The Big Dipper is generally the first star group youngsters learn. This asterism seems benign and tranquil and — far from the bustling creamy glow of the Milky Way — uncomplicated. For astrophysicists ...

M82 — also known as the Cigar Galaxy — and neighboring M81 (see #92), together make up one of the night sky’s dynamic duos. M82 is one of the closest (12 million light-years) examples of an edge-on ...

In a nearby and decidedly odd galaxy, a star exploded. The fierce light and intense energy screamed outward, marching across the vast reaches of space. Vast indeed: It took nearly 12 million years for ...

The story of the M82 begins with Ronnie Barrett, a photographer with no formal gunsmith training. In the early 1980s, while photographing a river patrol boat, similar to those used during the Vietnam ...

The story of the M82 begins with Ronnie Barrett. Barrett, a photographer with no formal gunsmith training or experience, is said to have been inspired to design and build the M82 .50 caliber rifle ...

The past few days have been quite exciting for scientist and astronomers world wide due to a very bright super nova appearing in the galaxy M82. While a super nova appearing is not a rare event, one ...