Black holes are the most fuel efficient engines in the universe, according to a new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. By making the first direct estimate of how efficient or "green" black holes are, this work gives insight into how black holes generate energy and affect their environment.
Older supermassive black holes that were once thought to be quiet, actually generate high energy jets of particles powerful enough to put a brake on the formation of new stars, say a team of researchers from the University of Maryland, Stanford University, the University of Cambridge and New Mexico State University.
To celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope's 16 years of success, the two space agencies involved in the project, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), are releasing this image of the magnificent starburst galaxy, Messier 82 (M82). This mosaic image is the sharpest wide-angle view ever obtained of M82.
Dark matter has had a major effect on the formation and evolution of galaxies, and bright active galaxies appear to have been born only within dark matter clumps of certain sizes in the young universe, Cornell's Duncan Farrah reports in the April 10 issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured the most detailed images to date of the open star clusters NGC 265 and NGC 290 in the Small Magellanic Cloud -- two sparkling sets of gemstones in the southern sky. These images, taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys, show a myriad of stars in crystal clear detail.
Are you losing sleep at night because you're afraid that all life on Earth will suddenly be annihilated by a massive dose of gamma radiation from the cosmos? Well, now you can rest easy. Some scientists have wondered whether a deadly astronomical event called a gamma ray burst could happen in a galaxy like ours, but researchers have determined that such an event would be nearly impossible.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has resolved the "tenth planet," nicknamed "Xena" for the first time, and has found that it is only just a little larger than Pluto.
The outermost ring of the planet Uranus turns out to have a bright blue color, according to a report in the April 7 issue of the journal Science. That makes it only the second blue ring to be found in the solar system. The first circles the planet Saturn.
A pair of supermassive black holes in the distant universe are intertwined and spiraling toward a merger that will create a single super-supermassive black hole capable of swallowing billions of stars, according to a new study.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed opaque, dark knots of dust and gas, called "Bok globules" in our Milky Way Galaxy. This cosmic dust, however, is not a nuisance. It is a concentration of elements that are responsible for the formation of stars in our galaxy and throughout the universe. These images of the emission nebula NGC 281 were taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys in October 2005.
Extraterrestrial ice as a source for oxygen has presented the tantalizing possibility of complex life elsewhere in our solar system. But how hydrogen peroxide emerges from ice to become life-sustaining oxygen has been unclear...until now.
New observations of propeller-shaped disturbances in Saturn's A ring indicate the presence of four small, embedded moons -- and possibly millions more, report Cornell astronomers. The discovery could lead to better understanding the formation of Saturn's rings and the solar system as a whole.
New data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory may provide clues to how quasars "turn on." Since the discovery of quasars over 40 years ago, astronomers have been trying to understand the conditions surrounding the birth of these immensely powerful objects.
An international team of scientists and engineers has taken a major step toward completion of what will be the world's preeminent cosmic neutrino observatory, harnessing a sophisticated hot-water drill to build an observatory under the South Pole that eventually will encompass a cubic kilometer of ice.
Scientists peering back to the oldest light in the universe have new evidence for what happened within its first trillionth of a second, when the universe suddenly grew from submicroscopic to astronomical size in far less than a wink of the eye.
Astronomers at three institutions, including UW-Madison, report the discovery of a pair of young brown dwarfs in mutual orbit, a discovery that has enabled scientists to weigh and measure the radius of brown dwarfs for the first time.
Discovery of an eclipsing pair of brown dwarfs has provided the first direct measurements of the mass, size and surface temperature of these failed stars, information that can help astronomers understand the general process of star formation.
Astronomers have discovered a pair of young brown dwarfs in mutual orbit. This has enabled scientists to weigh and measure the diameters of brown dwarfs for the first time.
Schoolchildren worldwide will scan the night sky, hunting for constellations and measuring light pollution, in a weeklong event called GLOBE at Night. Open to all via the Internet, the project is sponsored by The GLOBE Program.
Scientists analyzing recent samples of comet dust have discovered minerals that formed near the sun or other stars. That means materials from the innermost part of the solar system could have traveled to the outer reaches, where comets formed.
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the face-on spiral galaxy Messier 101 is the largest and most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy that has ever been released from Hubble. The galaxy's portrait is actually composed of 51 individual exposures.
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have confirmed the presence of two new moons around the distant planet Pluto. The moons were first discovered by Hubble in May 2005, but the Pluto Companion Search team probed even deeper into the Pluto system with Hubble on Feb. 15.
Lee Anne Willson, a University Professor of physics and astronomy at Iowa State University, studies the stars that produce the kind of dust collected by NASA's stardust mission.
