The Sky Tonight

August 22, 2013

New theory points to 'zombie vortices' as key step in star formation
Berkeley CA (SPX) Aug 22, 2013
new theory by fluid dynamics experts at the University of California, Berkeley, shows how "zombie vortices" help lead to the birth of a new star. Reporting Aug. 20 in the journal Physical Review Letters, a team led by computational physicist Philip Marcus shows how variations in gas density lead to instability, which then generates the whirlpool-like vortices needed for stars to form. Astronomers accept that in the first steps of a new star's birth, dense clouds of gas collapse into clumps that, w ... read more

Previous Issues

Aug 21

Aug 20

Aug 19

Aug 16

Aug 15

'Groovy' hologram creates strange state of light at visible and invisible wavelengths Applied physicists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have demonstrated that they can change the intensity, phase, and polarization of light rays using a hologram-like ... more		Growth of disorder of electrons measured in dual temperature system Researchers at Aalto University and the University of Tokyo have succeeded for the first time in experimentally measuring a probability distribution for entropy production of electrons. Entrop ... more		Sleeping spacecraft to be awakened for new asteroid hunts NASA says an asteroid-hunting spacecraft will emerge from a scheduled "hibernation" and return to service to look for potentially hazardous near-Earth objects. ... more
				Astronomers use 'flicker' of light to probe distant stars U.S. astronomers say they've found a new way to analyze flickering light from a distant star to reveal the strength of gravity at its surface. ... more		Radar Images of Asteroid 2005 WK4 A collage of radar images of near-Earth asteroid 2005 WK4 was generated by NASA scientists using the 230-foot (70-meter) Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif., on Aug. 8, 2013. The a ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Will 'space junk' problem intensify? The United States is planning to shut down a key component of its space surveillance network that tracks satellites and "space junk" orbiting the Earth. As a result, satellite launches and flights t ... more		High-speed tests demonstrate space penetrator concept Tests are being carried out under a technology development programme for planetary penetrators to assess the feasibility of delivering instrument packages to the subsurface of a planet or icy satell ... more		Denmark closes airspace to civilian drones amid rise in sightings Top diplomats of North Korea, China agree to oppose 'hegemonism' What is the high seas treaty?		Spaceflight alters bacterial social networks When astronauts launch into space, a microbial entourage follows. And the sheer number of these followers would give celebrities on Twitter a run for their money. The estimate is that normal, health ... more
				Has Voyager 1 Left The Solar System? by Matthew Hilburn Eleven billion miles and 36 years after its launch, some researchers say the Voyager 1 spacecraft has finally left our solar system and entered interstellar space. Research ... more		New map reveals Earth's gravity not the same around the globe Australian scientists say satellite and topographic data has provided the most accurate map of the variations in Earth's gravity at locations around the world. ... more

It's been 40 years since Apollo ... Time to go Back

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Study: Planets might be 'born free' without a parent star Swedish astronomers say they've discovered tiny, round, cold clouds in space that have the right characteristics to form planets without a parent star. ... more		Around the World in Four Days: NASA Tracks Chelyabinsk Meteor Plume Atmospheric physicist Nick Gorkavyi missed witnessing an event of the century last winter when a meteor exploded over his hometown of Chelyabinsk, Russia. From Greenbelt, Md., however, NASA's Gorkav ... more		The first animals on Earth may have been sea sponges, study suggests Wildfire-induced thunderstorms recreated in Earth system models for first time Fengyun satellite strengthens China global weather forecasting capacity		Newly found pulsar helps astronomers explore Milky Way's mysterious core Astronomers have made an important measurement of the magnetic field emanating from a swirling disk of material surrounding the black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. The measurement, mad ... more
				Voyager 1 Has Left the Solar System Voyager 1 appears to have at long last left our solar system and entered interstellar space, says a University of Maryland-led team of researchers. Carrying Earthly greetings on a gold plated phono ... more		A magnetar at the heart of our Milky Way Astronomers have discovered a magnetar at the centre of our Milky Way. This pulsar has an extremely strong magnetic field and enables researchers to investigate the direct vicinity of the black hole ... more

Pluto Science Conference Exceeds Expectations

SciTechTalk: Grab your erasers, there are more moons than we thought

NASA Hubble Finds New Neptune Moon

Spaceflight alters bacterial social networks

Reading a Message from ET

"Pandora" virus - covert threat from space?

Study: Planets might be 'born free' without a parent star

Distant planet sets speed record by orbiting its star every 8.5 hours

Kepler planet hunter spacecraft is beyond repair: NASA

International Space Agencies Outline Steps to Take Humans to Mars

Snapping Pictures of the Martian Moons

Mars Rover Opportunity Working at Edge of 'Solander'

	Cosmic turbulences result in star and black hole formation Just how stars and black holes in the Universe are able to form from rotating matter is one of the big questions of astrophysics. What we do know is that magnetic fields figure prominently into the ... more		Hubble explores the origins of modern galaxies The Hubble Sequence classifies galaxies according to their morphology and star-forming activity, organising them into a cosmic zoo of spiral, elliptical, and irregular shapes with whirling arms, fuz ... more		NASA Voyager Statement about Competing Models to Explain Recent Spacecraft Data A newly published paper argues that NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has already entered interstellar space. The model described in the paper is new and different from other models used so far to explain ... more		NASA spacecraft on journey to Jupiter hits halfway point NASA's Juno spacecraft is halfway to Jupiter. The Jovian-system-bound spacecraft reached the milestone today (8/12/13) at 5:25 a.m. PDT (8:25 a.m. EDT/12:25 UTC). ... more

NASA ISRO radar satellite beams first Earth images from space

India plans mega-dam to counter China water fears

Breakthrough in UAV swarm intelligence as SRI redefines topology mapping

Physicists propose Higgs boson 'portal' as the source of this elusive entity		NASA used satellite to follow plume left by exploding meteor		Distant planet sets speed record by orbiting its star every 8.5 hours		Researchers Slow Light to a Crawl in Liquid Crystal Matrix		Cosmology in the lab using laser-cooled ions
Kepler planet hunter spacecraft is beyond repair: NASA		If We Landed on Europa, What Would We Want to Know?		Researchers identify 12 'easy' candidates for asteroid mining		New NASA Mission to Help Us Learn How to Mine Asteroids		Reading a Message from ET

An infallible quantum measurement

First Hundred Thousand Years of Our Universe

Skywatchers readying for cosmic light show from meteor shower

Is Europa habitable?

The Sun's Magnetic Field is about to Flip

Looming weak solar max may herald frosty times

Hubble Space Telescope finds source of Magellanic Stream

Astronomers Image Lowest-mass Exoplanet Around a Sun-like Star

Explosion Illuminates Invisible Galaxy in the Dark Ages

NASA Selects Launch Services Contract for OSIRIS-REx Mission

The Sun's Magnetic Field is about to Flip

European countries to join in building particle accelerator in Russia

While shooting stars get noticed, cosmic dust hitting us all the time

Perseid meteoroids to produce great balls of fire

Hubble Finds 'Smoking Gun' After Gamma-Ray Blast

Chelyabinsk meteorite may have gang of siblings

Largest neuronal network simulation achieved using K computer

Observations tie colliding neutron stars to 'kilonova' phenomenon

New Explorer Mission Chooses the 'Just-Right' Orbit

"Pandora" virus - covert threat from space?

Free Newsletters - Space - Defense - Environment - Energy

Buy Advertising

Media Advertising Kit

Editorial & Other Enquiries

Privacy statement

The contents herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2013 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy statement