Astronomers

This illustration provided by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics shows artist's renderings of planets Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f compared with Venus and the Earth. Scientists have found the two Earth-sized planets orbiting a distant star, an encouraging sign for prospects of finding life elsewhere. The discovery shows that such planets exist and that they can be detected by the Kepler spacecraft, said Francois Fressin of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. They’re the smallest planets found so far outside the solar system. Scientists are seeking Earth-sized planets as potential homes for extraterrestrial life, said Fressin, who reports the new findings in a paper published online Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2011 by the journal Nature. (AP Photo/Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)

Two Earth-sized planets discovered

Last updated Wednesday, December 21, 2011 - 11:04am

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- NASA's Kepler mission has found the first Earth-size planets orbiting a sun-like star outside our solar system. But they're too hot to support liquid water -- or life.

Features, Astronomers, Planets, Science, Solar system, Space, NASA     Read more     Comments
(NICK SHORT/Standard-Examiner) Dayna Urquhart (left) and Jim Urquhart photograph Balanced Rock with the stars in the background in April in Arches National Park near Moab.

Stargazers, parks officials hope to save the night

Last updated Saturday, October 1, 2011 - 9:57pm

CEDAR CITY — Gazing skyward from his backyard, longtime Southern Utah resident Abe Heck used to marvel at the Milky Way. Now he can’t even see it.

Astronomers, Astronomy, Bryce Canyon National Park, Development, Economy, Land development, National Parks, Southern Utah, Tourism, Utah, Zion National Park, Featured     Read more     Comments

Astronomers witness star being consumed by black hole

Last updated Thursday, August 25, 2011 - 8:32am

For the first time ever, astronomers say they've borne witness to a supermassive black hole consuming a star.

Two papers released Wednesday by the journal Nature describe powerful blasts of radiation whose brightness and behavior can only be explained by a Sun-sized star being torn apart by the gravitational forces of a black hole at the center of its galaxy, the authors say.

Features, Astronomers, Astronomy, Science, Space     Read more     Comments
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