University of Florida News

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Astronomers have discovered two new planets outside our solar system, both extremely close to their stars and thus among the hottest ever found.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Dark matter and normal matter have been wrenched apart by the tremendous collision of two large clusters of galaxies, providing the strongest support yet for the existence of dark matter — the mysterious stuff said to comprise most of the universe yet only so far inferred based on its gravitational effect.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Astronomers from Spain, Mexico and the United States will gather in Miami next week to plan for the first observations of the world’s largest telescope – a $160 million behemoth under development for the past six years on Spain’s Canary Islands.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Astronomers have found the largest number of the most distant, youngest galaxy clusters yet, a feat that will help them observe the developing universe when it was less than half its current age and still in its formative stages.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Perhaps edging closer to finding planets that harbor life, astronomers have discovered the smallest planet yet identified outside our solar system.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Astronomers have discovered a planet orbiting a very young star nearly 100 light years away using a relatively small, publicly accessible telescope turbocharged with a new planet-finding instrument.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The recent collision of two huge asteroids or tiny planets may be the cause of the mysterious lopsided appearance of the most famous of the universe’s planet-forming stars, a team of astronomers says.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new analysis of Hubble Space Telescope data has uncovered evidence the universe experienced far fewer major collisions among galaxies than previously thought.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A University of Florida-led team of astronomers may have discovered the brightest star yet observed in the universe, a fiery behemoth that could be as much as much as seven times brighter than the current record holder.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The universe just became a little less mysterious.