Read article 'Chandra blasts off'
An X-ray equivalent of the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray observatory, was launched on 23 July. Astronomers look forward to a new view of the violent universe with the highest-quality image...
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Gemini to see furthest stars Cosmology gains a twin as the first of two new international telescopes starts observations. The Gemini pair will explore the skies in both the northern and southern hemis...
Read article 'Fundamental physics in space'
What better way of launching science in the new millennium than embarking on a programme of fundamental physics research in space? Maurice Jacob looks at existing plans and new possibilities.
Read article 'Space agency looks to the future'
“The decisions taken here in Brussels will set the direction for the agency for the next five years and beyond,” said European Space Agency (ESA) director Antonio Rodota, following a meeti...
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Planck and FIRST given go-ahead The planning of two major astrophysics missions has been approved by ESA’s scientific policy committee. The satellites Planck and FIRST will be launched together ...
Read article 'Space Shuttle experiment reveals unexplained particle behaviour'
A spaceborne particle physics experiment has come up with new information on the distribution of cosmic-ray particles.
Read article 'Galactic record set'
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have discovered the most distant, and therefore the youngest, object ever observed. The galaxy existed when the universe was only 5% of its present age (re...
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Water, water everywhere The third mission in NASA’s small explorer programme was launched last December. The Submillimetre-Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) is designed to study the chemical compo...
Read article 'The quintessence of cosmology'
The most striking recent development in cosmology has come from supernova studies, which reveal how the expansion rate of the universe changes with time. Rather than slowing down, the universe is ex...
Read article 'Astrowatch'
Gamma-ray bursts The most powerful objects in the universe are also the most mysterious. Gamma-ray bursts can emit more energy in a few seconds than all of the 1011 stars in our galaxy emit over a few...
