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Astrophysics Science Division (660) Press Releases & Feature Stories

GRB 130427A

NASA's Fermi, Swift See 'Shockingly Bright' Burst

05.03.2013
A record-setting blast of gamma rays from a dying star in a distant galaxy has wowed astronomers around the world.
Fermi Collision Avoidance

The Day NASA's Fermi Dodged a 1.5-ton Bullet

04.30.2013
On March 29, 2012, the science team for NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope learned that a defunct Cold-War spy satellite would pass too close for comfort on April 4.
Horesehead Nebula in infrared

NASA's Hubble Sees a Horsehead of a Different Color

04.19.2013
Astronomers have used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to photograph the iconic Horsehead Nebula in a new, infrared light to mark the 23rd anniversary of the famous observatory's launch.
This false-color image shows the event as captured by the X-ray Telescope aboard NASA's Swift satellite

Dying Supergiant Stars Implicated in Hours-long Gamma-Ray Bursts

04.16.2013
Three unusually long-lasting stellar explosions discovered by NASA’s Swift satellite represent a previously unrecognized class of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs).
This composite of images from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory shows the remnant of Kepler's supernova in low, intermediate and high-energy X-rays.

Suzaku 'Post-mortem' Yields Insight into Kepler's Supernova

04.08.2013
An exploding star observed in 1604 by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler held a greater fraction of heavy elements than the sun, according to an analysis of X-ray observations from Suzaku.
artist's conception of NICER on the ISS

New Mission to Uncover Physics of Neutron Stars and Demonstrate Game-Changing Navigation Technology

04.05.2013
NICER will gather scientific data revealing the physics of the densest matter allowed in nature, and could revolutionize our ability to travel to the far reaches of the solar system and beyond.
NASA Taps the Power of Zombie Stars in Two-in-One Instrument
NICER principal investigator Keith Gendreau

NASA Selects Explorer Investigations for Formulation

04.05.2013
NASA's Astrophysics Explorer Program has selected two missions for launch in 2017: a planet-hunting satellite and an International Space Station instrument to observe X-rays from stars.
Hubble Space Telescope view of supernova SN UDS10Wil

Hubble Breaks Record in Search for Farthest Supernova

04.04.2013
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has found the farthest supernova so far of the type used to measure cosmic distances.
From now through October, comet ISON tracks through the constellations Gemini, Cancer and Leo as it falls toward the sun.

NASA's Swift Sizes Up Comet ISON

03.29.2013
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).
Technicians complete the primary mirror backplane support structure wing assemblies.

NASA's Webb Telescope Gets Its Wings

03.15.2013
A massive backplane that will hold the primary mirror of JWST nearly motionless while it peers into space is another step closer to completion.
his composite of supernova remnant G306.3–0.9 merges Chandra X-ray observations (blue), infrared data acquired by the Spitzer Space Telescope (red and cyan) and radio observations (purple) from the Australia Telescope Compact Array.

NASA's Swift, Chandra Explore a Youthful 'Star Wreck'

03.15.2013
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.
Abstract: This image compresses the Vela movie sequence into a single snapshot

Fermi's Motion Produces a Study in Spirograph

02.27.2013
A Fermi scientist has transformed LAT data of a famous pulsar into a mesmerizing movie that visually encapsulates the spacecraft's complex motion.
Two Models of Black Hole Spin

NASA's NuSTAR Helps Solve Riddle of Black Hole Spin

02.27.2013
Two X-ray space observatories, NASA's NuSTAR and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton, have teamed up to measure the spin rate of a black hole with a mass 2 million times that of our sun.
This multiwavelength composite shows the supernova remnant IC 443, also known as the Jellyfish Nebula.