Perhaps edging closer to finding planets that harbor life, astronomers have discovered the smallest planet yet identified outside our solar system.
Nearly seven years after setting off in pursuit of comet Wild 2, the Stardust return capsule streaked across the night sky of the Western United States early today, making a soft parachute landing in the Utah desert southwest of Salt Lake City.
Astronomy laser helps scientists see 10 times better than before. Astronomers are using this laser to find new objects in our solar system and study new objects in the Milky Way galaxy never before seen.
Call it the Bermuda Triangle of our Milky Way Galaxy: a tiny patch of sky that has been known for years to be the source of the mysterious blasts of X-rays and gamma rays. Now, a team of astronomers has solved the mystery by identifying one of the most massive star clusters in the galaxy.
Scientists witness the initial steps toward planet formation in the famous Orion Nebula.
By stretching the capabilities of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to the limit, astronomers have photographed the close companion of Polaris for the first time. This sequence of images shows that the North Star, Polaris is really a triple star system.
The Stardust spacecraft on Jan. 15 is scheduled to return a capsule, with particles collected from comet Wild 2, by parachute to the Utah desert; the end of the seven-year space mission will be just the beginning of scientists' work to unlock secrets of the solar system's origins.
The Crab Nebula is a six-light-year-wide expanding remnant of a star's supernova explosion. Japanese and Chinese astronomers recorded this violent event nearly 1,000 years ago in 1054, as did, almost certainly, Native Americans.
From finding spacecraft leaks to the latest in nanotechnology, Iowa State University scientists are working on 17 research projects for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
An ultrasound training program for non-physicians gives astronauts and sports trainers the tools to assess injuries using real-time remote assistance from medical experts. The National Space Biomedical Research Institute has developed a training method that four International Space Station crews have trained with.
Understanding the effects of near-zero gravity on the body's immune response is the purpose of new space hardware being tested by scientists and engineers at UAB's Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering.
The dilemma of being forced to reduce cargo weight by combining edible food and workable equipment for a space flight is being put to a group of Ball State University students and Australian sixth graders.
A bike-like centrifuge that creates artificial gravity may help astronauts combat muscle atrophy in space. Researchers are researching whether resistance-training exercise under artificial gravity conditions greater than or equal to Earth gravity (1g) produce the same kind of muscle responses that occur when a person performs weight training on Earth.
Information from space could mitigate the threat that hurricanes, rain and flood waters present to millions of people worldwide.
Five years after breaking ground on a South African mountaintop near the edge of the Kalahari desert, astronomers today released the first images captured by the Southern African Large Telescope, now the equal of the world's largest optical telescope and a prized window to the night skies of the southern hemisphere.
Sid Clements, a physics professor at Appalachian State University, is part of a 12-member team of scientists across the United States working on a NASA project to keep space dust from obstructing solar panels and other equipment.
A versatile technology that can spot cracks in space shuttle foam, while also offering the potential to see biological agents through a sealed envelope and detect tumors without harmful radiation, will be the focus of a full-day symposium at the 230th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
The University of California, San Diego and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center have conducted the first successful system test of a new 10-Gigabit per second (Gbps) Ethernet optical path connecting the two institutions roughly 3,000 miles apart.
As NASA prepares for Discovery astronauts to return home, two engineers at the University of Missouri-Rolla are working to get the spaceflight program back on solid ground.
NASA researchers quarrel over how to network outer space.
On the long space trip from Earth to Mars "the crew won't be able to get by with a bag lunch and Portapotty," says Arthur Teixeira, a professor of agricultural and biological engineering. Teixeira presented a plan for how NASA could deal with waste deposal during such a voyage.
The University of Arkansas is creating a center to test the durability of high-tech, high-speed fiber-optic communication devices made for the extreme environments faced by military and space flight equipment, thanks to an award from a local company that makes the devices.
A bed-rest study with female participants will help scientists understand changes to the immune response and decreased resistance to infection in space.
On July 4th, the University of Maryland-led NASA mission known as Deep Impact will get its one and only shot at its target, comet Tempel 1. Astronomer Michael A'Hearn and his mission colleagues anticipate a hit on the comet that will knock out some of its "stuffing" for all the world to see.
Undergraduates of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Class of 2005 are already making their mark to help shape the future in cancer research, nanotechnology, astronomy, and environmental science.
NASA and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston will use a new human centrifuge to explore artificial gravity as a way to counter the physiologic effects of extended weightlessness for future space exploration.
Sandia National Laboratories recently conducted a series of tests to help NASA understand the fatigue on the space shuttle caused during rollout from the Kennedy Space Center assembly building to the launch pad -- a four-mile trip.
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