Biggest black holes may grow inside 'quasistars'
(Nov 30, 2007)
The biggest black holes in the universe might have grown within the bellies of giant stars, a new study suggests. If these hole-bearing "quasistars" exist, then they might be bright enough to see from across the universe. Quasistars are one attempt to explain the existence of supermassive black holes, which astronomers have detected at the hearts of most large galaxies, and whose origin is still unknown.
Milky Way galaxy may have hidden twin
(Nov 30, 2007)
A large galaxy could be lurking unseen in our own cosmic backyard, a pair of researchers says. Such a massive object could explain a mysterious gravitational pull on the Milky Way. When the influence of all known galaxies and galaxy clusters is added up, the Milky Way's actual motion is off by about 20°.
Faint galaxies spotted in the early universe
(Nov 29, 2007)
Tiny galaxies that may be the first building blocks of galaxies like the Milky Way have turned up in an extremely long exposure of the early universe, reveal new observations by one of the world's largest telescopes. Because light takes time to travel to us, we see the most distant objects as they were billions of years ago, when the universe was just a small fraction of its present age of 13.7 billion years.
Observations of the planet Venus might assist efforts to tackle the threat of climate change here on Earth. Data from a European probe orbiting Venus (Venus Express) paints a picture of a planet that may once have been like Earth, but later evolved in a very different way. Venus has undergone runaway greenhouse warming, where trapped solar radiation has heated the surface to an average temperature of 467C (872F).
NASA has released details of its strategy for sending a human crew to Mars within the next few decades. The US space agency envisages despatching a "minimal" crew on a 30-month round trip to the Red Planet in a 400,000kg (880,000lb) spacecraft. Details of the concept were outlined at a meeting in Houston, Texas.
Voyager 2 to reach major milestone in space
(Nov 28, 2007)
Using a computer model simulation, Haruichi Washimi, a physicist at UC Riverside, has predicted when the interplanetary spacecraft Voyager 2 will cross the termination shock, the spherical shell around the solar system that marks where the solar wind slows down to subsonic speed. According to Washimi’s simulations, the spacecraft is set to cross the termination shock in late 2007-early 2008.
Read more. Source: University of California, Riverside
Star cluster's extreme speed puzzles astronomers
(Nov 27, 2007)
A ragged company of stars is rushing through the chaotic core of our galaxy, travelling faster than can easily be explained. The new measurement of its path, made with the 10-meter Keck telescope, also deepens a mystery surrounding the Milky Way's central black hole. The Arches cluster is a group of young stars only about 100 light years from the very center of the galaxy.
Mars rover Spirit gets stuck as winter approaches
(Nov 27, 2007)
NASA's Mars rover Spirit is stuck in what appears to be loose soil, but engineers hope to free it quickly so it can reach a safe spot to ride out the approaching winter. For the past two weeks, Spirit has been heading to the northern end of a 90-metre-wide raised plateau called Home Plate.
Astronomers discover stars with carbon atmospheres
(Nov 26, 2007)
Astronomers have discovered white dwarf stars with pure carbon atmospheres. These stars possibly evolved in a sequence astronomers didn't know before. They may have evolved from stars that are not quite massive enough to explode as supernovae but are just on the borderline.
Russia to build new cosmodrome on home soil
(Nov 24, 2007)
Russia will build a new cosmodrome on its own territory capable of handling human spaceflight, Russian media reports. President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that clears the way for the construction of the new cosmodrome which will begin hosting launches in 2015. Russia has relied on the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for its manned space missions, ever since Yuri Gagarin became the first human to go into space in 1961.
