Astronomy news

• Astronomy Photo of the Day — NGC 3393 - From Quarks to Quasars

  20-05-2015 22:28 via fromquarkstoquasars.com
  
  From Quarks to Quasars
  Astronomy Photo of the Day — NGC 3393
  From Quarks to Quasars
  Stellarmass black holes form when a massive star can no longer sustain the nuclear fusion happening at its core. Supermassive black holes, on the other hand, are the result of many stellarmass black holes interacting and converging. Astronomers believe ...
  
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• 20 May 2015 in News: Supernova observed colliding with its companion star - Astronomy Now Online

  20-05-2015 22:21 via astronomynow.com
  Astronomy Now Online
  20 May 2015 in News: Supernova observed colliding with its companion star
  Astronomy Now Online
  In this still from a simulation, a Type Ia supernova explodes (dark brown colour). The supernova material is ejected outwards at a velocity of about 10,000 kilometres/second. The ejected material then slams into its companion star (light blue colour ...
  Astronomers observe a supernova colliding with its companion starAstronomy Magazineall 20 news articles »
  
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• Astronomers observe a supernova colliding with its companion star - Astronomy Magazine

  20-05-2015 22:20 via astronomy.com
  Astronomy Magazine
  Astronomers observe a supernova colliding with its companion star
  Astronomy Magazine
  The data provide evidence for one model of how type Ia supernovae occur and means both theories actually may be valid. By California Institute of Technology, Pasadena | Published: Wednesday, May 20, 2015. RELATED TOPICS: STARS | TYPE 1A ...
  20 May 2015 in News: Supernova observed colliding with its companion starAstronomy Now Online
  Astronomers Observe Supernova Smash into Companion Star
  
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• Supernova ignition surprises scientists

  20-05-2015 19:36
  Scientists have captured the early death throes of supernovae for the first time and found that the universe's benchmark explosions are much more varied than expected.The scientists used the Kepler space telescope to photograph three type 1a supernovae in the earliest stages of ignition. They then tracked the explosions in detail to full brightness around three weeks later, and the subsequent decline over the next few months.
  
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• Supernova collides with its companion star

  20-05-2015 19:35
  Type Ia supernovae, one of the most dazzling phenomena in the universe, are produced when small dense stars called white dwarfs explode with ferocious intensity. At their peak, these supernovae can outshine an entire galaxy. Although thousands of supernovae of this kind were found in the last decades, the process by which a white dwarf becomes one has been unclear.
  
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• Spots spotted on Vega star - Nature.com

  20-05-2015 19:14 via nature.com
  Spots spotted on Vega star
  Nature.com
  One of the brightest stars in the night sky seems to have surface structures called starspots — a surprising finding for this particular star. Torsten Böhm at the University of Toulouse in France and his colleagues used a telescope at France's Haute ...
  
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• Quasar quartet in galactic nursery - Nature.com

  20-05-2015 19:14 via nature.com
  Nature.com
  Quasar quartet in galactic nursery
  Nature.com
  Astronomers have discovered a massive cluster of four quasars — a rare find of galaxies just being born. Quasars are young, bright galaxies powered by supermassive black holes and are hard to find because this youthful period is brief. Using the W. M ...
  
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• The dreadful beauty of Medusa - Astronomy Magazine

  20-05-2015 18:02 via astronomy.com
  Astronomy Magazine
  The dreadful beauty of Medusa
  Astronomy Magazine
  As the star at the heart of this nebula made its transition into retirement, it shed its outer layers into space, forming this colorful cloud. By ESO, Garching, Germany | Published: Wednesday, May 20, 2015. RELATED TOPICS: STARS | NEBULAE | PLANETARY ...
  ESO's VLT Sees Beautiful Medusa NebulaSci-News.com
  Astronomy: The dreadful beauty of MedusaMilitary Technologiesall 19 news articles »
  
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• AAS Member Deaths in April-May 2015

  20-05-2015 17:10
  The Society is saddened to learn of the deaths of the following members, former members, and affiliate members who recently passed away: Alexander Dalgarno
  John Marlborough
  Stanton J. Peale
  Peter WehingerThe AAS Obituary Committee, led by the vice-chair of the AAS Historical Astronomy Division (HAD), is responsible for commissioning and compiling obituaries for deceased members of the Society. These obituaries are published in the Bulletin of the AAS as a tribute and for the benefit of future
  
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• Asteroid research benefits from Gaia satellite mission

  20-05-2015 16:05
  Astronomical research on asteroids, i.e. minor planets, is also benefiting from the large-scale Gaia mission of the European Space Agency (ESA). Even though the astrometry satellite's main purpose is to precisely measure nearly one billion stars in the Milky Way, it has tracked down a multitude of minor dwarf planets in our solar system.To determine its current position in space and thus ensure Gaia's extremely high measurement accuracy, images are taken every day of the regions of the sky where
  
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• Astronomy: The dreadful beauty of Medusa

  20-05-2015 14:31
  Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile have captured the most detailed image ever taken of the Medusa Nebula. As the star at the heart of this nebula made its transition into retirement, it shed its outer layers into space, forming a colorful cloud. The image foreshadows the final fate of the Sun, which will eventually also become an object of this kind.
  
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• Is there life out there? Distant moons may provide the answer

  20-05-2015 14:26
  Researchers who have modeled planetary systems far beyond our own solar system have found that massive moons larger than Mars might be the best bet in the search for life beyond Earth.
  
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• St. George Astronomy Group holds Ivins public star party on Thursday - The Independent | SUindependent.com

  20-05-2015 13:09 via suindependent.com
  
  The Independent | SUindependent.com
  St. George Astronomy Group holds Ivins public star party on Thursday
  The Independent | SUindependent.com
  The St. George Astronomy Group and Ivins City will host a free public star party at Unity Park in Ivins on Thursday evening, May 21, at 9 p.m. All are invited to come out to view the night sky either through personal telescopes or a variety of ...and more »
  
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• 20 May 2015 in News: Newly dedicated observatory to search for gravitational ... - Astronomy Now Online

  20-05-2015 09:29 via astronomynow.com
  Astronomy Now Online
  20 May 2015 in News: Newly dedicated observatory to search for gravitational ...
  Astronomy Now Online
  The northern arm of the LIGO interferometer on Hanford facility in Richland, Washington. Aimed to see and record gravitational waves for the first time, it will allow us to learn more about phenomena like supernovae and colliding black holes that ...
  Advanced Ligo's hunt for gravitational waves could revolutionize astronomyRedOrbit
  New era of astronomy as gravitational
  
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• Student Travel Grants for the IAU General Assembly in Hawaii

  20-05-2015 01:13
  The SETI Institute, with support from the NASA Astrobiology Institute, is funding a limited number of travel grants for undergraduate and graduate students to attend the XXIX International Astronomical Union (IAU) General Assembly in Honolulu, Hawaii, 3-14 August 2015, which is being organized by the American Astronomical Society on behalf of the US astronomical community. Award amounts may vary and will be determined by the number of qualified applicants. Funding will be distributed after the
  
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• Cubesat: Small-satellite technology to observe physical phenomena far from Earth

  20-05-2015 00:22
  Although scientists are increasingly using pint-size satellites sometimes no larger than a loaf of bread to gather data from low-Earth orbit, they have yet to apply the less-expensive small-satellite technology to observe physical phenomena far from terra firma. Scientists are now advancing a CubeSat concept that would give scientists that capability.
  
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