The Sky Tonight

June 18, 2016

Parkes telescope detects key feature of life outside our solar system
Parkes, Australia (SPX) Jun 17, 2016
The breakthrough is expected to help scientists solve one of the greatest mysteries in biology - the origin of homochirality - and offer insights into what we can expect from life throughout the universe. The finding was announced at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society and will appear in the journal Science. Like your two hands, many molecules can exist in forms that are mirror images of each other. But molecules associated with life, such as amino acids, proteins, enzymes and sug ... read more

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Did gravitational wave detector find dark matter The eight scientists from the Johns Hopkins Henry A. Rowland Department of Physics and Astronomy had already started making calculations when the discovery by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational- ... more		High-Tech Telescope for Dangerous Asteroids Detection Launched in Russia The country's first wide-angle telescope AZT-33 BM will be able to see any space boulder the size of the Tunguska meteorite a month before its collision with Earth. At the Sayan Observatory of the I ... more		NASA's Juno spacecraft nears rendezvous with Jupiter NASA's solar-powered Juno probe is less than three weeks and 8.6 million miles away from its Jupiter flyby, scheduled for July 4. Upon its initial approach, Juno will fly within 2,900 miles of the gas giant's upper atmosphere. ... more
				The Search for Our Own Alien Life Everybody has an opinion about the possibility of alien life. In the movies, contact commonly starts with a violent encounter. Sometimes, the story includes alien life emerging from a spaceship, spe ... more		Nano 'hall of mirrors' causes molecules to mix with light When a molecule emits a blink of light, it doesn't expect it to ever come back. However researchers have now managed to place single molecules in such a tiny optical cavity that emitted photons, or ... more

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

Small Asteroid Is Earth's Constant Companion A small asteroid has been discovered in an orbit around the sun that keeps it as a constant companion of Earth, and it will remain so for centuries to come. As it orbits the sun, this new aste ... more		Clouds, haze cause astronomers to overestimate size of exoplanets New research suggests the size of exoplanets may be routinely overestimated, and clouds, scientists say, are to blame. ... more		U.S. defense in free fall Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign mutual defense pact Brazil, Chile sign defense agreement		UChicago physicists first to see behavior of quantum materials in curved space Light and matter are typically viewed as distinct entities that follow their own, unique rules. Matter has mass and typically exhibits interactions with other matter, while light is massless and doe ... more
				Planet-Devouring Star Reveals Possible Limestone Crumbs A group of researchers using the W. M. Keck Observatory have discovered a planet-like body that may have been encrusted in limestone and is having its surface layers devoured by its deceased host st ... more		New Gravitational-Wave Finder Scores Again Less than four months after the historic first-ever detection of gravitational waves, scientists on a team that includes Penn State University physicists and astronomers now have detected another gr ... more

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

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Smaller Stars Pack Big X-ray Punch for Would-Be Planets 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 fro ... more		Gamers Tackle Virtual Asteroid Sampling Mission Mission: Build a replica of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and successfully return an asteroid sample to Earth. That's the challenge OSIRIS-REx Project Scientist Jason Dworkin of NASA's Goddard Space Fli ... 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		Planetary Resources and Luxembourg partner to advance space resource industry Planetary Resources has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the banking institution Societe Nationale de Credit et d'I ... more
Natural quasicrystals may be the result of collisions between objects in the asteroid belt Naturally formed quasicrystals - crystal-like solids with supposedly impossible symmetries - are among the rarest structures on Earth. Only two have ever been found. A team led by Paul Asimow (MS '9 ... more		New planet is largest discovered that orbits 2 suns If you cast your eyes toward the constellation Cygnus, you'll be looking in the direction of the largest planet yet discovered around a double-star system. It's too faint to see with the naked eye, ... more		Failed star creates its own spotlight in the universe Although astronomers often refer to brown dwarfs as "failed stars," scientists at the University of Delaware have discovered that at least one of these dim celestial objects can emit powerful flashe ... more		Unknown alien rock found in Swedish quarry A morsel of never-before-seen alien rock has been dug up in a limestone quarry in Sweden, where it had lain deeply buried for about 470 million years, scientists said Tuesday. ... more

	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

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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Can computers do magic?		Japan OISTER collaboration uncovers the origin of extraordinary supernovae		Computer simulations shed light on the Milky Way's missing red giants		Scientists observe supermassive black hole feeding on cold gas		Black hole fed by cold intergalactic deluge

Optical 'sonic boom' could help graphene convert electricity into light

NIST's super quantum simulator 'entangles' hundreds of ions

Light: Information's new friend

Likely new planet may be in slow death spiral

This black hole has an appetite for cold, cosmic rain

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Grand Canyon National Park Receives Provisional International Dark Sky Park Status

Universe's first life might have been born on carbon planets

Gravitational-Wave Spacecraft Sets New Free-Fall Record

'Light pollution' dims Milky Way for 1/3 of stargazers: study

Scientists reconstruct the history of asteroid collisions

Observational distance record promises new tool for studying galaxies

NASA's Juno Mission 26 Days from Jupiter

Cloudy Days on Exoplanets May Hide Atmospheric Water

Revisiting trajectories at the quantum scale

At the LHC, charmed twins will soon be more common than singles

Algorithm could construct first images of black holes

LISA Pathfinder Exceeds Expectations

Black Holes Might Not be Dead-ends After All

Asteroseismologists listen to the relics of the Milky Way

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