The Sky Tonight

December 03, 2013

The State of Super Earths
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Dec 03, 2013
Our solar system hosts a cornucopia of worlds, from the hellfire of Venus to the frozen plains of Mars to the mighty winds of Uranus. In that range, the Earth stands alone, with no planet coming close to its life-friendly position near the Sun. Outside our solar system, however, it's a different story. Observations using space-based and ground-based telescopes have indicated that a new class of objects dubbed super-Earths - worlds that are about two to 10 times our planet's mass and up to two time ... read more

Previous Issues

Dec 02

Dec 01

Nov 29

Nov 28

Nov 27

December Expedition to Explore Life in Hydrothermal Vent While most Americans shop for holiday gifts and break out festive decorations, a team of 18 researchers will spend their holiday season at sea, using underwater robots to explore the extreme habitat ... more		NASA Investigating the Life of Comet ISON After several days of continued observations, scientists continue to work to determine and to understand the fate of Comet ISON: There's no doubt that the comet shrank in size considerably as it rou ... more		Physicists find a way to study coldest objects in the universe They are the coldest objects in the Universe and are so fragile that even a single photon can heat and destroy them. Known as Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) and consisting of just a cluster ... more
				Figures of Eight and Peanut Shells at the Galactic Center Two months ago astronomers created a new 3D map of stars at the centre of our Galaxy (the Milky Way), showing more clearly than ever the bulge at its core. Previous explanations suggested that the s ... more		Flashes of brilliance Spontaneous bursts of light from a solid block illuminate the unusual way interacting quantum particles behave when they are driven far from equilibrium. The discovery by Rice University scientists ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

No qualms about quantum theory A colloquium paper published in EPJ D looks into the alleged issues associated with quantum theory. Berthold-Georg Englert from the National University of Singapore reviews a selection of the potent ... more		China launches first moon rover mission China launched its first moon rover mission early Monday, the latest step in an ambitious space programme seen as a symbol of its rising global stature. ... 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?		Helping China To The Moon Shortly after China's Chang'e-3 spacecraft departs Earth to land on the Moon, ESA's network of tracking stations will swing into action, providing crucial support for the vessel's five-day lunar cru ... more
				Rock Comet Sprouts a Tail Astronomers have long been puzzled by a certain meteor shower. Every year in mid-December the sky fills with flashes of light shooting out of the constellation Gemini. The Geminids are fast, b ... more		Japanese firm describes proposed 'power belt' for the moon A Japanese company has unveiled its concept of a lunar solar power generation installation that could send 13,000 continuous terawatts of power back to Earth. ... more

International Conference on Protection of Materials and Structures From Space Environment

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Comet ISON probably did not survive Sun skirmish Comet ISON seems to have perished in a much too-close encounter with the Sun, leaving only a dust trail that will disappear over time, astronomers said on Friday. ... more		Comet ISON vanishes as it circles the sun Comet ISON appears to have flown too close to the surface of the sun Thursday and vanished as it circled the fiery surface, astronomers said. ... 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		Countdown to the galactic census On 19 December 2013, Europe's billion-star surveyor is due to be launched into space where it will embark on its mission to create a highly accurate 3D map of our galaxy. By repeatedly observi ... more
				Mach 1000 shock wave lights supernova remnant When a star explodes as a supernova, it shines brightly for a few weeks or months before fading away. Yet the material blasted outward from the explosion still glows hundreds or thousands of years l ... more		Our Galaxy takes its food in pills "Food pills" were a staple of science fiction for decades. For our Galaxy, they may be real. The Galaxy has been making stars for the last 8 billion years. What's kept it going all that time? ... more

The Sounds of New Horizons

On the Path to Pluto, 5 AU and Closing

SwRI study finds that Pluto satellites' orbital ballet may hint of long-ago collisions

December Expedition to Explore Life in Hydrothermal Vent

Glassy Coating Keeps Viruses Happy In Harsh Environments

No peak in sight for evolving bacteria

The State of Super Earths

Search for habitable planets should be more conservative

NASA Kepler Results Usher in a New Era of Astronomy

Deep Space Perils For Indian Spacecraft

NASA poised to launch Mars atmosphere probe

Curiosity Resumes Science After Analysis of Voltage Issue

	Comet ISON vs. the Solar Storm In 2007, astronomers were amazed when a solar storm hit Comet Encke. NASA STEREO spacecraft watched as a CME (coronal mass ejection) struck the comet head on and ripped off its tail. The same thing ... more		Amidst and Beyond the Rings While the moon Epimetheus passes by, beyond the edge of Saturn's main rings, the tiny moon Daphnis carries on its orbit within the Keeler gap of the A ring. Although quite different in size, both mo ... more		Black hole jets pack a powerful punch Black-hole jets recycle matter and energy into space and can affect when and where a galaxy forms stars. "Jets from supermassive black holes help determine a galaxy's fate - how it evolves," s ... more		Image of sun shows two areas of sunspots, one arriving and one leaving NASA has released an image of the sun showing two sunspots - one "coming" and one "going" - both the size of Jupiter, astronomers say. ... 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

Calm solar cycle prompts questions about impact on Earth		Smartphone app can help track, identify meteors falling to Earth		Search for habitable planets should be more conservative		Spotlight on China's Moon Rover		Will comet ISON survive its near brush with the Sun?
Do Black Holes Come in Size Medium?		Scientists Seek Other Scientists for Cosmology Problem		IceCube provides proof of neutrinos from the cosmos		Evidence of jet of high-energy particles from Milky Way's black hole		We're Going to the Moon!

NASA's Solar Observing Fleet to Watch Comet ISON's Journey around the Sun

Physicist's journey reveals smaller asteroids could cause bigger problems

Searching for Cosmic Accelerators Via IceCube

Chandra Helps Confirm Evidence of Jet in Milky Way's Black Hole

IceCube pushes neutrinos to the forefront of astronomy

NASA, Planetary Resources Sign Agreement to Crowdsource Asteroid Detection

NASA Spacecraft Begins Collecting Lunar Atmosphere Data

Infant Galaxies Merging Near 'Cosmic Dawn'

Monster gamma-ray burst in our cosmic neighborhood

HZDR researchers simulate electrons in astrophysical plasma jets

Whither the teakettle whistle

Revisiting quantum effects in MEMS

Sunspots: Coming and Going

Asteroids should be colonized or used as transport to planets

Comet ISON, hype aside, is an intriguing cosmic visitor

Scientists find that Mars, not Earth, shakes up some near-Earth asteroids

Research uncovers secrets of Mars' birth from unique meteorite

Rediscovered Apollo data gives first measure of how fast Moon dust piles up

Big Boost for China's Moon Lander

Stunning meteorite sheds light on infant Mars

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 1995-2014 - 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