Astronomy

Fifteen years ago Timothy Ferris earned his living pontificating on the dubious aesthetics of bands such as Grand Funk Railroad. But rock stars were never as intriguing to him as the celestial bodies overhead. So Ferris took a stab at writing about real stars. That his subsequent books on astronomy--"The Red Limit," "Galaxies," "Space Shot" and now "Coming of Age in the Milky Way"--have been praised by scientists as well as book critics should be encouraging to those who still find the Big Bang, black holes, quarks and quantum physics to be over our heads.

Type 1a supernovae, exploding stars that can outshine entire galaxies, were instrumental to the Nobel Prize-winning discovery that a mysterious "dark energy" is fueling the expansion of the universe. But astronomers haven't been able to pin down what causes these massive stellar explosions. Now, after studying a Type 1a supernova in a nearby galaxy, two researchers say that they must be the result of a collision between two white dwarf stars. They made their case this week in the journal Nature.

For the first time, astronomers say they've borne witness to a supermassive black hole consuming a star. Two papers released Wednesday by the journal Nature describe powerful blasts of radiation whose brightness and behavior can be explained only by a sun-sized star being torn apart by the gravitational forces of a black hole at the center of its galaxy, the authors say. Scientists believe they have seen the aftermath of such stellar violence...

Jerry Schad had a simple explanation for his ability to quickly experience every mile he wrote about in his guidebooks, which helped expand hiking opportunities in Southern California: "I run through the boring parts and walk through the interesting ones. " His "Afoot and Afield in San Diego County," first published in 1986, is regarded as the preeminent guide to the region's trails. He followed it with two other well-regarded "Afoot and Afield" books, on Orange County and then Los Angeles County.

The crowd outside Griffith Observatory brightened as the sun dimmed Monday for the last solar eclipse that Los Angeles will experience for 10 years. "Repent! The end is near!" Terry Lilly, a 40-year-old Hollywood photographer, shouted as the moon moved between the Earth and the sun, blocking nearly 75% of the sun's light. Astronomy fans on the observatory steps banged pots and pans at 6:22 p.m., the moment of maximum eclipse, "to ward off evil spirits," observatory Director Ed Krupp joked.

While NASA investigates space with satellites, shuttles and telescopes, you can make discoveries in your own backyard. With your naked eye you can see stars and many planets, and with a pair of binoculars and some practice you can even see Jupiter's moons. Have fun exploring the night skies with the direct links on the Times Launch Point Web site: http://www.latimes.com/launchpoint. Level 1 Let's Explore the Nine Planets! The sun is the only star we can see during the day.

The next generation of U.S. space scientists could be dominated by women, according to a new study that shows a majority of the youngest astronomers are women. The study of members of the American Astronomical Society found that of astronomers and astronomy students ages 18 to 23, 56.8% are women, a big jump from those ages 23 to 28, where 39.7% are female. Of those over age 50, only 10% are women.

Forget Cruise as the Vampire Lestat. Forget DeNiro as Dr. Frankenstein's monster. For some real full-moon action, check out the Sylmar branch of the Los Angeles Public Library on Nov. 16. There, the public can peer at the solar system through telescopes, check out craters on the full moon, and take a gander at Saturn and possibly Jupiter. At a special "Sidewalk Astronomy" program to be held at the library from 6 to 8 p.m.

A French-built Ariane 4 rocket roared into space Tuesday and deployed a communications satellite and a star mapper, officials said. The liquid-fueled rocket, the most powerful launcher in the European inventory, streaked away from the European Space Agency's jungle launch complex on the northern coast of South America about 10 hours after the U.S. space shuttle Columbia lifted off in Florida.

For the first time, astronomers say they've borne witness to a supermassive black hole consuming a star. Two papers released Wednesday by the journal Nature describe powerful blasts of radiation whose brightness and behavior can be explained only by a sun-sized star being torn apart by the gravitational forces of a black hole at the center of its galaxy, the authors say. Scientists believe they have seen the aftermath of such stellar violence...

Astronomers have discovered a hidden collection of supermassive, growing black holes dating back to the early universe -- showing, for the first time, that black holes populated the cosmos far earlier than thought. The findings, published online Wednesday in the journal Nature, could help scientists understand how these black holes are born, how big they grow and how galaxies develop with them. "We know the nearest galaxies, like our own Milky Way, all have supermassive black holes in the center," said lead author Ezequiel Treister, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii.

How I Killed Pluto And Why It Had It Coming Mike Brown Spiegel & Grau: 267 pp., $25 Moon A Brief History Bernd Brunner Yale University Press: 290 pp., $25 Pluto. Poor little guy. He never wanted much. The others could be bigger, they could be better-looking or brag about themselves ("I'm burning hot!" or "I have rings!" or "I support life!"). He didn't care. All he wanted was to be part of the planet club. And for about 75 years, that tiny frozen world billions of miles from the sun was a card-carrying member.

Astronomers have found two new solar systems circling distant stars, one with as many as seven planets and both with planets only slightly larger than Earth. The system with seven planets is the largest yet known beyond our own, and the two planets close to the size of Earth are the smallest yet discovered. Neither could be considered Earth-like, however. Both orbit so close to their stars that their surfaces are blistering hot — so hot that they might even glow, experts said.

When the moon blots out the sun's blinding rays on Sunday, a sliver of the Earth's surface will be plunged into eerie darkness. Travelers who have crossed thousands of miles to witness the celestial show will gaze at the sky and, for a few minutes, see a thing most people never get to see: a halo of fire — the sun's corona — flickering around the edges of the silhouette of the moon. But Jay Pasachoff, over on Easter Island, may be looking down more than up — calibrating his instruments, checking for technical glitches, peering through lenses.

Matthew Broderick says he's puzzled by the bashing he's received for his actions during the first New York preview of "The Starry Messenger," a new play by good friend Kenneth Lonergan. "We had to rush to our first preview and then I guess we got some press just after one show, which I don't really understand," the actor said. Messages posted on various theater websites said a prompter in the front row needed to assist Broderick with his lines during the Oct. 26 performance of the three-hour play, produced by off-Broadway's New Group.

Astronomers using Hawaii's Keck II telescope have detected the largest volcanic eruption in the solar system on the surface of Io, a Jovian moon. The eruption took place in February 2001, although analysis of the image was only recently completed. It occurred near an area on Io known as Surt.

TRW said Monday that it is entering into final negotiations with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to build a $508-million satellite that will study such astronomical phenomena as exploding stars and the collision of galaxies. Although a final contract has not been awarded, TRW officials say all that needs to be done is to settle a few details with NASA before a final agreement is signed.

Is 2012 the end of the world? If you scan the Internet or believe the marketing campaign behind the movie "2012," scheduled for release in November, you might be forgiven for thinking so. Dozens of books and fake science websites are prophesying the arrival of doomsday that year, by means of a rogue planet colliding with the Earth or some other cataclysmic event. Normally, scientists regard Internet hysteria with nothing more than a raised eyebrow and a shake of the head. But a few scientists have become so concerned at the level of fear they are seeing that they decided not to remain on the sidelines this time.

Astronomer Frank J. Low, the experimental genius who developed and distributed sensors for infrared astronomy and performed the first successful observations above the Earth's atmosphere, died June 11 in Tucson after a long illness, the University of Arizona announced. He was 75.