The Sky Tonight

June 14, 2016

Smaller Stars Pack Big X-ray Punch for Would-Be Planets
Huntsville AL (SPX) Jun 15, 2016
Young stars much less massive than the Sun can unleash a torrent of X-ray radiation that can significantly shorten the lifetime of planet-forming disks surrounding these stars. This result comes from a new study of a group of nearby stars using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes. Researchers found evidence that intense X-ray radiation produced by some of the young stars in the TW Hya association (TWA), which is about 160 light years from Earth, has destroyed disks of d ... read more

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NASA's NICER Mission Arrives at Kennedy Space Center An upcoming NASA astrophysics mission will uncover the physics governing the ultra-dense interiors of neutron stars. Using the same platform, the mission will demonstrate trailblazing space navigati ... more		New atlas of light pollution A new atlas of light pollution documents the degree to which the world is illuminated by artificial skyglow. In addition to being a scourge for astronomers, bright nights also affect nocturnal organ ... more		Milky Way now hidden from one-third of humanity The Milky Way, the brilliant river of stars that has dominated the night sky and human imaginations since time immemorial, is but a faded memory to one third of humanity and 80 percent of Americans, ... more
				SOFIA Pinpoints Water Vapor in Young Star A team of scientists using the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has pinpointed the amount and location of water vapor around a newly forming star with groundbreaking precisio ... more		Scientists observe supermassive black hole feeding on cold gas At the center of a galaxy cluster, 1 billion light years from Earth, a voracious, supermassive black hole is preparing for a chilly feast. For the first time, astronomers have detected billowy cloud ... more

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

Black hole fed by cold intergalactic deluge The new ALMA observation is the first direct evidence that cold dense clouds can coalesce out of hot intergalactic gas and plunge into the heart of a galaxy to feed its central supermassive black ho ... more		NIST's super quantum simulator 'entangles' hundreds of ions Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have "entangled" or linked together the properties of up to 219 beryllium ions (charged atoms) to create a quantum simulator. ... more		U.S. defense in free fall Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign mutual defense pact Brazil, Chile sign defense agreement		Japan OISTER collaboration uncovers the origin of extraordinary supernovae Astronomers using the OISTER telescope consortium in Japan have uncovered new information about the origin of 'extraordinary supernovae' explosions, which are brighter than normal ones. This new inf ... more
				Computer simulations shed light on the Milky Way's missing red giants New computer simulations from the Georgia Institute of Technology provide a conclusive test for a hypothesis of why the center of the Milky Way appears to be filled with young stars but has very few ... more		Gravitational-Wave Spacecraft Sets New Free-Fall Record A key component of a future gravitational wave observatory passed a series of tests with flying colors, while coming closer to experiencing true free fall than any other human-made object ever has. ... more

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

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

'Light pollution' dims Milky Way for 1/3 of stargazers: study One third of stargazers around the world can't see the Milky Way at night because of "light pollution" from buildings, street lamps and other forms of artificial illumination on Earth, according to a new study. ... more		NASA's Juno Mission 26 Days from Jupiter NASA's Juno mission is now 26 days and 11.1 million miles (17.8 million kilometers) away from the largest planetary inhabitant in our solar system - Jupiter. On the evening of July 4, Juno will fire ... 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		Cloudy Days on Exoplanets May Hide Atmospheric Water Water is a hot topic in the study of exoplanets, including "hot Jupiters," whose masses are similar to that of Jupiter, but which are much closer to their parent star than Jupiter is to the sun. The ... more
Likely new planet may be in slow death spiral Astronomers searching for the galaxy's youngest planets have found compelling evidence for one unlike any other, a newborn "hot Jupiter" whose outer layers are being torn away by the star it orbits ... more		This black hole has an appetite for cold, cosmic rain An intergalactic gas cloud is sometimes a dish best served cold. In a new study to be published in the journal Nature, a Yale-led team of astronomers found a supermassive black hole about to devour ... more		Black hole deluged by cold intergalactic 'rain' An international team of astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has witnessed a never-before-seen cosmic weather event - a cluster of towering intergalactic gas cl ... more		Grand Canyon National Park Receives Provisional International Dark Sky Park Status The International Dark-Sky Association and the National Park Service are excited to announce that Grand Canyon National Park is now a Provisional IDA International Dark Sky Park. "Tonight's an ... more

	Universe's first life might have been born on carbon planets Our Earth consists of silicate rocks and an iron core with a thin veneer of water and life. But the first potentially habitable worlds to form might have been very different. New research suggests t ... more		Algorithm could construct first images of black holes Researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and Harvard University have developed a new algorithm that could help astronomers produce the first image of a black ho ... more

Ohio State scientists advance focus on nuclear propulsion

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China launches experimental satellites to enhance mobile space internet

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Optical 'sonic boom' could help graphene convert electricity into light		Revisiting trajectories at the quantum scale		At the LHC, charmed twins will soon be more common than singles		Scientists reconstruct the history of asteroid collisions		Observational distance record promises new tool for studying galaxies

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On exoplanets, atmospheric water may be hiding behind clouds

Aerospace Awarded NASA Grant for Innovative Space Debris Technology

Wasteful galaxies launch heavy elements into surrounding halos and deep space

The mystery of the initial mass function solved

Spinning electrons yield positrons for research

Brand-new detector to reveal the interiors of stars

Titan Transtage to be studied by orbital debris scientists

Orbit Logic Awarded Air Force Space Situational Awareness Contract

Physicist Develops New Model for Speed and Motion of Solar Flares

Fifty Years of Moon Dust

Luxembourg takes first steps to asteroid mining law

New radio map of Jupiter reveals what's beneath colorful clouds

Astronomers smash cosmic records to see hydrogen in distant galaxy

US may approve private venture moon mission: report

Probing the geometry of energy bands

Airbus Defence and Space to guide lunar lander to the Moon

Solar telescope on track for ground-breaking observations

Schafer Corp launches new venture in Commercial Space Situational Awareness

NASA's Hubble finds universe is expanding faster than expected

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