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Defying Gravity: FSU Professor's Work to Be Conducted at International Space Station
Florida State University
A Florida State University professor's latest experiments will take place far above the Earth when astronauts at the International Space Station begin working with FSU on what's called a chemical garden.
Researchers Find Last of Universe's Missing Ordinary Matter
University of Colorado Boulder
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have helped to find the last reservoir of ordinary matter hiding in the universe.
Studying Mars on Earth: Planetary scientist conducting astrobiological research in Mojave Desert
Northern Arizona University
Northern Arizona University assistant professor Christopher Edwards was recently awarded a $1.2 million grant from NASA to understand the habitability of Mars by studying extreme, Mars-like environments on Earth.
Studying Mars on Earth: Planetary scientist conducting astrobiological research in Mojave Desert
Northern Arizona University
Christopher Edwards received a $1.2 million grant from the PSTAR program to explore extreme environments on Earth for habitability and biosignatures, which can allow scientists to predict what to look for in space missions.
New Tech Uses Isomeric Beams to Study How and Where the Galaxy Makes One of Its Most Common Elements
A new measurement using a beam of aluminum-26 prepared in a metastable state allows researchers to better understand the creation of the elements in our galaxy.
UNH Researcher Captures Best Ever Evidence of Rare Black Hole
University of New Hampshire
Scientists have been able to prove the existence of small black holes and those that are super-massive but the existence of an elusive type of black hole, known as intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) is hotly debated. New research coming out of the Space Science Center at the University of New Hampshire shows the strongest evidence to date that this middle-of-the-road black hole exists, by serendipitously capturing one in action devouring an encountering star.
Perspectives on 10 Years of Discovery With Fermi
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Ten years ago on this day, the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope (then called GLAST) was launched into space, beginning its mission to explore the most energetic light in the universe and the powerful cosmic processes that produce it.
Potential for Life on Mars: Geosciences Professor Joel Hurowitz, PhD Available for Interview
Stony Brook University
Physicist receives prestigious NSF CAREER Award
West Virginia University - Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Weichao Tu, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at West Virginia University, has been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award to support her research in developing the first comprehensive model to simulate the mysterious dropout of the radiation belt electrons.
Astronaut and UVA Darden TEP Alumnus Scott Tingle Reflects on Six Months in Space
University of Virginia Darden School of Business
Astronaut Scott Tingle (TEP '15) landed safely back on terra firma 3 June, as his 168-day voyage on the International Space Station (ISS) concluded with a parachute landing in the desert of Kazakhstan
UF/IFAS Researcher to Experiment With Algae in Space
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
A University of Florida scientist will use the International Space Station to see if algae can help recycle carbon dioxide and eventually be used to help make plastics, resins and even food.
Trio of Infant Planets Discovered Around Newborn Star
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Two independent teams of astronomers have uncovered convincing evidence that three young planets are in orbit around an infant star known as HD 163296. Using a new planet-finding strategy, the astronomers identified three discrete disturbances in a young star's gas-filled disk: the strongest evidence yet that newly formed planets are in orbit there.
Wvu Physicist Receives Prestigious NSF Career Award
West Virginia University
Weichao Tu, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at West Virginia University, has been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award to support her research in developing the first comprehensive model to simulate the mysterious dropout of the radiation belt electrons.
Experiments at Berkeley Lab Help Trace Interstellar Dust Back to Solar System's Formation
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Experiments conducted at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory helped to confirm that samples of interplanetary particles - collected from Earth's upper atmosphere and believed to originate from comets - contain dust leftover from the initial formation of the solar system.
Physicist receives prestigious 2018 Cottrell Scholar Award
By Julie Hammonds Office of the Vice President for ResearchA Northern Arizona University physicist who studies complex, hybrid nanomaterials has been recognized for his academic leadership and the quality and innovation of his research. The Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) recently named assistant professor John Gibbs a 2018 Cottrell Scholar.
