Astrophysics

Brightest Galaxy Ever Seen With Gravity Lens Shines in Hubble Photo

6 Feb 2012

A fluke of astrophysics has revealed what scientists are calling the brightest galaxy ever seen through a cosmic "zoom lens," NASA officials say.

Scientists map Milky Way's magnetic field in highest resolution yet

6 Feb 2012

A team of scientists led by the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA) has produced the highest resolution map of the Milky Way's magnetic field ever produced. The map pools over 41,000 measurements from across 26 projects. "The resulting database is equivalent to peppering the entire sky with sources separated by an angular distance of two full moons," said Dr. Tracy Clarke of the Naval ...

NASA Spacecraft Reveals New Observations of Interstellar Matter

5 Feb 2012

In a series of science papers appearing in the Astrophysics Journal , scientists report finding 74 oxygen atoms for every 20 neon atoms in the interstellar wind. In our own solar system, there are 111 oxygen atoms for every 20 neon atoms.