Astronomy News and Research - November 2008 Archives
 | A joint project between Jet Propulsion Lab in California, the University of Central Florida in Orlando and the University of Colorado have shown that Saturn's moon may have underground water which is spewing plumes of water vapor into space through geysers. ...> Full Article |
Simulation designed for semiconductors predicts conditions in Jupiter's interior
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 | Second recent study indicating high-energy particle acceleration 'near' Earth ...> Full Article |
Something vital is missing in the far distant reaches of the Universe: Hydrogen -- the raw material for stars, planets and possible life.
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Findings published in the Astrophysical Journal challenge existing theory about the formation of such galaxies as the Milky Way
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The explosion of a binary star inside a planetary nebula has been captured by a team led by UCL researchers -- an event that has not been witnessed for more than 100 years. The study, published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, predicts that the combined mass of the two stars in the system may be high enough for the stars to eventually spiral into each other, triggering a much bigger supernova explosion.
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Vast Martian glaciers of water ice under protective blankets of rocky debris persist today at much lower latitudes than any ice previously identified on Mars, says new research using ground-penetrating radar on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The discovery is an encouraging sign for scientists searching for life beyond Earth. The water ice might also provide a useful resource for human explorers visiting the red planet.
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 | A team of French astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope have discovered an object located very close to the star Beta Pictoris, and which apparently lies inside its disc. With a projected distance from the star of only 8 times the Earth-Sun distance, this object is most likely the giant planet suspected from the peculiar shape of the disc and the previously observed infall of comets onto the star. ...> Full Article |
 | VLT and APEX team up to study flares from the black hole at the Milky Way's core ...> Full Article |
Scientists using ESA's Mars Express have produced the first crude map of aurorae on Mars. These displays of ultraviolet light appear to be located close to the residual magnetic fields generated by Mars's crustal rocks. They highlight a number of mysteries about the way Mars interacts with electrically charged particles originating from the Sun.
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 | The powerful black holes at the center of massive galaxies and galaxy clusters act as hearts to the systems, pumping energy out at regular intervals to regulate the growth of the black holes themselves, as well as star formation, according to new data from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory. ...> Full Article |
 | A team of astronomers from Penn State and Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland has discovered a new planet that is closely orbiting a red-giant star, HD 102272, which is much older than our own Sun. The research sheds light on the ways in which aging stars can influence nearby planets.. The team includes Alexander Wolszczan, the discoverer of the first planets ever found outside our solar system. ...> Full Article |
 | Scientists are tracking the violent convulsions in the giant cloud of gas and dust that gave birth to the solar system 4.5 billion years ago via a few tiny particles from comet Wild 2. ...> Full Article |
Understanding how life started remains a major challenge for science. At a European Science Foundation and COST 'Frontiers of Science' conference in Sicily in October, scientists discussed two new approaches to the problem. The first applies complex systems theory to the chemistry that preceded early life. The second involves studying Mars, which may yield ample evidence about what Earth was like when life evolved.
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 | Illustrating the power of submillimeter-wavelength astronomy, an APEX image reveals how an expanding bubble of ionized gas about 10 light-years across is causing the surrounding material to collapse into dense clumps that are the birthplaces of new stars. Submillimeter light is the key to revealing some of the coldest material in the universe, such as these cold, dense clouds. ...> Full Article |
 | NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken the first visible-light snapshot of a planet circling another star. ...> Full Article |
It's not much bigger than a softball and weighs just 2 pounds.
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 | Airplanes that fly over the northern polar region can risk losing radio contact for several hours when the northern lights are at their most active in the skies. In the near future a Norwegian rocket hopes find the explanation for this. ...> Full Article |
 | Anyone who has wondered what it might be like to dive into a pool of millions of distant galaxies of different shapes and colors, will enjoy the latest image released by ESO. ...> Full Article |
The search for a mysterious substance which makes up most of the universe could soon be at an end, according to new research.
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Yesterday, following a fifth orbit-raising maneuver, the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft successfully settled into a trajectory that will take it to the Moon.
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RIT scientist Don Figer leads effort to build detector for '30 Meter Telescope'
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 | Approximately every eight minutes, the magnetic fields of the sun and earth briefly merge or "reconnect," forming a portal through which particles can flow ...> Full Article |
Magnetic fields record the early histories of planets
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New species of ancient crocodile discovered
Kitchen gadget inspires scientist to make more effective plastic electronics
Making memories last
Ferroelectric switching discovered for first time in soft biological tissue
Forensic research extends detection of cyanide poisoning
Shakespeare's skill 'more in grammar than in words'
Detailed picture of how myoV 'walks' along actin tracks
Need muscle for a tough spot? Turn to fat stem cells
Earth's energy budget remained out of balance despite unusually low solar activity
What really happened prior to 'Snowball Earth'?
Pictures of food create feelings of hunger
Mighty mesh
Sweeten up your profits with the right hybrid
Patterns of antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in Galapagos reptiles
Bilayer graphene works as an insulator
How seawater could corrode nuclear fuel
Patterns of chromosome abnormality: The key to cancer?
Advantages of living in the dark: The multiple evolution events of 'blind' cavefish
Snakes improve search-and-rescue robots
Enhancing cognition in older adults also changes personality
Magnetic actuation enables nanoscale thermal analysis
A new artificial intelligence technique to speed the planning of tasks when resources are limited
'Tiger mothers' should tame parenting approach
Film coatings made from whey
Growing US violent extremism by the numbers
If a fat tax is coming, here's how to make it efficient, effective
Bobsled runs -- fast and yet safe
Fruit fly intestine may hold secret to the fountain of youth
Vesta likely cold and dark enough for ice
Rice lab mimics Jupiter's Trojan asteroids inside a single atom
The wild early lives of today's most massive galaxies
Catching a comet death on camera
Our explosive sun
Curiosity rover will serve as terramechanics instrument in explortation of Martian soils
The helix in new colors
Calculating what's in the universe from the biggest color 3-D map
Hubble breaks new ground with discovery of distant exploding star
Discovery of the smallest exoplanets: The Barnard's star connection