Telescopes and Observatories

Gaia to Shut Down After More Than a Decade of Mapping the Milky Way

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Gaia to Shut Down After More Than a Decade of Mapping the Milky Way

From ancient star streams to the innards of white dwarfs, the Gaia space telescope has seen it all. On Thursday, mission specialists at the European Space Agency will send Gaia, which is low on fuel, into orbit around the sun, and switch it off after more than a decade of service to the world’s astronomers. … Read more

Astronomers Get ‘More Than a Hint’ That Dark Energy Isn’t What They Thought

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Astronomers Get ‘More Than a Hint’ That Dark Energy Isn’t What They Thought

An international team of astronomers on Wednesday unveiled the most compelling evidence to date that dark energy — a mysterious phenomenon pushing our universe to expand ever faster — is not a constant force of nature but one that ebbs and flows through cosmic time. Dark energy, the new measurement suggests, may not resign our … Read more