http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/astronomy/ Astronomy news. New! Earth-like extrasolar planet found; double helix nebula; supermassive black holes, astronomy articles, astronomy pictures. Updated daily. en-us Thu, 22 May 2008 14:05:01 EDT Thu, 22 May 2008 14:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/astronomy/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080522084419.htm Astronomers have discovered mysterious pulses that are being emitted by an extremely magnetic star. The magnetic star, a magnetar, emits the pulses as very high energy X-rays. Sometimes observations confirm a scientific theory perfectly, yet at other times telescopes bring completely new phenomena to light. Thu, 22 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080522084419.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080520113146.htm ESA's Mars Express mission control team are ready to monitor Phoenix's critical entry, descent and landing onto the Martian surface on May 26, 2008. Thu, 22 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080520113146.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080522121036.htm The first images of Jupiter since it came out from behind the sun show that the turbulence and storms that have plagued the planet for the past two years continue. Whether or not this is a sign of global warming, the turbulence does seem to be spawning new spots. As Red Spot Jr. and the Great Red Spot approach a June conjunction, a new third spot may merge with the GRS in August. Thu, 22 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080522121036.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080521131547.htm NASA's Swift satellite caught the rare birth of a supernova earlier this year, allowing astronomers to rapidly deploy ground-based telescopes to follow its evolution and learn about normal stellar explosions. Astronomers have analyzed the data to conclude that the original star was more than 30 times the mass of the sun, but only slightly larger, when its core ran out of fuel and imploded, blowing the star to smithereens. Wed, 21 May 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080521131547.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080521122129.htm Astronomers have found that one of the solar system's largest and newest storms -- Jupiter's Little Red Spot -- has some of the highest wind speeds ever detected on any planet. This is the first time that high resolution, close--up imaging of the Little Red Spot has been combined with powerful Earth--orbital and ground-based imagery made at ultraviolet through mid--infrared wavelengths. Wed, 21 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080521122129.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080521131549.htm Astronomers have seen the aftermath of spectacular stellar explosions known as supernovae before, but until now no one has witnessed a star dying in real time. While looking at another object in the spiral galaxy NGC 2770, using NASA's orbiting Swift telescope, astronomers detected an extremely luminous blast of X-rays released by a supernova explosion. They alerted 8 other orbiting and on-ground telescopes to turn their eyes on this first-of-its-kind event. Wed, 21 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080521131549.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080519155133.htm Using new charge coupled device instrumentation, astronomers can now view the night sky wider and deeper than before. Wed, 21 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080519155133.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080521112119.htm Centrifuging astronauts for a lengthy period provided Dutch researcher Suzanne Nooij with better insight into how space sickness develops, the nausea and disorientation experienced by many astronauts. Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080521112119.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080520152013.htm Although the universe contains billions of galaxies, only a small amount of its matter is locked up in these behemoths. Most of the universe's matter that was cooked up during and just after the Big Bang must be found elsewhere. Now, in an extensive search of the relatively recent, local universe, astronomers said they have definitively found about half of the missing normal matter, called baryons, in the spaces between the galaxies. Tue, 20 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080520152013.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080520130807.htm A satellite that will help scientists better monitor and understand rises in global sea level, study the world's ocean circulation and its links to Earth's climate, and improve weather and climate forecasts is undergoing final preparations. Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080520130807.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080519113218.htm On April 25, NASA's Swift satellite picked up the brightest flare ever seen from a normal star other than our sun. The flare, an explosive release of energy from a star, packed the power of thousands of solar flares. It would have been visible to the naked eye if the star had been easily observable in the night sky at the time. The star (EV Lacertae) can be likened to an unruly child that throws frequent temper tantrums. Mon, 19 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080519113218.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080519095518.htm ESA has recently opened applications for talented individuals wishing to become an astronaut in the European Astronaut Corps. There has not been a selection campaign since 1992, so this is a rare opportunity to be at the forefront of ESA's human spaceflight programmes including future missions to the ISS, the moon and beyond. Mon, 19 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080519095518.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516113418.htm New observations from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter indicate that the crust and upper mantle of Mars are stiffer and colder than previously thought. The findings suggest any liquid water that might exist below the planet's surface and any possible organisms living in that water, would be located deeper than scientists had suspected. Fri, 16 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516113418.