Astrophysics Topics
The Oddball Hosts of Gamma-ray Bursts
2008 — April 6, 2011
Cosmic explosions known as Gamma-ray Burstsare curiously picky about where they explode. Shunning spiral galaxies like the Milky Way, Gamma-ray Burstsprefer to 'go off' in oddball star systems that astronomers are just beginning to understand.
Gamma-ray Bursts: The Mystery Continues
2008 — April 6, 2011
More than four decades after they were discovered, Gamma-ray Burstscontinue to mystify astrophysicists. Next week, experts from 25 countries will converge on Huntsville, Alabama, to discuss and debate clues to the biggest explosions since the Big Bang itself.
NASA's Newest Space Telescope Blasts Off
2008 — April 6, 2011
NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope left Earth today onboard a Delta II rocket. "The entire GLAST Team is elated," reports program manager Kevin Grady of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "The observatory is now on-orbit and all systems continue to operate as planned."
Brief Mystery: What are Short Gamma-ray Bursts?
2008 — April 6, 2011
A curiously short-lived type of gamma-ray burst has astronomers puzzled. Leading experts discuss the clues at today's Gamma-ray Burst Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama.
Naked-eye Gamma Ray Burst
2008 — April 6, 2011
Two nights ago, astronomers observed a cosmic explosion so intense it was visible to the naked eye from a distance of 7.5 billion light years.
Strange Ring Found Circling Dead Star
2008 — April 6, 2011
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has found a bizarre ring of material around the magnetic remains of a star that blasted itself to smithereens. Although rings and spheres of material are common in the universe, this one is not like any ring astronomers have ever seen before.
Extremophile Hunt Begins
2008 — April 6, 2011
A team of scientists has just set off to explore a strange lake in Antarctica, which may be home to exotic forms of microscopic life.
Discovered: A New Kind of Pulsar
2008 — April 6, 2011
NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has discovered a new kind of pulsar that hints at a previously unsuspected population of stars waiting to be found in the Milky Way.
Name that Space Telescope!
2008 — April 6, 2011
NASA is inviting members of the general public from around the world to suggest a new name for the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, otherwise known as GLAST, before it launches in mid-2008.
A Violent History of Time
2008 — April 6, 2011
NASA is preparing to launch a new space telescope named GLAST to study the most violent explosions in the history of our Universe.