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How Old Am I? Star Cluster Perplexes Astronomers

Ever have one of those moments when you can't remember how old you are? A group of astronomers may have felt they were having a "senior moment" when they couldn't seem to figure out exactly the age of stars in the open star cluster NGC 6791, located in the constellation Lyra. Conventional thinking among astronomers is that stars in open clusters form at the same time, but in this particular cluster, researchers found stars at three different ages: one group of white dwarf stars appeared to be 4 billion years old, a second group of white dwarfs seemed to 6 billion years old, while the other regular stars were calculated to be 8 billion years of age. The astronomers say this dilemma may fundamentally challenge the way astronomers estimate cluster ages.

Astronomers Discover Three New Planets

European astronomers have found a trio of "super-Earths" (not pictured) closely circling a star that astronomers once figured had nothing orbiting it, demonstrating that planets keep popping up in unexpected places. (AP Photo/NASA/ESA)

Astronomers baffled by weird pulsar

An exotic star has been discovered orbiting around another star like the sun, baffling astronomers.An exotic star has been discovered orbiting around another star like the sun, baffling astronomers.

New "Sunglasses" Help Astronomers See Light Near Black Holes

Although we can't actually see a black hole, we can see the black hole's effect on nearby matter. But even that is difficult because infrared light from clouds of dust and gas usually pollutes the view. But astronomers have found a way to get a clean view of the disks surrounding black holes by using a polarizing filter in the infrared. This technique works in particular when the region immediately surrounding the black hole emits a small amount of scattered light. Since scattered light is polarized, astronomers can use a filter that works like polarized sunglasses on large telescopes to detect this small amount of scattered light and measure it with unprecedented accuracy. Scientists have theorized these luminous disks existed around black holes, but until now have not been able to observe them.

Astronomers banking on new tech to trace ETs

Astronomers are banking on a promising new technology to trace extra-terrestrials in the same way that one locates “a needle in a haystack”.

Astronomers banking on new tech to trace ETs

Astronomers are banking on a promising new technology to trace extra-terrestrials in the same way that one locates a needle in a haystack.

Astronomers Suggest Looking for Aliens That Have Already Found Us

Astronomers are suggesting a new approach for finding advanced alien civilizations: look in the areas of the sky where the aliens would have the easiest time detecting us.

Astronomers Weigh The Coldest Brown Dwarfs With Astronomy's Sharpest Eyes

Astronomers have used ultrasharp images obtained with the Keck Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope to determine for the first time the masses of the coldest class of "failed stars," a.k.a. brown dwarfs. With masses as light as 3 percent the mass of the sun, these are the lowest mass free-floating objects ever weighed outside the solar system. The observations are a major step in testing the theoretical predictions of objects that cannot generate their own internal energy, both brown dwarfs and gas-giant planets. The new findings, which are being presented June 2 at the American Astronomical Society meeting in St. Louis, show that the predictions may have some problems.

Astronomers Capture Star Exploding

Astronomers have witnessed for the first time a star at the very moment it exploded as a supernova. This supernova, in a nearby galaxy, produced a burst of X-rays that lasted 10 minutes and signaled the death of the star. Soon, telescopes around the world focused in on this event to capture X-rays, radio waves and visible light from the dying star.

Astronomers baffled by 'super fast star'

Astronomers have been baffled by the discovery of a star that lies 20,000 light-years away, spinning at a rate of 465 revolutions per second - the fifth fastest-spinning pulsar known in our Galaxy. The super fast pulsar, called J1903+0327, was detected with the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico.

Astronomers baffled by 'super fast star'

Astronomers have been baffled by the discovery of a star that lies 20,000 light-years away, spinning at a rate of 465 revolutions per second - the fifth fastest-spinning pulsar known in our Galaxy. The super fast pulsar, called J1903+0327, was detected with the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico.

Astronomers use new model of dust in galaxies to remeasure the total energy output of stars in the universe

Astronomers use new model of dust in galaxies to remeasure the total energy output of stars in the universe

Astronomers find young exploding star in Milky Way

Astronomers have located the youthful remains of a stellar explosion that sent out powerful shock waves and lighted our galaxy with a blinding flash about 140 years ago.

Astronomers Up to Speed

Australian astronomers have successfully bid for a 10 Gb/s data link across the US. The link will be used to demonstrate the practicality of moving the enormous amounts of data produced by major telescopes over large distances. "This wilt be important for demonstrating techniques that will be used for the international Square Kilometre Array radio telescope (AS, April 2008, pp.20-22)," said Prof Brian Boyle, Director of CSIRO's Australia Telescope National Facility. The link is ten times as fast as the one used by the ATNF to transmit data on Supernova 1987a to Europe in real time (AS, Jan/Feb 2008, p-43).

Astronomers mystified by 'weird' star

Washington - Astronomers are puzzled by the discovery of a pulsar with an unusual orbit never before seen in similar fast-spinning neutron stars that beam regular pulses of radio waves.

Astronomers Determine Path Of Radio Waves

U.S. astronomers have determined that radio waves generated by solar particles high above the Earth travel into space in a narrow plane.

Astronomers find planetary system with three super-earths

Garching, Germany - Astronomers said Monday they have detected a distant planetary system with three planets not much bigger than our Earth, one of the most promising discoveries ever in the hunt for life in outer space. Unlike most of the 300 so-called exo-planets discovered in the past 13 years, the trio are small enough to perhaps have rocky surfaces. Most of the 300 have been huge gas planets such Jupiter and Saturn, which cannot sustain life as we know it.

Astronomers update our galaxy's structure

Teams of astronomers studying the Milky Way using infrared and radio waves presented an updated view of our galaxy's structure June 3 at the American Astronomical Society meeting in St. Louis. Among the findings is the discovery of a long suspected inner spiral arm and recognition that the Milky Way contains two main arms, rather than four.

Astronomers upgrade Schmidt telescope

U.S. astronomers say they've upgraded the instrumentation used in the Burrell Schmidt telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, expanding its view.

Astronomers Upgrade Schmidt Telescope

U.S. astronomers say they've upgraded the instrumentation used in the Burrell Schmidt telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, expanding its view.

Astronomers upgrade Schmidt telescope

U.S. astronomers say they've upgraded the instrumentation used in the Burrell Schmidt telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, expanding its view.

Astronomers mystified by 'weird' star

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Astronomers are puzzled by the discovery of a pulsar with an unusual orbit never before seen in similar fast-spinning neutron stars that beam regular pulses of radio waves.

Astronomers baffled by weird, fast-spinning pulsar

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Astronomers are baffled after finding an exotic type of star called a pulsar apparently locked in an elongated orbit around a star much like the sun -- an arrangement defying what had been known about such objects.

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