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First Picture of Likely Planet around Sun-like Star

First Picture of Likely Planet around Sun-like Star

September 14, 2008

Astronomers have unveiled what is likely the first picture of a planet around a normal star similar to the Sun.

Probing a New Type of Stellar Explosion

Probing a New Type of Stellar Explosion

September 10, 2008

Astronomers have been puzzling over the engine behind the historical 1843 outburst of Eta Carinae since it happened, but new...

Twin Galaxies in a Gravitational Embrace

Twin Galaxies in a Gravitational Embrace

June 26, 2008

In what appears to be a masterful illusion, astronomers at Gemini Observatory have imaged two nearly identical spiral galaxies in...

Catching the Light of a Baby Supernova

Catching the Light of a Baby Supernova

May 21, 2008

Astronomers have observed the aftermath of spectacular stellar explosions known as supernovae before, but until now no one has witnessed...

Spectacular Star Cluster May Host Black Hole Missing Link

Spectacular Star Cluster May Host Black Hole Missing Link

April 2, 2008

The well-known naked-eye star cluster Omega Centauri may be home to an elusive intermediate-mass black hole. Observations made using Gemini...

Supernova Remnants Dance in the LMC

Supernova Remnants Dance in the LMC

January 8, 2008

The Gemini South Multi-Object Spectograph (GMOS) recently captured a dramatic image of a vast cloud complex named DEM L316 located...

Odd Little Star has Magnetic Personality

Odd Little Star has Magnetic Personality

November 28, 2007

A dwarf star with a surprisingly magnetic personality and a huge hot spot covering half its surface area is showing...

Astronomers Spot Evidence for Colliding Planet Embryos in Famous Star Cluster

Astronomers Spot Evidence for Colliding Planet Embryos in Famous Star Cluster

November 14, 2007

Astronomers have found evidence for the formation of young rocky planets around the star HD 23514 located in the well-known...

Charon: An Ice Machine in the Ultimate Deep Freeze

Charon: An Ice Machine in the Ultimate Deep Freeze

July 17, 2007

Frigid geysers spewing material up through cracks in the crust of Pluto’s companion Charon and recoating parts of its surface...

Discovery Narrows the Gap Between Planets and Brown Dwarfs

Discovery Narrows the Gap Between Planets and Brown Dwarfs

May 30, 2007

The coolest-known star-like object beyond the solar system is giving astronomers a new look at the differences between massive planets...

Featherweight Celestial Pair Has Uncertain Future Together

Featherweight Celestial Pair Has Uncertain Future Together

April 4, 2007

Astronomers have serendipitously discovered a record-breaking pair of low-mass objects with an extreme orbital separation. The petite objects, each of...

The Delicate Trails of Star Birth

The Delicate Trails of Star Birth

March 22, 2007

An image released today by the Gemini Observatory brings into focus a new and remarkably detailed view of supersonic "bullets"...

Some Rare Abnormal Stars may have White Dwarf Parents to Blame

Some Rare Abnormal Stars may have White Dwarf Parents to Blame

January 8, 2007

Astronomers have announced the discovery of huge quantities of an unusual variety of oxygen in two very rare types of...

Small Warm Doughnut Feeds Theories of Extragalactic Black Holes

Small Warm Doughnut Feeds Theories of Extragalactic Black Holes

January 8, 2007

Fundamental to theories describing active galactic nuclei (AGN) is the prediction that a doughnut-shaped ring of material (a torus) surrounds...

Gemini Captures Close Encounter of Jupiter's Red Spots

Gemini Captures Close Encounter of Jupiter's Red Spots

July 19, 2006

A high-resolution image released today by the Gemini Observatory shows Jupiter's two giant red spots brushing past one another in...

The Early Universe Is Dusty, And Astronomers Finally Know Why

The Early Universe Is Dusty, And Astronomers Finally Know Why

June 7, 2006

Massive star supernovae have been major "dust factories" ever since the first generations of stars formed several hundred million years...

Gemini Probes The Center Of Andromeda Galaxy With Unprecedented Clarity

Gemini Probes The Center Of Andromeda Galaxy With Unprecedented Clarity

June 4, 2006

These results were announced by two teams of researchers during a press conference at the meeting that also included the...

A Tale of Two Nebulae

A Tale of Two Nebulae

June 3, 2006

Two new images from Gemini Observatory released today at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Calgary, Canada, show a pair...

Companion Explains

Companion Explains "Chameleon" Supernova

May 2, 2006

Using the Gemini South telescope in Chile, Australian astronomers have found a predicted "companion" star left behind when its partner...

Gemini Images a

Gemini Images a "Shocking" Skull of Gas

April 6, 2006

A new Gemini Observatory image of NGC 246, nicknamed the "Skull Nebula," shows what can happen as the outer atmosphere...

Exploring the Inner Sanctum of the Supermassive Black Hole in NGC1097

Exploring the Inner Sanctum of the Supermassive Black Hole in NGC1097

January 3, 2006

The active galaxy NGC 1097 located about 47 million light-years away.

Gemini Looks Down the Mouth of an Interstellar Cavern

Gemini Looks Down the Mouth of an Interstellar Cavern

January 3, 2006

A storm of billowing clouds blown by the winds from massive stars, and set aglow by their light, is the...

Cracks or Cryovolcanoes?

Cracks or Cryovolcanoes?

October 20, 2005

Like the little engine that could, geologic activity on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan–maybe outgassing cracks and perhaps icy...

Mauna Kea Giants Find Common Nursery for Comets

Mauna Kea Giants Find Common Nursery for Comets

September 15, 2005

When NASA’s Deep Impact mission ploughed into comet 9P/Tempel 1 on July 4th of this year, the giant telescopes on...

Dusty Old Star Offers Window to Our Future, Astronomers Report

Dusty Old Star Offers Window to Our Future, Astronomers Report

September 8, 2005

Astronomers have glimpsed dusty debris around an essentially dead star where gravity and radiation should have long ago removed any...

A Chinese Dragon and a Knotted Galactic Embrace

A Chinese Dragon and a Knotted Galactic Embrace

August 26, 2005

The Gemini Observatory released a pair of images today that capture the dynamics of two very different interactions in space....

Gemini Uncovers 'Lost City' of Stars

Gemini Uncovers 'Lost City' of Stars

August 10, 2005

Like archaeologists unearthing a 'lost city,' astronomers using the 8-meter Gemini South telescope have revealed that the galaxy NGC 300...

Gemini Observatory Shows That

Gemini Observatory Shows That "10th Planet" Has a Pluto-Like Surface

July 29, 2005

Gemini Observatory has obtained a preliminary spectrum of 2003 UB313, the so-called "10th planet". These observations were obtained on January...

Dustiest Star Could Harbor a Young Earth

Dustiest Star Could Harbor a Young Earth

July 20, 2005

A relatively young star located about 300 light-years away is greatly improving our understanding of the formation of Earth-like planets.

Amateur Astronomers Travel Deep Into Stellar Cocoon Using Gemini

Amateur Astronomers Travel Deep Into Stellar Cocoon Using Gemini

May 17, 2005

Using a giant telescope on Mauna Kea Hawaii is a dream for most amateur sky watchers. Recently a Canadian amateur...