astronomy

Astronomers upgrade their cosmic light bulbs

A new study analyzes several sites where dead stars once exploded. SDSS In a new report, scientists show that using a particular class of type Ia supernovae that occur near youthful stars can improve measurements of cosmic distances. By Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, University of California, Berkeley  |  Published: Monday, March 30, 2015 The …

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Hubble and Chandra discover dark matter is not as sticky as once thought

This collage shows images of six different galaxy clusters taken with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory. The clusters were observed in a study of how dark matter in clusters of galaxies behaves when the clusters collide. Seventy-two large cluster collisions were studied in total. Using visible-light images from Hubble, the team was …

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Hover campaign promises bird’s-eye view of Mercury’s surface

The MESSENGER spacecraft depicted flying over Mercury’s surface. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington   The MESSENGER team initiated the “hover” observation campaign, which was designed to gather data from the planet at ultra-low altitudes until the last possible moment. By Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, Laurel, Maryland | Published: Thursday, …

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NASA satellites catch a “growth spurt” from a newborn protostar

Infrared images from instruments at Kitt Peak National Observatory (left) and NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope document the outburst of HOPS 383, a young protostar in the Orion star-formation complex. Background: A wide view of the region taken from a Spitzer four-color infrared mosaic. E. Safron et al.; Background: NASA/JPL/T. Megeath (U-Toledo)   The observed outburst …

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Iron rain fell on early Earth, new Z machine data supports

An artist’s concept shows a celestial body about the size of our moon slamming at great speed into a body the size of Mercury. NASA/JPL-Caltech Instead of core formation occurring by iron sinking down to the growing Earth’s core in large blobs, that iron was vaporized, spread out in a plume over the surface of …

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