News

Hubble finds phantom objects near dead quasars

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has imaged a set of enigmatic quasar ghosts — ethereal, looped structures glowing green that orbit their host galaxies marking the graves of quasars that flickered to life and then faded. They offer new insights into the turbulent pasts of these galaxies.

News

Race to detect gravitational waves intensifies

One of the great challenges in astrophysics is the detection of low-frequency gravitational waves — elusive ripples in the fabric of space-time caused by extremely energetic and large-scale cosmic events. To this end, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves $14.5 million over 5 years.

Equipment

iStar WXT 204-6LT refractor review

For truly immersive deep-sky views, it’s hard to better the high contrast, wide-angle images delivered by a large aperture refractor of short focal ratio. Refractor expert Neil English takes the 8-inch f/6 iStar WXT 204-6LT through its paces and likes what he sees.