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516094407.htm Astronomers have discovered a speedy spinning pulsar in an elongated orbit around an apparent Sun-like star, a combination never seen before, and one that has them puzzled about how the strange system developed. The obese oddball of a star has left astronomers wondering how it could have formed. The star is a pulsar -- a compact, rapidly spinning star -- called J1903+0327. It lies 20,000 light-years away spinning at a rate of 465 revolutions per second -- the fifth fastest-spinning pulsar known in our Galaxy. Fri, 16 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516094407.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515092606.htm Venus Express has detected the molecule hydroxyl on another planet for the first time. This detection gives scientists an important new tool to unlock the workings of Venus's dense atmosphere. Fri, 16 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515092606.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515113255.htm Technology that could someday "MapQuest" Mars and other bodies in the solar system is under development. Scientists are developing a new generation of optical/ultraviolet imaging LIDAR detectors that will significantly extend NASA science capabilities for planetary applications by providing 3-D location information for planetary surfaces and a wider range of coverage than the current technology. Fri, 16 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515113255.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515092615.htm Physicists have provided a mechanism by which information can be recovered from black holes -- and the first plausible mechanism for how information might escape from black holes, those regions of space where gravity is so strong that, according to Einstein's theory of general relativity, not even light can escape. The team's findings pave the way toward ending a decades-long debate sparked by renowned physicist Steven Hawking. Thu, 15 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515092615.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513125853.htm NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, is receiving finishing touches at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, near the beaches of eastern central Florida for its launch. The spacecraft is set for launch aboard a Delta II rocket no earlier than June 3. The launch window runs from 11:45 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. EDT. Thu, 15 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513125853.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514131118.htm The most recent supernova in our Galaxy has been discovered by tracking the rapid expansion of its remains. This result, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and NRAO's Very Large Array, has implications for understanding how often supernovas explode in the Milky Way galaxy. Wed, 14 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514131118.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513104001.htm To prepare for a return to the moon, researchers are evaluating how dust deposits in the lungs in reduced gravity in order to assess the health risk of long-term exposure to lunar particles. The findings will influence the design of lunar bases and could also provide benefits for health care on Earth, such as improved delivery of aerosol medications to the lungs. Wed, 14 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513104001.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514073843.htm NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is preparing to end its long journey and begin a three-month mission to taste and sniff fistfuls of Martian soil and buried ice. The solar-powered robotic lander will manipulate a 2.35 meter arm (7.7 foot) to scoop up samples of underground ice and soil lying above the ice. Onboard laboratory instruments will analyze the samples. One research goal is to assess whether conditions at the site ever have been favorable for microbial life. Wed, 14 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514073843.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513104004.htm Satellites currently use radio waves to exchange data. Now the data rate has been increased a hundredfold by using lasers instead of radio signals. Two test satellites each carried a diode laser pump module. The data whizzed back and forth at the speed of light between German satellite TerraSAR-X and US satellite NFIRE, covering more than 5000 kilometers in space without any errors. Wed, 14 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513104004.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512135102.htm A new study of possible links between climate and geophysics finds that a much hotter climate could shut down the Earth's plate tectonics. While human-induced climate change couldn't generate the needed heat, volcanic activity or changes in the sun's luminosity could. The research, in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, may help explain why Venus swelters beneath a thick blanket of heat-trapping carbon dioxide. Tue, 13 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512135102.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512191135.htm For the first time, astronomers have detected in the ultraviolet the carbon monoxide molecule in a galaxy located almost 11 billion light-years away, a feat that had remained elusive for 25 years. This detection allows them to obtain the most precise measurement of the cosmic temperature at such a remote epoch. Tue, 13 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512191135.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512120523.htm The sun has powered almost everything on Earth since life began, including its climate. The sun also delivers an annual and seasonal impact, changing the character of each hemisphere as Earth's orientation shifts through the year. Since the Industrial Revolution, however, new forces have begun to exert significant influence on Earth's climate. Mon, 12 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512120523.