Astronomers puzzled by "largest" ever cosmic explosion
Astronomers said on Friday they have identified the "largest" cosmic explosion ever observed, a fireball 100 times the size of our Solar System that suddenly began blazing in the distant universe more than three years ago......»»
New Horizons spacecraft measurements shed light on the darkness of the universe
Just how dark is deep space? Astronomers may have finally answered this long-standing question by tapping into the capabilities and distant position of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, by making the most precise, direct measurements ever of the total.....»»
Is Betelgeuse actually a binary star?
Betelgeuse has been a favorite among amateur astronomers for many years. However you pronounce it, its unexpected dimming draws even more attention to this red supergiant variable star in Orion. It has a few cycles of variability. One of them occurs.....»»
New research busts the myth that crossbred "designer dogs" are healthier than pedigrees
Labradoodles, puggles, dorgis, cavoodles, cavapoos: Whatever you call them, there's no escaping the explosion of designer crossbreeds parading along our streets and through our dog parks these days......»»
Largest dam removal in US history nears completion, reviving hopes for California salmon
Excavators clawed at the remnants of Iron Gate Dam, clattering loudly as they unloaded tons of earth and rock into dump trucks......»»
Massive nationwide meat-linked outbreak kills 5 more, now largest since 2011
CDC implores consumers to check their fridges for the recalled meats. Enlarge / Listeria monocytogenes. (credit: Getty | BSIP) Five more people have died in a nationwide outbreak of Listeria infections linked to contamin.....»»
NASA"s Europa Clipper gets set of super-size solar arrays
The largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for planetary exploration just got its "wings"—massive solar arrays to power it on the journey to Jupiter's icy moon Europa......»»
What makes a supercluster?
By eye, it's impossible to pick out the exact boundaries of the superclusters, which are among the largest structures in the universe. But that's because they are not defined by their edges, but by the common motion of their components......»»
Researchers identify effective materials for protecting astronauts from harmful cosmic radiation on Mars
Researchers have identified specific materials, including certain plastics, rubber, and synthetic fibers, as well as Martian soil (regolith), which would effectively protect astronauts by blocking harmful space radiation on Mars. These findings could.....»»
Citizen science project identifies 20 new astronomical discoveries
A citizen science project, which invites members of the public to take part in identifying cosmic explosions, has already identified 20 new astronomical discoveries......»»
Humpback whale freed from Sydney Harbour after 22-hour ordeal
A juvenile humpback whale was freed Friday after it was entangled in ropes and buoys in the harbour of Australia's largest city for 22 hours......»»
World"s second largest diamond found in Botswana
A massive 2,492-carat diamond—the second largest in the world—has been discovered in Botswana, the Canadian mining company that found the stone announced Thursday......»»
How particles of light may be producing drops of the perfect liquid
The world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator may be producing the world's tiniest droplets of liquid, right under scientists' noses. Researchers are digging into this subatomic enigma......»»
Astronomers explore the nature of galaxy NGC 891 with JWST
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team of astronomers has observed a nearby spiral galaxy known as NGC 891. Results of the observational campaign, published August 15 on the preprint server arXiv, provide more insights int.....»»
Astronomers think they’ve found a plausible explanation of the Wow! signal
Magnetars could zap clouds of atomic hydrogen, producing focused microwave beams. Enlarge / The Wow! signal, represented as "6EQUJ5," was discovered in 1977 by astronomer Jerry Ehman. (credit: Public domain) An unusually.....»»
The Wow! Signal deciphered—it was hydrogen all along, study says
In 1977, astronomers received a powerful, peculiar radio signal from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. Its frequency was the same as neutral hydrogen, and astronomers had speculated that any ETIs attempting to communicate would naturall.....»»
MeerKAT observations detect a mysterious faint radio ring
An international team of astronomers reports a serendipitous discovery of a new radio ring toward the Galactic center. The newfound object is relatively faint and its true nature is yet unknown. The finding was reported in a research paper forthcomin.....»»
Astronomers discover spectacular increase in the deuterium to hydrogen ratio in Venus"s atmosphere
Thanks to observations by the Solar Occultation in the Infrared (SOIR) instrument on the Venus Express space probe of the European Space Agency (ESA), researchers have discovered an unexpected increase in the abundances of two water molecule variants.....»»
New simulations shed light on stellar destruction by supermassive black holes
Monash University astronomers have contributed to a breakthrough in understanding the dramatic fate of stars that wander too close to supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies......»»
Astronomers explore the properties of quasar 1604+159
Chinese astronomers have conducted multi-frequency polarimetric observations of a quasar known as 1604+159. Results of the observational campaign, published August 13 on the pre-print server arXiv, shed more light on the properties of this quasar, in.....»»
A galactic "conspiracy" disproven: Dark matter and stars not interacting as previously thought
A longstanding 'conspiracy' in astronomy—that stars and dark matter are interacting in inexplicable ways—has been overturned by an international team of astronomers, in a paper in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society......»»