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High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory Begins Gathering Information on Cosmic Gamma Rays

In the shadow of Mexico’s tallest mountain, an array of 300 water-filled silver tanks is capturing the calling cards left by powerful visitors from our galaxy and beyond. The tanks are the most visible components of the High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC), a one-of-its-kind facility designed to gather information about high-energy gamma rays entering the Earth’s atmosphere.

30 Mar 2015

Dark Matter May Not Be Composed of Particles

When galaxy clusters collide, their dark matters pass through each other, with very little interaction. Deepening the mystery, a study by scientists at EPFL and the University of Edinburgh challenges the idea that dark matter is composed of particles.

27 Mar 2015

Astronomers Identify Best Type Ia Supernovae for Measuring Cosmic Distances

The brilliant explosions of dead stars have been used for years to illuminate the far-flung reaches of our cosmos. The explosions, called Type Ia supernovae, allow astronomers to measure the distances to galaxies and measure the ever-increasing rate at which our universe is stretching apart.

27 Mar 2015

Supercomputer JUQUEEN Helps Calculate Tiny Neutron-Proton Mass Difference

The fact that the neutron is slightly more massive than the proton is the reason why atomic nuclei have exactly those properties that make our world and ultimately our existence possible. Eighty years after the discovery of the neutron, a team of physicists from France, Germany, and Hungary headed by Zoltán Fodor, a researcher from Wuppertal, has finally calculated the tiny neutron-proton mass difference.

27 Mar 2015

Strong Winds Blown By Supermassive Black Hole Can Disperse Gas Reservoir of Host Galaxy

Astronomers have found proof that the strong winds blown by a supermassive black hole are dispersing the gas reservoir of its host galaxy. The new finding relies on the observation of two phenomena in the same galaxy: a large-scale galactic outflow, seen by ESA's Herschel space observatory, and a black-hole driven wind at the galaxy's core, detected with the JAXA/NASA’s Suzaku X-ray observatory.

27 Mar 2015

Dark Matter Interacts with Itself Much Lesser Than Previously Thought

Astronomers using observations from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have studied how dark matter in clusters of galaxies behaves when the clusters collide.

27 Mar 2015

Supermassive Black Holes Can Power Huge Molecular Outflows That Remove Massive Quantities of Star-Making Gas

Many nearby galaxies blast huge, wide-angled outpourings of material from their center, ejecting enough gas and dust to build more than a thousand stars the size of our sun every year. Astronomers have sought the driving force behind these massive molecular outflows, and now a team led by University of Maryland scientists has found an answer.

27 Mar 2015

Single Photon Successfully Entangles 3,000 Atoms

Physicists from MIT and the University of Belgrade have developed a new technique that can successfully entangle 3,000 atoms using only a single photon. The results, published today in the journal Nature, represent the largest number of particles that have ever been mutually entangled experimentally.

27 Mar 2015

Fierce ‘Wind’ Near Galaxy's Monster Black Hole Linked to Outward Torrent of Cold Gas

By combining observations from the Japan-led Suzaku X-ray satellite and the European Space Agency's infrared Herschel Space Observatory, scientists have connected a fierce "wind" produced near a galaxy's monster black hole to an outward torrent of cold gas a thousand light-years across.

27 Mar 2015

Experimental Breakthrough Explains Rare Property of Exotic Magnetic Material

Researchers have made an experimental breakthrough in explaining a rare property of an exotic magnetic material, potentially opening a path to a host of new technologies.

26 Mar 2015