Work Begins on New SLAC Facility for Revolutionary Accelerator Science
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
The Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has started to assemble a new facility for revolutionary accelerator technologies that could make future accelerators 100 to 1,000 times smaller and boost their capabilities.
Diamond Dust Shimmering Around Distant Stars
Green Bank Observatory
Some of the tiniest diamonds in the universe - bits of crystalline carbon hundreds of thousands of times smaller than a grain of sand - have been detected swirling around three infant star systems in the Milky Way. These microscopic gemstones are neither rare nor precious; they are, however, exciting for astronomers who identified them as the source of a mysterious cosmic microwave "glow" emanating from several protoplanetary disks in our galaxy.
FSU Expert Available to Discuss NASA Mars Discovery
Florida State University
Mars Researcher Available to Discuss NASA's Curiosity Rover Discovering Methane, Organic Material on Mars
Northern Arizona University
Mark Salvatore, who studied the surface of the Red Planet, also is part of a team that collaborates with scientists, engineers and NASA's rover operations to guide the Curiosity around Mars.
Hidden Magnetism Appears under Hidden Symmetry
Sometimes a good theory just needs the right materials to make it work. That's the case with recent findings by UT's physicists and their colleagues, who designed a two-dimensional magnetic system that points to the possibility of devices with increased security and efficiency, using only a small amount of energy
New elementary particle evidence found, 'sterile neutrino' long suspected
Los Alamos National Laboratory
New research results have potentially identified a fourth type of neutrino, a "sterile neutrino" particle. This particle provides challenges for the Standard Model of particle physics, if found to be a valid result in future experiments.
Scientists Studying Nuclear Spin Make a Surprising Discovery
The size of a nucleus appears to influence the direction of certain particles emitted from collisions with spinning protons.
NASA Funds Rutgers Scientists' Pursuit of the Origins of Life
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
What are the origins of life on Earth and possibly elsewhere? Did "protein nanomachines" evolve here before life began to catalyze and support the development of living things? Could the same thing have happened on Mars, the moons of Jupiter and Neptune, and elsewhere in the universe? A Rutgers University-led team of scientists called ENIGMA, for "Evolution of Nanomachines in Geospheres and Microbial Ancestors," will try to answer those questions over the next five years, thanks to an approximately $6 million NASA grant and membership in the NASA Astrobiology Institute.
Nine More Professionals to Visit Chile for Prestigious ACEAP Astronomy Tour
Associated Universities, Inc.
Nine more participants have been selected for the prestigious Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (ACEAP), a behind-the-scenes immersive experience at five astronomical observatories in Chile from June 10 to 18.
Physicists use terahertz flashes to uncover new state of matter hidden by superconductivity
Iowa State University
A research team led by Jigang Wang of Iowa State University and the Ames Laboratory has developed a new quantum switching scheme that gives them access to new and hidden states of matter. The journal Nature Materials has just published a paper about the discovery.
Spooky Quantum Particle Pairs Fly Like Weird Curveballs
Those particles that can be in two places at the same time and are not just particles but also waves appear to move in even weirder ways than previously thought. Theoretical physicists at Georgia Tech applied extreme computing power for a week to predict the movements of fermions by including quantum optics, or light-like, ideas in their mathematical, theoretical modeling.
Scientists Simulate a Sliver of the Universe to Tackle a Subatomic-Scale Physics Problem
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
A team led by Berkeley Lab researchers has enlisted powerful supercomputers to calculate a quantity, known as the "nucleon axial coupling" or gA, that is central to our understanding of a neutron's lifetime.
"America's Medical School" Graduate Selected for NASA Spaceflight Mission
Army physician Lt. Col. Andrew Morgan, a NASA astronaut, will be one of two members of the NASA astronaut class of 2013 going into space in 2019, according to an announcement released by the space agency today.
Professors Bring the Scientific Community Closer to Understanding Binary Star Mergers
West Virginia University
Maura McLaughlin and Duncan Lorimer, professors of physics and astronomy at West Virginia University, have discovered a new pair of pulsars and have followed up on characteristics of another new duo. Their research will bring insights into the understanding of the how many of these systems exist and the rate in which they merge in our galaxy.
