04.06.10- “Hot Jupiters” in Retrograde.

 
   A unique battery of telescopes is revealing an unusual feature in many exoplanetary systems. Earlier this year, the Royal Astronomical Society unveiled nine new exoplanets, transiting “hot Jupiters” that cross the face of their parent star as seen from Earth. No big deal nowadays, as the exoplanet count sits at 455 and climbing, and at [...]

30.10.09:The World’s Largest Telescope is Unveiled.

Move over Keck… the world’s largest telescope is now in service! The Gran Telescopio Canaris (GTC) was commissioned this summer on July 24th. Perched on La Palma island in the Canary Islands, this beast sports a 10.4-meter segmented mirror. This gives it a collection area over 6 square meters larger than contending 8 to 10 [...]

4.10.9:A Gamma-Ray Burst for the Record Books.

A Gamma-ray burst from the primordial universe sent astronomers reeling earlier this year with the most distant sighting yet. The burst was picked up by NASA’s Swift spacecraft on April 23, 2009 at 3:55 EDT. E-mails and instant messages flew to observatories around the globe as astronomers raced to pin-point the fading afterglow. Dubbed GRB [...]