• #darkenergy

    Heaviest, Farthest Cluster Points Toward Dark Energy

    The XMM-Newton space telescope has been really into dark and heavy stuff lately. No, the x-ray observatory didn't find its parents' old Black Sabbath albums — it found the most massive galactic cluster on record, a conglomerate of galaxies weighing more than 1,000 times as much as the Milky Way. The cluster's extreme distance is a puzzling paradox, or it might help prove that the universe is full of mysterious dark energy. More »
  • #spaceporn

    A Faraway Galaxy, In Living Stereo

    If you look closely at this image of NGC 2770, a spiral galaxy 102 million light years away, you can see the structure of the galaxy's hot, moderate and cool stars. The composite image includes ultraviolet and green light, to show the clumps of hot newly formed stars in the galaxy's spiral arms, and deep red colors, highlighting the smoother distribution of cool older stars. This is the first image released by the Large Binocular Telescope, which claims to be the world's most powerful telescope. Click through for images of NGC 2770, showing only ultraviolet/green and deep-red light, respectively. More »