Perfecting the Noise-Canceling Neutrino Detector
MicroBooNE neutrino experiment cuts through the noise, clearing the way for signals made by the hard-to-detect particle.
Astronomers Release Most Complete Ultraviolet-Light Survey of Nearby Galaxies
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Using the Hubble Space Telescope's unparalleled sharpness and spectral range, an international research team has created the most comprehensive, high-resolution ultraviolet-light survey of star-forming galaxies in the local universe. The LEGUS data provide detailed information on 39 million young, massive stars and 8,000 star clusters, and how their environment affects their development.
A Bolt of Insight
University of Utah
The Telescope Array detected 10 bursts of downward TGFs between 2014 and 2016, more events than have been observed in rest of the world combined. The team is the first to detect downward TGFs at the beginning of cloud-to-ground lightning, and to show where they originated inside thunderstorms.
​Ohio State's First Satellite Prepares for Launch
Ohio State University
Its name may playfully give homage to a 1980s video arcade game, but the technology on board The Ohio State University's first satellite -- the CubeRRT -- could be vital for Earth science missions into the future. It is scheduled for launch on May 20.
ALMA Finds Most-Distant Oxygen in the Universe
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
GALAXY 13.28 BILLION LIGHT-YEARS AWAY SHOWS SURPRISING SIGNS OF CHEMICAL MATURITY
Using a 'Magneto-Gravitational Trap,' IU Physicists Measure Neutrons with Unprecedented Precision
Indiana University
Researchers at the IU Center for the Exploration of Energy and Matter have developed a highly accurate way to measure neutron decay rates. It could provide new insight into the state of the universe after the Big Bang.
Planck Collaboration Wins 2018 Gruber Cosmology Prize
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The Planck Team--including researchers in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's (Berkeley Lab's) Computational Research and Physics divisions--have been awarded the 2018 Gruber Cosmology Prize.
Profiling Extreme Beams: Scientists Devise New Diagnostic for Cutting-Edge and Next-Gen Particle Accelerators
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The world's cutting-edge particle accelerators are pushing the extremes in high-brightness beams and ultrashort pulses to explore matter in new ways. To optimize their performance - and to prepare for next-generation facilities that will push these extremes further - scientists have devised a new tool that can measure how bright these beams are, even for pulses that last only quadrillionths or even quintillionths of a second.
Missouri S&T Professor Promotes Materials of Tomorrow
Missouri University of Science and Technology
As a boy, Dr. Joseph Newkirk was fascinated by artwork that depicted a sleek, space-age future of flying cars and robotic servants - the stuff of TV shows like The Jetsons. Today, Newkirk is still fascinated by a space-age future. and thinking about what future materials will be needed to transport people to Mars or make robots stronger.
NASA Spacecraft Finds New Type of Magnetic Explosion
University of Delaware
Four NASA spacecraft have observed magnetic reconnection in a turbulent region of the Earth's outer atmosphere known as the magnetosheath, the planet's first line of defense against the intensity of solar wind. The new insights could help us understand how such phenomena affect Earth's atmosphere.
Planetary Geologist Nick Warner Part of NASA's InSight Mars Mission
State University of New York at Geneseo
Earth's Orbital Changes Have Influenced Climate, Life Forms For at Least 215 Million Years
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Every 405,000 years, gravitational tugs from Jupiter and Venus slightly elongate Earth's orbit, an amazingly consistent pattern that has influenced our planet's climate for at least 215 million years and allows scientists to more precisely date geological events like the spread of dinosaurs, according to a Rutgers-led study. The findings are published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Construction Begins on One of the World's Most Sensitive Dark Matter Experiments
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab)
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and the National Science Foundation have approved funding and start of construction for the SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment, which will begin in the early 2020s to hunt for light dark matter particles. DOE's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is playing a major role in building this new experiment, which is hosted at SNOLAB in Canada and managed by DOE's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
Construction Begins on One of the World's Most Sensitive Dark Matter Experiments
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
The U.S. Department of Energy has approved funding and start of construction for the SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment, which will begin operations in the early 2020s to hunt for hypothetical dark matter particles called weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs. The experiment will be at least 50 times more sensitive than its predecessor, exploring WIMP properties that can't be probed by other experiments and giving researchers a powerful new tool to understand one of the biggest mysteries of modern physics.
