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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: star

star stories: 20 news summaries

 Farthest-Ever Star Blast 
 From Ancient Cosmos 

Gamma ray burst took 13 billion years to reach Earth

Oct 29, 09 8:09 AM CDT
(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... More »

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NASA • astronomy • star • Big Bang • universe • gamma rays


 New Planet 
 Expected to 
 Crash and Burn 

It defies laws of physics

Aug 27, 09 10:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists in the UK have discovered a planet that defies the laws of physics, the Independent reports. WASP-18b, which is orbiting a star 1,000 light years from Earth, is so big and close to the sun that it should be pulled toward it. "The spin of the star... More »

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planet • star • sun • physics • exoplanet • Jupiter • orbit • University of St. Andrews • WASP-18b

(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... More »

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NASA • space • star • sun • black hole • universe • galaxy • space telescope

 Scientists Spot End of World 

Remains of solar systems discovered around dead stars

Apr 21, 09 2:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - Astronomers looking at dead stars trillions of miles away believe they have glimpsed Earth's eventual fate, the Times of London reports. The scientists found that many white dwarfs—stars that swelled, burned out, and collapsed—are surrounded by a dust they think is the remnants of planets like ours destroyed... More »

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planet • dwarf star • star • Earth • Spitzer orbiting telescope • solar system • outer space

(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... More »

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astronomy • planet • space • star • Spitzer orbiting telescope • exoplanet • asteroid belt • Epsilon Eridani

 Light Pollution Veils Starry Skies

Obscured night sky could be a health hazard

Jul 25, 08 2:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - Dark skies are being engulfed by light all over the world, creating some unexpected consequences, the Wall Street Journal reports. Over two-thirds of the world's people— including nearly all Americans—can no longer see "what is possibly the most extraordinary natural wonder," said one astronomer. The amount of... More »

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star • light • stargazing • urbanization • night sky • fluorescent light

CNBC Focuses on Fresh Face
of Biz News

Erin Burnett's network tests new formula
for creating a star

Jul 20, 08 10:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - Since Jim Cramer and Maria Bartiromo became breakout stars for CNBC, the network has been trying to cultivate more of the sort of talent that draws a devoted viewership. Erin Burnett, 32, has enjoyed one of those carefully crafted career trajectories, moving from writer to co-anchor in just weeks. The... More »

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business • star • CNBC • news anchor • Erin Burnett

 Stargazers Witness
 Birth of Supernova 

Astronomers first ever to see star's explosive death throes

May 22, 08 3:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - A  pair of Princeton astronomers have become the first people ever to witness the explosive death of a star, Space.com reports. The pair were observing another supernova in its later stages when they happened to spot a huge burst of X-rays 90 million light years away. Astronomers believe their... More »

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NASA • astronomy • star • supernova • galaxy

 Youngest
 Supernova Discovered 

Exploding star found in Milky Way

May 15, 08 3:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have discovered the remains of the youngest exploding star, or supernova, ever seen in the Milky Way, shedding new light on the life cycles of stars. The baby supernova G1.9+0.3 is a mere 140 years old, reports National Geographic. Supernovas are a vital component of galaxy development... More »

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astronomy • star • Milky Way • astrophysics • galaxy • supernovas • SNRs • Large Magellanic Cloud • Cassiopeia A

 Black Mini Still Has
 Hole Lotta Power 

15-mile-wide black hole is smallest ever found

Apr 2, 08 10:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - Astronomers have spotted the smallest black hole ever discovered, Reuters reports. It is just 15 miles across—the size of a city—but still has a pull strong enough to "stretch your body into a strand of spaghetti," said a NASA researcher. The relative pipsqueak weighs about as... More »

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NASA • astronomy • space • star • black hole • Milky Way

 Exploding Star
 Brightest Object Ever Seen

Brightest object ever observed by humans

Mar 22, 08 9:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - Light from a star that exploded billions of years before the Earth was formed have been spotted by terrestrial astronomers, Space.com reports. The gamma-ray burst from halfway across the universe was the most distant object ever seen by the naked eye, and the brightest object ever observed by humans.... More »

