Astronomy
The Part-Time Pulsar
The current understanding of a pulsar. Image credit: Jodrell Bank Observatory. Click to enlarge Astronomers have discovered a very unusual…
Andromeda’s Origin is Similar to That of the Milky Way
Andromeda Galaxy taken in ultraviolet. Image credit: GALEX Click to enlarge Astronomers have long believed that the Andromeda galaxy had…
Shock Wave in Stephan’s Quintet Galaxy
Shock wave in Stephen's Quintet captured by Spitzer. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Click to enlarge This photograph, taken by the Spitzer…
Magnetic Fields Confine a Dying Star’s Jets
Artist's illustration represents tightly-wound magnetic field confining jet. Image credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF. Click to enlarge Radio astronomers have uncovered a dying…
Cepheids Live in Cocoons
Model image of cepheid L Carinae. Image credit: Click to enlarge The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope Interferometer has…
Pulsar Blasts Through a Ring of Gas
The radio pulsar PSR B1259-63. Image credit: ESA Click to enlarge ESA astronomers have witnessed something very unusual; a pulsar…
Swift Sees an Unusual Gamma Ray Burst
NASA's Swift satellite is continuing to send back surprising information about gamma ray bursts. On February 18, 2006, it discovered…
Artificial Star Shines in the Southern Sky
In late January, astronomers celebrated the creation of an artificial star in the nighttime sky. The star was created 90…
Spiral Galaxy Messier 100
If our Milky Way looked in the mirror, this is what it would probably see. This is a photograph of…
Van Allen Safe Zone Migrates
The Earth's magnetic field concentrates solar radiation into a series of regions called the Van Allen belts. Any spacecraft or…