ScienceDaily: Astronomy News |
- When did the universe emerge from its 'dark age'? Spectrum of gamma-ray burst's afterglow indicates beginning of re-ionization process
- Astronomers observe corkscrew nature of light from a distant black hole
- Length of exoplanet day measured for first time: Spin of Beta Pictoris b measured
- Entire star cluster thrown out of its galaxy
| Posted: 30 Apr 2014 10:29 AM PDT Scientists have discovered an indicator of when re-ionization of the primordial Universe began. The team used the Faint Object Camera and Spectrograph (FOCAS) mounted on the Subaru Telescope to thoroughly study the visible wavelength spectrum of the afterglow of a gamma-ray burst, which is a violent explosion of a massive star. Direct measurement of the absorption features in the spectrum of the afterglow toward GRB 130606A, located at a great distance, revealed the proportion of neutral hydrogen gas absorbing the light in its vicinity. This finding provides the best estimate of the amount of such neutral gas in the early universe. The team's research means that scientists can now narrow down the time when the universe was beginning to re-ionize after its dark age. |
| Astronomers observe corkscrew nature of light from a distant black hole Posted: 30 Apr 2014 10:29 AM PDT For the first time an international team of astronomers has measured circular polarization in the bright flash of light from a dying star collapsing to a black hole, giving insight into an event that happened almost 11 billion years ago. |
| Length of exoplanet day measured for first time: Spin of Beta Pictoris b measured Posted: 30 Apr 2014 10:28 AM PDT Observations from ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) have, for the first time, determined the rotation rate of an exoplanet. Beta Pictoris b has been found to have a day that lasts only eight hours. This is much quicker than any planet in the planetary system — its equator is moving at almost 100,000 kilometers per hour. This new result extends the relation between mass and rotation seen in the solar system to exoplanets. |
| Entire star cluster thrown out of its galaxy Posted: 30 Apr 2014 09:11 AM PDT The galaxy known as M87 has a fastball that would be the envy of any baseball pitcher. It has thrown an entire star cluster toward us at more than two million miles per hour. The newly discovered cluster, which astronomers named HVGC-1, is now on a fast journey to nowhere. Its fate: to drift through the void between the galaxies for all time. |
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