"astro-news" via ioalib in Google Reader

Number of asteroids that pose risk to Earth is doubled

2012-05-18T14:40:00Z

The asteroid-tracking NEOWISE mission reveals that twice as many asteroids as previously thought are on low-inclination orbits that could hit our planet

The 2012 Transit of Venus

2012-05-18T05:24:14Z

It won't happen again until December 2117: On June 5th, 2012, Venus will transit the face of the sun. The best places to watch are in the south Pacific, but travel is not required. The event is widely visible around the world, including at sunset from the USA.

Astrophysics:First Stars IV - From Hayashi to the Future[Mon, 21 May 2012]

2011-04-18T19:23:00Z

In the last decade, great advances have been made in the field of First Stars. So far, three international conferences have been held as a series of First Stars meetings every four years (Garching in 1999, Pennsylvania in 2003, and Santa Fe in 2007). The fourth First Stars meeting, "First Stars IV", is aimed at discussing star formation through cosmic time and the impacts of first stars on galaxy formation, first explosions, cosmic reionization, and formation of massive black holes. This meeting will be held partially as a memorial conference for Professor Hayashi (1920-2010), in honour of his invaluable contributions to the study of star formation and cosmology.

XMM-Newton:XMM-Newton 2012 Science Workshop - Galaxy Clusters as Giant Cosmic Laboratories[Mon, 21 May 2012]

2012-01-16T23:30:00Z

Galaxy clusters are interesting astrophysical laboratories to study large-scale physical processes and important probes to assess the structure and evolution of our Universe. X-ray observations provide the most detailed insight into structure, composition, and evolution of galaxy clusters.

'Superflares' from stars counted

2012-05-17T13:37:09Z

Nasa's Kepler space telescope provides new insight on the colossal explosions that can occur in the atmospheres of some stars.

Astronomy: Exoplanet signals ring true

2012-05-16T07:00:00Z

Astronomy: Exoplanet signals ring true

Nature 485, 7398 (2012). doi:10.1038/485283b

Most candidate multi-planet systems spotted by the Kepler space telescope probably contain true exoplanets, according to a statistical analysis.Kepler spots potential planets beyond our Solar System by looking for tiny dips in brightness as the planets pass in front of their host stars. The

Messages from the early Universe

2012-05-16T07:00:00Z

Messages from the early Universe

Nature 485, 7398 (2012). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/485290a

Author: Eric Hand

Bright and brief, γ-ray bursts hold clues to cosmic history.

Planetary science: Martian sand blowing in the wind

2012-05-09T07:00:00Z

Planetary science: Martian sand blowing in the wind

Nature 485, 7398 (2012). doi:10.1038/nature11193

Authors: Jasper Kok

High-resolution spacecraft images show surprisingly large rates of sand transport on Mars. This finding suggests that the planet's surface is a more active environment than previously thought. See Letter p.339

Planetary science: Planet-like asteroid

2012-05-16T07:00:00Z

Planetary science: Planet-like asteroid

Nature 485, 7398 (2012). doi:10.1038/485282a

The giant asteroid Vesta resembles a planet more than it does other asteroids, according to Christopher Russell at the University of California, Los Angeles, and his colleagues. In six separate studies, the researchers report their analysis of data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft, which has been

Transit of Venus: Last chance to see

2012-05-16T07:00:00Z

Transit of Venus: Last chance to see

Nature 485, 7398 (2012). doi:10.1038/485303a

Author: Jay M. Pasachoff

The June 2012 transit of Venus across the Sun offers an opportunity to check our methods for spotting distant planets crossing far-away stars, says Jay M. Pasachoff.

Pulsar heavyweight champ challenges Einstein

2012-05-16T14:32:00Z

A pulsar with twice the sun's mass could challenge Einstein's theory of general relativity: but such a dense object is near impossible, according to his work

A New Count of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids

2012-05-16T22:53:53Z

NASA has just released a new count of asteroids that come close to the orbit of Earth and could survive entry through our planet's atmosphere. The data, gathered by an infrared space telescope named WISE, reveal important new information about the origin and make-up of these potentially hazardous space rocks.

NASA Survey Counts Potentially Hazardous Asteroids

2012-05-16T04:00:00Z

Observations from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have led to the best assessment yet of our solar system's population of potentially hazardous asteroids.

NASA Lends Galaxy Evolution Explorer to Caltech

2012-05-16T04:00:00Z

NASA is lending the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, where the spacecraft will continue its exploration of the cosmos.

A Deeper Look at Centaurus A

2012-05-16T10:00:00Z

The strange galaxy Centaurus A is pictured in a new image from the European Southern Observatory. With a total exposure time of more than 50 hours this is probably the deepest view of this peculiar and spectacular object ever created. The image was produced by the Wide Field Imager of the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile.

Venus Express:Venus Express unearths new clues to the planet's geological history

2012-05-16T17:34:00Z

ESA's Venus Express has been used to study the geology in a region near Venus' equator. Using near-infrared observations collected by the Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC), scientists have found evidence that the planet's rugged highlands are scattered with geochemically more evolved rocks, rather than the basaltic rocks of the volcanic plains. This finding is in agreement with previous studies, which used data from the spacecraft's Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) to map the planet's surface in the southern hemisphere.

Big Picture: The Centaur

2012-05-16T10:31:07Z

The best-yet view of mysterious galaxy Centaurus A

Evening Star's rare path across the sun

2012-05-14T09:59:00Z

With the last transit of Venus of the 21st century weeks away, authors trace how this rare event sparked international scientific collaboration in 1761

Dust rings not 'smoking gun' for planets after all

2012-05-14T17:40:00Z

Sharp-edged rings of dust around stars are not necessarily carved by planets, as was thought, but can take shape on their own

Ghostly glows mark violent deaths of stars

2012-05-11T14:06:58Z

Supernovae leave glowing embers behind – see some of the most beautiful remnants of exploding stars in our gallery