Astronomer J. Craig Wheeler has a new idea on the identity of the "parents" of one of the most important types of supernovae in the universe.
The white dwarf stars are so close together that they make a complete orbit in less than 13 minutes.
University of Texas at Austin astronomers studied 166 of the most massive galaxies present only a few billion years after the Big Bang.
Karl Gebhardt will receive the 2012 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Science in recognition of his discoveries regarding the formation of black holes and galaxies.
Astronomers have discovered the most massive black holes to date — two monsters weighing as much as 10 billion suns and threatening to consume anything, even light, within a region five times the size of our solar system.
We have all experienced gravity, but even to the brightest minds in science, it remains largely a mystery. Gary J. Hill, an astronomer at the University of Texas at Austin, is trying to change that.
The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) will be larger than any telescope in existence today. When completed it will take advantage of seven large light-gathering mirrors at a prime observing site to see the distant reaches of the universe. It will also produce images up to 10 times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope. Ten institutions, including The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M, are partnering to raise the funds necessary to build the GMT — in what will likely be a paradigm shift in what we know about the universe.
From Alzheimer's disease to black holes and fusion energy, students and faculty in the College of Natural Sciences are changing the world through innovative research. Watch the college's 2011 highlights video. Produced by Lee Clippard and Mason Jones.