galaxy

The galaxy NGC 2841 currently has a relatively low star formation rate compared to other spirals. It is one of several nearby galaxies that have been specifically chosen for a new study in which a pick 'n' mix of different stellar nursery environments and birth rates are being observed. Star...

The Herschel Space Observatory has revealed how much dark matter it takes to form a new galaxy bursting with stars. Herschel is a European Space Agency (ESA) cornerstone mission supported with NASA contributions. The findings are a key step in understanding how dark matter, an invisible...

This artist's illustration shows the Kepler planet-hunting telescope as it jettisons its dust cover, to open its sensitive camera eye on the cosmos. JAN 31, 2010 NASA scheduled the press conference for 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. NASA's Kepler spacecraft is...

TOKYO – Gorilla glass, meet Dragontrail. Asahi Glass Co., Japan's largest glass maker, on Thursday unveiled a super-tough, scratch resistant cover for gadgets that it says is six times stronger than conventional glass. Called "Dragontrail," the product represents Asahi's intensified ambitions...

A new Chandra X-ray Observatory image of M82 shows the result of star formation on overdrive. M82, also known as the Cigar Galaxy, is located about 12 million light-years from Earth and is the nearest place to us where the conditions are similar to those when the universe was younger with lots...

The unlikely pair, M81 and M82, got to know each other a lot better during an encounter that occurred a few hundred million years ago. As they swept by each other, gravitational interactions triggered new bursts of star formation. In the case of M82, also known as the Cigar Galaxy, the encounter...

"A California psychologist says human beings may be ready to accept evidence of extra-terrestrial intelligence without widespread panic. Dr. Albert Harrison of the University of California's Davis campus said such a discovery 'may be far less startling for generations that have been brought up...

SEATTLE — Astronomers announced the discovery today (Jan. 10) of the first "unquestionably rocky" alien world — a planet called Kepler-10b. Scientists have announced other rocky exoplanets in the past, but Kepler-10b earns its title, researchers said, because they're sure of its composition...

Astronomers exulted on Tuesday at the first results from Europe's billion-dollar Planck space telescope, designed to probe the microwave secrets of the "Big Bang" 14 billion years ago. Launched in May 2009, Planck has carried out three complete scans of the Universe, yielding a catalogue of...

SEATTLE — Astronomers announced the discovery today (Jan. 10) of the first "unquestionably rocky" alien world — a planet called Kepler-10b. Scientists have announced other rocky exoplanets in the past, but Kepler-10b earns its title, researchers said, because they're sure of its composition...

The Hubble Space Telescope got its first peek at a mysterious giant green blob in outer space and found that it's strangely alive. The bizarre glowing blob is giving birth to new stars, some only a couple million years old, in remote areas of the universe where stars don't normally form. The...

A 10-year-old Canadian girl has become the youngest person to discover a supernova. Kathryn Aurora Gray of Fredericton, New Brunswick, along with longtime astronomy enthusiasts Paul Gray (Kathryn's father) and David Lane, found a magnitude 17 supernova, dubbed supernova 2010lt, in the galaxy UGC...

Two European Space Agency’s (ESA) observatories have combined forces to show the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) in a new light. Herschel sees rings of star formation in this, the most detailed image of the Andromeda Galaxy ever taken at infrared wavelengths, and XMM-Newton shows dying stars shining...

David and Victoria Beckham have announced they are expecting their fourth child this summer. Jo Milloy, spokeswoman for Victoria, did not give a specific date or any further information about the pregnancy. The superstar couple have three boys: Brooklyn, who is 11 years of age, Romeo, eight...

A "zombie satellite" that spent months sending out signals while it was adrift in orbit has sprung back to life, resetting itself after its unexplained breakdown in space earlier this year. "The most critical phases of Galaxy 15's recovery have been successfully completed," officials at...

Some of the brightest stellar explosions in the galaxy may be flying under astronomers' radar, a new study suggests. Researchers using observations from a sun-studying satellite detected four novas — exploding stars not quite as bright or dramatic as supernovas. The scientists were able to...

Some of the giant black holes that lurk at the center of galaxies are more lively than others, and the most hyperactive of these black holes put on showy displays, burning bright with X-rays as heated gases are sucked into their darkened hearts. Astronomers aren't sure why these black holes are...

A puzzlingly regular waxing and waning of Earth's biodiversity may ultimately trace back to our solar system's bobbing path around the Milky Way, a new study suggests. Every 60 million years or so, two things happen, roughly in synch: The solar system peeks its head to the north of the average...

Our own sun might represent the best communications device around, if only we could harness its power, scientists say. If the sun's gravity could be used to create a giant telescope, people could send and receive intensely magnified signals that could allow us to call an alien civilization...

By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News, San Francisco Voyager is approaching the edge of the bubble of charged particles the Sun has thrown out into space Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, has reached a new milestone in its quest to leave the Solar System. Now...