NASA's Fermi Proves Supernova Remnants Produce Cosmic Rays

02.14.2013
A new study using observations from Fermi reveals the first clear-cut evidence the expanding debris of exploded stars produces some of the fastest-moving matter in the universe.
More info
The Euclid spacecraft

NASA Goddard Team to Participate in Dark Energy Mission

02.12.2013
The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected three NASA-nominated science teams to participate in their planned Euclid mission, including one led by Goddard Space Flight Center.
[Companion release on the JPL team]
Photo of the scientists.

NASA scientists build first-ever wide-field X-ray imager

02.07.2013
Three NASA scientists teamed up to develop and demonstrate NASA's first wide-field-of-view soft X-ray camera for studying "charge exchange."
Balloon, ready to launch.

NASA Super-Tiger Balloon Shatters Flight Record

01.24.2013
Flying high over Antarctica, a NASA long duration balloon has broken the record for longest flight by a balloon of its size.
More info here.
Artist's comception of JWST

Webb Telescope Team Completes Optical Milestone

01.16.2013
Engineers working on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope met another milestone recently with they completed performance testing on the observatory's aft-optics subsystem.
composite of the giant barred spiral galaxy NGC 6872

NASA'S Galex Reveals The Largest-Known Spiral Galaxy

01.10.2013
The barred spiral galaxy NGC 6872 has ranked among the biggest stellar systems for decades. Now a team of astronomers has crowned it the largest-known spiral, based on archival data from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) mission.
Hubble image of Fomalhaut system

NASA's Hubble Reveals Rogue Planetary Orbit For Fomalhaut B

01.08.2013
Newly released NASA Hubble Space Telescope images of a vast debris disk encircling the nearby star Fomalhaut and a mysterious planet circling it may provide forensic evidence of a titanic planetary disruption in the system.
Astronomers have discovered what appears to be a large asteroid belt around the bright star Vega, as illustrated here at left in brown.

NASA, ESA Telescopes Find Evidence for Asteroid Belt Around Vega

01.08.2013
Astronomers have discovered what appears to be a large asteroid belt around the star Vega, the second brightest star in northern night skies.
spiral galaxy IC 342

NASA's NuSTAR Catches Black Holes in Galaxy Web

01.07.2013
NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, set its X-ray eyes on a spiral galaxy and caught the brilliant glow of two black holes lurking inside.
Fermi LAT image of gamma ray detections.

Galaxy's Gamma-Ray Flares Erupted Far From its Black Hole

01.07.2013
In 2011, a months-long blast of energy launched by an enormous black hole almost 11 billion years ago swept past Earth. Astronomers have zeroed in on the source of this ancient outburst.
plot of jet power and brightness

Study Reveals a Remarkable Symmetry in Black Hole Jets

12.13.2012
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.
This image composites XMM-Newton X-ray data onto an optical view of the Andromeda galaxy.

Astronomers Catch Jet from Binge-Eating Black Hole

12.12.2012
Back in January, a new X-ray source flared and rapidly brightened in the Andromeda galaxy (M31). It became the target of an intense observing campaign by orbiting X-ray telescopes -- including NASA's Swift.
HUDF

NASA'S Hubble Provides First Census of Galaxies Near Cosmic Dawn

12.12.2012
Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have uncovered a previously unseen population of seven primitive galaxies that formed more than 13 billion years ago, when the universe was less than 4 percent of its present age.
Lightning in the clouds

Fermi Improves its Vision for Thunderstorm Gamma-Ray Flashes

12.06.2012
Thanks to improved data analysis and a new operating mode, the GRB Monitor aboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is now 10 times better at catching the brief outbursts of high-energy light mysteriously produced above thunderstorms.
Photo of JWST's secondary mirror

Video Hails Arrival of 2 Different Webb Telescope Mirrors

11.28.2012
The sole secondary mirror and a third primary mirror segment that will fly aboard NASA's James Webb Space Telescope arrived on Nov. 5, 2012. A video of the mirrors arriving was released today that shows the arrival of both mirror segments and movement into a giant clean room.
                                                                                                                                                                                        
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  • Last Updated: 05/23/2013