Einstein can rest easy for a bit longer. Using a pair of orbiting pulsars, astronomers have confirmed a prediction of general relativity about how bodies wobble in the presence of gravity. But in the future, the unique test will become more precise, potentially revealing deviations from the long-held theory. Pulsars are collapsed stars made mostly …
18:01 21 May 2012 by Lisa Grossman Object: pulsar in a double system Orientation: out of view The crime scene: 1600 light years away in the constellation Puppis. The victim: radio pulsar J0737-3039B. For five years, Pulsar B had blinked faithfully at a team of astronomers watching from radio telescopes on Earth. The star was …
On Monday 18th July 2011, a radio telescope launched into space that will travel most of the way to the moon. Although the RadioAstron telescope is fairly small at 10 metres wide, astronomers plan to sync it up with antennas back on Earth to effectively create a single receiver that will be up to 30 …
From New Scientist space web page 17:20 23 May 2012 by Lisa Grossman Fans of dark matter can rest easy. A study published last month raised eyebrows by suggesting that our cosmic neighbourhood is empty of the extra mass needed to hold the galaxy together. But a re-analysis shows that the dark matter was there …
