23.05.10-Are Black Holes the Key to Dark Matter?

An artist’s conception of a gas torus surrounding a super-massive black hole. (Credit: V.Beckmann/NASA).
   For the past few decades, astronomers have been hot on the trail of the “missing” part of our universe. About 23 percent of our universe appears to be comprised of dark matter, non-luminous material that gives itself away only via gravitational interaction. [...]

11.05.10: Ancient Galaxy Mergers.

 
   Astronomers may have found a cosmological missing link in the realm of galactic evolution. The early universe was a crowded place; galaxy mergers must have been much more common in the primeval universe than they are today. But studying those early collisions has been problematic; the immense distances involved over time and space mean [...]

Astro-Challenge of the Week: Can you Spot the Brightest Quasar?

The luminous jet of 3C 273 in X-rays.
   This week, we here at Astroguyz are going to show you how to go after that most elusive of beasts; a quasar. Even seasoned amateurs do not always realize that some of the brighter denizens of this elusive class of beasts are bag-able with a telescope of moderate-sized [...]

02.05.10- Star-birth in the Early Universe.

A comparision of an ancient spiral galaxy in visible (left) and Infrared (right).
   Astronomers are shedding new light across the spectrum on an old cosmological mystery. It’s well documented that the rate of star formation today is much less than what it was early on in the history of the universe; what isn’t completely understood is [...]

Review: The Five Ages of the Universe by Fred Adams and Greg Laughlin.

  
   This week, we’re going to look at a classic book on cosmology that is both fascinating and frightening. About 10 years ago, I read the Five Ages of the Universe by Fred Adams and Greg Laughlin.  This book built upon information gathered in the swiftly growing field of cosmology, a science that has just come [...]

12 Amazing Moments in Science.

 

Edwin Hubble in the archetypal astronomer pose! (Credit: NASA Quest).

 
   Let it be known that this post did indeed start with 12… whenever someone mentions the most exalted achievements of mankind, the topic usually comes around to science. Along with our art and music, we’re the only animals that will know of that routinely apply [...]

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