Astronomy posts
- June 17, 2013
- 11:27 AM
- 41 views
Mars have building blocks of life as shown by the Martian rock from Antarctica
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main Point:
Scientists studied Martian meteorite obtained from Antarctica and found potential building block of life in it.
Published in:
PLoS ONE
Study Further:
Scientists have found good amount of boron in the rock. Boron is considered as the important element in the development of ribonucleic acid or RNA, which a nucleic acid that contains the sugar ribose. It is found in all living cells, and is essential for the manufacture of proteins according to the instructions carried by........ Read more »
Stephenson, J., Hallis, L., Nagashima, K., & Freeland, S. (2013) Boron Enrichment in Martian Clay. PLoS ONE, 8(6). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064624
- June 17, 2013
- 05:48 AM
- 37 views
NASA-Led Study Explains Decades of Black Hole Observations
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
A new study by astronomers at NASA, Johns Hopkins University and the Rochester Institute of Technology confirms long-held suspicions about how stellar-mass black holes produce their highest-energy light.... Read more »
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. (2013) NASA-Led Study Explains Decades of Black Hole Observations. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. info:/
- June 16, 2013
- 01:24 PM
- 40 views
A video map of motions in the nearby universe
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
An international team of researchers, including University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa astronomer Brent Tully, has mapped the motions of structures of the nearby universe in greater detail than ever before. The maps are presented as a video, which provides a dynamic three-dimensional representation of the universe through the use of rotation, panning and zooming. The video was announced recently at the conference “Cosmic Flows: Observations and Simulations” in Marseille, France, that honor........ Read more »
Louise Good. (2013) A video map of motions in the nearby universe. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. info:/
- June 13, 2013
- 12:47 PM
- 44 views
UH Astrobiologists Find Martian Clay Contains Chemical Implicated in the Origin of Life
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa NASA Astrobiology Institute (UHNAI) have discovered high concentrations of boron in a Martian meteorite. When present in its oxidized form (borate), boron may have played a key role in the formation of RNA, one of the building blocks for life.... Read more »
University of Hawaii at Manoa. (2013) UH Astrobiologists Find Martian Clay Contains Chemical Implicated in the Origin of Life. University of Hawaii at Manoa. info:/
- June 12, 2013
- 02:45 PM
- 49 views
A journey to the active Sun
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
After approximately two months of preparations in Kiruna in the north of Sweden, the balloon-borne solar observatory Sunrise has lifted off successfully today at 7.37 a.m. CEST. For one week the team has been waiting for favorable weather conditions. Polar winds will now grasp the huge, helium-filled balloon and the gondola, carrying Sunrise westward around the North Pole at a height of more than 35 kilometers. Equipped with the largest solar telescope ever to have left the Earth’s surface........ Read more »
Dr. Birgit Krummheuer. (2013) A journey to the active Sun. Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg-Lindau. info:/
- June 12, 2013
- 07:09 AM
- 56 views
New, simple theory may explain mysterious dark matter
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Most of the matter in the universe may be made out of particles that possess an unusual, donut-shaped electromagnetic field called an anapole.... Read more »
David Salisbury. (2013) New, simple theory may explain mysterious dark matter. Vanderbilt University. info:/
- June 8, 2013
- 04:53 PM
- 63 views
International Team on Keck Observatory Strengthens Big Bang Theory
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
An international team of scientists using the most powerful telescope on Earth has discovered the moments just after the Big Bang happened more like the theory predicts, eliminating a significant discrepancy that troubled physicists for two decades.
