The Sky Tonight

January 19, 2015

Three-Planet System Holds Clues to Atmospheres of Earth-size Worlds
Manoa HI (SPX) Jan 19, 2015
Extrasolar planets are being discovered by the hundreds, but are any of these newfound worlds really like Earth? A planetary system recently discovered by the Kepler spacecraft will help resolve this question. The system of three planets, each just larger than Earth, orbits a nearby star called EPIC 201367065. The three planets are 1.5-2 times the size of Earth, and the outermost planet orbits on the edge of the so-called "habitable zone," where the temperature may be just right for liquid water, ... read more

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New data that fundamental physics constants underlie life-enabling universe For nearly half a century, theoretical physicists have made a series of discoveries that certain constants in fundamental physics seem extraordinarily fine-tuned to allow for the emergence of a life ... more		Galactic 'hailstorm' in the early universe Two teams of astronomers led by researchers at the University of Cambridge have looked back nearly 13 billion years, when the Universe was less than 10 percent its present age, to determine how quas ... more		Meteorites weren't exactly the building blocks of young planets That meteorites and their collisions with early planetary masses played a predominant role in the formation of the early universe is a narrative popular among astronomers and the average high school science class. ... more
				NASA's New Horizons probe begins Pluto observations It's been nine years since the New Horizons probe left Earth, and now the craft is gearing up for its encounter with Pluto in July - the first-ever flyby of the icy cold dwarf planet. ... more		Europe comet mission deserves Nobel: space chief A European mission that made the first landing on a comet deserves the Nobel prize, the head of the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Friday. ... more

Nuclear Decommissioning Conference Europe May 2015

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Race of the electrons It is easy to measure electric current. But it is extremely hard to watch the individual electrons which make up this current. Electrons race through the metal with a speed of several million meters ... more		Rapid journey through a crystal lattice The time frames, in which electrons travel within atoms, are unfathomably short. For example, electrons excited by light change their quantum-mechanical location within mere attoseconds - an attosec ... more		Greenland truce or Trump win? Davos "framework" pauses tariffs but not the takeover boasts Greenlanders doubtful over Trump resolution EU says ready to sign defence and security pact with India		A year on-station for Gaia Time flies when you're mapping a billion stars! One year ago, Gaia performed its last major orbit insertion burn and was stable at 'L2' ... more
				Meteorite material born in molten spray as embryo planets collided Asteroids may be a byproduct of planet formation rather than planetary building blocks, according to a recent paper in Nature. Research done at Purdue University suggests collisions of planetary emb ... more		NASA and ESA Celebrate 10 Years Since Titan Landing Ten years ago, an explorer from Earth parachuted into the haze of an alien moon toward an uncertain fate. After a gentle descent lasting more than two hours, it landed with a thud on a frigid floodp ... more

A twist on planetary origins Meteors that have crashed to Earth have long been regarded as relics of the early solar system. These craggy chunks of metal and rock are studded with chondrules - tiny, glassy, spherical grains th ... more		AI helps physicists predict dangerous solar flares Though scientists do not completely understand what triggers solar flares, Stanford solar physicists Monica Bobra and Sebastien Couvidat have automated the analysis of those gigantic explosions. The ... more		Trump vows to relaunch Egypt-Ethiopia talks on dam row China's birth rate falls to lowest on record Chile police arrest suspect over deadly wildfires		NameExoWorlds contest opens The first ever contest allowing members of the public to name ExoWorlds begins its first round today, offering the registered clubs and non-profit organisations the chance to nominate their favourit ... more
Last Chance: Mercury Crater-Naming Contest Ends January 15 The MESSENGER Education and Public Outreach (EPO) Team is reminding interested parties that the competition to name five impact craters on Mercury closes on January 15, 2015. The contest, open to ev ... more		Service Module of Chinese Probe Enters Lunar Orbit The service module of China's unmanned test lunar spacecraft successfully entered orbit in Sunday after slowing down, the Beijing Aerospace Control Center reported. According to instruction, t ... more		Unusual Light Signal Yields Clues About Elusive Black Hole Merger The central regions of many glittering galaxies, our own Milky Way included, harbor cores of impenetrable darkness-black holes with masses equivalent to millions, or even billions, of suns. What is ... more		Decoding the gravitational evolution of dark matter halos Researchers at Kavli IPMU and their collaborators have revealed that considering environmental effects such as a gravitational tidal force spread over a scale much larger than a galaxy cluster is in ... more

	Asteroid to Fly By Earth Safely on January 26 An asteroid, designated 2004 BL86, will safely pass about three times the distance of Earth to the moon on January 26. From its reflected brightness, astronomers estimate that the asteroid is about ... more		Ground-breaking research to discover new planets Scientists from Queen's University Belfast have partnered with leading astrophysicists across Europe for a ground-breaking space research project that will form a crucial step in the quest to study ... more

Quantum transport method reads open quantum states

Scientists uncover new quantum state that could power future technologies

Early universe dark matter born red hot before cooling

Scientists say a meteorite could be responsible for Antarctic crater		Map of Mysterious Molecules Sheds New Light on Century-old Puzzle		NASA releases retro-styled travel posters for newly discovered planets		New catalyst process uses light, not metal, for rapid polymerization		Service module of China's lunar orbiter enters 127-minute orbit
Disappearance of a Cosmic Spinning Top		Novel vision of the death of massive stars		Photonic booms may help illuminate astronomical secrets		Hubble Gazes at R Sculptoris and its Hidden Companion		Map of mysterious molecules sheds light on old puzzle

Amateur astronomers capture comet Lovejoy on camera

See comet Lovejoy with the naked eye this weekend

Machines Teach Astronomers About Stars

Dawn of a strange new world

Space Debris Expert Warns About Dangers of Orbital Junk

New light shed on electron spin flips

Scientists Pinpoint Saturn With Exquisite Accuracy

Will the Real Monster Black Hole Please Stand Up?

Rosetta in 2015

CfA: Eight New Planets Found in "Goldilocks" Zone

Comet Lovejoy Glows Brightest During Mid-January

Planet-hunting satellite observes supermassive black hole

Unusual Light Signal Hints at Distant Black Hole Merger

Flashes from faster-than-light spots unveil astronomical secrets

Juno on its way to unveil Jupiter's mysteries

More accurate Saturn positioning helps improve astro navigation

Where Did All The Stars Go

"Assassin" Targets Supernovae in Our Neighborhood

A New, Public View of the Sky

Andromeda Hints at More Violent History than Milky Way

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