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509102949.htm NASA engineers Thursday successfully completed the first series of tests in the early development of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V rockets, key components of NASA's Constellation Program. Ares I will launch the Orion spacecraft that will take astronauts to the International Space Station and then to the moon by 2020. The Ares V will carry cargo and components into orbit for trips to the moon and later to Mars. Sat, 10 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509102949.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508142121.htm The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) is presently testing a Swedish space gym. The aim is to counteract muscle atrophy and osteoporosis in astronauts. Astronauts who spend a long time in space can face problems when they return to earth. Weightlessness atrophies the muscles and decalcifies the skeleton. It doesn't help to "pump iron." Barbells and dumbbells are also weightless on a space voyage. Sat, 10 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508142121.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509101622.htm New research on the Antennae Galaxies shows that this benchmark pair of interacting galaxies is in fact much closer than previously thought -- 45 million light-years instead of 65 million light-years. Fri, 09 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509101622.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105616.htm Following a successful launch on April 27, GIOVE-B began transmitting navigation signals May 7. This is a truly historic step for satellite navigation since GIOVE-B is now, for the first time, transmitting the GPS-Galileo common signal using a specific optimised waveform, MBOC (multiplexed binary offset carrier), in accordance with the agreement drawn up in July 2007 by the EU and the US for their respective systems, Galileo and the future GPS III. Fri, 09 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105616.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507110712.htm New scientific evidence suggests that deep inside the planet Mercury, iron "snow" forms and falls toward the center of the planet, much like snowflakes form in Earth's atmosphere and fall to the ground. The movement of this iron snow could be responsible for Mercury's mysterious magnetic field. Thu, 08 May 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507110712.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508091605.htm Imagine yourself hip-to-hip, shoulder-to-shoulder, inside a room the size of a walk-in closet for eight hours with five people you just met. Does that make you sweat? Or maybe make your breathing a little more animated? For three weeks, 23 volunteers dedicated time to do just that -- sweat and breathe -- inside a test chamber so NASA scientists at Johnson Space Center in Houston could measure the amount of moisture and carbon dioxide absorbed by a new system being developed for future space vehicles. The system is designed to control carbon dioxide and humidity inside a crew capsule to make air breathable and living space more comfortable. Thu, 08 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508091605.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506194033.htm ESA's orbiting X-ray observatory XMM-Newton has been used by a team of international astronomers to uncover part of the missing matter in the universe. Ten years ago, scientists predicted that about half of the missing 'ordinary' or normal matter made of atoms exists in the form of low-density gas, filling vast spaces between galaxies. But the low density of the gas hampered many attempts to detect it in the past. With XMM-Newton's high sensitivity, astronomers have discovered its hottest parts. Wed, 07 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506194033.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505224136.htm Scientists have demonstrated an ultrafast laser that offers a record combination of high speed, short pulses and high average power. They also have shown that this type of laser, when used as a frequency comb -- an ultraprecise technique for measuring different colors of light -- could boost the sensitivity of astronomical tools searching for other Earthlike planets as much as 100 fold. Tue, 06 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505224136.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502100033.htm The Earth's atmosphere is a gigantic prism that disperses sunlight. In the most ideal atmospheric conditions, such as those found regularly above Cerro Paranal, this will lead to the appearance of so-called green and blue flashes at sunset. The phenomenon is so popular on the site that it is now the tradition for the Paranal staff to gather daily on the telescope platform to observe the sunset and its possible green flash before starting their long night of observations. Mon, 05 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502100033.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502094224.htm NASA has a new plan to send a spacecraft closer to the sun than any probe has ever gone. The ambitious Solar Probe mission will study the streams of charged particles the sun hurls into space from a vantage point within the sun's corona -- its outer atmosphere -- where the processes that heat the corona and produce solar wind occur. At closest approach Solar Probe would zip past the sun at 125 miles per second, protected by a carbon-composite heat shield that must withstand up to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit and survive blasts of radiation and energized dust at levels not experienced by any previous spacecraft. Sun, 04 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502094224.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501091356.htm A new space mission, due to launch this month, is going to shed light on some of the most extreme astrophysical processes in nature -- including pulsars, remnants of supernovae, and supermassive black holes. It could even help us comprehend the origin and distribution of dark matter. Sun, 04 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501091356.