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07/10/2008

Rare 'Star-making Machine' Found in Distant Universe

Kathy Svitil

Astronomers have uncovered an extreme stellar machine -- a galaxy in the very remote universe pumping out stars at a surprising rate of up to 4,000 per year. In comparison, our own Milky Way galaxy turns out an average of just 10 stars per year.

06/02/2008

LIGO Observations Probe the Dynamics of the Crab Pulsar

Kathy Svitil

The search for gravitational waves has revealed new information about the core of one of the most famous objects in the sky: the Crab Pulsar in the Crab Nebula. An analysis by the international LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) Scientific Collaboration to be submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letters has shown that no more than 4 percent of the energy loss of the pulsar is caused by the emission of gravitational waves.

05/30/2008

Astrophysicist Wins One of First Kavli Prizes

elisabeth nadin

Quasars--now known to be compact halos of matter that surround the massive black holes of distant galaxies--were once thought to be stars in our own galaxy. Now, Maarten Schmidt, who showed that quasars are thousands of millions of light-years away from Earth, has been named one of the first recipients of the $1 million Kavli Prize for his contributions to the field of astrophysics.

05/21/2008

Stellar Death Caught in the Act

elisabeth nadin

Astronomers for the first time have caught a star in the act of exploding. Astronomers have previously observed thousands of stellar explosions, known as supernovae, but they have always seen them after the fireworks were well underway.

05/15/2008

Thirty-Meter Telescope Focuses on Two Candidate Sites

elisabeth nadin

After completing a worldwide survey unprecedented in rigor and detail of astronomical sites for the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT), the TMT Observatory Corporation board of directors has selected two outstanding sites, one in each hemisphere, for further consideration. Cerro Armazones lies in Chile's Atacama Desert, and Mauna Kea is on Hawai'i Island.

05/13/2008

Caltech Helps Open the Universe in "WorldWide Telescope"

Kathy Svitil

Panoramic images of the sky obtained at Palomar Observatory and by the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), plus pointed observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope, form a significant part of the "World Wide Telescope" (WWT), a new product released today by Microsoft aimed at bringing exploration of the Universe and its many wonders to the general public.

04/10/2008

Scientists Display High-Tech Art at MoMA

Jacqueline Scahill

The California Institute of Technology's Paul Rothemund, senior research associate in computation and neural systems and computer science, and Michael Roukes, professor of physics, applied physics, and bioengineering, are scientists who can now add artist to their resumes. Rothemund's DNA origami and a colorized electron micrograph of Roukes's nanoscience work will be displayed now through May 12 at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Roukes's micrograph was even selected for the museum's permanent collection.

04/09/2008

A New Take on Microbrewing

elisabeth nadin

Since Babylonian times, a still has provided the means to turn grain, fruit, or vegetables into an intoxicating drink. Today, a still may provide a solution to the more complex problem of how to detect diseases.

04/01/2008

Advanced LIGO Project Funded by National Science Foundation

Kathy Svitil

The Advanced LIGO Project, an upgrade in sensitivity for LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatories), was approved by the National Science Board in its meeting on March 27. The National Science Foundation will fund the $205.12 million, seven-year project, starting with $32.75 million in 2008. This major upgrade will increase the sensitivity of the LIGO instruments by a factor of 10, giving a one thousand-fold increase in the number of astrophysical candidates for gravitational wave signals.

03/18/2008

Water Vapor Detected in Protoplanetary Disks

elisabeth nadin

Water is an essential ingredient for forming planets, yet has remained hidden from scientists searching for it in protoplanetary systems, the spinning disks of particles surrounding newly formed stars where planets are born. Now the detection of water vapor in the inner part of two extrasolar protoplanetary disks brings scientists one step closer to understanding water's role during terrestrial planet formation.

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