Astrophysics and cosmology Archives – Page 27 of 59

Innovative camera records cosmic rays during full moon

On the night of 11–12 October, just a few hours after installation of its camera, the First G-APD Cherenkov Telescope (FACT) recorded flashes of Cherenkov light from air showers induced by cosmic r...

Scalar field could unlock supernova mystery

A new component of gravity, the scalar gravitational field, may explain the mechanism that allows the immense explosions of type II supernovae to take place.

VERITAS detects Crab pulsations at very high energies

The Crab nebula is the brightest persistent gamma-ray source in the sky with radiation detected up to very high energies (VHE), above 100 GeV. The surprising result of the Very Energetic Radiatio...

Gravitational waves: European detectors keep up the pace

For several years the European gravitational-wave detectors GEO600 (a collaboration between Germany and the UK), close to Hanover, and Virgo (a collaboration between Italy, France, the Netherlands, Po...

Herschel favours quiet galaxy build-up theory

Did most galaxies form their stars through violent and tumultuous merging events or via more steady and gentle processes? A study of deep-field observations by the Herschel Space Observatory favours a...

A diamond planet is found around a pulsar

“Remember when you were young, you shone like the Sun”, opens the famous song Shine On You Crazy Diamond. Written as a tribute to Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd’s lead musician until 1975, ...

Cluster satellites observe plasma jets in situ

While astrophysical jets are often powered by black holes, high-speed plasma flows are also ejected by solar flares and can even arise in the Earth’s magnetosphere. The four Cluster spacecraft h...

PAMELA’s quest for answers to cosmic questions

The latest results after five years in space.

Swift witnesses a black hole devouring a star

Follow-up observations of an apparently normal gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected by NASA’s Swift satellite have identified the event as a star being ripped apart by a massive black hole in a distan...