Astrophysics Topics
Space ShuttleAtlantis Launches on Final Mission to Hubble
2009 — April 6, 2011
Space ShuttleAtlantis with its seven-member crew launched at 2:01 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 11th, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.
New Gamma-Ray Burst Smashes Cosmic Distance Record
2009 — April 6, 2011
A gamma-ray burst detected by NASA's Swift satellite has smashed the previous distance record for the most powerful explosions in the Universe. Researchers are calling it 'an incredible find' and a 'true blast from the past.'
Extreme Gamma-ray Burst
2009 — April 6, 2011
NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has detected a record-setting gamma-ray burst with the greatest total energy and fastest motions ever seen.
Gamma-ray Flare Star
2009 — April 6, 2011
NASA spacecraft are monitoring blasts of gamma-ray energy from a star 30,000 light years away. Some of the flares have packed more total energy than the sun puts out in 20 years.
Cosmic RaysHit Space Age High
2009 — April 6, 2011
NASA spacecraft are measuring record-high levels of cosmic rays--a side-effect of the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century. This development could have implications for the amount of shielding Astronautsneed to take when they explore deep space.
Honey, I Blew Up the Tokamak
2009 — Sept. 20, 2011
NASA is planning a daring new mission to investigate the Universe's favorite way of making things explode. Unlocking the secrets of "magnetic reconnection" could help alleviate the energy crisis on Earth.
A Pop Quiz for Einstein
2000 — April 6, 2011
Crystal balls rarely have anything to do with science, but soon NASA researchers will be using a set of four to examine one of the last, untested portions of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. The spheres are heading for Earth orbit on board the Gravity Probe B mission in 2002.
A Monster in the Middle
2000 — April 6, 2011
The Chandra X-ray Observatorymay have spied a supermassive black hole in the center of our Milky Way galaxy, but it's a fainter x-ray source than astronomers expected.
Martian Micro-Magnets
2000 — April 6, 2011
The case for ancient life on Mars looks better than ever after scientists announced last week that they had discovered magnetic crystals inside a Martian meteorite -- crystals that, here on Earth, are produced only by microscopic life forms.
High Energy Astrophysicsfor Everybody
2000 — April 6, 2011
A group of volunteer scientists is converging on Huntsville for an out-of-this-world meeting -- the High Energy AstrophysicsWorkshop for Amateur Astronomers.