Friday, May 23, 2014

ScienceDaily: Stars News

ScienceDaily: Stars News


Very distant galaxy cluster confirmed

Posted: 21 May 2014 10:37 AM PDT

The structures and star populations of massive galaxies appear to change as they age, but much about how these galaxies formed and evolved remains mysterious. Many of the oldest and most massive galaxies reside in clusters, enormous structures where numerous galaxies are found concentrated together. Galaxy clusters in the early universe are thought to be key to understanding the lifecycles of old galaxies, but to date astronomers have located only a handful of these rare, distant structures.

Violent stellar explosion: Stellar behemoth self-destructs in a Type IIb supernova

Posted: 21 May 2014 10:35 AM PDT

For the first time, astronomers have direct confirmation that a Wolf-Rayet star -- sitting 360 million light years away -- died in a violent explosion known as a Type IIb supernova. Using the iPTF pipeline, researchers caught supernova SN 2013cu within hours of its explosion.

Astronomy: Revealing the complex outflow structure of binary UY Aurigae

Posted: 21 May 2014 06:47 AM PDT

Astronomers have revealed a complicated outflow structure in the binary UY Aur (Aurigae). The team observed the binary using the Gemini North"s NIFS (Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer) with the Altair adaptive optics system. They found that the primary star has a wide, open outflow, while the secondary star has a well-collimated jet.

A star cluster in the wake of Carina

Posted: 21 May 2014 06:44 AM PDT

This colorful new image from the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile shows the star cluster NGC 3590. These stars shine brightly in front of a dramatic landscape of dark patches of dust and richly hued clouds of glowing gas. This small stellar gathering gives astronomers clues about how these stars form and evolve — as well as giving hints about the structure of our galaxy's pinwheeling arms.

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