerators with energies of 10 billion electron volts (GeV) and beyond. These systems, which have not been simulated in detail until now, could in the future serve as a compact new technology for particle colliders and energetic light sources. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102103329.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091012100514.htm New tools and systems developed by European researchers are helping astronomers access data centres from anywhere in the world. From charting new stars to finding new meaning in old stellar objects, the result will be virtual observatories with very real impact. Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091012100514.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029102425.htm The combination of images taken by three exceptional telescopes, the ESO Very Large Telescope on Cerro Paranal, the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope at ESO's La Silla observatory and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, has allowed the stunning Jewel Box star cluster to be seen in a whole new light. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029102425.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029141251.htm Scientists argue that human missions to Mars, as well as all other long-term space flights might be compromised by microbial hitchhikers, such as bacteria. That's because long-term space travel packs a one-two punch to astronauts: first it appears to weaken their immune systems; and second, it increases the virulence and growth of microbes. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029141251.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029134342.htm Many of us have been rescued from unfamiliar territory by directions from a Global Positioning System navigator. GPS satellites send signals to a receiver in your GPS navigator, which calculates your position based on the location of the satellites and your distance from them. The distance is determined by how long it took the signals from various satellites to reach your receiver. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029134342.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029111907.htm A new European Earth observation satellite will be launched in the early hours of Monday November 2 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. The European Space Agency Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite will measure moisture levels in the Earth's soils and the saltiness of the world's oceans from space for the very first time. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029111907.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028112758.htm Cobbling together 3,000 individual photographs, a physicist has made a new high-resolution panoramic image of the full night sky, with the Milky Way galaxy as its centerpiece. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028112758.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028142231.htm Astronomers studied the most distant object yet seen in the Universe, a giant stellar blast from more than 13 billion years ago, and learned tantalizing facts about the blast itself and the environment of the star that exploded in the early Universe. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028142231.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924123310.htm During flights simulating the moon's low gravity, researchers find that sifters can separate soil particles and produce the best feedstock for an oxygen generator. Scientists are designing and testing components of the generator, which would provide oxygen needed for a lunar or Martian outpost. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924123310.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028153447.htm A pair of gamma-ray photons -- one possessed of a million times the energy of the other -- arrived at virtually the same instant at NASA's orbiting Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, after a 7.3-billion-year race across the universe. Some proponents of alternatives to Einstein's theory of gravity would have predicted that the more energetic would have been much farther behind the less energetic one. They were wrong -- Einstein wins this round. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028153447.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028125147.htm NASA's Ares I-X test rocket lifted off Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a two-minute powered flight. The test flight lasted about six minutes from its launch from the newly-modified Launch Complex 39B until splash down of the rocket's booster stage nearly 150 miles down range. The 327-foot tall Ares I-X test vehicle produced 2.6 million pounds of thrust to accelerate the rocket to nearly 3 g's and Mach 4.76, just shy of hypersonic speed. It capped its easterly flight at a sub-orbital altitude of 150,000 feet after the separation of its first stage, a four-segment solid rocket booster. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028125147.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027195507.htm An armada of robots may one day fly above the mountain tops of Saturn's moon Titan, cross its vast dunes and sail in its liquid lakes. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027195507.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026152942.htm A new "Roadrunner Universe" model requires a petascale computer because, like the universe, it's mind-bendingly large. The model's basic unit is a particle with a mass of approximately one billion suns (in order to sample galaxies with masses of about a trillion suns), and it includes 64 billion and more of those particles. The model is one of the largest simulations of the distribution of matter in the universe, and aims to look at galaxy-scale mass concentrations above and beyond quantities seen in state-of-the-art sky surveys. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026152942.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022153635.htm An Israeli researcher's "hyperspectral remote sensor" combines sophisticated sensors in orbit with sensors on the ground and in the air to give advance warnings about contamination, pollution and weather disasters. Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022153635.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709095427.htm Galileo knew he had discovered a new planet in 1613, 234 years before its official discovery date, according to a new theory. Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709095427.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163519.htm As Saturn's rings orbit the planet, a section is typically in the planet's shadow, experiencing a brief night lasting from 6 to 14 hours. However, once approximately every 15 years, night falls over the entire visible ring system for about four days. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163519.