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International Research Team Announces First Solid Evidence for Astrophysical Neutrinos

An international team of scientists that includes University of Adelaide researchers today announced the first solid evidence for astrophysical neutrinos - very high-energy particles coming from distant regions of our galaxy or further - which will lead to new ways of exploring the Universe.

25 Nov 2013

Trio of NASA Satellites Capture Never-Before-Seen Details of Gamma-Ray Burst

On April 27, a blast of light from a dying star in a distant galaxy became the focus of astronomers around the world. The explosion, known as a gamma-ray burst and designated GRB 130427A, tops the charts as one of the brightest ever seen.

22 Nov 2013

RAPTOR Intelligent Visual System Witnesses Rare Birth of Black Hole

Intelligent telescopes designed by Los Alamos National Laboratory got a front row seat recently for an unusual birth.

22 Nov 2013

Rare Far-Flung Trio of Primitive Galaxies May Eventually Merge

Astronomers using the combined power of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope in Chile and NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes have discovered a far-flung trio of primitive galaxies nestled inside an enormous blob of primordial gas nearly 13 billion light-years from Earth. It's possible the trio will eventually merge into a single galaxy similar to our own Milky Way.

22 Nov 2013

Quantum Cowboy Teaches Physics on 1,000 Acre Farm

On 1,000 acres of verdant grass and dirt trails 35 miles north of Bryan and strewn with some 200 cows and calves, world-renowned Texas A&M University quantum physicist Marlan Scully is cultivating a vision befitting his nickname, "the Quantum Cowboy" -- a farm where he combines cutting-edge laser research with student teaching, from the latest in science to more efficient farming.

22 Nov 2013

First Solid Evidence for Astrophysical Neutrinos from Cosmic Accelerators

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a particle detector buried in the Antarctic ice, is a demonstration of the power of the human passion for discovery, where scientific ingenuity meets technological innovation. Today, nearly 25 years after the pioneering idea of detecting neutrinos in ice, the IceCube Collaboration announces the observation of 28 very high-energy particle events that constitute the first solid evidence for astrophysical neutrinos from cosmic accelerators.

22 Nov 2013

Lunar Dust Accumulates 10 Times Faster Than Previous Estimates

When Neil Armstrong took humanity's first otherworldly steps in 1969, he didn't know what a nuisance the lunar soil beneath his feet would prove to be. The scratchy dust clung to everything it touched, causing scientific instruments to overheat and, for Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt, a sort of lunar dust hay fever. The annoying particles even prompted a scientific experiment to figure out how fast they collect, but NASA's data got lost.

21 Nov 2013

New Evidence for High-Energy Particle Jet from Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole

Astronomers have long sought strong evidence that Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, is producing a jet of high-energy particles. Finally they have found it, in new results from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope.

21 Nov 2013

Small Asteroids Can Cause Serious Damage

Once in a lifetime, a physicist may get a chance to test his theories and simulations in a real-life event that changes the course of his scientific life. But rarely does that opportunity literally fall from the sky.

21 Nov 2013

Chunks May Have Split Off From Nucleus of Comet ISON

One or more chunks could have split off from the nucleus of comet ISON in recent days. Two wing-like structures in the gaseous environment of the comet, which have been photographed by a team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and the Wendelstein Observatory of the Ludwig Maximilian Universität Munich, seem to indicate this; the structures appear on images which were taken at the end of last week. This detachment of individual pieces of debris could possible explain the comet’s recent increase in brightness.

21 Nov 2013