Home Page - Astrophysics Science Division

Astrophysics Science Division (660) Home

Hubble Catches Glowing Gas and Dark Dust in a Side-On Spiral: NGC 4634 is a spiral galaxy seen exactly side-on. Its disk is slightly warped by ongoing interactions with a nearby galaxy, and it is crisscrossed by clearly defined dust lanes and bright nebulae.

Press Releases & Feature Stories

Study Reveals a Remarkable Symmetry in Black Hole Jets

12.13.2012

Black holes range from modest objects formed when individual stars end their lives to behemoths billions of times more massive that rule the centers of galaxies.

NASA'S Hubble Provides First Census of Galaxies Near Cosmic Dawn

12.12.2012

Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have uncovered a previously unseen population of seven primitive galaxies that formed more than 13 billion years ago, when the universe was less than 4 percent of its present age.

Astronomers Catch Jet from Binge-Eating Black Hole

12.12.2012

Back in January, a new X-ray source flared and rapidly brightened in the Andromeda galaxy (M31). It became the target of an intense observing campaign by orbiting X-ray telescopes -- including NASA's Swift.

Fermi Improves its Vision for Thunderstorm Gamma-Ray Flashes

12.06.2012

Thanks to improved data analysis and a new operating mode, the GRB Monitor aboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is now 10 times better at catching the brief outbursts of high-energy light mysteriously produced above thunderstorms.

Video Hails Arrival of 2 Different Webb Telescope Mirrors

11.28.2012

The sole secondary mirror and a third primary mirror segment that will fly aboard NASA's James Webb Space Telescope arrived on Nov. 5, 2012. A video of the mirrors arriving was released today that shows the arrival of both mirror segments and movement into a giant clean room.

See all Press Releases & Feature Stories »

Division News

Goddard View

12.07.2012

Volume 8, Issue 11 - Dr. Eli Dwek and Dr. Neil Gehrels of Goddard, and Dr. Lynn Cominsky of NASA’s Fermi and Swift missions have been named as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The election of an AAAS fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.

Congratulations to new AAAS Fellows

11.30.2012

Dr. Eli Dwek and Dr. Neil Gehrels in have been named as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Eli's citation reads "for his distinguished contributions to the theory of the evolution and nature of interstellar dust grains, including formation and destruction, emission and absorption of light, and unified models of observations." Neil's "for his leadership on the Swift, Compton, Integral, and future dark energy missions."

Congratulations to new APS Fellow

11.26.2012

Please congratulate Dr. Demos Kazanas for his election to Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). The citation reads "For diverse contributions to Astrophysics, ranging from a 1980 independent resolution, of the cosmological horizon problem using the vacuum energy of spontaneously broken gauge theory -- to the recent idea that AGN appearance depends on the properties of MHD winds launched from their accretion disks."

More Division News »

Overview

The Astrophysics Science Division conducts a broad program of research in astronomy, astrophysics, and fundamental physics. Individual investigations address issues such as the nature of dark matter and dark energy, which planets outside our solar system may harbor life, and the nature of space, time, and matter at the edges of black holes.

Observing photons, particles, and gravitational waves enables researchers to probe astrophysical objects and processes. Researchers develop theoretical models, design experiments and hardware to test theories, interpret and evaluate the data, archive and disseminate the data, provide expert user support to the scientific community, and publish conclusions drawn from research. The Division also conducts education and public outreach programs about its projects and missions.

About the ASD