... Read more »
Steve Jefferson. (2013) International Team on Keck Observatory Strengthens Big Bang Theory. W.M. Keck Observatory. info:/
- June 7, 2013
- 03:18 PM
- 51 views
The Halting of the Hot Jupiter
by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented
We haven’t talked about exoplanets for a while, and we should ‘cause they are pretty badass. Through various podcasts and the like, I've been hearing some really cool things about NASA’s Kepler Mission and all of neat astronomical bodies it’s been finding. So I decided to browse around the NASA and JPL websites to see what new coolness has been discovered recently.NASA’s Kepler Mission was launched in 2009. It was built to detect potentially life-supporting planets around other stars........ Read more »
Plavchan, P., & Bilinski, C. (2013) Stars Do Not Eat Their Young Migrating Planets: Empirical Constraints on Planet Migration Halting Mechanisms. The Astrophysical Journal, 769(2), 86. DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/769/2/86
- May 31, 2013
- 12:00 PM
- 75 views
Astronauts on Mars would face a high dose of radiation
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main Point:
NASA’s Mars Curiosity has confirmed that the astronauts on Mars would be hit by a high dose of radiation that would be more than the current safety limits.
Published in:
Science
Study Further:
To find the radiation, scientists used the data of the number of high-energy space particles attacking the rover in the eight-month journey on Mars. They found that the radiation dose is too high that would result in the development of fatal cancer beside other problems.
........ Read more »
Zeitlin, C., Hassler, D., Cucinotta, F., Ehresmann, B., Wimmer-Schweingruber, R., Brinza, D., Kang, S., Weigle, G., Bottcher, S., Bohm, E.... (2013) Measurements of Energetic Particle Radiation in Transit to Mars on the Mars Science Laboratory. Science, 340(6136), 1080-1084. DOI: 10.1126/science.1235989
- May 31, 2013
- 07:31 AM
- 72 views
An answer to a lunar mystery
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Ever since the first satellites were sent to the moon to scout landing sites for Apollo astronauts, scientists have noticed a peculiar phenomenon: As these probes orbited the moon, passing over certain craters and impact basins, they periodically veered off course, plummeting toward the lunar surface before pulling back up.... Read more »
Jennifer Chu. (2013) An answer to a lunar mystery: Why is the moon’s gravity so uneven?. MIT News Office. info:/
- May 30, 2013
- 05:37 PM
- 66 views
A New Kind of Cosmic Glitch
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
The physics behind some of the most extraordinary stellar objects in the Universe just became even more puzzling.
A group of astronomers led by McGill researchers using NASA’s Swift satellite have discovered a new kind of glitch in the cosmos, specifically in the rotation of a neutron star.
Neutron stars are among the densest objects in the observable universe; higher densities are found only in their close cousins, black holes. A typical neutron star packs as much mass as half-a-milli........ Read more »
McGill University. (2013) A New Kind of Cosmic Glitch. McGill News. info:/
- May 30, 2013
- 11:39 AM
- 49 views
Neutron Star with a newly discovered “anti-glitch” property
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main Point:
Astronomers from NASA have found a spinning neutron star, 1E 2259 586 that is slowing down, which would help them in understanding these celestial objects in detail.
Published in:
Nature
Study Further:
Introduction to Neutron Star:
Neutron star is a heavenly body consisting entirely of a very dense compact mass of neutrons, the remnant of a star that has collapsed under its own gravity and exploded as a supernova. Neutron stars have trillion times stronger magnetic ........ Read more »
Archibald, R., Kaspi, V., Ng, C., Gourgouliatos, K., Tsang, D., Scholz, P., Beardmore, A., Gehrels, N., & Kennea, J. (2013) An anti-glitch in a magnetar. Nature, 497(7451), 591-593. DOI: 10.1038/nature12159
- May 25, 2013
- 02:12 PM
- 76 views
Astronomers Measure the Elusive Extragalactic Background Light
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
If all the light emitted by all galaxies in the observable universe at all wavelengths during all of cosmic history were known, it would clue astronomers about the entire history of galaxy formation and evolution, and provide insights to key aspects of the expansion history of the universe.... Read more »
Iqbal Pittalwala. (2013) Astronomers Measure the Elusive Extragalactic Background Light. UC Riverside Today. info:/
- May 25, 2013
- 07:31 AM
- 98 views
Accurate Distance Measurement Resolves Major Astronomical Mystery
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
