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ALMA gives passing comet its close-up![]() Charlottesville VA (SPX) Dec 21, 2018 As comet 46P/Wirtanen neared Earth on December 2, astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) took a remarkably close look the innermost regions of the comet's coma, the gaseous envelope around its nucleus. ALMA imaged the comet when it was approximately 16.5 million kilometers from Earth. At its closet on December 16, the comet - one of the brightest in years - was approximately 11.6 million kilometers from Earth, or about 30 times the distance from the Earth to the ... read more |
Data storage using individual moleculesBasel, Switzerland (SPX) Dec 19, 2018 Researchers from the University of Basel have reported a new method that allows the physical state of just a few atoms or molecules within a network to be controlled. It is based on the spontaneous ... more
Fake plastic atomsParis (ESA) Dec 19, 2018 Our world is made of atoms and molecules, but even with the most powerful microscopes we can only see snapshots, never how they move and interact with each other. To model how atoms behave, research ... more
Getting a glimpse inside the moonEdmonton, Canada (SPX) Dec 21, 2018 New research from University of Alberta physicists provides the first-ever model of our Moon's rotational dynamics, taking into consideration its solid inner core. Their model helps to explain why, ... more
NASA telescopes take a close look at the brightest comet of 2018Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 21, 2018 As the brilliant comet 46P/Wirtanen streaked across the sky, NASA telescopes caught it on camera from multiple angles. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope photographed comet 46P/Wirtanen on Dec. 13, ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Dec 20 | Dec 19 | Dec 18 | Dec 17 | Dec 16 |
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Sapphires and Rubies in the SkyZurich, Switzerland (SPX) Dec 21, 2018 21 light-years away from us in the constellation Cassiopeia, a planet orbits its star with a year that is just three days long. Its name is HD219134 b. With a mass almost five times that of Earth it ... more
Stellar corpse reveals clues to missing stardustTucson AZ (SPX) Dec 21, 2018 Everything around you - your desk, your laptop, your coffee cup - in fact, even you - is made of stardust, the stuff forged in the fiery furnaces of stars that died before our Sun was born. Probing ... more
Faint glow within galaxy clusters illuminates dark matterBaltimore MD (SPX) Dec 21, 2018 A new look at Hubble images of galaxies could be a step toward illuminating the elusive nature of dark matter, the unobservable material that makes up the majority of the universe, according to a st ... more
Cosmic ray telescope launches from AntarcticaWashington (UPI) Dec 20, 2018 SuperTIGER is once again flying high above the South Pole. The cosmic ray telescope launched Thursday from Williams Field at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. ... more
Unique insights into an exotic matter stateKiel, Germany (SPX) Dec 19, 2018 The properties of the matter, which surrounds us in our everyday life, are typically the result of complex interactions between electrons. These electrically-charged particles are one of the fundame ... more |
![]() Preparing for discovery with NASA's Parker Solar Probe
NEOWISE satellite observes adolescent star going through a growth spurtWashington (UPI) Dec 19, 2018 New images captured by NASA's NEOWISE satellite revealed a pattern of brightening emanating from a newfound star named Gaia 17bpi. The brightening suggests the young star is experiencing a growth spurt. ... more |
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Scientists design new material to harness power of lightLowell MA (SPX) Dec 19, 2018 Scientists have long known that synthetic materials - called metamaterials - can manipulate electromagnetic waves such as visible light to make them behave in ways that cannot be found in nature. Th ... more
BepiColombo's first routine firing in spaceParis (ESA) Dec 19, 2018 On Monday this week, BepiColombo began its very first routine electric propulsion firing. After meticulous testing of the spacecraft's four high-tech ion thrusters, the mission team have now f ... more
Israeli spacecraft gets special passenger before moon journeyYehud, Israel (AFP) Dec 17, 2018 Israeli scientists making final preparations to launch the country's first spacecraft to the moon added a special passenger on Monday that will accompany the journey. ... more
Space telescope detects water in a number of asteroidsKobe, Japan (SPX) Dec 19, 2018 Using the infrared satellite AKARI, a Japanese research team has detected the existence of water in the form of hydrated minerals in a number of asteroids for the first time. This discovery will con ... more
Mystery of coronae around supermassive black holes deepensTokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 19, 2018 Researchers from RIKEN and JAXA have used observations from the ALMA radio observatory located in northern Chile and managed by an international consortium including the National Astronomical Observ ... more |
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Ultima Thule's First Mystery: Lack of a 'Light Curve' Laurel MD (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is bearing down on Ultima Thule, its New Year's flyby target in the far away Kuiper Belt. Among its approach observations over the past three months, the spacecraft has been taking hundreds of images to measure Ultima's brightness and how it varies as the object rotates.
Those measurements have produced the mission's first mystery about Ultima. Even though sc ... more |
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NASA study finds sugars, key ingredient for life, can form in space Washington DC (Sputnik) Dec 21, 2018
A new study by NASA scientists has proven that sugar molecules - one of the building blocks of life - can form in conditions similar to those in outer space. The find provides further grist to the mill of the argument that life on Earth got some sort of help from above in its formation.
