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Dark matter and normal matter have been wrenched apart by the tremendous collision of two large clusters of galaxies. The discovery, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes, gives direct evidence for the existence of dark matter. "This is the most energetic cosmic event, besides the Big Bang, which we know about," said team member Maxim Markevitch of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. These observations provide the strongest evidence yet that most of the matter in the universe is dark. Despite considerable evidence for dark matter, some scientists have proposed alternative theories for gravity where it...

The number of crisis calls to a state hotline for problem gamblers soared by a startling 45% in New York City in 2004, the Daily News has learned. The jump in calls from the boroughs was even higher than the statewide increase of 30% - with Brooklyn logging more calls than any other county in the state, according to the New York Council on Problem Gambling, which maintains the hotline. Treatment experts said the problem is on track to get even worse as the state pushes to open more gambling halls and casinos. "What this shows is that the people...

The small, red object tested the Yepun unit to its limits Astronomers working in Chile think they may have taken the first direct image of a planet circling another star. The star, called 2M1207, is 230 light-years away and is very much smaller and fainter than our own Sun. The pictured companion is 100 times fainter still and tested the technical limits of the Yepun telescope. Astronomer Christophe Dumas said: "It is a strange feeling that it may indeed be the first planetary system beyond our own ever imaged." The thrill of seeing this faint source of light in...

Tuesday, 31 December, 2002, 11:34 GMTPlanet Uranus caught on VLT A picture showing Uranus and moons (pic: ESO) The "Very Large Telescope" (VLT) has caught a remarkable image of the planet Uranus circled by some of its moons. The rings of the planet - which is 3,000 million kilometres away from Earth - were clearly displayed in the image. The rings are almost undetectable from Earth in visible light. The VLT is located at the European Southern Observatory's Paranal Observatory in Chile. The image was obtained in near-infrared, and contains seven of its moons. VLT is based at Paranal in...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 August 4 Spiral Galaxy NGC 2997 from VLT Credit: FORS Team, 8.2-meter VLT, ESO Explanation: NGC 2997 is a grand design spiral galaxy. Its small nucleus and sprawling spiral arms give it a type Sc designation. NGC 2997, pictured above, is speeding away from us at about 1100 kilometers per second, which would place it at about 55 million light years distant, given current estimates of the...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 July 14 The Crab Nebula from VLT Credit: FORS Team, 8.2-meter VLT, ESO Explanation: The Crab Nebula, filled with mysterious filaments, is the result of a star that was seen to explode in 1054 AD. This spectacular supernova explosion was recorded by Chinese and (quite probably) Anasazi Indian astronomers. The filaments are mysterious because they appear to have less mass than expelled in the original supernova and...

GOTTA SEE THIS -- SATELLITE IMAGING DURING OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM 7/10/02 BREAKING NEWS - The Big Picture: Fires and Rockets of July around the World and Universe ===== ROCKETS OF JULY 2002 ====== In Nizhny Tagil, 800 miles east of Moscow, a Russian-made Smerch 300 mm Multiple Launch Rocket System fires a rocket during an exhibition 7/9/02. Russia's weapons export agency Rosoboron unfortunately continues to offer this and other war technology to Iran. Better get your act together, Ivan. Kourou space base, French Guyana - European rocket Ariane 5 lifts off 7/6/02 with the European communication satellite Stellat-5 and the...