Astronomy
How Long is a Day on Saturn?
If you were on the surface of Saturn, how long would a day last? This has remained a mystery for…
2009 Will Be the International Year of Astronomy
Finally, astronomy is going to get the respect it deserves. The United Nations announced today that 2009 will be the…
Supernova Generates Enough Dust for 10,000 Earths
My kids find it fascinating that the gold in the ring on my finger was formed in an instant when…
Galaxy Has 1,000 Times Our Rate of Star Formation
Here in the Milky Way, new stars are formed at a rate of roughly 4 per year; that's considered pretty…
Astronomers Track Flares on a Distant Star
Spotting flares on the surface of the Sun is easy. It's right there, blazing in our skies. But watching flares…
When the Solar System Went from Dust to Mountains
Astronomers are slowly piecing together the earliest phases of our Solar System's history. At some point, tiny particles of dust…
Mysterious Explosion Comes Out of Nowhere
When astronomers find a gamma ray burst, they can usually locate the culprit's home galaxy. But in the case of…
Galactic Black Hole Fires a Jet at a Nearby Neighbour
Ouch, that's going to leave a mark. A new photograph captured by NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory shows a powerful jet…
Strange Mystery Object Reported By UT Readers
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a comet? While it's still a bit too early to…
White Dwarfs Rocket Away When They’re Born
When stars like our Sun run out of fuel, they flare briefly as a red giant, and then settle down…