Tag Archive | "astrophysics"

Ancient star discovered through patience and clever use of technology

Ancient star discovered through patience and clever use of technology

Finding this stellar relic wasn’t easy. It is 60,000 times dimmer than the faintest star visible to the unaided eye. The team also had to distinguish it from many surrounding stars that aren’t so old. Just like an archaeological dig, the hunt succeeded through a combination of patience and clever use of technology. [...more]

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Mergers of dense stellar remnants are likely trigger for many supernovae

Mergers of dense stellar remnants are likely trigger for many supernovae

The results show mergers of two dense stellar remnants are the likely cause of many of the supernovae that have been used to measure the accelerated expansion of the universe. [...more]

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Double Black-Hole Mystery: Dance Partners or Breakup Survivors?

Double Black-Hole Mystery: Dance Partners or Breakup Survivors?

Smithsonian astronomers have just discovered a rare example of a galaxy that appears to have a pair of giant black holes. Now they are trying to determine if those black holes are partners tied together by gravity, or if one of the two has been kicked out in a cosmic breakup. [...more]

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Astronomers Find Rare Supernova by New Means

Astronomers Find Rare Supernova by New Means

For the first time, astronomers have found a supernova explosion with properties similar to a gamma-ray burst, but without seeing any gamma rays from it. [...more]

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Planets form around many star types, but intelligent life is probably rare

Planets form around many star types, but intelligent life is probably rare

Koenig and his colleagues examined an area of space called W5, which lies about 6,500 light-years away toward the constellation Cassiopeia—about 6 trillion miles. Their research indicates the prospects for hypothetical alien life there are disappointing. [...more]

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Distant, dying star gives astronomers preview of the fate of our Sun

Distant, dying star gives astronomers preview of the fate of our Sun

Chi Cygni pulses once every 408 days. At its smallest diameter of 300 million miles, it becomes mottled with brilliant spots as massive plumes of hot plasma roil its surface. As it expands, Chi Cygni cools and dims, growing to a diameter of 480 million miles—large enough to engulf and cook our solar system out to the asteroid belt. [...more]

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Smithsonian geophysicist Bruce Campbell explains his work of making a detailed radar map of the Moon

Smithsonian geophysicist Bruce Campbell explains his work of making a detailed radar map of the Moon

Dr. Bruce Campbell, a geophysicist at the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, is at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, W. Va., to make a radar map of the Moon. In this video, made in September 2009, Dr. Campbell explains some of the work involved in putting together a detailed radar map of the Moon and why he finds the geology of the Moon so fascinating. [...more]

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Astronomers Find Super-Earth Using Amateur, Off-the-Shelf Technology

Astronomers Find Super-Earth Using Amateur, Off-the-Shelf Technology

The newfound world, GJ1214b, is about 6.5 times as massive as the Earth. Its host star, GJ1214, is a small, red type M star about one-fifth the size of the Sun. GJ1214b orbits its star once every 38 hours at a distance of only 1.3 million miles. Astronomers estimate the planet's temperature to be about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Although warm as an oven, it is still cooler than any other known transiting planet because it orbits a very dim star. [...more]

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Meet our Scientists—Videos!

Science Spotlight

Kiwis come to National Zoo. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo will be using a new kiwi pair donated by the New Zealand Embassy to establish a breeding science center. Both birds came from the Ngati Hine people in New Zealand. Adding these animals to the genetic pool in North America is a rare and valuable opportunity. This pair came with another pair that will continue on to Germany and one bird that went to the San Diego Zoo. Kiwis are native to New Zealand and have been there for more than 60 million years, making them New Zealand’s most ancient bird. (Photo by Mehgan Murphy)

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