A new paper published on Tuesday by scientists from the National Atmospheric and Space Administration's ... more |
Mars Express gets festive: A winter wonderland on Mars Paris (ESA) Dec 21, 2018
This image shows what appears to be a large patch of fresh, untrodden snow - a dream for any lover of the holiday season. However, it's a little too distant for a last-minute winter getaway: this feature, known as Korolev crater, is found on Mars, and is shown here in beautiful detail as seen by Mars Express.
ESA's Mars Express mission launched on 2 June 2003, and reached Mars six months l ... more |
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Getting a glimpse inside the moon Edmonton, Canada (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
New research from University of Alberta physicists provides the first-ever model of our Moon's rotational dynamics, taking into consideration its solid inner core. Their model helps to explain why, as seen from Earth, the Moon appears to wobble on its axis.
The answer, said physicist Mathieu Dumberry, lies in the complex geometry of the Moon's orbit, locked in what is known as a Cassini st ... more |
Webb Telescope wrapped in a mobile clean room Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
Before moving NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, and to assure that it's kept clean and safe, Webb got a very special wrapping treatment. The wrapping acts as a "mobile clean room," safeguarding the technological marvel from contaminants.
All satellites and observatories are created in clean rooms. Clean rooms filter out harmful contaminants, as even a speck of dust or a fingerprint could ... more |
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Atmospheric aerosol formation from biogenic vapors is strongly affected by air pollutants Helsinki, Finland (SPX) Dec 17, 2018
The formation of new aerosol particles is a complicated process. Researchers have only recently started to understand this process on a molecular level after instruments able to detect nanometer-scale particles became available.
The human population has altered the composition of atmospheric gas in several ways. Sulfur dioxide from industrial emissions, nitrogen oxides from traffic, and am ... more |
Navigating NASA's first mission to the Trojan asteroids Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
In science fiction, explorers can hop in futuristic spaceships and traverse half the galaxy in the blink of a plot hole. However, this sidelines the navigational acrobatics required in order to guarantee real-life mission success.
In 2021, the feat of navigation that is the Lucy mission will launch. To steer Lucy towards its targets doesn't simply involve programming a map into a spacecraf ... more |
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Preparing for discovery with NASA's Parker Solar Probe Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 13, 2018
Weeks after Parker Solar Probe made the closest-ever approach to a star, the science data from the first solar encounter is just making its way into the hands of the mission's scientists. It's a moment many in the field have been anticipating for years, thinking about what they'll do with such never-before-seen data, which has the potential to shed new light on the physics of our star, the Sun. ... more |
China's Chang'e-4 probe enters lunar orbit Beijing (XNA) Dec 13, 2018
China's Chang'e-4 probe decelerated and entered the lunar orbit Wednesday, completing a vital step on its way to make the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced.
After flying about 110 hours from earth, an engine on the probe was ignited when it was 129 km above the surface of the moon, in line with instructions sent fr ... more |
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Webb Telescope wrapped in a mobile clean room Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
Before moving NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, and to assure that it's kept clean and safe, Webb got a very special wrapping treatment. The wrapping acts as a "mobile clean room," safeguarding the technological marvel from contaminants.
All satellites and observatories are created in clean rooms. Clean rooms filter out harmful contaminants, as even a speck of dust or a fingerprint could ... more |
Peering into Little Foot's 3.67 million-year-old brain Johannesburg, South Africa (SPX) Dec 19, 2018
First ever endocast reconstruction of the nearly complete brain of the hominin known as Little Foot reveals a small brain combining ape-like and human-like features.
MicroCT scans of the Australopithecus fossil known as Little Foot shows that the brain of this ancient human relative was small and shows features that are similar to our own brain and others that are closer to our ancestor sh ... more |
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NASA astronaut, crewmates return to Earth after 197-Day mission in space Houston TX (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
Three members of the International Space Station's Expedition 57 crew, including NASA astronaut Serena Aunon-Chancellor, returned to Earth Thursday, safely landing at 12:02 a.m. EST (11:02 a.m. local time) in Kazakhstan.
Aunon-Chancellor and her crewmates, Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) and Soyuz Commander Sergey Prokopyev, launched June 6 and arrive ... more |
Russia says will build up Arctic military presence Moscow (AFP) Dec 18, 2018
Russia will build up its military presence in the Arctic over the next year, the defence minister said Tuesday, as Moscow seeks to assert its influence in the strategic region.
The announcement comes after years of increased activity in the Arctic, which Moscow has declared a top priority due to its mineral riches and military importance.
"We'll finish building infrastructure in 2019 to ... more |
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Seismic study reveals huge amount of water dragged into Earth's interior Washington DC (SPX) Dec 19, 2018
Slow-motion collisions of tectonic plates under the ocean drag about three times more water down into the deep Earth than previously estimated, according to a first-of-its-kind seismic study that spans the Mariana Trench, a crescent-shaped trench in the Western Pacific that measures 1,500 miles long and is the deepest ocean trench in the world.
The observations from the trench have importa ... more |
New squeezing record at GEO600 gravitational-wave detector Hannover, Germany (SPX) Dec 17, 2018
The detection of Einstein's gravitational waves relies on highly precise laser measurements of small length changes. The kilometer-size detectors of the international network (GEO600, LIGO, Virgo) are so sensitive that they are fundamentally limited by tiny quantum mechanical effects.
These cause a background noise which overlaps with gravitational-wave signals. This noise is always presen ... more |
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