Top Stories

With No Smoke or Mirrors, Spacecraft Hunts for Active Galaxies with Central Black Holes

2009-01-06 21:57:54
NASA's Swift spacecraft is designed to hunt for gamma-ray bursts. But in the time between these almost-daily cosmic explosions, Swift's Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) scans the sky, performing an ongoing X-ray survey. Some of the first results of that survey were shared at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Long Beach, California. The ...

AAS Session 328: Black Holes I, January 6th

2009-01-06 21:21:15
The debate of whether or not a supermassive black hole (SMBH) was kicked out of the centre of a galaxy continues in the Black Holes I session at the AAS. According to Stefanie Komossa and her team at the Max Plank Institute for extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) back in May 2008, spectroscopic data of a galactic ...

Podcast: How Old is the Universe?

2009-01-06 20:08:57
We did a wildly popular three part series about the center, size and shape of the Universe. But every good trilogy needs a 4th episode. This week we look at age of the Universe. How old is the Universe, and how do we know? And how has this number changed over time as astronomers ...

If Brown Isn't a Color, What Color are Brown Dwarfs?

2009-01-06 19:50:45
We've talked about brown dwarfs here on Universe Today for years and years. These are the "failed stars"; objects with too little mass to fully ignite nuclear fusion in their cores. Instead of blazing with red, yellow or the white light of our own stars, they're heated by the gravitational collapse of material. They're called ...

Mars Trip Proposed for Space Shuttles

2009-01-06 18:06:54
A Connecticut-based inventor has proposed sending two space shuttles to Mars.

"Lighthouse" Analogy No Longer Works for Pulsars

2009-01-06 17:17:28
NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has found 12 previously unknown gamma-ray only pulsars, as well as identifying gamma-ray emissions from 18 known or suspected radio pulsars. And what the telescope is finding is changing the way we think of these stellar cinders. The old analogy for pulsars was a lighthouse: gamma-rays were thought ...

Space Shuttle Extension Options Carry High Costs

2009-01-06 17:06:30
NASA's options to extend shuttle flights beyond 2010 carry billions in costs.

Black Holes Preceded Galaxies, Discovery Suggests

2009-01-06 17:06:30
Observations show black holes once more massive than galactic bulges, likely came first.

Arianespace wins contract from Intelsa

2009-01-06 17:04:12
Arianespace wins contract from Intelsa

NASA Awards Agency-Wide Conferencing Services Contract

2009-01-06 17:03:15
NASA Awards Agency-Wide Conferencing Services Contract

NASA Invites North Carolina Teachers to Participate in Workshop Series

2009-01-06 17:02:15
NASA Invites North Carolina Teachers to Participate in Workshop Series

NASA Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report 6 January 2009

2009-01-06 17:01:02
NASA Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report 6 January 2009

NOAA SEC Space Weather Outlook #09- 1

2009-01-06 16:54:40
NOAA SEC Space Weather Outlook #09- 1

Joint USAF/NOAA Report of Solar and Geophysical Activity 06 Jan 2009

2009-01-06 16:51:17
Joint USAF/NOAA Report of Solar and Geophysical Activity 06 Jan 2009

NOAA SATOPS Morning Report: Tuesday, January 06, 2009

2009-01-06 16:49:14
NOAA SATOPS Morning Report: Tuesday, January 06, 2009

NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 6 January 2009

2009-01-06 15:54:24
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.

Molecules in Gamma-Ray Burst Detected

2009-01-06 15:36:37
Gamma-ray bursts are the universe's most brilliant events, and now astronomers have been able to shed light on the composition of these spectacular phenomena, providing insight into star formation when the universe was about one-sixth its present age. Combining data from NASA's Swift satellite, the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, and other facilities ...

American Astronomical Society Meeting, Long Beach - Day 2

2009-01-06 15:06:16
After a day of crazy traveling through a Vancouver blizzard I'm now having my first full day down at the American Astronomical Society Meeting in Long Beach, California. As you've probably read, Ian's here with me and Nancy's supporting us back at Atkinson HQ. My last AAS meeting was a year ago. It was fun ...

Could Mystery Outburst be a New Stellar Phenomena?

2009-01-06 14:43:03
The Hubble Space Telescope serendipitously captured a mysterious burst of light on February 21, 2006. Over the next 100 days, the object, cataloged as SCP 06F6, brightened and then slowly faded. Astronomers do not know the object's distance, so it can either be in our Milky Way galaxy or at a great ...

NASA's SWIFT Shows Active Galaxies are Different Near and Far

2009-01-06 13:50:15
An ongoing X-ray survey is revealing differences between nearby active galaxies and those located about halfway across the universe. Understanding these differences will help clarify the relationship between a galaxy and its central black hole.

