http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/big_bang/ Big Bang theory and the birth of the universe. Science articles on dark matter clumps birthing galaxies, the time before the Big Bang and more. Images. en-us Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:05:02 EST Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:05:02 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/big_bang/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120214100815.htm Our Milky Way galaxy is surrounded by some 200 compact groups of stars, containing up to a million stars each. At 13 billion years of age, these globular clusters are almost as old as the universe itself and were born when the first generations of stars and galaxies formed. Now astronomers have conducted a novel type of computer simulation that looked at how they were born -- and they find that these giant clusters of stars are the only survivors of a 13-billion-year-old massacre that destroyed many of their smaller siblings. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:08:08 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120214100815.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213143016.htm New images from the Planck mission show previously undiscovered islands of star formation and a mysterious haze of microwave emissions in our Milky Way galaxy. The views give scientists new treasures to mine and take them closer to understanding the secrets of our galaxy. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:30:30 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213143016.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120203092421.htm The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken a picture of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1073, which is found in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster). Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is a similar barred spiral, and the study of galaxies such as NGC 1073 helps astronomers learn more about our celestial home. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:24:24 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120203092421.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202151436.htm Pulsars are among the most exotic celestial bodies known. They have diameters of about 20 kilometers, but at the same time roughly the mass of our sun. A sugar-cube sized piece of its ultra-compact matter on Earth would weigh hundreds of millions of tons. A sub-class of them, known as millisecond pulsars, spin up to several hundred times per second around their own axes. Previous studies reached the paradoxical conclusion that some millisecond pulsars are older than the universe itself. Now this paradox may be solved by computer simulations, new research shows. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:14:14 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202151436.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202150821.htm Astronomers aimed Hubble at one of the most striking examples of gravitational lensing, a nearly 90-degree arc of light in the galaxy cluster RCS2 032727-132623. Hubble's view of the distant background galaxy, which lies nearly 10 billion light-years away, is significantly more detailed than could ever be achieved without the help of the gravitational lens. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:08:08 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202150821.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202094328.htm The center of just about every galaxy is thought to host a black hole, some with masses of thousands of millions of Suns and consequently strong gravitational pulls that disrupt material around them. They had been thought to hinder the birth of stars, but now astronomers studying the nearby galaxy Centaurus A have found quite the opposite: a black hole that seems to be helping stars to form. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:43:43 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202094328.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131150828.htm Space scientists have described the first detailed analyses of captured interstellar neutral atoms -- raw material for the formation of new stars, planets and even human beings. Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:08:08 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131150828.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120125160405.htm NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, shipped to Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on Jan. 24, 2012, to be mated to its Pegasus launch vehicle. The observatory will detect X-rays from objects ranging from our sun to giant black holes billions of light-years away. It is scheduled to launch March 14 from an aircraft operating out of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:04:04 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120125160405.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120125091155.htm Astronomers have found the strongest link so far between the most powerful bursts of star formation in the early Universe, and the most massive galaxies found today. The galaxies, flowering with dramatic starbursts in the early Universe, saw the birth of new stars abruptly cut short, leaving them as massive — but passive — galaxies of aging stars in the present day. The astronomers also have a likely culprit for the sudden end to the starbursts: the emergence of supermassive black holes. Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:11:11 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120125091155.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118201225.htm The High Frequency Instrument aboard the Planck space telescope has completed its survey of the remnant light from the Big Bang explosion that created our universe. The sensor ran out of coolant on Jan. 14, as expected, ending its ability to detect this faint energy. Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:12:12 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118201225.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118165143.htm Scientists have long struggled to detect the dim dwarf galaxies that orbit our own galaxy. So it came as a surprise on Jan. 18 when a team of astronomers using Keck II telescope's adaptive optics has announced the discovery of a dwarf galaxy halfway across the universe. Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:51:51 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118165143.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120111154041.htm Astronomers have used visual data from nearly a million luminous galaxies for the most accurate calculation yet of how matter clumps together in the universe. By deriving cosmic rulers from an immense volume of sky, from a time when the universe was half its present age until now, the study establishes how much dark matter, dark energy, and even hard-to-detect neutrinos it contains. Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:40:40 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120111154041.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120111135928.htm A better understanding of the universe will be the outgrowth of the discovery of the Higgs boson, according to a team of researchers. The team predicts the discovery will lead to supersymmetry or SUSY -- an extension of the standard model of particle physics. SUSY predicts new matter states or super partners for each matter particle already accounted for in the standard model. SUSY theory provides an important new step to a better understanding of the universe we live in. Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:59:59 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120111135928.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120111134058.htm Astronomers using the partially completed ALMA observatory have found compelling evidence for how star-forming galaxies evolve into 'red and dead' elliptical galaxies, catching a large group of galaxies right in the middle of this change. Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:40:40 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120111134058.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120111133332.htm NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has looked deep into the distant universe and detected the feeble glow of a star that exploded more than 9 billion years ago. The sighting is the first finding of an ambitious survey that will help astronomers place better constraints on the nature of dark energy: the mysterious repulsive force that is causing the universe to fly apart ever faster. Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:33:33 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120111133332.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120110140423.htm An extremely hot, massive young galaxy cluster is the largest ever seen in the distant universe. The newly discovered galaxy cluster has been nicknamed El Gordo -- the "big" or "fat one" in Spanish. It consists of two separate galaxy subclusters colliding at several million kilometres per hour, and is so far away that its light has travelled for seven billion years to reach Earth. Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:04:04 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120110140423.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120110114438.htm The collision of two clusters of galaxies 5 billion light years away could help astronomers better understand "dark matter," the invisible stuff that makes up a big chunk of our universe. Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:44:44 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120110114438.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120110114332.htm NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a cluster of galaxies in the initial stages of construction — the most distant such grouping ever observed in the early universe. In a random sky survey made in near-infrared light, Hubble spied five tiny galaxies clustered together 13.1 billion light-years away. They are among the brightest galaxies at that epoch and very young, existing just 600 million years after the universe's birth in the big bang. Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:43:43 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120110114332.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109155727.htm Scientists have independently made the largest direct measurements of the invisible scaffolding of the universe, using the gravitational lensing effect known as "cosmic shear" to build maps of the distribution of dark matter. Their methods show that surveys with ground-based telescopes can measure cosmic shear with enough accuracy to aid in better understanding the mysterious space-stretching effects of dark energy. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:57:57 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109155727.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109132703.htm For the first time, astronomers have mapped dark matter on the largest scale ever observed. New findings reveal a Universe comprising an intricate cosmic web of dark matter and galaxies spanning more than one billion light years. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:27:27 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109132703.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111221211227.htm Astronomers have discovered that one of the most distant galaxies known is churning out stars at a shockingly high rate. The blob-shaped galaxy, called GN-108036, is the brightest galaxy found to date at such great distances and is 12.9 billion light-years away. Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:12:12 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111221211227.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111214135741.htm A team of scientists has observed the early stages of a Type Ia supernova that is only 21 million light years away from Earth -- the closest of its kind discovered in 25 years. The team's detection of a supernova less than half a day after it exploded will refine and challenge our understanding of these stellar phenomena. Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:57:57 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111214135741.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111212124557.htm Researchers have discovered what caused the rapid growth of early supermassive black holes -- a steady diet of cold, fast food. Computer simulations show that thin streams of cold gas flow uncontrolled into the center of the first black holes, causing them to grow faster than anything else in the universe. Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:45:45 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111212124557.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111207113607.htm The world's largest submillimeter camera -- based on superconducting technology -- is now ready to scan the universe, including faint and faraway parts never seen before. Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:36:36 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111207113607.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111206115258.htm Astronomers recently discovered the most massive black holes to date. Found in two separate nearby galaxies roughly 300 million light years away from Earth, each black hole has a mass equivalent to 10 billion suns. Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:52:52 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111206115258.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111206082759.htm An international group of astronomers has discovered extraordinary long one-sided gaseous tails in two groups of galaxies that are amongst the longest structures ever observed in such environments. The tails emanate from CGCG 097-026 and FGC1287, two spiral galaxies in small groups in the outskirts of the galaxy cluster known as Abell 1367 in the constellation of Leo, at a distance of 300 million light years. The new work could lead to a major shift in our understanding of galaxy evolution. Tue, 06 Dec 2011 08:27:27 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111206082759.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111205140609.htm Astronomers using the Keck, Gemini and MacDonald observatories have discovered the largest black holes to date: Two monsters with masses equivalent to 10 billion suns that are threatening to consume anything, even light, within a region five times the size of our solar system. These monsters may be the remains of quasars that brightened the early universe. Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:06:06 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111205140609.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111201125358.htm In the distant reaches of the universe, almost 13 billion light-years from Earth, a strange species of galaxy lay hidden. Cloaked in dust and dimmed by the intervening distance, even the Hubble Space Telescope couldn't spy it. It took the revealing power of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to uncover not one, but four remarkably red galaxies. And while astronomers can describe the members of this new "species," they can't explain what makes them so ruddy. Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:53:53 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111201125358.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111128115955.htm In 2008, the Italian satellite PAMELA detected a curious excess of antimatter positrons -- a startling discovery that could have been a sign of the existence of dark matter. With assistance from the Earth's magnetic field, the Fermi Gamma-ray Telescope confirms a cosmic excess of antimatter positrons, but not the spike expected if evidence of dark matter. Mon, 28 Nov 2011 11:59:59 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111128115955.