Read article 'Pulsar exhibits puzzling switches in state'
Astronomers have detected simultaneous X-ray and radio-mode switches in co-ordinated observations of a pulsar. Pulsed X-ray emission is only present in states of weak radio emission. This indicates a ...
Read article 'BOSS gives clearer view of baryon oscillations'
In November the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) released its second major result of 2012, using 48,000 quasars with redshifts (z) up to 3.5 as backlights to map intergalactic hydrogen ...
Read article 'Europe launches consortium for astroparticle physics'
At the end of November, European funding agencies for astroparticle physics launched a new sustainable entity, the Astroparticle Physics European Consortium.
Read article 'Hubble reveals earliest galaxies'
Although the Hubble Space Telescope is more than 22 years old, the regular upgrade of its instruments preserves intact its discovery potential as time goes by. Now, its quest to detect the most d...
Read article 'XMM-Newton discovers new source of cosmic rays'
Researchers using the European X-ray astronomy satellite XMM-Newton have discovered a new source of low-energy cosmic rays in the vicinity of the Arches cluster, near the centre of the Milky Way.
Read article 'Titanium illuminates the 1987 supernova'
The INTEGRAL gamma-ray satellite has detected the radioactive decay of an isotope of titanium, 44Ti, in the remnant of the nearby supernova SN 1987A. This observation confirms that 44Ti powers th...
Read article 'Theorists calculate the route to carbon-12'
The triple-alpha reaction rate that produces carbon-12 in stars and other energetic astronomical phenomena has been a tricky subject for nuclear theorists for some time.
Read article 'Closer to the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole'
Astronomers have been tracking the motion of stars at the very centre of the Galaxy for the past 20 years. One star in particular has attracted a great deal of attention by completing a full orbi...
Read article 'Deflector shields protect the lunar surface'
The origin of the enigmatic "lunar swirls" – patches of relatively pale lunar soil, some measuring several tens of kilometres across – has been an unresolved mystery since the mid-1960s, when NASA...
Read article 'Baryon oscillation spectra for all'
By professional astronomy standards, the 2.5 m telescope at Apache Point Observatory is quite small. More than 50 research telescopes are larger and many are located at much better sites.
