news 2018
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Environment - Astronomy / Space Science - 26.09.2018 
By Jove! Methane’s Effects on Sunlight Vary by Region
– by Christina Procopiou Scientists investigating how human-induced increases in atmospheric methane also increase the amount of solar energy absorbed by that gas in our climate system have discovered that this absorption is 10 times stronger over desert regions such as the Sahara Desert and Arabian Peninsula than elsewhere on Earth, and nearly three times more powerful in the presence of clouds.
Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 26.09.2018 
Software finds the best way to stick a Mars landing
Program users can tinker with landing and path planning scenarios to identify optimal landing sites for Mars rovers. Selecting a landing site for a rover headed to Mars is a lengthy process that normally involves large committees of scientists and engineers. These committees typically spend several years weighing a mission's science objectives against a vehicle's engineering constraints, to identify sites that are both scientifically interesting and safe to land on.
Astronomy / Space Science - 25.09.2018 
Gaia finds candidates for interstellar ’Oumuamua’s home
ESA ESA Science Gaia Using data from ESA's Gaia stellar surveyor, astronomers have identified four stars that are possible places of origin of 'Oumuamua, an interstellar object spotted during a brief visit to our Solar System in 2017. The discovery last year sparked a large observational campaign: originally identified as the first known interstellar asteroid , the small body was later revealed to be a comet , as further observations showed it was not slowing down as fast as it should have under gravity alone.
Astronomy / Space Science - Environment - 25.09.2018 
Spotlight on sea-level rise
ESA Observing the Earth Understanding Our Planet Securing Our Environment Benefiting Our Economy Scientists are gathering in the Azores this week to share findings on how satellite has revealed changes in the height of the sea, ice, inland bodies of water and more. Of concern to all is the fact that global sea level has not only been rising steadily over the last 25 years, but recently it is rising at a much fast rate.
Astronomy / Space Science - Chemistry - 24.09.2018 
Dust storms on Titan spotted by Cassini for the first time
ESA ESA Science Cassini-Huygens Data from the international Cassini spacecraft that explored Saturn and its moons between 2004 and 2017 has revealed what appear to be giant dust storms in equatorial regions of Titan. The discovery, described in a paper published today, makes Titan the third body in the Solar System where dust storms have been observed - the other two are Earth and Mars.
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 24.09.2018 
A Quantum Leap Toward Expanding the Search for Dark Matter
DOE's Office of High Energy Physics supports Berkeley Lab, UC Berkeley development of new detectors, computer programs Figuring out how to extend the search for dark matter particles - dark matter describes the stuff that makes up an estimated 85 percent of the total mass of the universe yet so far has only been measured by its gravitational effects - is a bit like building a better mousetrap..that is, a mousetrap for a mouse you've never seen, will never see directly, may be joined by an odd assortment of other mice, or may not be a mouse after all.
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 24.09.2018
Astronomy / Space Science - Environment - 21.09.2018
Astronomy / Space Science - 21.09.2018 
Space research: What happens to soils in weightlessness?
In the future, astronauts on long missions in space will have to take care of their own farming. But will that even work? An unusual experiment by Eawag researcher was designed to find some of the answers. Life on our planet has always been under the influence of gravity. But how would soils, plants and other organisms react in a zero-gravity situation? Scientists have been puzzling over this question since last decades until now, and Eawag hydrologist and soil physicist, Joaquin Jimenez-Martinez and his colleagues are also keen to understand how zero gravity affects soil processes.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 19.09.2018 
Gaia hints at our Galaxy’s turbulent life
ESA ESA Science Gaia ESA's star mapping mission, Gaia, has shown our Milky Way galaxy is still enduring the effects of a near collision that set millions of stars moving like ripples on a pond. The close encounter likely took place sometime in the past 300-900 million years. It was discovered because of the pattern of movement it has given to stars in the Milky Way disc - one of the major components of our Galaxy.
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 18.09.2018 
First Particle Tracks Seen in ProtoDUNE: the Prototype for an International Neutrino Experiment
Note: This article was adapted from an original press release published by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. View the original release. The largest liquid-argon neutrino detector in the world has just recorded its first particle tracks, signaling the start of a new chapter in the story of the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE).
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 18.09.2018 
First particle tracks seen in prototype for international neutrino experiment
Geneva, 18 September 2018. The largest liquid-argon neutrino detector in the world has just recorded its first particle tracks, signaling the start of a new chapter in the story of the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). DUNE's scientific mission is dedicated to unlocking the mysteries of neutrinos, the most abundant (and most mysterious) matter particles in the universe.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 18.09.2018
Astronomy / Space Science - 18.09.2018 
Book explores milestones of astronomical discovery
In "Dispatches from Planet 3," Marcia Bartusiak illuminates overlooked breakthroughs and the people who made them. Here's quick rule of thumb about the universe: Everything old is new again. Those materials being used when new stars or planets form are just recycled cosmic matter, after all. But also, even our latest scientific discoveries may not be as new as they seem.