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111124150353.htm Astronomers have obtained a never-before achieved radio astronomical photograph of the youngest supernova. Fourteen days after the explosion of a star in the galaxy Galàxia del Remolí (M51) last June, coordinated telescopes around Europe have taken a photograph of the cosmic explosion in great detail – equivalent to seeing a golf ball on the surface of the moon. Thu, 24 Nov 2011 15:03:03 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111124150353.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111123133626.htm Physicists have set the strongest limit for the mass of dark matter, the mysterious particles believed to make up nearly a quarter of the universe. The researchers report that dark matter must have a mass greater than 40 giga-electron volts. The distinction is important because it casts doubt on recent results from underground experiments that have reported detecting dark matter. Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:36:36 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111123133626.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111122113214.htm Starting from the behavior of small flames in the laboratory, a team of researchers has gained new insights into the titanic forces that drive Type Ia supernova explosions. These stellar explosions are important tools for studying the evolution of the universe, so a better understanding of how they behave would help answer some of the fundamental questions in astronomy. Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:32:32 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111122113214.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111117202941.htm New observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are expanding astronomers' understanding of the ways in which galaxies continuously recycle immense volumes of hydrogen gas and heavy elements. This process allows galaxies to build successive generations of stars stretching over billions of years. Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:29:29 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111117202941.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111115095911.htm Some of Milky Way's 'stellar fossils' -- our galaxy's oldest stars -- contain abnormally large amounts of heavy elements like gold, platinum and uranium. This has been a mystery, since it's usually seen in much later generations of stars. Researchers have been studying these ancient stars and with recent observations they have concluded how they could have been formed in the early history of the Milky Way. Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:59:59 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111115095911.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111110142050.htm For the first time, astronomers have found pristine clouds of the primordial gas that formed in the first few minutes after the Big Bang. The composition of the gas matches theoretical predictions, providing direct evidence in support of the modern cosmological explanation for the origins of elements in the universe. Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:20:20 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111110142050.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111110094842.htm Using its infrared vision to peer nine billion years back in time, astronomers have uncovered an extraordinary population of tiny, young galaxies that are brimming with star formation. Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:48:48 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111110094842.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111102092929.htm Astronomers have used the brief but brilliant light of a distant gamma-ray burst as a probe to study the make-up of very distant galaxies. Surprisingly the new observations revealed two galaxies in the young Universe that are richer in the heavier chemical elements than the Sun. The two galaxies may be in the process of merging. Such events in the early Universe will drive the formation of many new stars and may be the trigger for gamma-ray bursts. Wed, 02 Nov 2011 09:29:29 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111102092929.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111102082755.htm Astronomers have used the light of a distant gamma-ray burst as a probe to study the make-up of very distant galaxies. The new observations, made with ESO's Very Large Telescope, have revealed two galaxies in the young Universe that are richer in the heavier chemical elements than the Sun. The two galaxies may be in the process of merging. Such events will drive the formation of stars and may be the trigger for gamma-ray bursts. Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:27:27 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111102082755.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111031081920.htm Scientists all over the world are working feverishly to find the dark matter in the universe. Now researchers have taken one step closer to solving the enigma with a new method. Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:19:19 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111031081920.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111027173542.htm A new analysis of Hubble surveys, combined with simulations of galaxy interactions, reveals that the merger rate of galaxies over the last 8 billion to 9 billion years falls between the previous estimates. Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:35:35 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111027173542.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111026143721.htm Researchers from Hong Kong report that organic compounds of unexpected complexity exist throughout the Universe. They indicate that an organic substance commonly found throughout the Universe contains a mixture of aromatic and aliphatic components. The results suggest that complex organic compounds are not the sole domain of life but can be made naturally by stars. Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:37:37 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111026143721.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111020171448.htm For the first time, astronomers have detected around a burgeoning solar system a sprawling cloud of water vapor that's cold enough to form comets, which could eventually deliver oceans to dry planets. Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:14:14 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111020171448.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111018092155.htm Researchers have revealed for the first time the existence of a new signature of the birth of the first stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. More than 12 billion years ago, the intense ultraviolet light from these stars dispersed the gas of our Galaxy's nearest companions, virtually putting a halt to their ability to form stars and consigning them to a dim future. Now astronomers have explained why some galaxies were killed off, while stars continued to form in more distant objects. Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:21:21 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111018092155.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111013091348.htm The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has been used to make an image of galaxy cluster MACS J1206.2-0847. The apparently distorted shapes of distant galaxies in the background is caused by an invisible substance called dark matter, whose gravity bends and distorts their light rays. MACS 1206 has been observed as part of a new survey of galaxy clusters using Hubble. Thu, 13 Oct 2011 09:13:13 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111013091348.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111012083641.htm Scientists have used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope to probe the early Universe at several different times as it was becoming transparent to ultraviolet light. This brief but dramatic phase in cosmic history occurred around 13 billion years ago. By studying some of the most distant galaxies, the team has been able to establish a timeline for reionization for the first time. They have also demonstrated that this phase must have happened quicker than previously thought. Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:36:36 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111012083641.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111011171558.htm Some supermassive black holes power luminous, rapidly growing objects called active galactic nuclei (AGN) that gather and condense enormous quantities of matter. Because astronomers had seen these objects primarily in massive, old galaxies with aging stars, many thought AGN might help to end the formation of new stars, though the evidence was always circumstantial. Now, a new survey has found AGN in all kinds of galaxies, including young, star-making factories. Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:15:15 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111011171558.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111007161638.htm The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for groundbreaking use of supernovae to measure the expansion of the universe, which yielded a surprise: it's accelerating, not slowing down. Nevertheless, astronomers have been unsure what type of explosion produces these bright supernovae. A new study using the Subaru Telescope suggests that Type Ia supernovae come from the merger of two white dwarfs, not one white dwarf grown fat by feeding off its companion. Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111007161638.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111005110750.htm The Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, together with the Observatory of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, is a major partner in the EUCLID space mission that has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) for the Cosmic Vision Program. EUCLID's primary goal is to study the accelerating expansion of the universe. Launch is expected by the end of 2019. Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:07:07 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111005110750.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111005110233.htm The powerful influence of the sun motivates the European Space Agency’s next science mission. Solar Orbiter was selected for implementation, with launch planned for 2017. Scientists in Germany developed four of five sensors for an energetic particle detector, which will give new information about the activity of solar particles. Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:02:02 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111005110233.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111005090434.htm Astronomers have just discovered 12 of the most distant and ancient supernovas ever seen, 10 of them in a part of the sky called the Subaru Deep Field. Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:04:04 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111005090434.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111004091704.htm The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2011 to Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt and Adam G. Riess, for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe through observations of distant supernovae. Tue, 04 Oct 2011 09:17:17 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111004091704.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111003080510.htm Humanity's most complex ground-based astronomy observatory, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), has officially opened for astronomers at its 16,500-foot high desert plateau in northern Chile. Thousands of scientists from around the world competed to be the first few researchers to explore some of the darkest, coldest, farthest, and most hidden secrets of the Cosmos with this new astronomical tool. Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:05:05 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111003080510.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110929144645.htm The Bolshoi supercomputer simulation, the most accurate and detailed large cosmological simulation run to date, gives physicists and astronomers a powerful new tool for understanding such cosmic mysteries as galaxy formation, dark matter, and dark energy. Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:46:46 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110929144645.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110928131758.htm All observations in astronomy are based on light (electromagnetic radiation) emitted from stars and galaxies and, according to the general theory of relativity, the light will be affected by gravity. At the same time all interpretations in astronomy are based on the correctness of the theory of relatively, but it has been difficult to accurately test Einstein's theory of gravity on scales larger than the solar system. Now astrophysicists in Denmark have managed to measure how the light is affected by gravity on its way out of galaxy clusters. The observations confirm the theoretical predictions. Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:17:17 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110928131758.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110921115915.htm The race to identify the Higgs boson is on at CERN. This Holy Grail of particle physics would help explain why the majority of elementary particles possess mass. The mysterious particle would also help us understand the evolution of the universe from the moment of its birth, according to a group of physicists. If their theory is verified with data from the Planck satellite, it would clear up several questions about the universe, past and future. Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:59:59 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110921115915.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110919123930.htm NASA is testing an element of the sunshield that will protect the James Webb Space Telescope's mirrors and instruments during its mission to observe the most distant objects in the universe. The sunshield will consist of five tennis court-sized layers to allow the Webb telescope to cool to its cryogenic operating temperature of minus 387.7 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Kelvin). Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:39:39 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110919123930.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110919121839.htm Researchers have unveiled a ready-made method for detecting the collision of stars with an elusive type of black hole that is on the short list of objects believed to make up dark matter. Such a discovery could serve as observable proof of dark matter and provide a much deeper understanding of the universe's inner workings. Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:18:18 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110919121839.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110916092135.htm Dark energy is the basic constituent of the today's Universe, one that is responsible for its accelerated expansion. Although astronomers observe the cosmological effects of the impact of dark energy, they still do not know exactly what it is. A new method for measuring the largest distances in the Universe helps solve the mystery. A key role is played by the most powerful cosmic explosions -- gamma-ray bursts. Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:21:21 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110916092135.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915171636.htm Even though a dwarf galaxy clear across the Milky Way looks to be a mouse, it may have once been a bear that slashed through the Milky Way and created the galaxy's spiral arms, writes an University astronomer in a new article. Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915171636.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915131601.htm Using the Hubble Space Telescope to probe the distant universe, astronomers have found supermassive black holes growing in surprisingly small galaxies. The findings suggest that central black holes formed at an early stage in galaxy evolution. Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915131601.htm