Read article 'Pulsars are looking their age'
New pulsar observations could lead to a drastic reappraisal of pulsar ages and evolution. Pulsars, which “blink” regularly like powerful cosmic lighthouses in the depths of galaxies, are u...
Read article 'Youngest radio galaxies observed'
A new class of baby radio galaxy has been discovered using very long baseline interferometry. The sources, dubbed compact symmetric objects, are the youngest radio galaxies ever observed – a mer...
Read article 'Magnetic fields point to high-energy rays'
New evidence for strong intergalactic magnetic fields may help to solve the mystery of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays. These particles can reach energies of more than 1020 eV – 100 million times a...
Read article 'Large Magellanic Cloud X-ray signal lost in black hole'
Newton, the European Space Agency’s new X-ray observatory (April p11), was undergoing routine calibration, imaging a known, stable X-ray source in the Large Magellanic Clouds, when all of a sudd...
Read article 'Gemini mirror goes on the road'
Particle physicists are familiar with the trials of moving large, unwieldy pieces of equipment on epic voyages around the globe. They are not alone. The 24 ton, 8.1 m mirror of the Gemini South telesc...
Read article 'Free-floating planets prove too light for dark matter'
The most sensitive search ever undertaken for small substellar objects has revealed 13 free-floating planets and more than 100 young brown dwarf stars in an active star-forming region of the Orion Neb...
Read article 'XMM Newton reveals first images'
The first images have been captured using the new X-ray Multi-Mirror (XMM) space telescope, now called the Newton observatory. The telescope was successfully launched last December (CERN CourierJanuar...
Read article 'Workshop stresses potential of space technology'
April sees a joint workshop on fundamental physics in space held at CERN and organized jointly by CERN and the European Space Agency (ESA). Interest in fundamental physics missions is at its greatest,...
Read article 'Pollution threatens observations'
Two months from now the International Telecommunications Union will hold its World Radio Conference in Turkey. Radio astronomers are hoping for new regulations to curb emission from satellites that ar...
Read article 'Boomerang results suggest ‘flat’ universe'
The ultimate fate of the universe depends on exactly how much matter it contains. It could expand forever, with galaxies drifting further and further apart. However, if there is enough matter, gravity...
