Spitzer Space Telescope : Discovery News

Light From Small, Oozing Alien Planet Seen

Posted Wed May 9, 2012 09:02 AM ET | 0

In a first, a NASA infrared telescope spotted light from the alien planet 55 Cancri e, which orbits a star 41 light-years from Earth. Read more

Baby Stars Spied Throbbing Inside Orion: Big Pic

Posted Thu Mar 1, 2012 07:27 AM ET | 0

A rainbow of color from the development of new stars is captured in infrared light by the Spitzer and Herschel space telescopes. Read more

Spaceballs! What Buckyballs REALLY Look Like: Photos

Posted Thu Feb 23, 2012 03:20 PM ET | 0

Buckyballs have been found in everything from candle soot to nebulae -- but what do these geodesic structures look like? Read more

Cosmic Buckyball Particle 'Factory' Discovered

Posted by Ian O'Neill Thu Feb 23, 2012 03:15 PM ET | 0

For the first time, buckyballs have been discovered in the cosmos in a solid form in the vicinity of a binary star system 6,500 light-years away. Read more

Cosmic Buckyball Particle 'Factory' Discovered

Star Birth (and Murder) Spied in Cygnus X: Big Pic

Posted Tue Jan 10, 2012 03:30 PM ET | 0

Peering deep into a huge star-forming region, a dramatic life-or- death scenario is playing out. Read more

Galactic Cluster Clash Spotted in Early Universe

Posted by Ian O'Neill Tue Jan 10, 2012 03:04 PM ET | 0

Say hello to "El Gordo," one of the biggest cosmic collisions you will ever witness. Read more

Galactic Cluster Clash Spotted in Early Universe

X-ray Image of an Expanding Space Spider

Posted by Jason Major Tue Nov 15, 2011 04:13 AM ET | 0

The Tarantula Nebula is growing, but astronomers can't agree why. Read more

X-ray Image of an Expanding Space Spider

NASA Solves 2,000-Year Supernova Mystery

Posted Tue Oct 25, 2011 01:52 PM ET | 0

New NASA observations answer a 2,000 year old mystery regarding the first supernova ever recorded. Read more

Graphene and Buckyballs Might Be Lurking in Space

Posted by Jennifer Ouellette Wed Aug 24, 2011 06:16 PM ET | 0

Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, a team of astronomers think they might have spotted the first examples of extragalactic carbon-based molecules. Read more

Graphene and Buckyballs Might Be Lurking in Space

Spitzer Spots Protostar's 'Crystal Rain'

Posted by Jennifer Ouellette Mon Jun 20, 2011 03:22 AM ET | 0

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has observed a strange kind of greenish "crystal rain" falling onto a protostar called HOPS-68 in the constellation Orion. Read more

Spitzer Spots Protostar's 'Crystal Rain'

Spitzer Spies Dazzling Emerald Bubble in Space : Big Pic

Posted Fri Jun 17, 2011 05:02 PM ET | 0

In the constellation of Scorpius, a beautiful green nebula glows in infrared light, but it is far from unique. Read more

A Surprisingly Ancient Galaxy

Posted by Nicole Gugliucci Tue Apr 19, 2011 01:29 AM ET | 0

Every once in a while, an astronomy paper comes out that makes me go, "Whoa. Whoa! Wait... really?" This is one of those papers. Read more

Did Supernova Herald the Birth of a King?

Posted by Jennifer Ouellette Mon Apr 18, 2011 04:31 AM ET | 0

Did the famous supernova known as Cassiopeia A coincide with the birth of King Charles II in 1630? New evidence of the "noon day star" suggests this might be the case. Read more

Bizarre Time Delay Discovered in Stellar Jets

Posted by Nicole Gugliucci Mon Apr 11, 2011 07:47 PM ET | 0

Stellar nurseries are chock-full of energetic phenomena, it's little wonder that we are always finding new and bizarre things in star-forming regions. Read more

Our Bustling 'Big City' Galactic Center : Big Pic

Posted Wed Mar 23, 2011 02:42 PM ET | 0

Out in the suburbs, it is understandable to dream about what it might be like in the "big city." This happens locally and on a galactic scale. Read more