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502133106.htm A team of scientists will expend 22 million computational hours during the next year on one of the world's most powerful supercomputers, simulating an event that takes less than five seconds. This astrophysics work explores how the laws of nature unfold in natural phenomena at unimaginably extreme temperatures and pressures. The Blue Gene/P supercomputer will serve as one of their primary tools for studying exploding stars. Sat, 03 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502133106.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501093513.htm Geologists call into question three decades of conventional wisdom regarding some of the physical processes that helped shape the Earth as we know it today. New research provides a direct challenge to the popular "late veneer hypothesis," a theory which suggests that all of our water, as well as several so-called "iron-loving" elements, were added to the Earth late in its formation by impacts with icy comets, meteorites and other passing objects. Sat, 03 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501093513.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502112754.htm Astrophysicists now say the fate of stars that venture too close to massive black holes could be even more violent than previously believed. Not only are they crushed by the black hole's huge gravity, but the process can also trigger a nuclear explosion that tears the star apart from within. In addition, shock waves in the pancake star carry a brief and very high peak of temperature outwards, that could give rise to a new type of X-ray or gamma-ray bursts. Fri, 02 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502112754.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501112209.htm Astronomers have predicted and confirmed the existence of a new type of variable star, with the help of the 2.1-meter Otto Struve Telescope at McDonald Observatory. Called a "pulsating carbon white dwarf," this is the first new class of variable white dwarf star discovered in more than 25 years. Because the overwhelming majority of stars in the universe--including the sun--will end their lives as white dwarfs, studying the pulsations (i.e., variations in light output) of these newly discovered examples gives astronomers a window on an important end point in the lives of most stars. Thu, 01 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501112209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430134305.htm Astronomers appear to have solved a long-standing mystery about the cause of anomalies in Jupiter's gossamer rings. A faint extension of the outermost ring beyond the orbit of Jupiter's moon Thebe, and other observed deviations from an accepted model of ring formation, result from the interplay of shadow and sunlight on dust particles that make up the rings. Thu, 01 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430134305.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429120900.htm Artificial intelligence being used at the European Space Operations Center is giving a powerful boost to ESA's Mars Express as it searches for signs of past or present life on the Red Planet. Thu, 01 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429120900.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428203702.htm A new life-detecting instrument is preparing for a mission to the Red Planet. The Urey: Mars Organic and Oxidant Detector instrument, developed by a scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, received approximately $2 million in NASA funding to further refine the design and technology for the European Space Agency's (ESA) 2013 ExoMars Rover Mission. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428203702.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430112525.htm Astronomers have discovered a timing mechanism that allows them to predict exactly when a superdense star will unleash incredibly powerful explosions. The explosions occur on a neutron star, which is a city-sized remnant of a giant star that exploded in a supernova. But despite the neutron star’s small size, it contains more material than our sun. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430112525.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429174658.htm As a powerful electrical storm rages on Saturn with lightning bolts 10,000 times more powerful than those found on Earth, the Cassini spacecraft continues its five-month watch over the dramatic events. Scientists with NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission have been tracking the visibly bright, lightning-generating storm--the longest continually observed electrical storm ever monitored by Cassini. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429174658.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429095054.htm Astronomers looking at the universe's distant past found nine young, unusually compact galaxies, each weighing in at 200 billion times the mass of the Sun. These young galaxies are the equivalent of a human baby that is 20 inches long, yet weighs 180 pounds. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429095054.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428081732.htm Chondritic meteorites have a similar chemical composition to the sun and are therefore reliable witnesses as to what the solar nebula, from which the planets formed, was composed of. This can be used to deduce what the Earth consists of chemically. However, researchers have now discovered that strictly speaking this fundamental geological assumption is not true. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428081732.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428140351.htm Some of the oldest objects in the Universe may still have a long way to go, according to a new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. These new results indicate that globular clusters might be surprisingly less mature in their development than previously thought. Globular clusters are incredibly dense bunches of up to millions of stars that are found in the outskirts of galaxies, including the Milky Way. They are among the oldest known objects in the Universe, with most estimates of their ages ranging from 9 to 13 billions of years old. Understanding the nature of globular clusters is very important as they are thought to contain some of the first stars to form in a galaxy. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428140351.htm