Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), believe clouds of dust, rather than twin black holes, can explain the features found in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The team publish their results today (14 June) in a paper in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Many large galaxies have an AGN, a small bright …
Article from December 2017 issue of Country Life magazine
Lunar occultation sky maps of Cygnus X-1 obtained using the Lunar Prospector Gamma-Ray Spectrometer. The features correspond to the location of the Moon’s horizon, projected onto the celestial sphere (equatorial coordinates), during intervals when Cygnus X-1 rose and set relative to the spacecraft. Also shown is an illustration of the Lunar Prospector spacecraft. Credit: Richard …
Moon plays lead role in new astronomical technique Read More »
This illustration shows the three steps astronomers used to measure the universe’s expansion rate to an unprecedented accuracy, reducing the total uncertainty to 2.4 percent. Astronomers made the measurements by streamlining and strengthening the construction of the cosmic distance ladder, which is used to measure accurate distances to galaxies near and far from Earth. Beginning …
Hubble finds universe may be expanding faster than expected Read More »
Messier 54 as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA June 1, 2016 by Tomasz Nowakowski (Phys.org)—Located some 87,000 light years away, a dense globular cluster named Messier 54 (also known as NGC 6715) is a real gold mine for astronomers. Recently, an international team has discovered dozens of new variable stars …
Dozens of new variable stars found in a dense globular cluster Read More »