Breathing Lunar Dust Could Pose Health Risk to Future Astronauts
Stony Brook University
Future astronauts spending long periods of time on the Moon could suffer bronchitis and other health problems by inhaling tiny particles of dust from its surface, according to new research.
Hubble Detects Helium in the Atmosphere of an Exoplanet for the First Time
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
An international team of astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have detected helium in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-107b. This is the first time this element has been detected in the atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system. The discovery demonstrates the ability to use infrared spectra to study exoplanet extended atmospheres.
'Game Changing' Space-Mission Power System Passes Tests with Flying Colors
Los Alamos National Laboratory
KRUSTY experiment demonstrates fission power's promise for lunar, planetary exploration
Microbes Living in a Toxic Volcanic Lake Could Hold Clues to Life on Mars
University of Colorado Boulder
Researchers have discovered microbes living in a toxic volcanic lake that may rank as one of the harshest environments on Earth.
InterPlanetary Festival Announces June Lineup
Santa Fe Institute
Seamus Blackley, Cory Doctorow, Ashton Eaton, Kate Greene, Annalee Newitz, Scott Ross, Martine Rothblatt, Neal Stephenson, and Pete Worden among luminary panelists and performers to converge in Santa Fe June 7-8, 2018
Down to Earth: Kansas State University Researcher Part of $3.9 Million NASA Lava Caves Study
When lava flows down the slope of a volcano, it can leave behind an extreme environment ideal for unusual microbial life and potential clues to answering the life on Mars question. Kansas State University geology professor Saugata Datta is one of the primary investigators of a new NASA study that will use a robotic vehicle to explore and collect data inside caves at Lava Beds National Monument in Northern California.
New Technology Offers to Broaden Vision for Radio Astronomy
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Researchers have developed a new and improved version of an unconventional radio-astronomy imaging system known as a Phased Array Feed, which can survey vast swaths of the sky and generate multiple views of astronomical objects with unparalleled efficiency.
NASA Cancels Mission to the Moon: Notre Dame's Clive Neal Available for Comment
University of Notre Dame
Berkeley Lab's Julian Borrill Elected Co-Spokesperson of CMB-S4
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Berkeley Lab's Julian Borrill has been elected co-spokesperson for the CMB-S4 collaboration, the next-generation ground-based experiment to study the Cosmic Microwave Background.
Stellar Thief Is the Surviving Companion to a Supernova
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
In the fading afterglow of a supernova explosion, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have photographed the first image of a surviving companion to a supernova. This is the most compelling evidence that some supernovas originate in double-star systems.
Astronomers Witness Galaxy Megamerger
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Astronomers have witnessed the beginnings of a gargantuan cosmic pileup, the impending collision of 14 young, starbursting galaxies. This ancient megamerger is destined to evolve into one of the most massive structures in the known universe: a cluster of galaxies, gravitationally bound by dark matter and swimming in a sea of hot, ionized gas.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Could Potentially Detect the First Stars and Black Holes
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
One of the key science goals of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is to learn about "first light," the moment when the first stars and galaxies lit the universe. While the first galaxies will be within Webb's reach, individual stars shine so faintly that Webb would not be able to detect them without help. That help could come in the form of natural magnification from gravitational lensing, according to a new theoretical paper.
Quantum Dots Enable Faster, Easier Photon Detection, More Secure Data
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
A research team including U of A faculty has developed a method of detecting single photons using quantum dots. Single photon detection using quantum dots is an important element of new technology that could lead to faster and more secure data transfer.
