Hoag's Object

This bizzare object was discovered in 1950 by astronomer Art Hoag. It's a bright ring of hot blue stars surrounding a nucleus of yellow stars. Take a close look just above the nucleus - you'll see yet another ring galaxy.

Hoag's Object at Hubble

A recent paper: Hoag's Object a Soliton?

A NASA Hoag's Object page with an explanation and reference links.

Short Gamma Ray Burst on May 9th

Neutron-star cataclysm? A faint patch of light (green arrow) on the fringes a distant galaxy may mark the spot where two neutron stars collided, in this image taken on the morning of 9 May.
CREDIT: J. Bloom/UC Berkeley/WIYN Telescope

Science Online reported the first Short Gamma Ray Burst directly observed, by the NASA Swift satellite at midnight on May 9th. You can find up to the minute news on this and other Gamma Ray Bursters at NASA.


Swift

Link to a previous post about the December 27th Giant Gamma Ray Flash.

Nature article:
Swift satellite spies cosmic crash