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Spiral Galaxies Much Larger and More Massive Than Previously Believed

Let’s all fist bump: Spiral galaxies like our own Milky Way appear to be much larger and more massive than previously believed, according to a new University of Colorado Boulder study by researchers using the Hubble Space Telescope.

28 Jun 2013

New Laws in Quantum Thermodynamics

Our present understanding of thermodynamics is fundamentally incorrect if applied to small systems and needs to be modified, according to new research from University College London (UCL) and the University of Gdañsk. The work establishes new laws in the rapidly emerging field of quantum thermodynamics.

28 Jun 2013

Strong Suppression of Quantum Noise May Improve Performance of Interferometers

Researchers from Vienna University of Technology have built a new interferometer for trapped, ultracold atomic gases. By strongly suppressing the quantum noise, which ultimately limits the performance of interferometers, they were able to curb the effect of atomic interactions, and increase the interrogation time of their interferometer. This should yield more precise measurements.

28 Jun 2013

Vast Outlying Orbital Space Around Many Stars Largely Devoid of Gas-Giant Planets

Gemini Observatory’s Planet-Finding Campaign finds that, around many types of stars, distant gas-giant planets are rare and prefer to cling close to their parent stars. The impact on theories of planetary formation could be significant.

28 Jun 2013

Voyager 1 Spacecraft Closer to Reach Interstellar Space

Data from Voyager 1, now more than 11 billion miles from the sun, suggest the spacecraft is closer to becoming the first human-made object to reach interstellar space.

28 Jun 2013

CU-Boulder Joins Ambitious Effort to Map the Celestial Sky in Three Dimensions

The University of Colorado Boulder has become a full institutional member of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-IV, an ambitious effort by some of the world’s top astronomers to map the celestial sky in three dimensions to learn more about the structure and evolution of the universe.

27 Jun 2013

Planets Can Develop in Crowded Clusters Jam-Packed With Stars

All stars begin their lives in groups. Most stars, including our Sun, are born in small, benign groups that quickly fall apart. Others form in huge, dense swarms that survive for billions of years as stellar clusters. Within such rich and dense clusters, stars jostle for room with thousands of neighbors while strong radiation and harsh stellar winds scour interstellar space, stripping planet-forming materials from nearby stars.

27 Jun 2013

Radio Telescope Detects Raw Material for Making the First Stars in Galaxies

The telescope is CSIRO's Australia Telescope Compact Array telescope near Narrabri, NSW. "It one of very few telescopes in the world that can do such difficult work, because it is both extremely sensitive and can receive radio waves of the right wavelengths," says CSIRO astronomer Professor Ron Ekers.

27 Jun 2013

Sound Sculptor to Explore World’s Largest Particle Accelerator

The second winner of Prix Ars Electronica Collide @ CERN, American sound sculptor, Bill Fontana2, begins his arts residency at CERN3 on 4 July 2013. Matching a great artist with a great scientist, Bill Fontana will start working with theorist Subodh Patil, his science inspiration partner during his time at CERN.

27 Jun 2013

Seven Worlds Orbit Nearby Star

An international team of astronomers has found that a nearby star previously thought to host two or three planets is in fact orbited by six or seven worlds, including an unprecedented three to five “super-Earths” in its habitable zone, where conditions could be right for life.

26 Jun 2013