Astrophysics and cosmology Archives – Page 16 of 58

Gaia compiles largest ever stellar survey

On 13 September, 1000 days after the satellite’s launch, the Gaia team published a preliminary catalogue of more than a billion stars.

Secrets of discovery

Interview with Kip Thorne, who predicted LIGO’s observation of gravitational waves.

AMS reports unexpected result in antiproton data

AMS has now measured the antiproton flux and the antiproton-to-proton flux ratio in primary cosmic rays with unprecedented precision.

Earth-like planet orbits our nearest star

Astronomers have found clear evidence of a planet orbiting the closest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri.

Galactic map sheds light on dark energy

The map shows galaxies being pulled towards each other by dark matter, while on much larger scales it reveals the effect of dark energy ripping the universe apart.

Hitomi probes turbulence in galaxy cluster

With its very first observation, Japan’s Hitomi X-ray satellite has discovered that the gas in the Perseus cluster of galaxies is much less turbulent than expected.

ESO signs largest ever ground-based astronomy contract

The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) will be the largest optical/near-infrared telescope in the world.

Neutron-star mergers create heaviest elements

While core-collapse supernovae were thought to be the prime production site, a new study suggests that elements heavier than zinc originate from the merger of two neutron stars.