Baltimore MD (SPX) Jun 18, 2021
When astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope uncovered an oddball galaxy that looked like it didn't have much dark matter, some thought the finding was hard to believe and looked for a simpler explanation. Dark matter, after all, is the invisible glue that makes up the bulk of the universe's matter. All galaxies appear to be dominated by it; in fact, galaxies are thought to form in

Bremen, Germany (SPX) Jun 18, 2021
Timepix3 was developed to detect elementary particles at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). It was then carried up to the International Space Station (ISS), where it measures the radiation dose to which astronauts and equipment are exposed. Most recently, Timepix3 has been used on the Zugspitze. Its task is to simultaneously detect the secondary cosmic rays and radon de

Bath UK (SPX) Jun 18, 2021
An international team of scientists, led by astrophysicists from the University of Bath in the UK, has measured the magnetic field in a far-off Gamma-Ray Burst, confirming for the first time a decades-long theoretical prediction - that the magnetic field in these blast waves becomes scrambled after the ejected material crashes into, and shocks, the surrounding medium. Black holes are forme

Baltimore MD (SPX) Jun 18, 2021
New findings published this week in Physical Review Letters suggest that carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen cosmic rays travel through the galaxy toward Earth in a similar way, but, surprisingly, that iron arrives at Earth differently. Learning more about how cosmic rays move through the galaxy helps address a fundamental, lingering question in astrophysics: How is matter generated and distributed acr

Washington DC (SPX) Jun 18, 2021
Small modeling errors may accumulate faster than previously expected when physicists combine multiple gravitational wave events (such as colliding black holes) to test Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, suggest researchers at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. The findings, published June 16 in the journal iScience, suggest that catalogs with as few as 10 to 3

Riverside CA (SPX) Jun 18, 2021
Supermassive black holes, or SMBHs, are black holes with masses that are several million to billion times the mass of our sun. The Milky Way hosts an SMBH with mass a few million times the solar mass. Surprisingly, astrophysical observations show that SMBHs already existed when the universe was very young. For example, a billion solar mass black holes are found when the universe was just 6% of i

Mountain View CA (SPX) Jun 18, 2021
The SETI Institute and Frontier Development Lab are announcing the launch of SpaceML.org. SpaceML is a resource that makes AI-ready datasets available to researchers working in space science and exploration, enabling rapid experimentation and reproducibility. The SpaceML Repo is a machine learning toolbox and community managed resource to enable researchers to more effectively engage in AI

Abu Dhabi, UAE (SPX) Jun 18, 2021
Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs), small objects that orbit the sun beyond Neptune, are fossils from the early days of the solar system which can tell us a lot about its formation and evolution. A new study led by Mohamad Ali-Dib, a research scientist at the NYU Abu Dhabi Center for Astro, Particle, and Planetary Physics, reports the significant discovery that two groups of TNOs with differen

Charlottesville VA (SPX) Jun 18, 2021
A team of scientists using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to study the young star Elias 2-27 have confirmed that gravitational instabilities play a key role in planet formation, and have for the first time directly measured the mass of protoplanetary disks using gas velocity data, potentially unlocking one of the mysteries of planet formation. The results of the research

Beijing (XNA) Jun 18, 2021
Almost 30 grams of Nanjing orchid seeds were carried into space for breeding tests, accompanying three Chinese astronauts in China's Shenzhou XII manned spaceship, which was launched on Thursday. The seeds will be in space for three months. A red orchid variety, Hongcao, features red buds and seedlings, a popular variant from Nanjing county of Fujian province. It was selected and bre