Space In The News: November 2014

Thursday, November 27, 2014

ScienceDaily: Galaxies News

'Eye of Sauron' provides new way of measuring distances to galaxies

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 10:27 AM PST

Scientists have developed a new way of measuring precise distances to galaxies tens of millions of light years away, using the W. M. Keck Observatory near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The method is similar to what land surveyors use on Earth, by measuring the physical and angular, or 'apparent', size of a standard ruler in the galaxy, to calibrate the distance from this information.

ScienceDaily: Black Holes News

'Eye of Sauron' provides new way of measuring distances to galaxies

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 10:27 AM PST

ScienceDaily: Stars News

A colorful gathering of middle-aged stars

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 04:50 AM PST

The MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile has captured a richly colorful view of the bright star cluster NGC 3532. Some of the stars still shine with a hot bluish color, but many of the more massive ones have become red giants and glow with a rich orange hue.

ScienceDaily: Cosmic Rays News

Invisible shield found thousands of miles above Earth blocks 'killer electrons'

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 10:38 AM PST

An invisible shield has been discovered some 7,200 miles above Earth that blocks so-called 'killer electrons,' which whip around the planet at near-light speed and have been known to threaten astronauts, fry satellites and degrade space systems during intense solar storms.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

ScienceDaily: Black Holes News

Gas cloud in the galactic center is part of a larger gas streamer

Posted: 24 Nov 2014 05:09 AM PST

Astronomers have presented new observations of the gas cloud G2 in the galactic center originally discovered in 2011. These data are in remarkably good agreement with an on-going tidal disruption. As a complete surprise came the discovery that the orbit of G2 matches that of another gas cloud detected a decade ago, suggesting that G2 might actually be part of a much more extensive gas streamer. This would also match some of the proposed scenarios that try to explain the presence of G2. One such model is that G2 is originating from the wind from a massive star.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

ScienceDaily: Cosmic Rays News

Sun's rotating 'magnet' pulls lightning towards UK

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 05:48 PM PST

The sun may be playing a part in the generation of lightning strikes on Earth by temporarily 'bending' the Earth's magnetic field and allowing a shower of energetic particles to enter the upper atmosphere.

Friday, November 21, 2014

ScienceDaily: Galaxies News

It's filamentary: How galaxies evolve in the cosmic web
Riddle of the missing stars: Hubble observations cast further doubt on how globular clusters formed
NASA's Swift mission probes an exotic object: 'Kicked' black hole or mega star?

It's filamentary: How galaxies evolve in the cosmic web

Posted: 20 Nov 2014 10:34 AM PST

How do galaxies like our Milky Way form, and just how do they evolve? Are galaxies affected by their surrounding environment? Astronomers now propose some answers. The researchers highlight the role of the 'cosmic web' -- a large-scale web-like structure comprised of galaxies -- on the evolution of galaxies that took place in the distant universe, a few billion years after the Big Bang.

Riddle of the missing stars: Hubble observations cast further doubt on how globular clusters formed

Posted: 20 Nov 2014 08:32 AM PST

Thanks to the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, some of the most mysterious cosmic residents have just become even more puzzling. New observations of globular clusters in a small galaxy show they are very similar to those found in the Milky Way, and so must have formed in a similar way.

NASA's Swift mission probes an exotic object: 'Kicked' black hole or mega star?

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 02:50 PM PST

Astronomers have discovered an unusual source of light in a galaxy some 90 million light-years away. The dwarf galaxy Markarian 177 (center) and its unusual source SDSS1133 (blue) lie 90 million light-years away. The galaxies are located in the bowl of the Big Dipper, a well-known star pattern in the constellation Ursa Major.

ScienceDaily: Black Holes News

Unravelling the mystery of gamma-ray bursts with kilometer-scale microphones

Posted: 20 Nov 2014 05:19 AM PST

A team of scientists hopes to trace the origins of gamma-ray bursts with the aid of giant space 'microphones'. It's hoped the kilometer-scale microphones will detect gravitational waves created by black holes, and shed light on the origins of the Universe.

NASA's Swift mission probes an exotic object: 'Kicked' black hole or mega star?

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 02:50 PM PST

ScienceDaily: Extrasolar Planets News

How to estimate the magnetic field of an exoplanet

Posted: 20 Nov 2014 11:18 AM PST

Scientists developed a new method which allows to estimate the magnetic field of a distant exoplanet, i.e., a planet, which is located outside the Solar system and orbits a different star. Moreover, they managed to estimate the value of the magnetic moment of the planet HD 209458b.

