Orion Nebula Closer to Us

Historic images reveal high-def surface, flares

(NEWSER) - NASA has released astounding new photos and videos of the sun for the first time revealing high definition, close-up views of the solar surface and exploding flares. The images were captured by the space telescope of the Solar Dynamics Observatory, and are providing historic new insight into sun mechanics, notes the Melbourne Herald Sun . More»

(NEWSER) - A monstrous black hole near the center of a distant galaxy is sucking up stars, gas and dust, and spitting out baby stars, NASA scientists have discovered. The black hole is 100 million times the mass of the sun, reports the Telegraph. It lies at the center of a galaxy 50 million light years away known as NGC-1097, and has been photographed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope in California. More»

Explosion had force of 9,000 supernovas

(NEWSER) - The strongest-ever gamma ray blast—a burst more powerful than 9,000 exploding stars—has been detected 12.2 billion light years away in deep space, reports the Telegraph. The blast took place in September in the constellation Carina, and produced energy up to 5 billion times that of light. Astronomers believe that gamma ray bursts occur when stars exhaust their nuclear fuel and collapse. More»

(NEWSER) - A nearby solar system looks a lot like ours, complete with newly identified asteroid belts, gas giants, and a similarly sized sun, Space.com reports. The star at the center of the system is visible without magnification, and scientists say they can infer the presence of planets in a zone whose conditions would be hospitable to life. "This system probably looks a lot like ours did when life first took root on Earth," a researcher tells McClatchy. More»

New forms of extreme bacteria fuel hope for extraterrestrial life

(NEWSER) - Humans have always wondered about the possibility of alien life somewhere out there. And while scientists seem to agree that the discovery of extraterrestrials will not happen soon, growing numbers are convinced it will happen. The search is being fueled in part by recent discoveries of strange new life forms on Earth, which is raising scientists' hope for similar types of life on other planets, reports the Washington Post. More»