Observations

In March, a medium sized meteorite slammed into the moon’s surface causing the greatest explosion observed thus far, ever since the moon’s surface was first monitored by NASA looking for such events eight years ago.  The meteorite collided with the moon at a mind-boggling 56,000 mph (90,000 kph), creating a new crater 65 feet wide (20 [...]

Hubble just never ceases to surprise. The latest astronomical find discovered using the ever resourceful space telescope is a never before encountered double ring pattern known as an Einstein ring. This very rare pattern is the result of a peculiar optical alignment in which three galaxies are perfectly aligned with each other, like beads on [...]

A new alien planet has been found by astronomers who have a novel planet hunting method which makes good use of Einstein’s special theory of relativity. The newly found exoplanet is slightly larger than Jupiter and is the first such planet found with this method. The planet orbits a star in the constellation Cygnus, about [...]

This Thursday marks a special occasion for star gazers once with the setting of the annular eclipse, an event which Earth, the moon and the sun align such that only a ring of light around the moon will become visible. Unfortunately, only those living in the Pacific area will be able to see it in [...]

Two fantastic space telescopes, Hubble and ESA’s Herschel, have teamed up to image one of the most popular astronomical sights in the sky, the “Horsehead” nebula, in infrared  as well as longer wavelengths to provide unprecedented insights as to what’s going on in this stunning star hatchery. Listed in catalogues under ”Barnard 33″, but better known [...]

After much heated discussions, Hawaiian officials have granted a permit which will finally allow the highly anticipated Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) to be built on the site of the Mauna Kea summit. Once completed it will stand as the largest optical telescope in the world, allowing astronomers to achieve things they’ve only dreamed about in the [...]

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have come across the farthest supernova of its type found thus far - a type Ia supernova which exploded some 10 billion years ago. The discovery isn’t just about setting milestones, however. Supernovae act as beacons that help astronomers measure the expansion of the Universe, and this latest finding will help [...]

Since Curiosity landed, it has more than made its money worth, especially considering the mission’s most recent official public briefing when NASA JPL lead scientists announced they found evidence Mars was once capable of supporting life. It’s not only about science though, it’s also about beauty, rugged adventure and seeing things for the first time that [...]

Supernovae are highly energetic events caused by the explosion of stars that are at times so bright they can outshine whole galaxies. These are thought to occur in two varieties, but a recently published paper has a described a third type of supernova, one that’s fainter than the other two and distinguishes itself by the [...]

ESA’s XMM-Newton space telescope has found a star and a black hole that orbit each other at the whopping rate of once every 2.4 hours. Basically, the star orbits the black hole at 2,000,000 km/hr. The black hole here is 3-4 times heavier than the Sun, while the red dwarf has a mass just 20% [...]