NSF's public investment in science, engineering, education and technology helps to create knowledge and sustain prosperity. Read here about the Internet, microbursts, Web browsers, extrasolar planets, and more... a panoply of discoveries and innovations that began with NSF support.

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		Predicting "Cosmic Fireworks" From Our Own Backyard Using the largest map of the cosmos ever, astronomers have counted nearby double white dwarfs, stars thought to cause an important type of supernova Released  March 13, 2012
		How the Sun Gets Its Spots To prevent solar damage to communication, navigation and other high tech systems, scientists are determining the temperatures, composition and movement of materials inside the sun Released  January 7, 2011
		Three NSF-Funded Scientists Among Recipients of $3 Million Kavli Prize Among the latest winners of the Kavli Prize are three scientists who have received NSF funding over the past several years Released  November 28, 2010
		Gigantic Gravity "Lenses" Magnify Galaxies Far, Far Away Submillimeter observatories penetrate cold, dusty galaxies to see stars forming in the primeval past Released  November 19, 2010
		Observatory Staff Aid in Military Helicopter Crash Rescue Green Bank Telescope's staff typically spend their days helping scientists carry out their research, but on one dramatic day in February 2010, they helped rescue soldiers from a crashed helicopter Released  September 10, 2010
		Tiny Galaxies Reveal How First Stars Formed Lowell Observatory astronomer Deidre Hunter and her team studies small, diffuse galaxies to learn about star formation in those regions and, perhaps, shed light on the birth of the first stars after the Big Bang Released  February 25, 2010
		Titan: A Climate Out of This World Researchers using ground-based telescopes and space probes make amazing discoveries about the atmospheric cycle of Saturn’s largest moon, and find similarities to Earth Released  January 7, 2010
		Monitoring and Predicting Extraterrestrial Weather Scientists adapt a weather research and forecasting tool to model global weather on the Earth, Mars and beyond Released  September 22, 2009
		Methane Clouds Observed Near Titan's Equator May Explain Presence of Riverbeds on the Surface The Huygens probe discovered fluid-formed channels in the arid equatorial regions of Titan, Saturn's largest moon Released  August 12, 2009
		New Supernova Is Discovered by Young Citizen Scientist Caroline Moore's discovery has made experts question how stars die Released  July 9, 2009
		2008: Year in Review A look back at some of the NSF-supported advances and activities that made news last year Released  March 13, 2009
		New Galactic Distance Measurements Increase Milky Way's Mass and Rotation Speed Galaxy is spinning faster and is 50 percent more massive than earlier studies indicated Released  January 30, 2009
		Magnetic Fields in Far Away Galaxies Observed to be 10 Times Stronger than those in Milky Way Conventional theories of star and galaxy formation challenged Released  November 12, 2008
		Archaeology of the Stars Michigan State researcher Timothy Beers studies the formation and evolution of stars born many billions of years before the Sun Released  September 17, 2008
		Cracking the Code of Images New software easily detects pictures' hidden messages Released  July 15, 2008
		Not a Quirk But a Quark ... a Quark Star! Super-luminous stellar explosion observed via Caltech's Palomar Observatory, possibly resulting in a quark star Released  June 26, 2008
		International Gemini Observatory Captures Birth of a Supernova Stellar discovery marks a new epoc in astronomical research Released  May 28, 2008
		2007: Year in Review A look back at some of the NSF-supported advances and activities reported last year Released  January 30, 2008
		Search Is on for Hot Young Stars Long duration gamma-ray bursts allow astronomers to collect more information than ever imagined Released  September 21, 2007
		Planetary Construction Zone? Astronomers detect the beginnings of planet formation in a dusty disk surrounding a nearby star Released  July 5, 2007
		Gazing up at the Man in the Star? Researchers take picture of the face of Altair, a first for a star like our own Released  May 31, 2007
		2006: Year in Review A look back at some of the NSF-supported activities highlighted last year Released  January 9, 2007
		Universe's Oldest Objects Emerge from the Background Faint cosmic glow appears to be remnant radiation from first stars or black holes born in our universe Released  December 18, 2006
		Astronomers 'See' the Invisible First 'direct observation' sheds new light on dark matter Released  August 21, 2006
		A Blue Ring Around the Planet Uranus Color is attributed to forces acting on dust Released  April 6, 2006
		Sound Waves Rock a Star to Death New model explains sound before sight Released  February 7, 2006
		Closer to Home Discovery of small, rocky, extrasolar world suggests such planets may be common Released  January 25, 2006
		Teachers Strike Scientific Gold at Kitt Peak Workshop participants take lucky images of a brand-new supernova Released  August 26, 2005
		New Mexico Graduate Student Receives Costa Rica's Top Science Honor At 26, Esteban Araya is the youngest person to ever receive the top science award from his native Costa Rica. A graduate student in astronomy at New Mexico Tech, Araya was honored for his research into the formation of massive stars. Released  August 5, 2005
		Star Killed by Companion Bizarre remains bear silent witness Released  March 2, 2005