News
Science News
Astronomers See Historical Supernova From New Angle
MAUNA KEA, HI— By observing visible “light echoes,” astronomers have assembled one of the first 3-D perspectives of a cosmic object. The new view of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A confirms that it formed during a lopsided explosion. “Light echoes allow us to conduct forensic studies of stars that exploded long ago, before modern astronomical […]
Read More >
Keck Telescope Confirms Smallest Known Star Duo
Mauna Kea, HI — Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory have identified the smallest known binary system to date. The system, called HM Cancri, consists of two dead stars that revolve around each other in 5.4 minutes, by far the shortest known orbital period of any pair of stars. The team, led by Gijs […]
Read More >
Second Smallest Exoplanet Found to Date Discovered at Keck
WASHINGTON D.C.— Planet hunters using Keck Observatory have detected an extrasolar planet that is only four times the mass of Earth. The planet is the second smallest exoplanet ever discovered and adds to astronomers’ growing cadre of low mass planets called super-Earths. “This is quite a remarkable discovery,” said astronomer Andrew Howard of the University […]
Read More >
Waltzing Black Holes Take Center Stage at Astronomy Meeting
WASHINGTON D.C.—Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory have discovered 33 pairs of black holes in distant galaxies. The new results verify that these waltzing black holes are more common than previously observed. Nearly every galaxy has a central, supermassive black hole, typically with a mass of a million to a billion times the mass […]
Read More >
Keck Telescopes Take Deeper Look at Planetary Nurseries
MAUNA KEA, HI—Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory have peered far into a young planetary system, giving an unprecedented view of dust and gas that might eventually form worlds similar to Jupiter, Venus or even Earth. “Because the gas, dust and debris that orbit young stars provide the raw materials for planets, probing the […]
Read More >
First Super-Earths Discovered Around Sun-Like Stars
MAUNA KEA, HI—Planet hunters using the W. M. Keck Observatory have identified at least six low-mass planets around two nearby, Sun-like stars. Two of the planets are five and 7.5 times the mass of Earth. These “super-Earths” are the first low mass planets found orbiting stars similar to the Sun. The latest discoveries probe a […]
Read More >
Keck Observatory’s Interferometer Takes Closer look at Supermassive Black Holes
MAUNA KEA, HI—Astronomers at the W. M. Keck Observatory are using a technique called interferometry to provide new information about central black hole systems in galaxies. Makoto Kishimoto, of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, and an international team of collaborators successfully observed four active galactic nuclei systems with the Keck […]
Read More >
First of its Kind Superbright Supernova
Berkeley, Calif. – A discovery of an extraordinarily bright, extraordinarily long-lasting supernova named SN 2007bi turns out to be the first known example of the earliest types of stars that populated the Universe. The unusually luminous supernova could provide astronomers with clues about the earliest stars in the cosmos and could be the first of […]
Read More >
A Galactic “fossil” in the core of the Milky Way
KAMUELA, HI—Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory and the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope have identified two distinct groups of stars within the Milky Way Galaxy’s globular cluster Terzan 5. The two stellar populations have different ages and iron abundances, which are rare features among globular clusters, suggesting that Terzan 5 could be […]
Read More >Rapid Supernova Could be New Class of Exploding Star
BERKELEY, CA—An unusual supernova rediscovered in seven-year-old data taken at the W. M. Keck Observatory and Lick Observatory may be the first example of a new type of exploding star, possibly in a binary star system where helium flows from one white dwarf onto another and detonates in a thermonuclear explosion. In a paper first […]
Read More >