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022114307.htm The most distant galaxy cluster yet has been discovered by combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and optical and infrared telescopes. The cluster is located about 10.2 billion light years away, and is observed as it was when the universe was only about a quarter of its present age. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022114307.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022154644.htm Astronomers have found an unexpected link between mysterious 'dark matter' and the visible stars and gas in galaxies that could revolutionize our current understanding of gravity. The finding suggests that an unknown force is acting on dark matter. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022154644.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022102338.htm A NASA chemist has developed a technology intended to rapidly assess any presence of microbial life on spacecraft. This new method may also help the military test for disease-causing bacteria, such as a causative agent for anthrax, and may also be useful in the medical, pharmaceutical and other fields. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022102338.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021101820.htm As preparations for the launch of SMOS and Proba-2 continue on schedule, the engineers and technicians at the Russian launch site say goodbye as both satellites are encapsulated within the half-shells of the Rockot fairing. Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021101820.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021142925.htm Peering far beyond our solar system, NASA researchers have detected the basic chemistry for life in a second hot gas planet, advancing astronomers toward the goal of being able to characterize planets where life could exist. The planet is not habitable but it has the same chemistry that, if found around a rocky planet in the future, could indicate the presence of life. Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021142925.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020122532.htm ESA's Rosetta comet chaser will swing by Earth on Nov. 13 to pick up orbital energy and begin the final leg of its 10-year journey to the outer Solar System. Several observations of the Earth-moon system are planned before the spacecraft heads out to study comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020122532.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091018141608.htm According to a new study by geologists, the wealth of some minerals that lie in the rock beneath the Earth's surface may be extraterrestrial in origin. Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091018141608.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019105304.htm Astronomers are reporting the incredible discovery of some 32 new exoplanets, using the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher, better known as HARPS -- the spectrograph of the European Southern Observatory's 3.6-meter telescope. The result increases the number of known low-mass planets by an impressive 30 percent. Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019105304.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091015091605.htm The Moon is a big sponge that absorbs electrically charged particles given out by the Sun. These particles interact with the oxygen present in some dust grains on the lunar surface, producing water. This discovery, made by the ESA-ISRO instrument SARA onboard the Indian Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter, confirms how water is likely being created on the lunar surface. Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091015091605.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016101807.htm The solar system, as defined by the heliosphere, the region of the sun's influence, may have a quite different shape than scientists had thought. Sun, 18 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016101807.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016112630.htm Galactic magnetic fields had a far greater impact on Earth's history than previously conceived, and the future of our planet and others may depend, in part, on how the galactic magnetic fields change with time. Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016112630.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016094030.htm Direct communication between Earth and Mars can be strongly disturbed and even blocked by the Sun for weeks at a time, cutting off any future human mission to the Red Planet. An European Space Agency engineer working with engineers in the UK may have found a solution using a new type of orbit combined with continuous-thrust ion propulsion. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016094030.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091015144522.htm NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft has made it possible for scientists to construct the first comprehensive sky map of our solar system and its location in the Milky Way galaxy. The new view will change the way researchers view and study the interaction between our galaxy and sun. Results include the discovery of a narrow ribbon of bright details or emissions not resembling any of the current theoretical models of the interstellar boundary region. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091015144522.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091002124823.htm A UK engineering student has designed a motor that could one day help transform rocket design. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091002124823.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016143059.htm The invisible structures of space are becoming less so, as scientists look out to the far edges of the solar wind bubble that separates our solar system from the interstellar cloud through which it flies. Using the High Energy Neutral Atom Imager, the NASA Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission has sent back data that indicates a "noodle soup" of solar material has accumulated at the outer fringes of the heliosphere bubble. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016143059.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016142056.htm The first all-sky maps developed by NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft, the first mission to examine the global interactions occurring at the edge of the solar system, reveal surprising and intense interactions between our home in the galaxy and interstellar space. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016142056.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016141407.htm The first solar system energetic particle maps show an unexpected landmark occurring at the outer edge of the solar wind bubble surrounding the solar system. Scientists have now published these maps, based mostly on data collected from NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer satellite. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016141407.htm