http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/ This site is intended for students age 14 and up, and for anyone interested in learning about our universe. http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/02apr08.html Using a new technique, two NASA scientists have identified the lightest known black hole. With a mass only about 3.8 times greater than our Sun and a diameter of only 15 miles, the black hole lies very close to the minimum size predicted for black holes that originate from dying stars. Wed, 02 April 2008 14:24:00 EDT id_27 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/21mar08.html A powerful stellar explosion detected March 19 by NASA's Swift satellite has shattered the record for the most distant object that could be seen with the naked eye. Fri, 21 March 2008 11:05:00 EDT id_26 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/10mar08.html NASA released this week five years of data collected by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). These data refine our understanding of the universe and its development. Mon, 10 March 2008 14:00:00 EDT id_25 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/26feb08.html Combining 39 individual frames taken over 11 hours of exposure time, NASA astronomers have created this ultraviolet mosaic of the nearby Triangulum Galaxy. "This is the most detailed ultraviolet image of an entire galaxy ever taken," says Stefan Immler of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Immler used NASA's Swift satellite to take the images, and he then assembled them into a mosaic that seamlessly covers the entire galaxy. Tue, 26 February 2008 14:45:00 EDT id_24 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/19dec07.html A powerful jet from a super massive black hole is blasting a nearby galaxy, according to new findings from NASA observatories. This never-before witnessed galactic violence may have a profound effect on planets in the jet's path and trigger a burst of star formation in its destructive wake. Wed, 19 December 2007 9:42:00 EDT id_23 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/31oct07.html Using two NASA satellites, astronomers have discovered the heftiest known black hole to orbit a star. The new black hole, with a mass 24 to 33 times that of our Sun, is more massive than scientists expected for a black hole that formed from a dying star. Wed, 31 October 2007 13:39:00 EDT id_22 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/27sep07.html In the Star Wars movies fictional planets are covered with forests, oceans, deserts, and volcanoes. But new models from a team of MIT, NASA, and Carnegie scientists begin to describe an even wider range of Earth-size planets that astronomers might actually be able to find in the near future. Thu, 27 September 2007 13:55:00 EDT id_21 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/12sep07.html Using NASA's Swift and Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) satellites, astronomers have discovered one of the most bizarre planet-mass objects ever found. Wed, 12 September 2007 13:20:00 EDT id_20 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/27aug07.html Using European and Japanese/NASA X-ray satellites, astronomers have seen Einstein's predicted distortion of space-time around three neutron stars, and in doing so they have pioneered a groundbreaking technique for determining the properties of these ultradense objects. Mon, 27 August 2007 13:47:00 EDT id_19 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/bios/roberge/roberge.html Have you ever thought it would be fun to look for new planets around distant stars? Dr. Aki Roberge is lucky enough to do just that. Mon, 06 August 2007 17:03:00 EDT id_18 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/teachers/hera/what.html College Hera guides students through a self-assessed series of activities, starting with practice interpreting light curves for binary systems. Fri, 03 August 2007 10:46:00 EDT id_17 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/30jul07.html An international team of astronomers using NASA's Swift satellite and the Japanese/U.S. Suzaku X-ray observatory has discovered a new class of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Mon, 30 July 2007 14:46:00 EDT id_16 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/13jul07.html A scorching-hot gas planet beyond our solar system is steaming up with water vapor, according to new observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Fri, 13 July 2007 09:18:00 EDT id_15 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/27jun07.html Two astrophysicists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., Nikolai Shaposhnikov and Lev Titarchuk, have successfully tested a new method for determining the masses of black holes. Wed, 27 June 2007 13:53:00 EDT id_14 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/16may07.html Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have discovered a ghostly ring of dark matter that formed long ago during a titanic collision between two galaxy clusters. Dark matter makes up most of the physical material in the universe's material, while ordinary matter, which makes up stars and planets, comprises only a small percentage. The ring's discovery is among the strongest evidence yet that dark matter exists. Wed, 16 May 2007 15:30:00 EDT id_13 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/09may07.html The brightest stellar explosion ever recorded may be a long-sought new type of supernova, according to observations by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ground-based optical telescopes. This discovery indicates that violent explosions of extremely massive stars were relatively common in the early universe, and that a similar explosion may be ready to go off in our own galaxy. Wed, 09 May 2007 13:36:00 EDT id_12 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/03may07.html More than a year ahead of schedule, a team of independent experts has approved all ten new technologies developed for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. Many of the technologies are revolutionary and have never before been used on any satellite or space telescope. The early approval can reduce the risk of increased costs and schedule delays before the program is approved for further development. Thu, 03 May 2007 13:11:00 EDT id_11 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/sats_n_data/satellites/jwst_exhibit.html The James Webb Space Telescope is a very large and powerful telescope that will study the Universe from space at infra-red wavelengths. It is currently in development and scheduled to launch in 2013. Mon, 23 Apr 2007 14:21:00 EDT id_10 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/educ_info.html The 11th edition of our CD-ROM is now available. As with previous editions, it contains a capture of the Imagine the Universe! and StarChild sites (from Jan 1, 2007). It also includes Astronomy Picture of the Day for all of 2006, with indexes and selected pages from previous years APODs. We've also included the Cosmicopia site. This is a 2-disc set. Wed, 07 Mar 2007 14:25:00 EDT id_09 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/05mar07.html NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has captured for the first time enough light from planets outside our solar system to identify molecules in their atmospheres. The landmark achievement is a significant step toward being able to detect possible life on rocky exoplanets and comes years before astronomers had anticipated. Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:07:00 EDT id_08 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/exhibit/grb_anniv.html On Feb 28, 1997, the Italian-Dutch satellite BeppoSax detected the first afterglow of a gamma-ray burst. Gamma-ray bursts haven't been the same since. Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:23:00 EDT id_07 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/16feb07.html Astronomers have found a new class of objects in space: a neutron star orbiting inside a cocoon of cold gas and/or dust that hides a bloated supergiant star. In a strange twist of fate, these objects may be tremendously luminous, but the enshrouding cocoon absorbs almost all their emission, making them nearly invisible to telescopes on Earth until now. Fri, 16 Feb 2007 16:42:00 EDT id_06 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/23jan07.html An international team of astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has created the first three-dimensional map of the large-scale distribution of dark matter in the universe. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 09:15:00 EDT id_05 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/27dec06.html Scientists using NASA data are studying a newly recognized type of cosmic explosion called a hybrid gamma-ray burst. As with other gamma-ray bursts, this hybrid blast is likely signaling the birth of a new black hole. Wed, 27 Dec 2006 16:00:00 EDT id_04 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/16nov06.html Scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have discovered that dark energy is not a new constituent of space, but rather has been present for most of the Universe's history. Dark energy is a mysterious repulsive force that causes the Universe to expand at an increasing rate. Thu, 16 Nov 2006 16:38:00 EDT id_03 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/05oct06.html Scientists using NASA's Swift satellite have observed two dozen new supernovae and have discovered never-before-seen properties, some of which run counter to prevailing theories. Thu, 05 Oct 2006 15:52:00 EDT id_02 http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/03oct06.html The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2006 jointly to John C. Mather of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and George F. Smoot University of California, Berkeley. The Academy awarded them the prize "for their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation". Tue, 03 Oct 2006 09:46:00 EDT id_01