Molecular Evolution: How the Building Blocks of Life May Form In Space
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
In an experiment that mimics astrophysical conditions, with cryogenic temperatures in an ultrahigh vacuum, scientists used an electron gun to irradiate thin sheets of ice covered in basic molecules of methane, ammonia and carbon dioxide, the building blocks of life. The experiment tested how the combination of electrons and basic matter leads to more complex biomolecule forms -- and perhaps eventually to life forms. The researchers discuss their work in The Journal of Chemical Physics.
We Can Go to Mars ... Soon. Vanderbilt Prof Asks Whether We Should.
Vanderbilt University
Astronomy professor David Weintraub asks: Do we have any inalienable right to destroy the bio-ecosystem of an entire planet?
Professor Wins NASA Award for Innovative Concept That Could Revolutionize Space Exploration
Wichita State University
Wichita State University physics professor Nickolas Solomey has won one of NASA's coveted Innovation and Advanced Concept Awards (NIAC) for his research to create a neutrino detector for close sun orbit.
Hubble 28th Anniversary Image Captures Roiling Heart of Vast Stellar Nursery
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
For 28 years, the Hubble Space Telescope has been delivering breathtaking views of the universe. The latest offering is this image of the Lagoon Nebula to celebrate the telescope's anniversary. Hubble shows the roiling heart of this vast stellar nursery in stunning unprecedented detail.
Notre Dame Expert Available to Discuss NASA's TESS Mission and the Search for 'Our Nearest Neighbors'
University of Notre Dame
Thinking About Hitching a Ride on a Mission to Mars? Here's One Hazard You Haven't Considered
One risk of space flight is a possible danger to vision. Retired NASA astronaut David Wolf, M.D., will discuss how space flight affects eyes on in a keynote address at a conference of leading eye physicians and surgeons, hosted by the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Washington, D.C. April 19.
Tiny Distortions in Universe's Oldest Light Reveal Clearer Picture of Strands in Cosmic Web
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Scientists have decoded faint distortions in the patterns of the universe's earliest light to map huge tubelike structures invisible to our eyes - known as filaments - that serve as superhighways for delivering matter to dense hubs such as galaxy clusters.
ADMX Announces Breakthrough in Axion Dark Matter Detection Technology
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab)
This week, the Axion Dark Matter Experiment (ADMX) unveiled a new result, published in Physical Review Letters, that places it in a category of one: It is the world's first and only experiment to have achieved the necessary sensitivity to "hear" the telltale signs of dark matter axions. This technological breakthrough is the result of more than 30 years of research and development, with the latest piece of the puzzle coming in the form of a quantum-enabled device that allows ADMX to listen for axions more closely than any experiment ever built.
Accelerating Scientific Discovery Through Code Optimization on Many-Core Processors
Brookhaven National Laboratory
During a recent weeklong coding marathon at Brookhaven Lab, scientists, code developers, and computing hardware experts achieved from 2x to 40x speedups for scientific application codes running on supercomputers powered by Intel processors for high-performance computing.
Boeing CEO to Discuss the Future of Space Exploration
Northwestern University
Dennis Muilenburg EVANSTON - Dennis Muilenburg, chairman, president and CEO of The Boeing Company, will discuss the future of space exploration, from traversing deep space and taking our first steps on Mars to the evolving combination of commercial air and commercial space travel, during the 37th Annual William A. Patterson Transportation Lecture on May 2 at Northwestern University.
While Out Hunting Planets, NASA's TESS Survey Will Also Help Astronomers Study Stars
Iowa State University
Iowa State University's Steve Kawaler is heading back to Cape Canaveral this month to witness the launch of another planet-hunting spacecraft. This one, called TESS, will image 85 percent of the sky over the next two years, helping astronomers find planets beyond our solar system. Kawaler and other astronomers will also use TESS data to study stars.
Hubble Makes the First Precise Distance Measurement to an Ancient Globular Star Cluster
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers were able to use the same sort of trigonometry that surveyors use to precisely measure the distance to NGC 6397, one of the closest globular clusters to Earth. The only difference is that the angles measured in Hubble's camera are infinitesimal by earthly surveyors' standards.
