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Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 19.10.2021

Cambridge physicists announce results that boost evidence for new fundamental physics | University of Cambridge
Results announced by the LHCb experiment at CERN have revealed further hints for phenomena that cannot be explained by our current theory of fundamental physics. The fact that we've seen the same effect as our colleagues did in March certainly boosts the chances that we might genuinely be on the brink of discovering something new Harry Cliff In March 2020, the same experiment released evidence of particles breaking one of the core principles of the Standard Model - our best theory of particles and forces - suggesting the possible existence of new fundamental particles and forces.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 18.10.2021

Uncovering the secrets of ultra-low frequency gravitational waves
New methods of detecting ultra-low frequency gravitational waves can be combined with other, less sensitive measurements to deliver fresh insights into the early development of our universe, according to researchers at the University of Birmingham. Gravitational waves - ripples in the fabric of Einstein's spacetime - that cross the universe at the speed of light have all sorts of wavelengths, or frequencies.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 14.10.2021

The planet does not fall far from the star
A compositional link between planets and their respective host star has long been assumed in astronomy. For the first time now, a team of scientists, with the participation of researchers of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS from the University of Bern and the University of Zürich, deliver empirical evidence to support the assumption - and partly contradict it at the same time.

Astronomy / Space Science - Environment - 13.10.2021

Did Venus, Earth’s twin sister, ever have oceans?
Astrophysicists led by the UNIGE and the NCCR PlanetS have investigated the past of Venus to find out whether Earth's sister planet once had oceans. The planet Venus can be seen as the Earth's evil twin. At first sight, it is of comparable mass and size as our home planet, similarly consists mostly of rocky material, holds some water and has an atmosphere.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 13.10.2021

How the Sun’s magnetic forces arrange gas particles
Research team including Göttingen University observes charged particles 70 percent faster than uncharged Solar prominences hover above the visible solar disk like giant clouds, held there by a supporting framework of magnetic forces, originating from layers deep within the Sun. The magnetic lines of force are moved by ever-present gas currents - and when the supporting framework moves, so does the prominence cloud.

Astronomy / Space Science - 13.10.2021

To watch a comet form, a spacecraft could tag along for a journey toward the sun
'Centaurs' near Jupiter could provide unique opportunity to learn about solar system, says UChicago scientist Deep in the solar system, between Jupiter and Neptune, lurk thousands of small chunks of ice and rock. Occasionally, one of them will bump into Jupiter's orbit, get caught and flung into the inner solar system-towards the sun, and us.

Astronomy / Space Science - 12.10.2021

Radio signals from distant stars suggest hidden planets
Using the world's most powerful radio antenna, scientists have discovered stars unexpectedly blasting out radio waves, possibly indicating the existence of hidden planets. The University of Queensland's Dr Benjamin Pope and colleagues at the Dutch national observatory ASTRON have been searching for planets using the world's most powerful radio telescope Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) situated in the Netherlands.

Astronomy / Space Science - Research Management - 12.10.2021

Strange radio waves emerge from direction of the galactic centre
International student Ziteng Wang detected unusual signals from deep in the heart of the Milky Way using CSIRO's ASKAP radio telescope. Now astronomers are on the search for more evidence of what type of object could be emitting them. Astronomers have discovered unusual signals coming from the direction of the Milky Way's centre.

Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 08.10.2021

Youngest ever lavas dated from the Moon
Researchers at The University of Manchester, have been involved in an international collaboration to analyse the age and history of some of the Moon's youngest lava flows. The rock samples were collected by the Chinese National Space Agency during the robotic Chang'e-5 mission, which marked the first time any nation had collected rocks from the Moon since 1976.

Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 07.10.2021

Mars: first results from the Perseverance rover
Images from Perseverance's French-American instrument SuperCam show that the crater where the rover landed once contained a lake. The SuperCam observations also identified strata containing boulders, related to a major change in the hydrological regime. This study, led by a French researcher, will facilitate selection of the most suitable areas for Perseverance to collect samples.

