Looking back at the science news released by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in 2014, the staff scientists at NRAO selected what they believe are the top 10 stories based on both scientific impact and public interest.

"These 'top ten' are just a small sampling of the myriad ways in which the state-of-the-art NRAO facilities are enabling forefront research by the astronomical community," said NRAO Chief Scientist Chris Carilli. "Using new telescopes, instrumentation, and techniques, facilitated by the NRAO, U.S. and international astronomers are addressing the most pressing problems in planet, star, and galaxy formation, fundamental physics and cosmology, and astrochemistry and biology, while finding some real surprises along the way!"

#10 Image Release: Starbursting in the Galaxy M82

A new radio image, made with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), reveals fresh information about the central 5200 light-years of the starbursting galaxy M82. The radio emission seen in the image is produced by ionized gas and by fast-moving electrons interacting with the interstellar magnetic field. The bright dots are a mix of star-forming regions and supernova remnants, the debris from stellar explosions; analysis of the VLA data tells scientists which of these are which. Scientists also are studying the faint, wispy features, many of which were previously unseen, to investigate their relationship with this galaxy's starburst-driven superwind.

#9 Remarkable White Dwarf Star Possibly Coldest, Dimmest Ever Detected

A team of astronomers has identified possibly the coldest, faintest white dwarf star ever detected. This ancient stellar remnant is so cool that its carbon has crystallized, forming -- in effect -- an Earth-size diamond in space. The researchers found this stellar gem using the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's (NRAO) Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), as well as other observatories. Other such stars have been identified and they are theoretically not that rare, but with a low intrinsic brightness, they can be deucedly difficult to detect. Its fortuitous location in a binary system with a neutron star enabled the team to identify this one.

#8 Newly Identified Galactic Supercluster Is Home to the Milky Way

Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope (GBT) -- among other telescopes -- have determined that our own Milky Way galaxy is part of a newly identified ginormous supercluster of galaxies, which they have dubbed "Laniakea," which means "immense heaven" in Hawaiian. This discovery clarifies the boundaries of our galactic neighborhood and establishes previously unrecognized linkages among various galaxy clusters in the local Universe. By using the GBT and other radio telescopes to map the velocities of galaxies throughout our local Universe, the team was able to define the region of space where each supercluster dominates.

#7 Planet-forming Lifeline Discovered in a Binary Star System

Scientists using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have detected a streamer of dust and gas flowing from a massive outer disk toward the inner reaches of a binary star system known as GG Tau-A. This newly discovered feature may be responsible for sustaining a second, smaller disk of planet-forming material that otherwise would have disappeared long ago. Like a wheel in a wheel, GG Tau-A contains a large, outer disk encircling the entire system as well as an inner disk around the main central star. While observing these structures with ALMA, the team made the exciting discovery of gas clumps in the region between the two disks. The new observations suggest that material is being transferred from the outer disk to the inner disk, creating a sustaining lifeline between the two.

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Ten exciting astronomy stories from 2014