Milky Way

NASA unveiled new vista of Milky Way center

harminka — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:02:55 -0500

A dramatic new vista of the center of the Milky Way galaxy from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory exposes new levels of the complexity and intrigue in the Galactic center. The mosaic of 88 Chandra pointings represents a freeze-frame of the spectacle of stellar evolution, from bright young stars to black holes, in a crowded, hostile environment dominated by a central, supermassive black hole.

Mystery In Milky Way galaxy May Be Solved

harminka — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:49:06 -0500

A team of astrophysicists has solved a mystery that led some scientists to speculate that the distribution of certain gamma rays in our Milky Way galaxy was evidence of a form of undetectable “dark matter” believed to make up much of the mass of the universe.

Astronomers Unveiled New Atlas Of Inner Regions Of Milky Way

harminka — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:29:41 -0500

Astronomers have unveiled an unprecedented new atlas of the inner regions of the Milky Way, our home galaxy, peppered with thousands of previously undiscovered dense knots of cold cosmic dust — the potential birthplaces of new stars. Made using observations from the APEX telescope in Chile, this survey is the largest map of cold dust so far, and will prove an invaluable map for observations made with the forthcoming ALMA telescope, as well as the recently launched ESA Herschel space telescope.

Stars forming just beyond black hole's grasp at galactic center

harminka — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:07:18 -0600

The center of the Milky Way presents astronomers with a paradox: it holds young stars, but no one is sure how those stars got there. The galactic center is wracked with powerful gravitational tides stirred by a 4 million solar-mass black hole.

Milky Way swifter spinner, more massive, new measurements show

harminka — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:02:00 -0600

Fasten your seat belts -- we're faster, heavier, and more likely to collide than we thought. Astronomers making high-precision measurements of the Milky Way say our home Galaxy is rotating about 100,000 miles per hour faster than previously understood.

Astrophysicist helps map Milky Way's 4 spiral arms

harminka — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:59:08 -0600

Iowa State University's Martin Pohl is part of a research team that has developed the first complete map of the Milky Way galaxy's spiral arms.

Pulsating stars enable a new precise determination of the rotation of our Galaxy

harminka — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 06:53:35 -0500

New, very precise measurements have shown that the rotation of the Milky Way is simpler than previously thought. A remarkable result from the most successful ESO instrument HARPS, shows that a much debated, apparent 'fall' of neighbourhood Cepheid stars towards our Sun stems from an intrinsic property of the Cepheids themselves.

New virtual telescope zooms in on Milky Way's super-massive black hole

harminka — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:34:58 -0500

An international team, led by astronomers at the MIT Haystack Observatory, has obtained the closest views ever of what is believed to be a super-massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Clumps and streams of dark matter in inner regions of Milky Way

harminka — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:03:09 -0500

Using one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world to simulate the halo of dark matter that envelopes our galaxy, researchers found dense clumps and streams of the mysterious stuff lurking in the inner regions of the halo, in the same neighborhood as our solar system.

Milky Way team works scene of dead star

harminka — Thu, 29 May 2008 08:15:46 -0500

Like a team of forensic detectives in a television show that could be called "CSI: Milky Way," a University of Chicago astrophysicist and his associates are piecing together how a mysterious infrared ring got left around a dead star that displays a magnetic field trillions of times more intense than Earth's.

Gas 'finger' points to galaxies' future

harminka — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:14:50 -0600

Like a fork piercing a fried egg, a giant finger of hydrogen gas is poking through our Milky Way Galaxy from outside, astronomers using CSIRO radio telescopes at Parkes and Narrabri have found.

Hyperfast star proven to be alien

harminka — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 10:30:55 -0600

Washington, D.C. A young star is speeding away from the Milky Way so fast that astronomers have been puzzled by where it came from; based on its young age it has traveled too far to have come from our galaxy.