Copernical Team
Ancient diamonds shine light on the evolution of Earth
The analysis of ancient, superdeep diamonds dug up from mines in Brazil and Western Africa, has exposed new processes of how continents evolved and moved during the early evolution of complex life on Earth. These diamonds that were formed between 650 and 450 million years ago on the base of the supercontinent Gondwana, were analysed by an international team of experts, and have shown how s
PKU astronomers shed light on evolutionary paths of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies
A new paper entitled "Evolutionary Paths of Active Galactic Nuclei and Their Host Galaxies," published on August 17, 2023, in Nature Astronomy, provides critical new insights on the co-evolution of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies. The research, conducted by Dr. Ming-Yang Zhuang, who graduated from Peking University in 2022 and is currently affiliated with the University of
NASA conducts 1st hot fire of new RS-25 Certification Test Series
NASA conducted the first hot fire of a new RS-25 test series Oct. 17, beginning the final round of certification testing ahead of production of an updated set of the engines for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The engines will help power future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. Operators fired the RS-25 engine for more than nine minutes (550 seconds), longer than the 500 secon
Large swings in past ocean oxygen revealed
As the climate warms, there is major concern that Earth's ocean will lose oxygen. A study published recently by oceanographers at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa revealed that locked in ancient deep-sea sediments is evidence for oxygen loss in the world's ocean during past glacial periods, indicating that widespread oxygen loss with current climate change may not be permanent. Scientist
New Siena Galaxy Atlas delivers improved measurements of almost 400,000 nearby galaxies
Astronomers have created a detailed atlas of almost 400,000 galaxies in our cosmic neighborhood. The Siena Galaxy Atlas was compiled using data from NSF's NOIRLab telescopes, and is designed to be the pre-eminent digital galaxy atlas for large galaxies. It's a treasure trove of information for researchers investigating everything from galaxy formation and evolution to dark matter and gravitation
Grasping the three-dimensional morphology of kilonovae
An advanced new three-dimensional (3D) computer simulation of the light emitted following a merger of two neutron stars has produced a similar sequence of spectroscopic features to an observed kilonova. "The unprecedented agreement between our simulations and the observation of kilonova AT2017gfo indicates that we understand broadly what has taken place in the explosion and aftermath," say
Searching for concentrated biosignatures in an ancient, Martian mud lake
A landmark discovery by a collaborative team led by the Planetary Science Institute's Alexis Rodriguez has unveiled evidence of sedimentary plains created by aquifer drainage within Martian collapse formations termed chaotic terrains. "Our research focuses on a sedimentary unit within Hydraotes Chaos, which we interpret to be the remnants of a mud lake formed by discharges from gas-charged
Psyche's 3.6 billion kilometre journey to the centre of the Earth via it's namesake
Psyche was the Greek goddess of the soul, born a mere mortal and later married to Eros, the God of love. Who knows why the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis gave her name to a celestial object he observed one night in 1852? Psyche was only the 16th "asteroid" ever discovered: inhabitants of the Solar System that were neither the familiar planets nor the occasional visitors known as c
TRIDENT drill integrated into VIPER lunar rover
Engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, together with the team from Honeybee Robotics in Altadena, California, are gearing up to incorporate the latest addition to NASA's first robotic Moon rover, VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover). The newly arrived instrument is the TRIDENT drill, an acronym for The Regolith Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain. TRIDENT i
Lockheed Martin Ventures backs HawkEye 360 with $10M in latest funding round
HawkEye 360 Inc., a front-runner in the provision of space-based radio frequency (RF) data and analytics, has concluded its Series D-1 funding round by securing an additional $10 million. This latest financial injection brings the total amount raised in the Series D-1 to $68 million. Key investors in this second closing were Lockheed Martin Ventures, the investment wing of Lockheed Martin Corpor