UAH Professor's Early-Stage Proposal for "Marsbees" Selected to Receive NASA Funding
University of Alabama Huntsville
Dr. Chang-kwon Kang's proposal on Marsbees was one of only 25 selected for NASA's 2018 Innovative Advanced Concepts program, which funds early-stage technology that has the potential to revolutionize future space exploration.A proposal on Marsbees submitted by Dr. Chang-kwon Kang, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), was one of only 25 selected to receive a 2018 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) award.
Send Your Name to the Sun Aboard Parker Solar Probe
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
NASA's Parker Solar Probe -- designed, built and managed by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) -- will launch in summer 2018 and travel to our star on a historic mission to "touch the Sun." Now you can get on board and be a part of this voyage of extreme exploration.
UAH Researchers' Supercomputer Simulations Shed Light on the Heliospheric Interface
University of Alabama Huntsville
Dr. Nikolai Pogorelov is a professor in UAH's Department of Space Science and a researcher with UAH's Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research. His co-authored paper shows that the disruption of the heliopause can be attributed to magnetohydrodynamic instability, possibly accompanied by magnetic reconnection."Three-dimensional Features of the Outer Heliosphere Due to Coupling between the Interstellar and Heliospheric Magnetic Field.
New Study Suggests Widespread Presence of Water on the Moon
Northern Arizona University
In a new study published in Nature Geoscience, researchers analyzed remote-sensing data from two lunar missions and concluded that water appears to be evenly spread across the surface of the moon, not confined to a particular region or type of terrain as previously thought. The study was led by Northern Arizona University planetary scientist Christopher Edwards.
NASA Awards Prestigious Postdoctoral Fellowships
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
NASA has selected 24 new Fellows for its prestigious NASA Hubble Fellowship Program (NHFP). The program enables outstanding postdoctoral scientists to pursue independent research in any area of NASA Astrophysics. Each fellowship provides the awardee up to three years of support.
Weather Satellite Wanders Through Time, Space, Causing Stray Warming to Contaminate Data
University of Alabama Huntsville
Drs. John Christy and Roy Spencer of UAH's Earth System Science Center used a difference-minimizing algorithm to compensate for spurious data collected by a drifting weather satellite, NOAA-14.
Hirohisa Tanaka Joins SLAC to Push Limits of Neutrino Physics
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Accomplished neutrino physicist Hirohisa Tanaka has joined the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory as a professor of particle physics and astrophysics. He oversees a group at the lab that is preparing for research with the future Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) at the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF). The experiment will give scientists unprecedented opportunities to learn more about neutrinos - fundamental particles with mysterious properties that could play crucial roles in the evolution of the universe.
Earth's Stable Temperature Past Suggests Other Planets Could Also Sustain Life
University of Washington
Earth has had moderate temperatures throughout its early history, and neutral seawater acidity. This means other rocky planets could likely also maintain this equilibrium and allow life to evolve.
Researchers Uncover the Farthest Star Ever Seen
University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering
More than halfway across the universe, researchers have spotted the farthest individual star ever seen.
Hubble Uncovers the Farthest Star Ever Seen
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Using the Hubble Space Telescope and a quirk of nature called gravitational lensing, an international team of astronomers has found the most distant individual star ever discovered, dubbed "Icarus." This discovery provides new insight into the formation and evolution of stars in the early universe, the makeup of galaxy clusters, and the nature of dark matter.
Is There Life Adrift in the Clouds of Venus?
University of Wisconsin-Madison
In the search for extraterrestrial life, scientists have turned over all sorts of rocks. Mars, for example, has geological features that suggest it once had -- and still has -- subsurface liquid water, an almost sure prerequisite for life. Scientists have also eyed Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus as well as Jupiter's moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto as possible havens for life in the oceans under their icy crusts. Now, however, scientists are dusting off an old idea that promises a new vista in the hunt for life beyond Earth: the clouds of Venus.
