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Space & Cosmology

Supermassive black hole

Vast stars fed biggest black holes

Thursday, 5 November 2009

Stars more than one million times as massive as the Sun may be more stable than astronomers thought, and have created seeds that grew into the largest supermassive black holes.


Prominent galaxy structure

Astronomers see universe's cosmic skeleton

Wednesday, 4 November 2009

Astronomers in Chile and Japan have for the first time seen part of the "cosmic web" of galaxies that permeates the known universe in a gigantic assembly some seven billion light-years from Earth.


Artist's impression of SMOS

New probe to help predict extreme weather

Tuesday, 3 November 2009

A water tracking satellite launched by the European Space Agency is designed to help give faster predictions of floods and other extreme weather incidents caused by climate change.


GRB 090423

Gamma-ray burst is the most distant object ever observed

Friday, 30 October 2009

It took 13 billion years to reach Earth, but astronomers have seen the light of an exploding mega-star that is the most distant object ever detected, two studies report.


John O'Sullivan

Wireless tech wins Prime Minister's Prize

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

Thirty years after creating the technology that led to the wireless network, a CSIRO engineer has been rewarded for the discovery with the 2009 Prime Minister's Prize for Science.


Spruce forest

Cosmic rays speed up tree growth

Tuesday, 27 October 2009

Cosmic rays, which constantly strike the Earth and are regulated by the solar wind, may influence how fast trees grow, according to British research.


Galileo's telescope

How Galileo's spy glass upended science

Monday, 26 October 2009

It would hardly pass as a toy today, but the telescope Galileo used 400 years ago this week, changed our perception of the universe and our place within it.


Mammoth

Did Dryas comet really kill off mammoth?

Friday, 23 October 2009

Debate on a comet impact 12,900 years ago, and whether it is linked to mass extinctions of large mammals and early humans in North America reopened this week.


Asteroid belt

Jupiter shift pelted inner planets with asteroids

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

A shift in Jupiter's orbit early in the life of the Solar System dislodged thousands of rocks from the Asteroid Belt, causing them to hit Earth and the inner planets.


Black hole

Lasers simulate black hole in the lab

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

The extreme conditions found around black holes and other very dense objects can be recreated in the laboratory with powerful lasers, physicists say.


Gliese 667 C

Astronomers discover 32 new planets

Tuesday, 20 October 2009

Astronomers have announced the discovery of 32 new planets outside our Solar System, some of them only a few times larger than Earth.


ISS

Atomic space clock to test laws of physics

Friday, 16 October 2009

In 2013 scientists will send an atomic clock into orbit. But without a matching clock in Australia, there could be crucial gaps in data, an expert warns.


IBEX

IBEX probe maps outer Solar System

Friday, 16 October 2009

A NASA probe exploring the outer edges of the Solar System has helped scientists create the first map of this little-understood region of space 16 billion km from Earth.


Europa

Jupiter moon’s ocean is rich in oxygen

Tuesday, 13 October 2009

The globe-spanning ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa contains about twice the liquid water of all Earth’s oceans combined, says a new study, which finds it’s packed with oxygen which could support life.


Mega-ring

Tiny moon feeds largest ring around Saturn

Thursday, 8 October 2009

Stunned astronomers have discovered a new mega-ring around Saturn and believe its genesis is a small, distant moon.