New York University – Astronomy Now

Precise 3-D Map of 1.2 million galaxies supports standard cosmological model

15 July 2016 Astronomy Now

Hundreds of scientists from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) collaborated to make the largest-ever, three-dimensional map of distant galaxies. The astronomers then used this map to make one of the most precise measurements yet of the dark energy currently driving the accelerated expansion of the universe.

Link found between comet/asteroid showers and mass extinctions

21 October 2015 Astronomy Now

For more than 30 years, scientists have argued about a controversial hypothesis relating to periodic mass extinctions and impact craters on Earth caused by comet and asteroid showers. Now scientists conclude that these events show a cyclical pattern over the studied period, with both impacts and extinction events taking place every 26 million years.

Does dark matter cause mass extinctions and geologic upheavals?

19 February 2015 Astronomy Now

Research conducted at New York University suggests that the Solar System’s movement through concentrations of galactic dark matter may perturb the orbits of comets and cause additional heating in the Earth’s core, both of which could be connected with mass extinction events.