Featured News
UK Space Agency
2 Sep 2010, 14:08 UTC
Fly your experiment to the edge of space!
Fly your experiment to the edge of space!
2 Sep 2010, 14:08 UTC
Fly your experiment to the edge of space!
ESO Top News
1 Sep 2010, 10:00 UTC
The galaxy NGC 4666 takes pride of place at the centre of this new image, made in visible light with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. NGC 4666 is a remarkable galaxy with very vigorous star formation and an unusual “superwind” of out-flowing gas. It had previously been observed in X-rays by the ESA XMM-Newton space telescope, and the image presented here was taken to allow further study of other objects detected in the earlier X-ray observations.
The Superwind Galaxy NGC 4666
1 Sep 2010, 10:00 UTC
The galaxy NGC 4666 takes pride of place at the centre of this new image, made in visible light with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. NGC 4666 is a remarkable galaxy with very vigorous star formation and an unusual “superwind” of out-flowing gas. It had previously been observed in X-rays by the ESA XMM-Newton space telescope, and the image presented here was taken to allow further study of other objects detected in the earlier X-ray observations.
ESA Space Science
1 Sep 2010, 09:00 UTC
Cluster has spent a decade revealing previously hidden interactions between the Sun and Earth. Its studies have uncovered secrets of aurora, solar storms, and given us insight into fundamental processes that occur across the Universe. And there is more work to do.
Cluster turns the invisible into the visible
1 Sep 2010, 09:00 UTC
Cluster has spent a decade revealing previously hidden interactions between the Sun and Earth. Its studies have uncovered secrets of aurora, solar storms, and given us insight into fundamental processes that occur across the Universe. And there is more work to do.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
1 Sep 2010, 04:00 UTC
Mercury's exosphere is a place of amazing activity that can tell astronomers a lot about the planet's surface and environment.
Seven Things You Didn't Know About Mercury
1 Sep 2010, 04:00 UTC
Mercury's exosphere is a place of amazing activity that can tell astronomers a lot about the planet's surface and environment.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
1 Sep 2010, 04:00 UTC
The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-15 (also known as GOES-P), has been accepted into service.
Newest GOES Satellite Ready for Action
1 Sep 2010, 04:00 UTC
The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-15 (also known as GOES-P), has been accepted into service.
ESA Top News
31 Aug 2010, 23:00 UTC
An unmanned aircraft system guided by satnav has been developed within ESA’s Business Incubation Centre to provide rapid monitoring of land areas and disaster zones. The planes have already helped Spanish farmers in Andalusia to fight land erosion.
Satellite navigation steers unmanned micro-planes
31 Aug 2010, 23:00 UTC
An unmanned aircraft system guided by satnav has been developed within ESA’s Business Incubation Centre to provide rapid monitoring of land areas and disaster zones. The planes have already helped Spanish farmers in Andalusia to fight land erosion.
University of Florida
31 Aug 2010, 15:28 UTC
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Any driver who’s seen deer silhouetted by the headlights of an oncoming car knows that vital information can be conveyed by the outlines of objects. GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Any driver who’s seen deer silhouetted by the headlights of an oncoming car knows that vital information can be conveyed by the outlines of objects. Building on this concept, University of Florida astronomers have analyzed light passing through the upper atmosphere of the giant planet HD 80606 b, about 190 light years from Earth, and determined that its atmosphere contains the element potassium. “It’s wonderful that this method works so well for Jupiter-sized planets,” said Knicole Colón, a UF astronomy doctoral student. “Now, we’re working to apply this technique to observe smaller planets in an effort to pinpoint the components of their atmospheres.” Coincidentally, another team led by David Sing at the University of Exeter, in Devon, U.K., has just used the same technique to detect potassium in the atmosphere of XO-2b, another huge planet about 485 light years from Earth. Both planets, known as gas giants, have extremely high temperatures by earthly standards – HD 80606 b reaches about 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit and XO-2b is about 1,700 degrees. ...
With new technique, UF astronomers find potassium in giant planet’s atmosphere
31 Aug 2010, 15:28 UTC
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Any driver who’s seen deer silhouetted by the headlights of an oncoming car knows that vital information can be conveyed by the outlines of objects. GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Any driver who’s seen deer silhouetted by the headlights of an oncoming car knows that vital information can be conveyed by the outlines of objects. Building on this concept, University of Florida astronomers have analyzed light passing through the upper atmosphere of the giant planet HD 80606 b, about 190 light years from Earth, and determined that its atmosphere contains the element potassium. “It’s wonderful that this method works so well for Jupiter-sized planets,” said Knicole Colón, a UF astronomy doctoral student. “Now, we’re working to apply this technique to observe smaller planets in an effort to pinpoint the components of their atmospheres.” Coincidentally, another team led by David Sing at the University of Exeter, in Devon, U.K., has just used the same technique to detect potassium in the atmosphere of XO-2b, another huge planet about 485 light years from Earth. Both planets, known as gas giants, have extremely high temperatures by earthly standards – HD 80606 b reaches about 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit and XO-2b is about 1,700 degrees. ...
ASTRON
31 Aug 2010, 10:14 UTC
The story of the discovery of the mysterious green gas cloud, which is discovered by school teacher Hanny van Arkel and is internationally known as 'Hanny's Voorwerp', has been made into an American comic book. Hanny van Arkel and the team of scientists, among who are ASTRON scientists, have been immortalized in the unlikely, but true story "Hanny and the mystery of the Voorwerp". The comic, which will also appear on the internet and as a book, will be presented officially on Friday 3 September in Atlanta (USA) during the world's largest science fiction meeting 'DragonCon'. Read more
Dutch school teacher plays leading part in American comic
31 Aug 2010, 10:14 UTC
The story of the discovery of the mysterious green gas cloud, which is discovered by school teacher Hanny van Arkel and is internationally known as 'Hanny's Voorwerp', has been made into an American comic book. Hanny van Arkel and the team of scientists, among who are ASTRON scientists, have been immortalized in the unlikely, but true story "Hanny and the mystery of the Voorwerp". The comic, which will also appear on the internet and as a book, will be presented officially on Friday 3 September in Atlanta (USA) during the world's largest science fiction meeting 'DragonCon'. Read more
Keck Observatory
30 Aug 2010, 18:00 UTC
Kamuela, HI - Astronomers at the University of Hawaii have measured the temperature of a young gas-giant planet around another star using the W. M. Keck Observatory, and the results are puzzling. They have found that its atmosphere is unlike that of any previously studied extrasolar planet. By obtaining a spectrum of its emitted light, the astronomers determined the temperature of the planet. As a result, they found that current theoretical models of gas-giant planets did a poor job of explaining all the data. The team suspects that the reason is dust in the planet’s atmosphere. Models with normal amounts…