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NASA • astronomy • star • universe • Arthur C. Clarke • gamma rays

Black Hole Smashes Record

Astronomers puzzled by all-time heaviest 'small' black hole

Oct 31, 07 6:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - A newly discovered stellar-mass black hole shatters the weight record for holes formed from dying stars—and defies explanation by current theories. Faced with its mysterious heft,  astrophysicists can only conclude that stellar-mass black holes "can be much larger than we had realized," Space.com reports. More »

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NASA • star • physics • black hole • universe • astrophysics

Orion Nebula Closer to Us

Famous stellar nursery 300 light-years nearer to Earth than thought

Oct 11, 07 9:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - The famed Orion Nebula is the closest stellar nursery to Earth, and it's even nearer than scientists previously thought, a study finds. Researchers had pinned it at about 1,565 light years away 25 years ago, but using multiple telescope shots to create a "virtual telescope" as wide as... More »

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space • star • astrophysics • Orion Nebula • Very Long Baseline Array • parallax

Google Takes Map Program
to the Stars

Google Sky will boot
up computer-chair
space exploration

Aug 22, 07 12:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Launching off of the success of Google Earth, Google launched a new program today allowing armchair astronomers to chuck the telescope and gaze at the heavens from their monitors. Google Sky will harness Hubble photos along with a database of information, and feature more than one million stars and 200... More »

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NASA • Google • Google Earth • Hubble • space • star • Google Sky • Space Agreement Act • Imaginova

Dying Star Unlocks Life Cycle Mystery

Comet-like tail supports theory that shed matter creates stars

Aug 16, 07 3:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - Astronomers have recently spotted a dying red giant star trailing material knocked off by winds  created by its high-speed orbit, providing an important clue to the life cycle of stars. Scientists have long theorized that the detritus of old stars become the seeds for new ones, but they've never before... More »

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NASA • space • star • red giant • Mira

Comet Dust Will Light Sky

Aug 11, 07 1:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - Comet debris will light up the sky tomorrow night and Monday morning with shooting stars as Earth passes through the Perseid meteor shower. For the best view, pick a dark spot away from city lights and look east, says the Discovery Channel. "It's going to be a great show,... More »

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NASA • Mars • space • star • atmosphere • Perseus • Perseids • meteors • meteor shower • shooting stars • comet • Swift Tuttle

Most Massive Star Ever Weighs In

Astronomers say hefty gas giant is 100 times heavier than the sun

Jun 8, 07 6:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - The most massive star yet discovered has been "weighed," astronomers say, and it tips the scales at a whopping 114 times the mass of the sun. The enormous star forms the bigger half of a rapidly orbiting binary system and it far outstrips both its companion star and... More »

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NASA • astronomy • Hubble • space • star • sun

Scientists Find Cold Dwarf Star

Failed star has temperature a tenth of the sun's

Jun 5, 07 8:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists are over the moon with the discovery of a cold brown dwarf in the Cetus constellation. The star-like body, spotted by a British team using the UKIRT telescope in Hawaii, is the coldest of its kind ever seen, the BBC reports, tipping thermometers at just 800 degrees F, a... More »

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space exploration • planet • space • dwarf star • telescope • star • Cetus • discovery

Hubble Finds Dark Matter

May 15, 07 8:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Astronomers have discovered a ring of dark matter in a galaxy cluster about 5 billion light years away. The Hubble Telescope turned up an anomaly in the way stars in the area appear, which researchers think is a distortion caused by the intense gravity of the galactic "glue" holding... More »

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astronomy • Hubble • space • star • dark matter • gravity

(Newser) - Researchers are reporting the biggest stellar explosion ever recorded—a discovery which could shed light on how the universe was shaped. The star, 150 times more massive than the sun, went out with a bang 100 times more powerful than typical supernovas. Astronomers think the first stars after the Big... More »

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NASA • space • star • stellar explosion • physics • supernova • Big Bang • black hole • Milky Way

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