The Sky Tonight

December 18, 2014

Rosetta Orbiter to Swoop Down On Comet in February
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 18, 2014
The European Space Agency's orbiting Rosetta spacecraft is expected to come within four miles (six kilometers) of the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in February of next year. The flyby will be the closest the comet explorer will come during its prime mission. "It is the earliest we could carry it out without impacting the vitally important bound orbits that are currently being flown," said Matt Taylor, the Rosetta project scientist from the European Space Research and Technology Center ... read more

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'Perfect Storm' Quenching Star Formation around a Supermassive Black Hole High-energy jets powered by supermassive black holes can blast away a galaxy's star-forming fuel, resulting in so-called "red and dead" galaxies: those brimming with ancient red stars yet containing ... more		Rosetta comet-landing is Science's 2014 breakthrough The top scientific breakthrough of 2014 was the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft's rendez-vous with a comet, the US journal Science said Thursday. ... more		NASA Satellites Measure Increase of Sun's Energy Absorbed in the Arctic NASA satellite instruments have observed a marked increase in solar radiation absorbed in the Arctic since the year 2000 - a trend that aligns with the steady decrease in Arctic sea ice during the s ... more
				Surprising Theorists, Stars Within Middle-Aged Clusters Are of Similar Age A close look at the night sky reveals that stars don't like to be alone; instead, they congregate in clusters, in some cases containing as many as several million stars. Until recently, the oldest o ... more		ESA scientists say Philae lander will wake up in 2015 The team of scientists and engineers responsible for this fall's historic comet landing are confident Philae's current slumber is only temporary. ... more

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Super-Earth spotted by ground-based telescope, a first For the first time, a ground-based telescope has observed a super-Earth alien planet passing in front of its host star. The exoplanet, roughly twice the size of Earth, is 55 Cancri e. Its host star is 55 Cancri, a Sun-like star 40 light-years away that can be spied with the naked eye in the Cancer constellation. ... more		Oil-dwelling bacteria are social creatures in Earth's deep biosphere Oil reservoirs are scattered deep inside the Earth like far-flung islands in the ocean, so their inhabitants might be expected to be very different, but a new study led by Dartmouth College and Univ ... more		EU states to hold talks on 'drone wall' to protect bloc Denmark military intel fails to identify source of drone flights Lithuania eases rules on shooting down drones		Fermi brings deeper focus to thunderstorm gamma-rays Each day, thunderstorms around the world produce about a thousand quick bursts of gamma rays, some of the highest-energy light naturally found on Earth. By merging records of events seen by NASA's F ... more
				SwRI scientists develop solar observatory for use on suborbital manned space missions Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is preparing to unveil a new, miniature portable solar observatory for use onboard a commercial, manned suborbital spacecraft. The SwRI Solar Instrument Pointing ... more		NASA is letting people name the craters of Mercury The team behind NASA's Mercury orbiter, MESSENGER, has begun a competition to name the craters of Mercury. ... more

Startup in the Land of the Rising Sun; A Japanese Solar Venture - by Bradley L. Bartz

Physicists explain puzzling particle collisions An anomaly spotted at the Large Hadron Collider has prompted scientists to reconsider a mathematical description of the underlying physics. By considering two forces that are distinct in everyday li ... more		NASA Voyager: 'Tsunami Wave' Still Flies Through Interstellar Space The "tsunami wave" that NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft began experiencing earlier this year is still propagating outward, according to new results. It is the longest-lasting shock wave that researchers ... more		NASA ISRO radar satellite beams first Earth images from space Morocco High Atlas whistle language strives for survival China warns Papua New Guinea over Australian defence deal		Moon Express testing compact lunar lander at Kennedy NASA is working with U.S. industry to develop the capabilities and cutting-edge technologies that will help send astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit. To achieve this goal, space travelers will need th ... more
Fraud-proof credit cards possible with quantum physics Credit card fraud and identify theft are serious problems for consumers and industries. Though corporations and individuals work to improve safeguards, it has become increasingly difficult to protec ... more		Scientists measure speedy electrons in silicon The entire semiconductor industry, not to mention Silicon Valley, is built on the propensity of electrons in silicon to get kicked out of their atomic shells and become free. These mobile electrons ... more		Comet probe in race against time to crown stellar feat Europe's deep-space robot lab Philae worked against the clock Friday, attempting to drill into a comet 510 million kilometres (320 million miles) from Earth to crown a historic exploration before its battery runs out. ... more		Philae probing comet with hours left on battery Europe's probe Philae was busily conducting experiments on a comet 510 million kilometres (320 million miles) from Earth with just hours of onboard battery life left, ground control reported of signals received Friday. ... more

	Researchers use real data rather than theory to measure the cosmos For the first time researchers have measured large distances in the Universe using data, rather than calculations related to general relativity. A research team from Imperial College London an ... more		Interstellar Mystery Solved By Supercomputer Simulations An interstellar mystery of why stars form has been solved thanks to the most realistic supercomputer simulations of galaxies yet made. Theoretical astrophysicist Philip Hopkins of the California Ins ... more

JUNO begins decade-long mission to probe neutrino mysteries

SFL Missions to Deliver Spacecraft Buses for HawkEye 360 RF Signal Detection Expansion

Voyager debuts first space based multi cloud region to advance orbital data processing

Observing Solar System Worlds as if They Were Distant Exoplanets		SwRI develops solar observatory for use on suborbital manned space missions		MESSENGER Data Suggest Recurring Meteor Shower on Mercury		Galactic Get-Together Has Impressive Light Display		Galactic Gathering Gives Sparkling Light Display
Interstellar Mystery Solved by Supercomputer Simulations		Researchers detect possible signal from dark matter		Researchers detect possible signal from dark matter		Astronomers spot Pluto-size objects swarming about young sun		Rosetta Comet Water Different Than Earth Water

How Did Life Become Complex, And Could It Happen Beyond Earth?

The Science of Magnetic Reconnection

The Geminids meteor shower should be one of the best this year

Researchers report possible dark matter signal

Rosetta fuels debate on origin of Earth's oceans

Saturn's Moons: What a Difference a Decade Makes

UK Plans to Drill Into Moon, Explore Feasibility of Manned Base

Asteroid 2014 UR116 Represents No Threat to the Earth

NASA-funded FOXSI to Observe X-Rays From Sun

Secondary relaxation in metallic glasses key glassy physics

45-year physics mystery shows a path to quantum transistors

Finding the simple patterns in a complex world

Laser-plasma 'tabletop' particle accelerator sets record

Tennessee research offers explanation for Titan dune puzzle

World record for compact particle accelerator

Electron pairs on demand

Microgravity Helping Us Understand Immune System's Tiny Warriors

Warm Gas Pours 'Cold Water' on Galaxy's Star-Making

Asteroid Explorer Hayabusa2 Completion of Critical Operation Phase

Queen's scientist leads study of 'Super-Earth'

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