The Sky Tonight

May 19, 2016

Debris Alert: A Crack in the Window
Bethesda MD (SPX) May 18, 2016
In recent days media coverage of space debris activity has been intense. Some commentaries are reminiscent of the hysteria in Chicken Little's report of the sky falling. Others recommend that the issue be ignore. They say, "Space is big, so don't worry." However, just last week a report revealed the existence of very small cracks in an International Space Station Window. Apparently, a tiny piece of space junk collided with a window in the Cupola, a European-built viewing compartment installed on I ... read more

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Evolution: Building blocks of life Biological evolution was preceded by a long phase of chemical evolution during which precursors of biopolymers accumulated. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich chemists have discovered a ... more		Allan Sandage's last paper unravels 100-year-old astronomical mystery Carnegie's Allan Sandage, who died in 2010, was a tremendously influential figure in the field of astronomy. His final paper, published posthumously, focuses on unraveling a surprising historical my ... more		Europa's ocean may have an Earthlike chemical balance The ocean of Jupiter's moon Europa could have the necessary balance of chemical energy for life, even if the moon lacks volcanic hydrothermal activity, finds a new study. Europa is strongly be ... more
				Squeezing out mountains, mathematically, on Jupiter's moon Io Mountains aren't the first thing that hit you when you look at images of Jupiter's innermost moon, Io. But once you absorb the fact that the moon is slathered in sulfurous lava erupted from 400 acti ... more		Scientists discover new form of light Researchers in Ireland have discovered a new form of light. Their discovery is expected to reshape scientists' understanding of light's basic nature. ... more

Space Tech Expo - Design - Build - Test - Pasadena CA - May 24-26, 2016

Hunting for Hidden Life on Worlds Orbiting Old, Red Stars All throughout the universe, there are stars in varying phases and ages. Planetary diversity suggests that around other stars, initially frozen worlds could be the size of Earth and provide habitabl ... more		Other Suns Got the Right Spin Astrophysicists from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) and the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore have for the first time measured the rotation periods of stars in a cluster ne ... more		U.S. defense in free fall Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign mutual defense pact Brazil, Chile sign defense agreement		We'll Leave the Lights on for You Looking up at the night sky - expansive and seemingly endless, stars and constellations blinking and glimmering like jewels just out of reach - it's impossible not to wonder: Are we alone? For ... more
				What sparks one of the most explosive processes in the universe Scientists are making new discoveries about a process that causes some of the most explosive events in the universe. At the same time, they are answering questions about Earth's magnetosphere - the ... more		Manchester astronomers detect helium-3 4000 light years away A team of astronomers from The University of Manchester, together with collaborators from the Centro de Astrobiologia and the Deep Space Network, Spain and the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexic ... more

Human 2 Mars Conference May 17-19 2016 - Washington DC

Transition from Operations to Decommissioning by Preparing a Safe, Cost-Effective Shut Down and Waste Management Strategy

The World's Largest Commercial Drone Conference and Expo - Sept 7-9 - Las Vegas

Directed Energy And Next Generation Munitions - 20-22 June - Washington DC

Simons observatory will investigate the early universe Princeton University researchers will have an integral role in the Simons Observatory, a new astronomy facility in South America recently established with a $38.4 million grant from the Simons Found ... more		Hubble spies a spiral snowflake Together with irregular galaxies, spiral galaxies make up approximately 60 percent of the galaxies in the local universe. However, despite their prevalence, each spiral galaxy is unique - like snowf ... more		GUARDIAN Tsunami Detection Tech Catches Wave in Real Time Galileo daughter mission named Celeste to strengthen navigation resilience How quantum computers can be validated when solving unsolvable problems		Chandra movie captures expanding debris from stellar explosion When the star that created this supernova remnant exploded in 1572, it was so bright that it was visible during the day. And though he wasn't the first or only person to observe this stellar spectac ... more
NASA directly observes fundamental process of nature for 1st time Like sending sensors up into a hurricane, NASA has flown four spacecraft through an invisible maelstrom in space, called magnetic reconnection. Magnetic reconnection is one of the prime drivers of s ... more		Plasma physics' giant leap For the first time, scientists are looking at real data - not computer models, but direct observation - about what is happening in the fascinating region where the Earth's magnetic field breaks and ... more		Physicists measure van der Waals forces of individual atoms for the first time Physicists at the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the University of Basel have succeeded in measuring the very weak van der Waals forces between individual atoms for the first time. To do this, they ... more		MMS Puts Magnetic Reconnection Under the Microscope A team led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has made the first direct detection of the source of magnetic reconnection. Analyzing data from NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, scie ... more

	Close-up Hubble images show new details of comet Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured images of Comet 252P/LINEAR just after a close encounter with Earth on March 21. The close proximity to the comet offered scientists new insi ... more		Asteroid Mining - What the Heck The concept of commercializing space has become quite popular among entrepreneurs who sense that there are many possible profit-making opportunities awaiting adventurers willing to attempt exploitat ... more

Ohio State scientists advance focus on nuclear propulsion

Mixing neutrinos of colliding neutron stars changes how merger unfolds

China launches experimental satellites to enhance mobile space internet

Amateurs prepare big-picture perspective to support Juno		Small blue galaxy could shed new light on Big Bang, IU astronomers say		Exoplanets' Orbits Point to Planetary Migration		Star Has Four Mini-Neptunes Orbiting in Lock Step		Did Star Formation Regulation Change as the Universe Evolved
Metal Content in Early Galaxies Challenges Star Forming Theory		Spacecraft fly through magnetic phenomenon to understand space weather		How light is detected affects the atom that emits it		Dartmouth announces new way to explore mathematical universe		Nuclear physics' interdisciplinary progress

A quasiparticle collider

Synchronized planets reveal clues to planet formation

Kepler space telescope finds another 1284 exo planets

Building compact particle accelerators

Atomic force microscope reveals molecular ghosts

Exploring the mathematical universe

Intense wind found in neighborhood of a black hole

The hard knock life of Saturn's Epimetheus

Observing how microbes adapt in a spaceflight environment

When neutron stars emit gravitational waves

Comet craters - literal melting pots for life on Earth

Swept Up in the Solar Wind

Natural Causes, Not Aliens, Explain Mystery Star's Behavior

Sun's magnetic field during the grand minimum is in fact at its maximum

NASA says 1,284 new planets found by Kepler telescope

Enceladus jets: surprises in starlight

Silicate stardust traces histories of dust in the galaxy

Airbus Defence and Space to lead TeSeR, next EU project to clean up space

First global topographic model of Mercury

'Starspot' images give insights into early sun

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