The researchers used the National Science Foundation’s Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and the European VLBI Network (EVN) to precisely locate one of the most-observed variable-star systems in the sky — a double-star system called SS Cygni — at 370 light-years from Earth. This new distance measurement meant that an explanation for the system’s regular outbursts that applies to similar pairs also applies to SS Cygni.... Read more »
Dave Finley. (2013) Accurate Distance Measurement Resolves Major Astronomical Mystery. National Radio Astronomy Observatory. info:/
- May 24, 2013
- 08:36 AM
- 73 views
HAWC Observatory captures first image
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
An international team of researchers, including scientists from Los Alamos, has taken the first image of the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory, or HAWC.The facility is designed to detect cosmic rays and the highest energy gamma rays ever observed from astrophysical sources.... Read more »
Los Alamos National Laboratory. (2013) HAWC Observatory captures first image. Los Alamos National Laboratory. info:/
- May 23, 2013
- 08:24 AM
- 55 views
Fragile mega-galaxy is missing link in history of cosmos
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Two hungry young galaxies that collided 11 billion years ago are rapidly forming a massive galaxy about 10 times the size of the Milky Way, according to UC Irvine-led research published Wednesday in the journal Nature.... Read more »
UC Irvine Media Realease. (2013) Fragile mega-galaxy is missing link in history of cosmos. UC Irvine. info:/
- May 20, 2013
- 02:19 PM
- 70 views
Subaru Telescope Observations and the CoRoT Mission Unveil the Future of the Sun
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
A team of astronomers led by Jose Dias do Nascimento (Department of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte [DFTE, UFRN], Brazil) has found the farthest known solar twin in the Milky Way Galaxy– CoRoT Sol 1, which has about the same mass and chemical composition as the Sun. Spectra from the High Dispersion Spectrograph (HDS) on the Subaru Telescope showed that CoRoT Sol 1 is about 6.7 billion years old while space-based data from the CoRoT (Convect........ Read more »
NAOJ Press Release. (2013) Subaru Telescope Observations and the CoRoT Mission Unveil the Future of the Sun. Subaru Telescope NAOJ. info:/
- May 18, 2013
- 07:06 AM
- 88 views
Ground-breaking science and spectacular cosmic images from the PAPER instrument in the Karoo
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
-Scientific studies done with the “PAPER” array, one of the world-class scientific instruments in South Africa’s Karoo Radio Astronomy Reserve, is producing ground-breaking science and spectacular cosmic images, resulting in several important articles in top astronomy journals.
-The first scientific paper based on observations performed with South Africa’s new KAT-7 radio telescope, has been accepted for publication by the prestigious journal Monthly Notices of the Roy........ Read more »
SKA SA Project Office. (2013) Ground-breaking science and spectacular cosmic images from the PAPER instrument in the Karoo. SKA Africa . info:/
- May 15, 2013
- 04:07 PM
- 81 views
Discovering a new planet (TAU-CfA articles)
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
1.TAU team takes part in discovering new planet
A team of astronomers at TAU and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have announced the first-ever discovery of an extrasolar planet via induced relativistic beaming of light from the host star.
2.New Method of Finding Planets Scores its First Discovery
- CfA... Read more »
TAU News office. (2013) TAU team takes part in discovering new planet. Tel Aviv University. info:/
- May 14, 2013
- 10:06 AM
- 78 views
First ever discovery of an alien planet with the help of Einstein's Theory of Relativity
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main Point:
Scientists have found, for the first time, an alien planet, dubbed as "Einstein's planet", with the help of the Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
Published in:
The Astrophysical Journal
Study Further:
"Einstein's planet" is officially called as Kepler-76b and is the first planet found by this method. It is the latest of the 800 planets located beyond our Solar System.
This planet is 25% larger than Jupiter and is two times of its we........ Read more »
Simchon Faigler, Lev Tal-Or, Tsevi Mazeh, Dave W. Latham, & Lars A. Buchhave. (2013) BEER analysis of Kepler and CoRoT light curves: I. Discovery of Kepler-76b: A hot Jupiter with evidence for superrotation. The Astrophysical Journal. arXiv: 1304.6841v3
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