Space and Astronomy News Headlines - Yahoo! News
NASA rolls six years of Fermi telescope data into stunning gamma ray map
Scientists last week released one of the best gamma ray light maps of our universe, revealing new sources of this high-energy emission. The sky map was constructed using more than six years’ worth of data collected by NASA’s Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. Launched in 2008, the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) measures gamma-ray light, which is the most energetic form of electromagnetic radiation. It is a billion times more energetic than the visible light that is detected by our eyes. This type of radiation is produced by interstellar phenomena such as black holes, merging neutron stars and other extreme sources such as pulsars and blazars. Scientists are using the information collected by the Fermi telescope to study subatomic particles, explore black holes, and gain other valuable information about the formation of the universe. Related : Check out this stunning drone footage of the world’s largest radio telescope The latest sky map is the result of a re-analysis of existing Fermi data including every gamma-ray and particle detected by the telescope since its launch in 2008. The new Pass 8 analysis allowed the scientists to extract even more information from the telescope’s high-energy observations and provided astrophysicists with the most detailed gamma-ray census of the sky to date. The team cataloged 360 sources, most of which were blazars. Blazars have a bright nucleus that contain a supermassive black hole and, unlike quasars, are oriented toward the Earth. The newly analyzed data has identified 48 new gamma-ray sources previously undetected at any other wavelength and twelve high-energy sources capable of producing gamma rays with energies that are a trillion times that of visible light. As noted by scientist Alberto Domínguez from Madrid’s Complutense University, “The highest-energy sources, all located in our galaxy, are mostly remnants of supernova explosions and pulsar wind nebulae, places where rapidly rotating neutron stars accelerate particles to near the speed of light.” Fermi scientist Marco Ajello of Clemson University in South Carolina presented the team’s findings last week at the 227th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Kissimmee, Florida. A paper describing the survey will be published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement.
Asia News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Australia knocks back Washington over more help against Islamic State
By Matt Siegel SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia on Thursday said that it had denied a request from the United States for a greater military commitment against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq made in the wake of the November attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. Australia, a staunch ally of the United States and its battle against Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria, has been one of the largest contributors to the U.S.-led bombing campaign against the group.
Sports News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Work to be done to rebuild Rams fan base, experts say
Los Angeles celebrated the return of the National Football League and the Rams, who had called the City of Angels their home for 49 years, but some experts say there is much work to be done to re-establish a fan base. The country's most popular professional sports league, it has been 21 years since the United States' second-largest media market had a team in the NFL. Dressed in Rams gear, members of the "Bring Back the Los Angeles Rams" Facebook group rallied in the Hollywood Park parking lot, site of the future stadium, and rejoiced after the NFL decision.
Security News Headlines - Yahoo! News
South Korea calls for 'bone-numbing' sanctions on North for nuclear test
By Ju-min Park and Tony Munroe SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea warned North Korea on Wednesday that the United States and its allies were working on sanctions to inflict "bone-numbing pain" after its latest nuclear test, and urged China to do its part to rein in its isolated neighbor. With tension high on the border after the North's fourth nuclear test on Wednesday last week, South Korean forces fired shots toward what Yonhap News Agency said was a suspected North Korean drone.
Middle East News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Top Asian News 2:16 a.m. GMT
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea on Wednesday fired 20 machine gun warning shots after a North Korean drone briefly crossed the rivals' border, officials said, the first shots fired in a Cold War-style standoff between the Koreas in the wake of the North's nuclear test last week. The North Korean drone was flying dozens of meters (yards) south of the border and turned back to the North after the South fired the shots, South Korean defense and military officials said, requesting anonymity because of office rules. The shots did not hit the drone. North Korean drone flights across the world's most heavily armed border are rare, but have happened before.
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