Nearby galaxy boasts two monster black holes, both active
(PhysOrg.com) -- A study using NASA's Swift satellite and the Chandra X-ray Observatory has found a second supersized black hole at the heart of an unusual nearby galaxy already known to be sporting one.
View ArticleUnusual gamma-ray flash may have come from star being eaten by massive black...
A bright flash of gamma rays observed March 28 by the Swift satellite may have been the death rattle of a star falling into a massive black hole and being ripped apart, according to a team of...
View ArticlePossibly the most distant object known
The most distant objects in the universe are also the oldest -- or at least that is how they appear to us, because their light has had to travel for billions of years to get here. They are also...
View ArticleResearchers detail how a distant black hole devoured a star
(PhysOrg.com) -- Two studies appearing in the Aug. 25 issue of the journal Nature provide new insights into a cosmic accident that has been streaming X-rays toward Earth since late March. NASA's Swift...
View ArticleAstrophysics and extinctions: News about planet-threatening events
Space is a violent place. If a star explodes or black holes collide anywhere in our part of the Milky Way, they'd give off colossal blasts of lethal gamma-rays, X-rays and cosmic rays and it's...
View ArticleResearchers explain the formation of Scheila's unusual triple dust tails
(PhysOrg.com) -- A research team of planetary scientists and astronomers, primarily from Seoul National University, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), the Institute of Space and...
View ArticleNow there's an app for NASA's Swift Observatory
Interested in the latest discoveries of NASA's Swift satellite? The Swift team has released a free iPhone application that gives you the details of all the latest gamma-ray-burst discoveries that the...
View ArticleSwift observatory catches asteroid flyby (w/ video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- As asteroid 2005 YU55 swept past Earth in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Nov. 9, telescopes aboard NASA's Swift satellite joined professional and amateur astronomers around the...
View ArticleSwift narrows down origin of important supernova class
(PhysOrg.com) -- Studies using X-ray and ultraviolet observations from NASA's Swift satellite provide new insights into the elusive origins of an important class of exploding star called Type Ia...
View ArticleSwift satellite monitors departing Comet Garradd
(Phys.org) -- An outbound comet that provided a nice show for skywatchers late last year is the target of an ongoing investigation by NASA's Swift satellite. Formally designated C/2009 P1 (Garradd),...
View ArticleStar's 'cry' heralds new era for testing relativity
(Phys.org) -- Last year, astronomers discovered a quiescent black hole in a distant galaxy that erupted after shredding and consuming a passing star. Now researchers have identified a distinctive X-ray...
View ArticleAstronomers discover a new black hole in our galaxy
(Phys.org)—NASA's Swift satellite recently detected a rising tide of high-energy X-rays from a source toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The outburst, produced by a rare X-ray nova, announced...
View ArticleCommon physics among black holes
(Phys.org)—Black holes range from modest objects formed when individual stars end their lives to behemoths billions of times more massive that rule the centers of galaxies. A new study using data from...
View ArticleAn image gallery gift from Swift satellite
(Phys.org)—Of the three telescopes carried by NASA's Swift satellite, only one captures cosmic light at energies similar to those seen by the human eye. Although small by the standards of ground-based...
View ArticleSwift, Chandra explore a youthful 'star wreck'
(Phys.org) —While performing an extensive X-ray survey of our galaxy's central regions, NASA's Swift satellite has uncovered the previously unknown remains of a shattered star. Designated G306.3.9...
View ArticleStudent helps investigate a stellar 'crime scene'
(Phys.org) —An undergraduate astronomy student at the University of Sydney is proud to have played her part in investigating NASA's discovery of the remains of a shattered star.
View ArticleSwift satellite sizes up comet ISON (w/ video)
(Phys.org) —Astronomers from the University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP) and Lowell Observatory have used NASA's Swift satellite to check out comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), which may become one of the...
View ArticleDying supergiant stars implicated in hours-long gamma-ray bursts
(Phys.org) —Three unusually long-lasting stellar explosions discovered by NASA's Swift satellite represent a previously unrecognized class of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Two international teams of...
View ArticleFermi and Swift see 'shockingly bright' burst
A record-setting blast of gamma rays from a dying star in a distant galaxy has wowed astronomers around the world. The eruption, which is classified as a gamma-ray burst, or GRB, and designated GRB...
View ArticleSwift satellite produces best ultraviolet maps of the nearest galaxies
(Phys.org) —Astronomers at NASA and Pennsylvania State University have used NASA's Swift satellite to create the most detailed ultraviolet light surveys ever of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds,...
View ArticleEarth's gold came from colliding dead stars
We value gold for many reasons: its beauty, its usefulness as jewelry, and its rarity. Gold is rare on Earth in part because it's also rare in the universe. Unlike elements like carbon or iron, it...
View ArticleA strong magnetic field around the Milky Way's black hole
(Phys.org) —Astronomers have made an important measurement of the magnetic field emanating from a swirling disk of material surrounding the black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. The...
View ArticleAstronomers reveal mystery of brightest ever gamma-ray burst
For the first time, a team of astronomers from around the world, including experts from the University of Leicester, have used data from satellites and observatories to explain the brightest Gamma-ray...
View ArticleGlimpsing the infrastructure of a gamma-ray burst jet
(Phys.org) —A new study using observations from a novel instrument provides the best look to date at magnetic fields at the heart of gamma-ray bursts, the most energetic explosions in the universe. An...
View ArticleSwift satellite catches a hundred thousand new cosmic X-ray sources
An international team led from the University of Leicester has published a major list of celestial X-ray sources in the Astrophysical Journal. The result of many years work, this list of over 150,000...
View ArticleCosmic explosion spotted in neighbouring galaxy
(Phys.org) —NASA's Swift satellite reported an enormous explosion occurred this morning at 8.15 AEST in our neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda. This explosion is known as a Gamma Ray Burst (GRB), one of...
View ArticleSwift satellite gets ringing endorsement from NASA
An astronomical satellite, of which the University of Leicester and the Mullard Space Science Laboratory of University College London are key partners, has received a ringing endorsement from NASA.
View ArticleA swing and a near-miss: Comet siding-spring clears the fence over Mars'...
Like a runner rounding third base on his way to home plate, comet Siding Spring will sprint past Mars this October while making a beeline for the Sun. Siding Spring's buzz of the red planet will afford...
View ArticleNASA missions monitor a waking black hole
NASA's Swift satellite detected a rising tide of high-energy X-rays from the constellation Cygnus on June 15, just before 2:32 p.m. EDT. About 10 minutes later, the Japanese experiment on the...
View ArticleSwift satellite reveals a black hole bull's-eye
What looks like a shooting target is actually an image of nested rings of X-ray light centered on an erupting black hole. On June 15, NASA's Swift satellite detected the start of a new outburst from...
View Article
