Over fifty years ago, a supernova was discovered in Messier 83, a spiral galaxy about 15 million light years from Earth. Astronomers have used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to make the first detection of X-rays emitted by the debris from this explosion. This new Chandra image,released yesterday of M83 is one of the deepest X-ray observations ever made [continue reading]
“We see landslides everywhere in the Solar System,” says Kelsi Singer, graduate student in earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, “but Saturn’s icy moon Iapetus has more giant landslides than any body other than Mars.” When the rimwall of Iapetus’s Malun crater broke off and plunged [continue reading]
Charged objects like protons and electrons are connected by electromagnetism. Massive objects like planets and our Sun are connected by gravity. From falling balls to an electric shock, gravity and electromagnetism are the forces we experience daily. Double stars are sometimes very special. These double stars are more massive than our Sun and can [continue reading]
A University of Alberta researcher says a meteorite that came down in British Columbia 12 years ago now reveals that a key molecular component present in all life on Earth may not have originated on this planet. Artist’s concept of excess left-handed amino acids delivered to Earth through meteorite impacts. Image Credit: NASA/Mary P. [continue reading]
Investigating extremely detailed images of Mars produced by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera – the largest-ever carried on a deep space mission – researchers from Western have discovered further evidence linking subsurface volatiles, such as water or ice, to previously recognized (but thought to be rare) pits, which commonly arise on [continue reading]
On 26 July 2012, the H.E.S.S. II telescope started operation in Namibia. Dedicated to observing the most violent and extreme phenomena of the Universe in very high energy gamma-rays, H.E.S.S. II is the largest Cherenkov telescope ever built, with its 28-meter-sized mirror. Together with the four smaller (12 meter) telescopes already in operation since [continue reading]