Planck Mission Peels Back Layers of the Universe

PASADENA, Calif. -- The Planck mission released a new data catalogue Tuesday from initial maps of the entire sky. The catalogue includes thousands of never-before-seen dusty cocoons where stars are forming, and some of the most massive clusters of galaxies ever observed. Planck is a European Space Agency mission with significant contributions from NASA.

"NASA is pleased to support this important mission, and we have eagerly awaited Planck's first discoveries," said Jon Morse, NASA's Astrophysics Division director at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "We look forward to continued collaboration with ESA and more outstanding science to come."

NASA Telescopes Help Find Most Distant Galaxy Cluster

PASADENA, Calif. -- Astronomers have uncovered a burgeoning galactic metropolis, the most distant known in the early universe. This ancient collection of galaxies presumably grew into a modern galaxy cluster similar to the massive ones seen today.

The developing cluster, named COSMOS-AzTEC3, was discovered and characterized by multi-wavelength telescopes, including NASA's Spitzer, Chandra and Hubble space telescopes, and the ground-based W.M. Keck Observatory and Japan's Subaru Telescope.

"This exciting discovery showcases the exceptional science made possible through collaboration among NASA projects and our international partners," said Jon Morse, NASA's Astrophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Spitzer Revela el Primer Planeta Rico en Carbono

Los astrónomos han descubierto que un enorme, infernalmente caliente planeta que orbita a otra estrella está cargado con una cantidad inusual de carbono. El planeta, un gigante gaseoso llamado WASP-12b, es el primer mundo rico en carbono que haya sido observado. El descubrimiento ha sido realizado utilizando el telescopio espacial Spitzer de NASA, junto con observaciones desde el suelo publicadas previamente.

"Este planeta revela la impresionante diversidad de mundos que hay ahí afuera", afirma Nikku Madhusudhan del Massachusetts Institute of Technology, primer autor de este artículo, publicado en la edición de hoy de la revista Nature. "Los planetas ricos en carbono serían exóticos en todos sus aspectos: formación, interiores y atmósferas".

NASA-Funded Research Discovers Life Built With Toxic Chemical

NASA-funded astrobiology research has changed the fundamental knowledge about what comprises all known life on Earth.

Researchers conducting tests in the harsh environment of Mono Lake in California have discovered the first known microorganism on Earth able to thrive and reproduce using the toxic chemical arsenic. The microorganism substitutes arsenic for phosphorus in its cell components.

"The definition of life has just expanded," said Ed Weiler, NASA's associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at the agency's Headquarters in Washington. "As we pursue our efforts to seek signs of life in the solar system, we have to think more broadly, more diversely and consider life as we do not know it."

NASA and NSF-Funded Research Finds First Potentially Habitable Exoplanet

A team of planet hunters from the University of California (UC) Santa Cruz, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington has announced the discovery of a planet with three times the mass of Earth orbiting a nearby star at a distance that places it squarely in the middle of the star's "habitable zone."

Descubrimiento del primer planeta potencialmente habitable tiene a la ciencia espectante

Un equipo de astrónomos del Instituto Carnegie y la Universidad de California han descubierto un planeta fuera del Sistema Solar que tiene un tamaño comparable a la Tierra y que se encuentra en una zona que podría ser habitable, osea que se encontraría a una distancia de su estrella que le permitiría tener una temperatura adecuada para que haya agua líquida en su superficie. Se trata del Gliese 581g, a solo 20 años luz de distancia y en la constelación de Libra, según publicación de la revista 'Astrophysical Journal'.

NASA's WMAP Project Completes Satellite Operations

After nine years of scanning the sky, the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) space mission has concluded its observations of the cosmic microwave background, the oldest light in the universe. The spacecraft has not only given scientists their best look at this remnant glow, but also established the scientific model that describes the history and structure of the universe.