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 17.09.2018
Environment - Astronomy / Space Science - 14.09.2018 
How phytoplankton survive in ocean gyres with low nutrient supplies
Model of nutrient recycling may explain longstanding mystery. Subtropical gyres are huge, sustained currents spanning thousands of kilometers across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, where very little grows. With nutrients in short supply, phytoplankton, the microscopic plants that form the basis of the marine food chain, struggle to thrive.
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 14.09.2018 
Gamma Rays, Watch Out: There’s a New Detector in Town
Heather Crawford has always had a natural bent for science. When she was a high school student in her native Canada, she took all the science electives within reach without a second thought. She went into college thinking she would study biochemistry, but that all changed when she took her first class in nuclear science - the study of the subatomic world.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 14.09.2018
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 13.09.2018
Astronomy / Space Science - 13.09.2018 
Thousands of far-flung galaxies revealed
Astronomers have captured a spectacular image of a massive galaxy cluster embedded among nearly thousands of previously unseen galaxies scattered across space and time. The image of the Abell 370 galaxy cluster and its surroundings was made as part of the Durham University-led Beyond Ultra-deep Frontier Fields And Legacy Observations (BUFFALO) survey.
Astronomy/Space Science
Results 81 - 100 of 334.
– by Christina Procopiou Scientists investigating how human-induced increases in atmospheric methane also increase the amount of solar energy absorbed by that gas in our climate system have discovered that this absorption is 10 times stronger over desert regions such as the Sahara Desert and Arabian Peninsula than elsewhere on Earth, and nearly three times more powerful in the presence of clouds.
Program users can tinker with landing and path planning scenarios to identify optimal landing sites for Mars rovers. Selecting a landing site for a rover headed to Mars is a lengthy process that normally involves large committees of scientists and engineers. These committees typically spend several years weighing a mission's science objectives against a vehicle's engineering constraints, to identify sites that are both scientifically interesting and safe to land on.
ESA ESA Science Gaia Using data from ESA's Gaia stellar surveyor, astronomers have identified four stars that are possible places of origin of 'Oumuamua, an interstellar object spotted during a brief visit to our Solar System in 2017. The discovery last year sparked a large observational campaign: originally identified as the first known interstellar asteroid , the small body was later revealed to be a comet , as further observations showed it was not slowing down as fast as it should have under gravity alone.
ESA Observing the Earth Understanding Our Planet Securing Our Environment Benefiting Our Economy Scientists are gathering in the Azores this week to share findings on how satellite has revealed changes in the height of the sea, ice, inland bodies of water and more. Of concern to all is the fact that global sea level has not only been rising steadily over the last 25 years, but recently it is rising at a much fast rate.
ESA ESA Science Cassini-Huygens Data from the international Cassini spacecraft that explored Saturn and its moons between 2004 and 2017 has revealed what appear to be giant dust storms in equatorial regions of Titan. The discovery, described in a paper published today, makes Titan the third body in the Solar System where dust storms have been observed - the other two are Earth and Mars.
DOE's Office of High Energy Physics supports Berkeley Lab, UC Berkeley development of new detectors, computer programs Figuring out how to extend the search for dark matter particles - dark matter describes the stuff that makes up an estimated 85 percent of the total mass of the universe yet so far has only been measured by its gravitational effects - is a bit like building a better mousetrap..that is, a mousetrap for a mouse you've never seen, will never see directly, may be joined by an odd assortment of other mice, or may not be a mouse after all.
First particle tracks seen in prototype for international neutrino experiment
The largest liquid-argon neutrino detector in the world has just recorded its first particle tracks, signaling the start of a new chapter in the story of the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. DUNE's scientific mission is dedicated to unlocking the mysteries of neutrinos, the most abundant (and most mysterious) matter particles in the universe.
The largest liquid-argon neutrino detector in the world has just recorded its first particle tracks, signaling the start of a new chapter in the story of the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. DUNE's scientific mission is dedicated to unlocking the mysteries of neutrinos, the most abundant (and most mysterious) matter particles in the universe.
View from above: Using satellite data to study Earth
California is embarking on an effort to launch its own satellites to study pollutants - an approach many Stanford researchers have taken advantage of to better understand our changing planet. California Gov. Jerry Brown closed out his landmark Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco on Sept. 14 with a declaration that in order to monitor pollutants that cause climate change, California will go into orbit.
California is embarking on an effort to launch its own satellites to study pollutants - an approach many Stanford researchers have taken advantage of to better understand our changing planet. California Gov. Jerry Brown closed out his landmark Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco on Sept. 14 with a declaration that in order to monitor pollutants that cause climate change, California will go into orbit.
