Massive Gamma Blast Spotted

(NEWSER) - The 'Big Wave,' a new explanation for the universe's mysterious accelerating expansion, is sending ripples through the world of astronomy. According to the theory, the Big Bang set off a wave, or waves, that rippled outward through space-time, making distant galaxies appear to expand away from us. Mathematicians came up with the Big Wave as an alternative to the Dark Energy theory, Space.com reports. More»

Scientists speculate that the universe is winding down and could one day stop

(NEWSER) - Astronomers have been scratching their heads for years trying to figure out why exploding stars at the very edge of the universe seem to be moving faster than ones in the middle. Some theories say the acceleration is due to mysterious "dark energy,"but a new one posits that the stars aren't speeding up at all—but that time itself is slowing down. More»

Massive bubbles of energy stump astrophysicists

(NEWSER) - Scientists say they have discovered two vast and mysterious bubbles of gamma-ray energy coming from the center of our galaxy. The bubbles, which extend an incredible 25,000 light years above and below the galaxy's plane, were discovered by scientists analyzing data from NASA's Fermi telescope, the Los Angeles Times reports. "They're big, they're sharp-edged and they contain a lot of energy," one astrophysicist says. More»

Planck beams back microwave map of entire sky

(NEWSER) - The European Space Agency’s Planck space telescope has beamed back its first, much-anticipated image: a map of the entire sky, composed of microwave light. That bright line in the center of the image is our own Milky Way galaxy, and the lights surrounding it represent not stars but the vast clouds of energies between them. The most exciting part for scientists might be those mottled areas at the top and bottom of the image. More»

Gamma ray burst took 13 billion years to reach Earth

(NEWSER) - Astronomers have detected a cosmic object more distant than any ever seen: a gamma ray burst about 13 billion light-years from Earth. The massive, luminous burst occurred about 600 million years after the Big Bang—that is, when the universe was 4% of its current age—and only lasted for about 12 seconds. Scientists say the ancient burst allows an unprecedented view into the earliest days of the universe. More»