ScienceDaily: Space & Time News

Gemini Planet Imager produces stunning observations in its first year Posted: 06 Jan 2015 11:48 AM PST The Gemini Planet Imager GPI is an advanced instrument designed to observe the environments close to bright stars to detect and study Jupiter-like exoplanets (planets around other stars) and see protostellar material (disk, rings) that might be lurking next to the star.

Eight new planets found in 'Goldilocks' zone: Two are most similar to Earth of any known exoplanets Posted: 06 Jan 2015 10:46 AM PST Astronomers announced today that they have found eight new planets in the 'Goldilocks' zone of their stars, orbiting at a distance where liquid water can exist on the planet's surface. This doubles the number of small planets (less than twice the diameter of Earth) believed to be in the habitable zone of their parent stars. Among these eight, the team identified two that are the most similar to Earth of any known exoplanets to date.

Study casts doubt on mammoth-killing cosmic impact Posted: 06 Jan 2015 10:05 AM PST Rock soil droplets formed by heating most likely came from Stone Age house fires and not from a disastrous cosmic impact 12,900 years ago, according to new research. The study, of soil from Syria, is the latest to discredit the controversial theory that a cosmic impact triggered the Younger Dryas cold period.

'Iron Sun' is not a rock band, but a key to how stars transmit energy Posted: 06 Jan 2015 09:15 AM PST Creating the conditions of the sun, researchers for the first time have been able to experimentally revise figures used by theorists to define iron's key role in passing sunlight from the sun's core to its radiative surface.

Planet-hunting satellite observes supermassive black hole Posted: 06 Jan 2015 06:51 AM PST Astrophysicists combined ground observations with those from NASA's planet-hunting satellite. The study looked at a black hole more than 100 million light years away. They estimate KA 1858 to have 8 million times the mass of our sun.

Record-breaking black hole outburst detected Posted: 05 Jan 2015 03:25 PM PST Last September, after years of watching, astronomers observed and recorded the largest-ever flare in X-rays from a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

Milky Way core drives wind at 2 million miles per hour Posted: 05 Jan 2015 03:25 PM PST At a time when our earliest human ancestors had recently mastered walking upright, the heart of our Milky Way galaxy underwent a titanic eruption, driving gases and other material outward at 2 million miles per hour. Now, at least 2 million years later, astronomers are witnessing the aftermath of the explosion: billowing clouds of gas towering about 30,000 light-years above and below the plane of our galaxy.

Hubble's high-definition panoramic view of Andromeda galaxy Posted: 05 Jan 2015 03:25 PM PST The largest NASA Hubble Space Telescope image ever assembled, this sweeping view of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) is the sharpest large composite image ever taken of our galactic neighbor. Though the galaxy is over 2 million light-years away, the Hubble telescope is powerful enough to resolve individual stars in a 61,000-light-year-long section of the galaxy's pancake-shaped disk.

Hubble goes high def to revisit the iconic ‘Pillars of Creation' Posted: 05 Jan 2015 03:25 PM PST In celebration of its 25th anniversary, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has revisited the famous "Pillars of Creation" region of the Eagle Nebula (M16), providing astronomers with a sharper and wider view. As a bonus, the pillars have been photographed in near-infrared light, as well as visible light.

New instrument reveals recipe for other Earths Posted: 05 Jan 2015 11:16 AM PST How do you make an Earth-like planet? The 'test kitchen' of Earth has given us a detailed recipe, but it wasn't clear whether other planetary systems would follow the same formula. Now, astronomers have found evidence that the recipe for Earth also applies to terrestrial exoplanets orbiting distant stars.

Super-Earths have long-lasting oceans Posted: 05 Jan 2015 11:16 AM PST For life as we know it to develop on other planets, those planets would need liquid water, or oceans. Geologic evidence suggests that Earth's oceans have existed for nearly the entire history of our world. But would that be true of other planets, particularly super-Earths? New research suggests the answer is yes and that oceans on super-Earths, once established, can last for billions of years.

Stars' spins reveal their ages Posted: 05 Jan 2015 11:16 AM PST When you're a kid every birthday is cause for celebration, but as you get older they become a little less exciting. You might not want to admit just how old you are. And you might notice yourself slowing down over the years. You're not alone -- the same is true of stars. They slow down as they age, and their ages are well-kept secrets. Astronomers are taking advantage of the first fact to tackle the second and tease out stellar ages.

Electromagnetic waves linked to particle fallout in Earth's atmosphere, new study finds Posted: 05 Jan 2015 09:59 AM PST In a new study that sheds light on space weather's impact on Earth, researchers show for the first time that plasma waves buffeting the planet's radiation belts are responsible for scattering charged particles into the atmosphere.