Space & Physics
Double Stars Succumb to Fatal Attraction
A new model suggests that short-period binary stars are rare because they tend to merge into one
Astrophysics1357 articles archived since 1845
Space & Physics
Space Shuttles, Lasers and Doomsday Bases: Amazing Payloads for 747s [Slide Show]
Ferrying space shuttles across the country is just one of the very odd jobs given to the workhorse jumbo jet
Space & Physics
Space Shuttles, Lasers and Doomsday Bases: Amazing Payloads for 747s [Slide Show]
Ferrying space shuttles across the country is just one of the very odd jobs given to the workhorse jumbo jet
Space & Physics
Ball Wet: Massive Asteroid Vesta Harbors Scant Frozen Water at Surface
Data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft reveals easily evaporated chemicals and hydrogen on the asteroid, suggesting the presence of water mixed into its surface material
Space & Physics
White Dwarf Binary Stars Make Merger Plans
In the J0651 binary system two white dwarf stars orbit each other in less than 13 minutes--and it's getting a little faster all the time. John Matson reports
Space & Physics
Gas Cloud Hurtling toward Milky Way's Black Hole May Harbor Young Star
The recently spotted cloud might be a planet-forming disk of matter
Space & Physics
Body Double: Understanding the Astrophysics of a Multi-Planet Binary Star System
A look at the newly discovered Kepler 47 exoplanetary system and the mathematical models that describe it
Space & Physics
Meteoroids Change Atmospheres of Earth, Mars, Venus
Similarities in the upper atmospheres of the three planets may be due to meteoroids' shedding heavy elements as they pass through
Space & Physics
Mars Orbiter Captures Curiosity's Progress
NASA's Curiosity has completed its longest trek yet. The Mars rover journeyed more than 30 meters on its 29th Martian day, which ended September 5 at 2:37 A.M.
Space & Physics
You Are Here: How Astronomical Surveys Are Pinpointing Our Place in the Cosmos
Upcoming telescope projects on Earth and in space will map out billions of stars and galaxies all around us
Space & Physics
Northern Lights Blaze Up after Big Sun Storm
As we come to the peak of the sun's activity cycle, scientists expect more dazzling, but possibly disruptive, displays
Space & Physics
NASA Spacecraft's Census Tallies Millions of Black Holes
NASA's infrared WISE spacecraft found about 130 glowing black holes in a small region of space, meaning that at least two million active black holes dot the sky. John Matson reports
Space & Physics
Red Giants and White Dwarfs Make Explosive Stellar Pairings
A new study indicates that stellar explosions can involve many different kinds of stars
Policy
Short-Circuiting Civilization: Predicting the Disruptive Potential of a Solar Storm Is More Art Than Science
New findings that improve predictions still fall short of giving humanity a head's up on the havoc a solar storm might wreak on Earth
The Sciences
Well-Rounded: Sun Stays Nearly Spherical, Even When It Freaks Out
The 11-year solar cycle swoops between peaks of intense magnetic activity—apparent as sunspots, coronal loops and flares—and relative quiescence, when the sun's face is free of blemishes...
Space & Physics
Ready to Rove: Curiosity Project Scientist Lays Out Mars Tour Plans
After engineers run a months-long setup of the Mars Science Laboratory, now parked in a crater, scientists will take the rover on a nearly two-year journey that includes a visit to a six-kilometer-high mountain...
Space & Physics
Scopes See Exoplanets and Violent Astrophysics
Palomar Observatory's Project 1640 on the Hale Telescope allows astronomers to directly observe exoplanets, whereas the gamma-ray sensitive HESS 2 in Namibia tracks violent astrophysical events such as supernovae and flaring black holes...
Space & Physics
Running Lights: Did Expelled Stars Re-Ionize the Ancient Universe?
Hot stars booted out of their galactic homes may be responsible for creating the conditions that led to today's universe
Space & Physics
How Hot Is the Hottest Star? [Excerpt]
In a new book, astronomer Bryan Gaensler explores the extremes of the universe
Space & Physics
Pioneer Spacecraft Warmth Takes Heat off Relativity
The tiny slowing of the two Pioneer spacecraft, known as the Pioneer anomaly and considered by some to challenge general relativity, is probably due to the heat produced by electronics and radioactive decay...
