Featured News
National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)
27 Jun 2017, 15:00 UTC
Using the supersharp radio “vision” of the National Science Foundation’s Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), astronomers have made the first detection of orbital motion in a pair of supermassive black holes in a galaxy some 750 million light-years from Earth. The two black holes, with a combined mass 15 billion times that of the Sun, are likely separated by only about 24 light-years, extremely close for such a system. “This is the first pair of black holes to be seen as separate objects that are moving with respect to each other, and thus makes this the first black-hole ‘visual binary,'” said Greg Taylor, of the University of New Mexico (UNM). Supermassive black holes, with millions or billions of times the mass of the Sun, reside at the cores of most galaxies. The presence of two such monsters at the center of a single galaxy means that the galaxy merged with another some time in the past. In such cases, the two black holes themselves may eventually merge in an event that would produce gravitational waves that ripple across the universe. “We believe that the two supermassive black holes in this galaxy will merge,” said Karishma Bansal, a graduate student at ...
Astronomers Detect Orbital Motion in Pair of Supermassive Black Holes
27 Jun 2017, 15:00 UTC
Using the supersharp radio “vision” of the National Science Foundation’s Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), astronomers have made the first detection of orbital motion in a pair of supermassive black holes in a galaxy some 750 million light-years from Earth. The two black holes, with a combined mass 15 billion times that of the Sun, are likely separated by only about 24 light-years, extremely close for such a system. “This is the first pair of black holes to be seen as separate objects that are moving with respect to each other, and thus makes this the first black-hole ‘visual binary,'” said Greg Taylor, of the University of New Mexico (UNM). Supermassive black holes, with millions or billions of times the mass of the Sun, reside at the cores of most galaxies. The presence of two such monsters at the center of a single galaxy means that the galaxy merged with another some time in the past. In such cases, the two black holes themselves may eventually merge in an event that would produce gravitational waves that ripple across the universe. “We believe that the two supermassive black holes in this galaxy will merge,” said Karishma Bansal, a graduate student at ...
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory News and Features
23 Jun 2017, 16:08 UTC
NASA's senior Mars rover, Opportunity, is examining rocks at the edge of Endeavour Crater for signs that they may have been either transported by a flood or eroded in place by wind.
Mars Rover Opportunity on Walkabout Near Rim
23 Jun 2017, 16:08 UTC
NASA's senior Mars rover, Opportunity, is examining rocks at the edge of Endeavour Crater for signs that they may have been either transported by a flood or eroded in place by wind.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
23 Jun 2017, 15:47 UTC
This image displays a galaxy known as ESO 486-21 (with several other background galaxies and foreground stars visible in the field as well). ESO 486-21 is a spiral galaxy — albeit with a somewhat irregular and ill-defined structure — located some 30 million light-years from Earth.
Hubble Scopes Out a Galaxy of Stellar Birth
23 Jun 2017, 15:47 UTC
This image displays a galaxy known as ESO 486-21 (with several other background galaxies and foreground stars visible in the field as well). ESO 486-21 is a spiral galaxy — albeit with a somewhat irregular and ill-defined structure — located some 30 million light-years from Earth.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
22 Jun 2017, 19:27 UTC
Scientists Uncover Origins of the Sun’s Swirling Spicules
22 Jun 2017, 19:27 UTC
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
22 Jun 2017, 13:13 UTC
NASA's Webb Telescope Gets Freezing Summertime Lodging in Houston
22 Jun 2017, 13:13 UTC
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
22 Jun 2017, 12:00 UTC
ESA to Develop Gravitational Wave Space Mission with NASA Support
22 Jun 2017, 12:00 UTC
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory News and Features
21 Jun 2017, 21:27 UTC
Artificial intelligence is changing how we study Mars. A.I. software on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has helped it zap dozens of laser targets on the Red Planet this past year, becoming a frequent science tool when the ground team was out of contact with the spacecraft. This same software has proven useful enough that it's already scheduled for NASA's upcoming mission, Mars 2020.
Laser-targeting A.I. Yields More Mars Science
21 Jun 2017, 21:27 UTC
Artificial intelligence is changing how we study Mars. A.I. software on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has helped it zap dozens of laser targets on the Red Planet this past year, becoming a frequent science tool when the ground team was out of contact with the spacecraft. This same software has proven useful enough that it's already scheduled for NASA's upcoming mission, Mars 2020.
HubbleSite NewsCenter -- Latest News Releases
21 Jun 2017, 17:00 UTC
