Read article 'Machine learning improves cosmic citizen science'
Launched in 2014, the Distributed Electronic Cosmic-ray Observatory (DECO) enables Android smartphone cameras to detect cosmic rays. In response to the increasing number of events being recorded, howe...
Read article 'Optical survey pinpoints dark-matter structure'
During the last two decades the WMAP and Planck satellites have produced detailed maps of the density distribution of the universe when it was only 380,000 years old – the moment electrons and proto...
Read article 'Evidence suggests all stars born in pairs'
The reason why some stars are born in pairs while others are born singly has long puzzled astronomers. But a new study suggests that no special conditions are required: all stars start their lives as ...
Read article 'ESA gives green light for LISA'
(ESA) gave the official go-ahead for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), which will comprise a trio of satellites to detect gravitational waves in space. LISA is the third mission in ESA’...
Read article 'Astronomers spot first failed supernova'
Massive stars are traditionally expected to end their life cycle by triggering a supernova, a violent event in which the stellar core collapses into a neutron star, potentially followed by a further c...
Read article 'Survey reveals edge of dark-matter halos'
Gravitational-lensing measurements indicate that clusters of galaxies are surrounded by large halos of dark matter. By studying the distribution and colour of galaxies inside galaxy clusters using dat...
Read article 'Dark-matter surprise in early universe'
New observations using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile indicate that massive, star-forming galaxies in the early universe were dominated by normal, baryonic matter. This is in stark contra...
Read article 'Editor’s note'
After 13 years as the Courier’s Astrowatch contributor, astronomer Marc Türler is moving to pastures new. We thank him for his numerous lively columns keeping readers up to date with the la...
Read article 'Euclid to pinpoint nature of dark energy'
The accelerating expansion of the universe, first realised 20 years ago, has been confirmed by numerous observations. Remarkably, whatever the source of the acceleration, it is the primary driver of t...
Read article 'LHCb brings cosmic collisions down to Earth'
In an effort to improve our understanding of cosmic rays, the LHCb collaboration has generated high-energy collisions between protons and helium nuclei similar to those that take place when cosmic ray...
