Science News

The Universe in Black and White

Francisco Gil — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:23:04 +0000

Contained within the most massive and active star-forming region in the Small Magellanic Cloud, star cluster NGC 346 delivers energetic radiation that excites nearby gas, causing it to glow. The result is one of the most dynamic and intricately detailed images of a nearby star-forming region that has ever been taken by the Hubble Space [...]

A Vivid View

Francisco Gil — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 13:26:22 +0000

More than four centuries after the brilliant star explosion witnessed by Tycho Brahe and other astronomers of the era, NASA’s Spitzer and Chandra space observatories and the Calar Alto observatory in Spain captured this image of the supernova remnant. This composite image combines infrared and X-ray observations. The explosion left a blazing hot cloud of [...]

Witch Head Nebula

Francisco Gil — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:05:23 +0000

As the name implies, this reflection nebula associated with the star Rigel looks suspiciously like a fairytale crone. Formally known as IC 2118 in the constellation Orion, the Witch Head Nebula glows primarily by light reflected from the star. The color of this very blue nebula is caused not only by blue color of its [...]

Enchanting Saturn

Francisco Gil — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:03:06 +0000

With giant Saturn hanging in the blackness and sheltering Cassini from the sun’s blinding glare, the spacecraft viewed the rings as never before. This marvelous panoramic view was created by combining a 165 images taken by the Cassini wide-angle camera over nearly three hours on Sept. 15, 2006. The mosaic images were acquired as the spacecraft [...]

Genome sequence deepens mystery of inconspicuous sea creature

Francisco Gil — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:54:15 +0000

Resembling a smudge more than an animal, a mysterious life form known as a placozoan has now joined other obscure and primitive creatures whose genomes are providing insight into how animals first arose more than 650 million years ago. Called Trichoplax adhaerens, the creature’s genome sequence, reported in the Aug. 21 issue of Nature, has surprised [...]

Massive Young Stars Trigger Stellar Birth

Francisco Gil — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:08:47 +0000

About 4,000 light years from Earth lies RCW 108, a region where stars are actively forming within the Milky Way galaxy. The region contains young star clusters, including one that is deeply embedded in a cloud of molecular hydrogen. By using data from different telescopes, astronomers determined that star birth in this region is being [...]

The Jules Verne

Francisco Gil — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:43:24 +0000

After completing its mission to re-supply the International Space Station, the European Space Agency’s Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) entered the Earth’s atmosphere, where researcher’s captured images of its fiery end. In the early morning hours of Sept. 29, 2008, the ATV entered the atmosphere above an uninhabited section of the Pacific Ocean, southwest [...]

Bone parts don’t add up to conclusion of Palauan dwarfs

Francisco Gil — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:40:44 +0000

Misinterpreted fragments of leg bones, teeth and brow ridges found in Palau appear to be an archaeologist’s undoing, according to researchers at three institutions. They say that the so-called dwarfs of these Micronesian islands actually were modern, normal-sized hunters and gatherers. In a paper published Aug. 27 in PLoS ONE, an open access journal of the [...]

Ius Chasma

Francisco Gil — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:23:47 +0000

The Red Planet is home to Valles Marineris, the solar system’s largest canyon. Within this canyon lies Ius Chasma. This image, which spans the floor of its southern trench,m was taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The canyon is well-known for its fine stratigraphic layers modified by wind and water. The outcrops contain interchanging layers [...]

Obscure Moon

Francisco Gil — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:26:22 +0000

Just before Rhea slipped behind Saturn, the Cassini spacecraft captured the moon in its disappearing act. Along with the partly obscured Rhea (949 miles, or 1,528 kilometers across) are Tethys (665 miles, or 1,071 kilometers across), at right, and Enceladus (314 miles, or 505 kilometers across), left of Tethys. At the wavelength in which this image was [...]