RIT scientists to study molecular makeup of planetary nebulae using radio telescopes
Wednesday, 07 September 2022 09:12
By using radio telescopes to study sun-like stars in their death throes, scientists hope to reveal important information about the origin of life-enabling chemicals in the universe. The National Science Foundation is awarding a $339,362 Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grant to a team led by Rochester Institute of Technology Professor Joel Kastner to conduct such a study.
Planetary nebu Magnetic skyrmions - ready for take-off?
Wednesday, 07 September 2022 09:12
Magnetic skyrmions are extremely small and stable swirls of magnetization, often referred to as 'topological quasi-particles' since an emerging stability embraces this spin ensemble. As such, skyrmions can be manipulated while retaining their shape. In ferromagnetic thin films, they can conveniently be created with an electrical current pulse or, even faster, with a laser pulse ? albeit, so far, Astronomers show massive stars can steal Jupiter-sized planets
Wednesday, 07 September 2022 09:12
Jupiter-sized planets can be stolen or captured by massive stars in the densely populated stellar nurseries where most stars are born, a new study has found.
Researchers from the University of Sheffield have proposed a novel explanation for the recently discovered B-star Exoplanet Abundance STudy (BEAST) planets. These are Jupiter-like planets at large distances (hundreds of times the dist Far-infrared detector KID reaches highest possible sensitivity
Wednesday, 07 September 2022 09:12
Compared to most other wavelengths, astronomy has a blind spot in the area of far-infrared radiation. A far-infrared space telescope can only utilize its full sensitivity with an actively cooled mirror below 4 Kelvin (-269 C). Such a telescope doesn't exist yet, which is why there has been little worldwide investment in the development of corresponding detectors.
In 2004, SRON decided to b ALMA witnesses deadly star-slinging tug-of-war between merging galaxies
Wednesday, 07 September 2022 09:12
While observing a newly-dormant galaxy using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), scientists discovered that it had stopped forming stars not because it had used up all of its gas but because most of its star-forming fuel had been thrown out of the system as it merged with another galaxy. The result is a first for ALMA scientists. What's m Teams continue to review options for next Artemis I launch attempt
Wednesday, 07 September 2022 09:12
After standing down on Saturday's Artemis I launch attempt when engineers could not overcome a hydrogen leak in a quick disconnect, an interface between the liquid hydrogen fuel feed line and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, mission managers met and decided they will forego additional launch attempts in early September.
Over the next several days, teams will establish access to the ar Massive stars' blasts hitting Orion's sword mapped in unprecedented detail
Wednesday, 07 September 2022 09:12
Astronomers using W. M. Keck Observatory on Hawaii Island have captured from Maunakea the most detailed and complete images ever taken of the zone where the famed constellation of Orion gets zapped with ultraviolet (UV) radiation from massive young stars.
This irradiated neutral zone, called a Photo-Dissociation Region (PDR), is located in the Orion Bar within the Orion Nebula, an active s Why do galaxies stop making stars
Wednesday, 07 September 2022 09:12
Six billion years ago, two galaxies were colliding, their combined forces hurling a stream of gas hundreds of thousands of light years away. Reported this week by a team including Pitt astronomers, that unusual feature provides a new possible explanation for why galaxies stop forming stars.
"One of the biggest questions in astronomy is why the biggest galaxies are dead," said David Setton, Astronomers obtain sky's large-field X-ray maps
Wednesday, 07 September 2022 09:12
Chinese astronomers have released the world's first collection of large-field X-ray maps of the sky, captured by a small satellite put into orbit last month.
The Wide-field X-ray Telescope, launched into orbit on July 27 by a solid-propellant-fuelled rocket, is the first large-field X-ray imaging telescope, according to the National Astronomical Observatory of China.
After a four-day New plasma tech for oxygen, fuel and fertiliser from Mars' atmosphere
Wednesday, 07 September 2022 05:00
Using novel plasma reactors, researchers have shown that it is possible to extract key ingredients from Mars' carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere to provide future astronauts with oxygen, fuel and fertiliser. This technological leap could make it viable for humans to live on Mars.
NASA to repair SLS liquid hydrogen leak on the pad
Wednesday, 07 September 2022 00:16
NASA will attempt to fix on the pad a liquid hydrogen seal that caused a Space Launch System scrub, keeping open the option to proceed with a new launch attempt later this month.
Rocket Lab signs on to U.S. military’s ‘rocket cargo’ program
Tuesday, 06 September 2022 21:07
Rocket Lab has signed a cooperative agreement with the U.S. military to explore the possibility of using its space launch vehicles to transport cargo around the world.
The post Rocket Lab signs on to U.S.
Aerospace opens $100 million facility in Colorado Springs for military space activities
Tuesday, 06 September 2022 17:30
Aerospace Corp. unveiled a 90,000-square-foot Space Warfighting Center to provide high-tech tools for military space agencies
The post Aerospace opens $100 million facility in Colorado Springs for military space activities appeared first on SpaceNews.
DoD updates space policy, formally adopts ‘tenets of responsible behavior’
Tuesday, 06 September 2022 15:34
The Defense Department released an updated policy document that recognizes space “as a priority domain of national military power” and formally adopts rules for safe operations in space.
The post DoD updates space policy, formally adopts ‘tenets of responsible behavior’ appeared first on SpaceNews.
Frank Drake has passed away but his equation for alien intelligence is more important than ever
Tuesday, 06 September 2022 13:11
How many intelligent civilizations should there be in our galaxy right now? In 1961, U.S. astrophysicist Frank Drake, who passed away on September 2 at the age of 92, came up with an equation to estimate this. The Drake equation, dating from a stage in his career when he was "too naive to be nervous" (as he later put it), has become famous and bears his name.
This places Drake in the company of towering physicists with equations named after them including James Clerk Maxwell and Erwin Schrödinger. Unlike those, Drake's equation does not encapsulate a law of nature. Instead it combines some poorly known probabilities into an informed estimate.
Whatever reasonable values you feed into the equation (see image above) it is hard to avoid the conclusion that we shouldn't be alone in the galaxy. Drake remained a proponent and a supporter of the search for extraterrestrial life throughout his days, but has his equation really taught us anything?