Gamma-ray Burst Offers First Peek at a Young Galaxy's Star Factory

2009-01-06 13:45:36
Astronomers combining data from NASA's Swift satellite, the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, and other facilities have, for the first time, identified gas molecules in the host galaxy of a gamma-ray burst.

NASA Astronauts Connect with Lucky Las Vegas School Students

2009-01-06 13:42:00
NASA Astronauts Connect with Lucky Las Vegas School Students

Astronomers use gamma-ray burst to probe star formation in the early universe

2009-01-06 13:41:00
Astronomers use gamma-ray burst to probe star formation in the early universe

Wayne Hale's NASA Blog: Management Training

2009-01-06 13:38:20
Wayne Hale's NASA Blog: Management Training

Ancient Flying Reptiles Used Four Legs to Launch

2009-01-06 13:27:57
Pterosaurs have long suffered an identity crisis. Pop culture heedlessly -- and wrongly -- lumps these extinct flying lizards in with dinosaurs.

Cassiopeia A Comes Alive in 3-D Movies

2009-01-06 13:22:59
Want to know what it's like to fly through a supernova remnant? Then, THIS, you have to see. You'll be able to experience SNR Cassiopeia A (Cas A) as never before, and see it across both time and space. Another time lapse animation shows the remnant's expansion and changes over time, ...

NASA Primes Space Shuttle Discovery for Move

2009-01-06 13:06:48
The shuttle Discovery is poised to move closer to the first shuttle flight of 2009.

SpaceX Assembles New Rocket for Launch Debut

2009-01-06 13:06:48
SpaceX has assembled the first Falcon 9 rocket at its Florida launch site.

New Ares Construction "Towers" Over 39B

2009-01-06 10:55:38
Things are a-changing over at the Kennedy Space Center launch complex. The first lightning tower for the Ares rockets has been completed, dwarfing all the other structures on pad 39B. The tower is for the new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program. Other towers are being constructed at left and behind the ...

Dead Stars Harbor Asteroids

2009-01-06 08:06:28
Studies of asteroids around dead stars spawn new hope that Earth-like planets are plentiful.

News Links

NASA contract protest may loom - Delmarva Now

2009-01-07 04:41:38

Apollo film to show at the library - Iowa City Press Citizen

2009-01-07 04:30:05

Australia's carbon emission policies fatal for 'life on planet' - Hindu

2009-01-07 04:26:03

NASA warns of 'space Katrina' radiation storm - Register

2009-01-07 04:18:33

Business on Border hears about spaceport impact on education - TMCnet

2009-01-07 04:08:34

New suit not so smart - Aberdeen Press and Journal

2009-01-07 04:05:21

Brooks H. Grimme excelled as inventor, scholar, businessman - Orlando Sentinel

2009-01-07 04:02:16

Change is inevitable - White Bear Press

2009-01-07 03:53:04

Change is inevitable - White Bear Press

2009-01-07 03:53:04

Age does not seem to wither the iconic living doll - Aberdeen Press and Journal

2009-01-07 03:36:07

Age does not seem to wither the iconic living doll - Aberdeen Press and Journal

2009-01-07 03:36:07

Business news in brief - Philadelphia Inquirer

2009-01-07 03:08:08

Business news in brief - Philadelphia Inquirer

2009-01-07 03:08:08

Jonathan Takiff: Big changes at slimmer CES - Philadelphia Daily News

2009-01-07 03:05:14

Fuentek Senior Consultant Participates in Peer Review Panel for ... - PR.com (press release)

2009-01-07 03:03:38

Cassini Seizes Astounding Aurora - SatNews Publishers

2009-01-07 03:01:12

Aus carbon emission policies fatal for 'life on planet' - Indopia

2009-01-07 02:59:04

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2009-01-07 02:55:20

PC Tools Lists Top Five Web Blunders of 2008 - SPAMfighter News

2009-01-07 02:12:40

PC Tools Lists Top Five Web Blunders of 2008 - SPAMfighter News

2009-01-07 02:12:40

Sugar Land Republican takes oath of office at Capitol ceremony - Houston Chronicle

2009-01-07 02:01:06

Sugar Land Republican takes oath of office at Capitol ceremony - Houston Chronicle

2009-01-07 02:01:06

Spitzer Will Generate a Partial Map of the Universe The new ... - Softpedia

2009-01-07 01:53:48

NASA leader to step down - Florida Today

2009-01-07 01:13:39

NASA leader to step down - Florida Today

2009-01-07 01:13:39

Study: Extra flights could be too risky - Florida Today

2009-01-07 01:13:36

Study: Extra flights could be too risky - Florida Today

2009-01-07 01:13:36

Blast that hurt 7 spurs NASA probe - Florida Today

2009-01-07 01:13:26

Blast that hurt 7 spurs NASA probe - Florida Today

2009-01-07 01:13:26

Altium Supports the Next Generation of Robot Designers - MSNBC

2009-01-07 00:59:57