The vast expanses of intergalactic space appear to be filled with a haze of tiny, smoke-like "dust" particles that dim the light from distant objects and subtly change their colors, according to a team of astronomers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-II).

Goddard Space Flight Center -- Scientists at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) and NASA have captured unprecedented details of the swirling flow of gas hovering just a few miles from the surface of a neutron star, itself a sphere only about ten miles (16 km) across.A massive and rare explosion on the surface of this neutron star -- pouring out more energy in three hours than the Sun does in 100 years -- illuminated the region and allowed the scientists to spy on details never before revealed.