In the future, astronauts on long missions in space will have to take care of their own farming. But will that even work? An unusual experiment by Eawag researcher was designed to find some of the answers. Life on our planet has always been under the influence of gravity. But how would soils, plants and other organisms react in a zero-gravity situation? Scientists have been puzzling over this question since last decades until now, and Eawag hydrologist and soil physicist, Joaquin Jimenez-Martinez and his colleagues are also keen to understand how zero gravity affects soil processes.
ESA ESA Science Gaia ESA's star mapping mission, Gaia, has shown our Milky Way galaxy is still enduring the effects of a near collision that set millions of stars moving like ripples on a pond. The close encounter likely took place sometime in the past 300-900 million years. It was discovered because of the pattern of movement it has given to stars in the Milky Way disc - one of the major components of our Galaxy.
Note: This article was adapted from an original press release published by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. View the original release. The largest liquid-argon neutrino detector in the world has just recorded its first particle tracks, signaling the start of a new chapter in the story of the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE).
Geneva, 18 September 2018. The largest liquid-argon neutrino detector in the world has just recorded its first particle tracks, signaling the start of a new chapter in the story of the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). DUNE's scientific mission is dedicated to unlocking the mysteries of neutrinos, the most abundant (and most mysterious) matter particles in the universe.
Nuclear pasta, the hardest known substance in the universe
A team of scientists has calculated the strength of the material deep inside the crust of neutron stars and found it to be the strongest known material in the universe. Matthew Caplan, a postdoctoral research fellow at McGill University, and his colleagues from Indiana University and the California Institute of Technology, successfully ran the largest computer simulations ever conducted of neutron star crusts, becoming the first to describe how these break.
A team of scientists has calculated the strength of the material deep inside the crust of neutron stars and found it to be the strongest known material in the universe. Matthew Caplan, a postdoctoral research fellow at McGill University, and his colleagues from Indiana University and the California Institute of Technology, successfully ran the largest computer simulations ever conducted of neutron star crusts, becoming the first to describe how these break.
In "Dispatches from Planet 3," Marcia Bartusiak illuminates overlooked breakthroughs and the people who made them. Here's quick rule of thumb about the universe: Everything old is new again. Those materials being used when new stars or planets form are just recycled cosmic matter, after all. But also, even our latest scientific discoveries may not be as new as they seem.
CERN experiment discovers a new, very charming particle
Five years on from discovering the Higgs boson, an international team, including scientists from the University of Birmingham, has discovered a brand new heavy particle at the LHCb experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The new particle, named Xi-cc++ (pronounced Ksī-CC plus-plus), is part of a family of "doubly charmed baryons" that are predicted to exist by the Standard Model theory of particle physics, but this is the first time scientists have been able to confirm their existence.
Five years on from discovering the Higgs boson, an international team, including scientists from the University of Birmingham, has discovered a brand new heavy particle at the LHCb experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The new particle, named Xi-cc++ (pronounced Ksī-CC plus-plus), is part of a family of "doubly charmed baryons" that are predicted to exist by the Standard Model theory of particle physics, but this is the first time scientists have been able to confirm their existence.
Model of nutrient recycling may explain longstanding mystery. Subtropical gyres are huge, sustained currents spanning thousands of kilometers across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, where very little grows. With nutrients in short supply, phytoplankton, the microscopic plants that form the basis of the marine food chain, struggle to thrive.
Heather Crawford has always had a natural bent for science. When she was a high school student in her native Canada, she took all the science electives within reach without a second thought. She went into college thinking she would study biochemistry, but that all changed when she took her first class in nuclear science - the study of the subatomic world.
Exploring the landscape
The String Theory Landscape is a divisive issue among physicists as they continue trying to prove or disprove its key elements. (Image credit: Eric Nyquist) Stanford physicists continue to survey the peaks and valleys of the String Theory Landscape that they helped discover nearly two decades ago, even as critics say the theory is ultimately untestable.
The String Theory Landscape is a divisive issue among physicists as they continue trying to prove or disprove its key elements. (Image credit: Eric Nyquist) Stanford physicists continue to survey the peaks and valleys of the String Theory Landscape that they helped discover nearly two decades ago, even as critics say the theory is ultimately untestable.
Gravitational waves provide dose of reality about extra dimensions
While last year's discovery of gravitational waves from colliding neutron stars was Earth-shaking, it won't add extra dimensions to our understanding of the universe-not literal ones, at least. University of Chicago astronomers found no evidence for extra spatial dimensions to the universe based on the gravitational wave data.
While last year's discovery of gravitational waves from colliding neutron stars was Earth-shaking, it won't add extra dimensions to our understanding of the universe-not literal ones, at least. University of Chicago astronomers found no evidence for extra spatial dimensions to the universe based on the gravitational wave data.
Astronomers have captured a spectacular image of a massive galaxy cluster embedded among nearly thousands of previously unseen galaxies scattered across space and time. The image of the Abell 370 galaxy cluster and its surroundings was made as part of the Durham University-led Beyond Ultra-deep Frontier Fields And Legacy Observations (BUFFALO) survey.