Astronomy / Space Science - 06.10.2021

Why there is hardly any dust on some asteroids
There was a surprise in store for NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft as it prepared to land on asteroid Bennu in October 2020 in order to collect samples. Contrary to what astronomers believed, the asteroid's surface was not covered with a layer of fine dust, called regolith. This dust, which blankets the Moon and some asteroids, is formed when thermal shock and meteorite impacts break up surface rocks.

Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 30.09.2021

Bombardment of Planets in the Early Solar System
Studies of the asteroid Vesta provide new findings on the formation of Earth-like planets The largest asteroid in our Solar System - Vesta - was exposed to an extensive series of impacts by large rocky bodies much earlier than previously assumed. Researchers of an international collaboration, including earth scientists from Heidelberg University and Freie Universität Berlin, reached this conclusion based on analyses of Vesta meteorites, numerical simulations, and observations carried out with the space probe Dawn in 2011 and 2012.

Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 29.09.2021

Dust collected from a speeding asteroid analyzed with massive accelerator
Argonne, UChicago scientists among the first to study asteroid fragments from Hayabusa2 spacecraft It's not uncommon for scientists to bring interesting objects thousands of miles to Argonne National Laboratory for study. But it's fair to say that the latest of these to land at the laboratory came from much, much farther away.

Astronomy / Space Science - Life Sciences - 28.09.2021

New NSF-funded institute to harness AI for accelerated discoveries in physics, astronomy and neuroscience
Science is in the midst of a data deluge: Experiments are churning out more information than researchers can process. But a new endeavor, centered on artificial intelligence, will help scientists navigate this data-rich reality. On Sept. 28, the National Science Foundation announced  a $15 million, five-year grant to integrate AI tools into the scientific research and discovery process.

Astronomy / Space Science - 22.09.2021

Very old Universe reveals new galaxies
Scientists serendipitously discover two heavily dust-enshrouded galaxies that formed when the Universe was only 5% of its present age. While investigating the data of young, distant galaxies observed with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, Yoshinobu Fudamoto from Waseda University and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan noticed unexpected emissions coming from seemingly empty regions in space that, a global research team confirmed, came actually from two hitherto undiscovered galaxies heavily obscured by cosmic dust.

Astronomy / Space Science - 16.09.2021

Astrophysicists solve ’empty sky’ gamma-ray mystery
Star-forming galaxies are responsible for creating gamma-rays that until now had not been associated with a known origin.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 16.09.2021

Part of the Universe’s missing matter found thanks to the MUSE instrument
Galaxies exchange matter with their external environment thanks to galactic winds. The MUSE instrument from the Very Large Telescope has, for the very first time, mapped the galactic wind that drive these exchanges between galaxies and nebulae. This observation led to the detection of some of the Universe's missing matter.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 16.09.2021

Part of the Universe’s missing matter found thanks to the MUSE instrument
CRAL publication in MNRAS , on September 16, 2021. CNRS press release on September 16, 2021. Galaxies can receive and exchange matter with their external environment thanks to the galactic winds created by stellar explosions. Thanks to the MUSE instrument  from the Very Large Telescope at the ESO, an international research team, led on the French side by the CNRS and l'Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 , has mapped a galactic wind for the first time.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 15.09.2021

Have we detected dark energy? Cambridge scientists say it’s a possibility
Dark energy, the mysterious force that causes the universe to accelerate, may have been responsible for unexpected results from the XENON1T experiment, deep below Italy's Apennine Mountains. It was surprising that this excess could in principle have been caused by dark energy rather than dark matter.

Astronomy / Space Science - 15.09.2021

Astronomers solve 900-year-old cosmic mystery surrounding Chinese supernova of 1181AD
A 900-year-old cosmic mystery surrounding the origins of a famous supernova first spotted over China in 1181AD has finally been solved, according to an international team of astronomers. New research published today (September 15, 2021) says that a faint, fast expanding cloud (or nebula), called Pa30, surrounding one of the hottest stars in the Milky Way, known as Parker's Star, fits the profile, location and age of the historic supernova.