If the solution to a problem does not reveal itself straight away then why not let your initial guesswork evolve? That’s the approach we’ve taken in trying to determine the mass of our galaxy by mapping…
There is excitement in astronomy and planetary science departments worldwide as the new Gemini Planet Imager, housed in the Gemini South Telescope in the Chilean Andes, turns its razor-sharp gaze to the…
Sir David Gill, the most important astronomer you’ve never heard of?
Uncredited via Wikimedia Commons
There have been 10 astronomers royal for Scotland since the honour was created in 1834, only three of whom were Scots. I believe Aberdonian Sir David Gill (1843-1914), who never held the honour, trumps…
The speed at which spiral galaxies spin determine whether they are fat and bulging or whether they are shaped like flat discs…
Artist’s impression of a microquasar, such as the newly-discovered MQ1 in the M83 galaxy.
TD Russell (ICRAR-Curtin) using the BINSIM visualisation code by R Hynes (LSU)
A black hole with extremely powerful jets has been found in the nearby galaxy Messier 83 (M83) by a team of Australian and American researchers, as we report in the journal Science today. Black holes are…
There is a myth that goldfish have a three-second memory, and I sometimes wonder if the same is true about the part of the human mind that deals with science in the news. This week, the international media…
An explosion in the universe (artist’s impression).
www.shutterstock.com
The discovery of an ancient star formed approximately 13.6-billion years ago just after the Big Bang is telling us much about the early universe. The star – designated SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 – lies within…
UNSW engineer Nic Bingham at a refueling stop half way between South Pole and Ridge A, January 2013.
Geoff Sims
Russia’s Vostok station in Antarctica must be one of the scariest places on Earth. Temperatures regularly drop below -80C, and there is no way in or out for nine months of the year. The inhabitants become…
It may not look like much from here, but Nova Centauri 2013 - visible for the next few days - is a nuclear explosion on a dead star.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Centre
If you live in the southern hemisphere, you now can safely view the aftermath of a nuclear explosion from the comfort of your own backyard. Just last week a new “star”, Nova Centauri 2013, was discovered…
The delicate twinkling stars in the night sky are actually fusion-fuelled balls of gas.
Adam Foster | Codefor
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are. If we look up at the sky at night, we see millions of tiny diamond-like stars. These are actually balls of plasma (very hot gas) consisting of…
New research shows supermassive black holes are bigger than the sum of their parts.
NASA/CXC/A.Hobart
Galaxies may look pretty and delicate, with their swirls of stars of many colours - but don’t be fooled. At the heart of every galaxy lies a supermassive black hole, including in our own Milky Way. Black…
Rocky, water-rich asteroids and similar objects likely delivered the bulk of water on
Earth. Now they’re being found well outside our Solar system.
Mark A. Garlick, space-art.co.uk, University of Warwick and University of Cambridge
How will future alien scientists know whether life existed in our solar system? One method may be to sift through the planetary debris left when our sun becomes a white dwarf. Astronomers are doing just…
Cloud formation on Mars requires a much higher humidity than cloud formation on Earth. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute…
Two golden records, on their way out of our solar system, carry Australian Aboriginal music – but what’s the real story behind the recording?
x-ray delta one
Earlier this year, NASA spacecraft Voyager 1 left our solar system after a 35-year journey, carrying with it a golden record containing sounds, images and music from Earth. Its sister craft, Voyager 2…
Science isn’t just for scientists. It’s not just a training for careers. Today’s young people – all of them – will live in a world, ever more dependent on technology, and ever more vulnerable to its failures…