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The Coming of the Cosmic Old Age: New Survey Finds the Universe's Energy Output Is Decreasing With Time

By Leonidas Papadopoulos, on August 19th, 2015

A composite image of a galaxy as seen in different wavelengths by the GAMA survey. The results of the survey, which studied more than 200,000 galaxies in the local Universe, revealed that the latter’s total energy output has decreased by at least 50 percent during the last 2 billion years. Image Credit: ICRAR/GAMA […]

New Study Traces Dark Near-Earth Asteroids Back to Oddball Asteroid Family

By Paul Scott Anderson, on August 5th, 2015

Time-lapse view of the asteroid Euphrosyne as seen by NASA’s WISE spacecraft on May 17, 2010. WISE was later renamed to NEOWISE in 2013. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Near-Earth asteroids, also known as Near Earth Objects (NEOs), are some of the best studied space rocks in the Solar System, primarily due to the fact […]

Saturn's Massive Phoebe Ring Even Larger Than Previously Thought

By Paul Scott Anderson, on June 11th, 2015

Image of the Phoebe ring taken in 2009, overlaid in tan colors. The ring is much larger than Saturn’s other more visible rings and is also tilted with respect to the other rings. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/U. Virginia

Saturn is truly the “Lord of the Rings” and one of the most majestic places in […]

It Takes Two to Tango: Astronomers Find Evidence of Possible Black Hole Duo

By Leonidas Papadopoulos, on December 5th, 2013

An artist’s concept of two colliding black holes, in the process of merging. Image Credit: Credit: NASA / CXC / A. Hobart.

“Dancing: A series of movements involving two partners, where speed and rhythm match harmoniously with music.”

— The Computer, explaining the meaning of ‘Dancing’ to the Ship’s Captain – ‘Wall-E’ (2008).

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Older and WISE-r: WISE Making a Comeback in September to Fuel Asteroid Initiative

By Emily Carney, on August 22nd, 2013

An artist’s concept shows the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) orbiting Earth. WISE is slated to be reactivated in September in a quest to discover more near-Earth objects (NEOs). Image Credit: NASA.

NASA announced that the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft, which had been deactivated in 2011, is slated to make a […]

NASA's WISE Finds Mysterious Centaurs May Be Comets

By NASA, on July 29th, 2013

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The true identity of centaurs, the small celestial bodies orbiting the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune, is one of the enduring mysteries of astrophysics. Are they asteroids or comets? A new study of observations from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) finds most centaurs are comets.

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It's an Alien Blue World—But Nothing Like Earth

By Paul Scott Anderson, on July 13th, 2013

Artist’s conception of exoplanet HD 189733b—a “deep blue dot” reminiscent of Earth from a distance. Image Credit: NASA / ESA / M. Kornmesser

The planets and moons in our Solar System come in a wide variety of colors, and the natural beauty can be breathtaking. Now, the true color of a much more […]

Hubble Space Telescope Reveals Evidence of Farthest Known Planet From Its Star

By Emily Carney, on June 14th, 2013

A gap in the protoplanetary disk of dust and gas whirling around TV Hydrae uncovered evidence of an unseen, growing planet, according to astronomers studying Hubble data. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Debes (STScI), H. Jang-Condell (University of Wyoming), A. Weinberger (Carnegie Institution of Washington), A. Roberge (Goddard Space Flight Center), G. Schneider […]

Sifting Through the Atmospheres of Far-off Worlds

By NASA, on May 25th, 2013

This image shows the HR 8799 planets with starlight optically suppressed and data processing conducted to remove residual starlight. The star is at the center of the blackened circle in the image. The four spots indicated with the letters b through e are the planets. This is a composite image using 30 wavelengths […]

Does Asteroid 2012 DA14 Spell Armageddon? NASA Says, 'Not So Much' ...

By Jason Rhian, on February 12th, 2013

An asteroid will make a very close approach to Earth on Feb. 15, and NASA is preparing for the encounter. Image Credit: Jeff Darling

An asteroid is barreling toward Earth! But no worries … there’s no need to get Bruce Willis into a space shuttle and have him save us with a nuclear […]

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