Read article 'Non-X-ray news: UK is set to join ESO'
On 1 July the UK will become the tenth member state of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The other member states are Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden ...
Read article 'Arctic Circle maintains the freshness of ancient physics'
A recent meeting underlined the continual freshness of studying the ancient history of the universe.
Read article 'Astronomers celebrate sight of two million year old ‘baby’'
A very small, faint galaxy more than 13.4 billion light-years from Earth is creating a great deal of excitement among astronomers. This protogalaxy, which is just 500 light-years across (a two-hundred...
Read article 'Noisy stars give good vibrations'
Sound waves running through a star can help astronomers to reveal its inner properties. Alpha Centauri A is the nearest star visible to the naked eye, at a distance of a little more than four light-ye...
Read article 'Observers decipher more primordial helium to unravel the history of the early universe'
Observations of helium give new clues as to how matter evolved in the early universe. The primordial helium gas left over from the Big Bang is spread thinly through space between galaxies. NASA’...
Read article 'Astroparticle physicists gain increased support'
Understanding what happens in the largest objects of the universe in terms of interactions between the smallest particles of matter might seem a tall order, but funding agencies see that, as well ...
Read article 'Observations link gamma-ray bursts to black hole formation'
Over recent years, astronomers have detected numerous short, intense bursts of gamma rays coming from all over the sky. For a brief instant, these flashes of radiation are more energetic than anything...
Read article 'NASA MAPs the microwave background'
NASA launched its Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) this summer. The experiment will measure the cosmic microwave background to one part in a million, with a sensitivity that is greater than 20 µK...
Read article 'Sky survey produces 14 million new results'
In June, two major survey collaborations released their data to the world’s astronomy community. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) released observations of some 14 million objects, including s...
Read article 'Astronomers benefit from particle physics detectors'
A new kind of X-ray polarimeter giving greatly improved sensitivity and based on methods developed for particle physics gives astronomers a new handle on X-ray measurement.
