There has been a debate about the distance to the Pleiades cluster that has been going for decades. Although it appears to have been resolved, well this is the claim of a team of radio astronomers in the US, who concluded that the cluster is approximately as far away as originally estimated. This contradicts analyses […]
New distance estimate to the Pleiades Read More »
Analysis of galaxies shows local supercluster to be 100 times larger than previously thought. The supercluster of galaxies that includes the Milky Way has been found to be 100 times bigger in volume and mass than previously thought. The enormous region near the Milky Way has been mapped with newer precion and found that
The Milky Way’s new home: Laniakea Read More »
Astronomers in the US have used X-rays to pin down the mass of a black hole in the nearby galaxy M82, has been thought to be an intermediate-mass black hole (100 to 10,000 solar masses). This means it is of the rarest, mid-sized black-hole type. Image of the starburst galaxy, Messier 82 (M82). (Courtesy:
Intermediate-mass black hole found in Messier 82 (M82). Read More »
HZDR’s Michael Anders at the LUNA accelerator in Gran Sasso, Italy. (Courtesy: HZDR/M Anders). The only three elements created in the early universe, long before stars and galaxies began to form, were hydrogen, helium and lithium. According to Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) theory, protons and neutrons combined to form these three elements just a
Big Bang nucleosynthesis not the origin of lithium-6 Read More »
The most significant news of late is the BICEP2 results – if you are unfamiliar with the result, let me first summarize the results and then offer feedback and alternative viewpoints. BICEP2 was the second generation BICEP (Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization) instrument for astronomy located at Earth’s south pole. Possessing a greatly improved
BICEP2 and the detection of Gravitational Waves Read More »
In November 2012, a new distance record breaker has been weighed in with a photometric redshift of z ~ 10.8 which is roughtly 420 million years after the big bang. This is pretty significant. The Cluster Lensing and Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH), and the Spitzer/IRAC has measured the photometric redshift and with the help
The most distance object: MACS0647-JD Read More »
* Comet PANSTARRS (C/2011 L4) in Cetus * Photo By Humayun Qureshi. Taken from Canberra. Astronomers discovered Comet PANSTARRS (C/2011 L4) on June 7, 2011. In early February, the comet reached its southernmost point, but by the end of May it will lie near Polaris (Alpha [α] Ursae Minoris). Comet watchers should target February 21
This is a Digitized Sky Survey image of the oldest star with a well-determined age in our galaxy. The aging star, cataloged as HD 140283, lies 190.1 light-years away. The Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) UK Schmidt telescope photographed the star in blue light. Credit: Digitized Sky Survey (DSS), STScI/AURA, Palomar/Caltech, and UKSTU/AAO A team of astronomers using NASA’s
Hubble Finds the Oldest Star (as of March 2013) Read More »
A small group of us went to Cairns for the total eclipse. I wanted to see and photograph the event – the experience was quite something special but alas it was plagued with bad weather. I managed to photograph before totality and after, but during totality the cloud completely covered the wondrous sight. None the
Cairns total eclipse 2012 Read More »
The selection of the best site for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which was between South Africa and a joint Australian/New Zealand bid, surprised most people. But it makes real sense to utilize the preliminary facilities that both nations have started to contribute. In an earlier article on RelativeCosmos.com I suggested Australia would be best
SKA Split decision – the best solution! Read More »