ScienceDaily: Stars News

Riddle of the missing stars: Hubble observations cast further doubt on how globular clusters formed

Posted: 20 Nov 2014 08:32 AM PST

Unravelling the mystery of gamma-ray bursts with kilometer-scale microphones

Posted: 20 Nov 2014 05:19 AM PST

ScienceDaily: Cosmic Rays News

How to estimate the magnetic field of an exoplanet
It's filamentary: How galaxies evolve in the cosmic web
Unravelling the mystery of gamma-ray bursts with kilometer-scale microphones

How to estimate the magnetic field of an exoplanet

Posted: 20 Nov 2014 11:18 AM PST

It's filamentary: How galaxies evolve in the cosmic web

Posted: 20 Nov 2014 10:34 AM PST

How do galaxies like our Milky Way form, and just how do they evolve? Are galaxies affected by their surrounding environment? Astronomers now proposes some answers. The researchers highlight the role of the 'cosmic web' -- a large-scale web-like structure comprised of galaxies -- on the evolution of galaxies that took place in the distant universe, a few billion years after the Big Bang.

Unravelling the mystery of gamma-ray bursts with kilometer-scale microphones

Posted: 20 Nov 2014 05:19 AM PST

Thursday, November 20, 2014

ScienceDaily: Black Holes News

A jettisoned black hole? Or a giant star exploding over several decades?

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 08:25 AM PST

Astronomers have discovered an object in space that might be a black hole catapulted out of a galaxy. Or, according to an alternative interpretation, it might be a giant star that is exploding over an exceptionally long period of several decades. In any case, one thing is certain: This mysterious object is something quite unique, a source of fascination for physicists the world over because of its potential to provide experimental confirmation of the much-discussed gravitational waves predicted by Albert Einstein.

ScienceDaily: Galaxies News

A jettisoned black hole? Or a giant star exploding over several decades?

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 08:25 AM PST

ScienceDaily: Stars News

NASA's Swift mission probes an exotic object: 'Kicked' black hole or mega star?

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 02:50 PM PST

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

ScienceDaily: Cosmic Rays News

Physicists suggest new way to detect dark matter

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 07:56 AM PST

For years physicists have been looking for the universe's elusive dark matter, but so far no one has seen any trace of it. Maybe we are looking in the wrong place? Now physicists propose a new technique to detect dark matter.

Gravity may have saved the universe after the Big Bang, say researchers

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 04:27 AM PST

Physicists may now be able to explain why the universe did not collapse immediately after the Big Bang. Studies of the Higgs particle -- discovered at CERN in 2012 and responsible for giving mass to all particles -- have suggested that the production of Higgs particles during the accelerating expansion of the very early universe (inflation) should have led to instability and collapse.

ScienceDaily: Dark Matter News

Physicists suggest new way to detect dark matter

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 07:56 AM PST

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

ScienceDaily: Dark Matter News

Hiding in plain sight: Elusive dark matter may be detected with GPS satellites

Posted: 17 Nov 2014 12:47 PM PST

The everyday use of a GPS device might be to find your way around town or even navigate a hiking trail, but for two physicists, the Global Positioning System might be a tool in directly detecting and measuring dark matter, so far an elusive but ubiquitous form of matter responsible for the formation of galaxies.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

ScienceDaily: Black Holes News

Mission to discover hundreds of black holes could unlock secrets of the Universe

Posted: 14 Nov 2014 05:56 AM PST

Researchers have made a breakthrough in helping scientists discover hundreds of black holes throughout the universe. When two detectors are switched on in the US next year, scientists hope to pick up the faint ripples of black hole collisions millions of years ago, known as gravitational waves. Black holes cannot be seen, but scientists hope the revamped detectors -- which act like giant microphones -- will find remnants of black hole collisions.

ScienceDaily: Dark Matter News

Proposed 'wide view' Hubble Space Telescope

Posted: 14 Nov 2014 09:44 AM PST

Scientists are working on a proposed NASA space telescope that will provide images as sharp as the Hubble Space Telescope, but over a hundred times larger area. The space observatory, called the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope-Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (WFIRST-AFTA), is being studied for launch in the mid-2020s, pending program approval by NASA.

Friday, November 14, 2014

ScienceDaily: Galaxies News

Intergalactic 'wind' is stripping galaxies of star-forming gas

Posted: 13 Nov 2014 12:29 PM PST

Astronomers have provided the first direct evidence that an intergalactic 'wind' is stripping galaxies of star-forming gas as they fall into clusters of galaxies. The observations help explain why galaxies found in clusters are known to have relatively little gas and less star formation when compared to non-cluster or 'field' galaxies.

The party's over for these youthful compact galaxies

Posted: 13 Nov 2014 11:00 AM PST

Scientists have uncovered young, massive, compact galaxies whose raucous star-making parties are ending early. The firestorm of star birth has blasted out most of the remaining gaseous fuel needed to make future generations of stars. Now the party's over for these gas-starved galaxies, and they are on track to possibly becoming so-called "red and dead galaxies," composed only of aging stars.

ScienceDaily: Black Holes News

The party's over for these youthful compact galaxies

Posted: 13 Nov 2014 11:00 AM PST

ScienceDaily: Stars News

Intergalactic 'wind' is stripping galaxies of star-forming gas

Posted: 13 Nov 2014 12:29 PM PST

The party's over for these youthful compact galaxies

Posted: 13 Nov 2014 11:00 AM PST