Secretary of Energy Rick Perry Visits SLAC, Tours Site of X-ray Laser Upgrade
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Secretary of Energy Rick Perry visited the U.S. Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory today, where he toured the site of a superconducting upgrade to the accelerator that powers the lab's X-ray laser and met with employees in a town hall meeting.
Supernova May Have 'Burped' Before Exploding
University of Notre Dame
Only by increasing the rate at which telescopes monitor the sky has it been possible to catch more Fast-Evolving Luminous Transients (FELTs) and begin to understand them.
Dark Matter Goes Missing in Oddball Galaxy
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope of galaxy NGC 1052-DF2 have turned up an oddity that sets it apart from most other galaxies, even the diffuse-looking ones. It contains little, if any, dark matter, an invisible substance that makes up the bulk of our universe.
Scientists Have Overestimated Meteor Sizes
First demonstration of high-pressure metastability mapping with ultrafast X-ray diffraction shows objects aren't as large as previously thought.
NASA Awards Research Grant to Develop More Efficient Water Management Systems for Space Exploration
Wichita State University
Efficient and compact cooling and water management systems are critical to human exploration of space. Two mechanical engineers at Wichita State University are researching ways to improve cooling efficiency and water recycling systems by developing a new device that affects water liquid-to-vapor changes.
Underground Neutrino Experiment Sets the Stage for Deep Discovery About Matter
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Collaborators of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR have shown they can shield a sensitive, scalable 44-kilogram germanium detector array from background radioactivity. This accomplishment is critical to developing and proposing a much larger future experiment to study neutrinos.
Kepler Solves Mystery of Fast and Furious Explosions
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Using Kepler's unique capabilities, astronomers have captured the blast properties of an unusual exploding phenomenon known as a Fast-Evolving Luminous Transient (FELT). This allowed them to exclude a range of theories about how FELTs happen, and converge on a plausible model.
50 Years After Release, '2001' Remains One of the Greatest
Iowa State University
Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" set a new standard for science-fiction films when it was released 50 years ago. Justin Remes, an assistant professor of film studies at Iowa State University, says the music and images that made it so powerful in 1968, are why it is still a great film today.
Astronomers Solve Cosmic "Whodunit" with Interstellar Forensics
Green Bank Observatory
By comparing new Hubble observations with data from the Green Bank Telescope, astronomers have discovered the origin of a huge cloud of gas bridging the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud, two dwarf galaxies that orbit the Milky Way.
Decades of Research Identify Source of Galaxy-Sized Stream of Gas
University of Wisconsin-Madison
A cloud of gas 300,000 light-years long is arching around the Milky Way, shunted away from two dwarf galaxies orbiting our own. For decades, astronomers have wanted to know which of the two galaxies, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, is the source of the gas that has been expelled as the two galaxies gravitationally pull at one another. The answer will help astronomers understand how galaxies form and change over time.
Hubble Solves Cosmic 'Whodunit' with Interstellar Forensics
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Scientists have used the Hubble Space Telescope to chemically analyze the gas in the Leading Arm (the arching collection of gas that connects the Magellanic Clouds to the Milky Way) and determine its origin.
Physicists at Crossroads in Trying to Understand Universe
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Scientists at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and elsewhere are at a crossroads in their 50-year quest to go beyond the Standard Model in physics.
Beyond the WIMP: Unique Crystals Could Expand the Search for Dark Matter
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
A new particle detector design proposed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Berkeley Lab could greatly broaden the search for dark matter - which makes up 85 percent of the total mass of the universe yet we don't know what it's made of - into an unexplored realm.
First Plasma for New Machine to Study Puzzling Process That Occurs Throughout the Universe
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Announcement describes completion of construction of FLARE, a powerful new machine to study magnetic reconnection.
Scientists Design Conceptual Asteroid Deflector and Evaluate It Against Massive Potential Threat
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Scientists have designed a conceptual spacecraft to deflect Earth-bound asteroids and evaluated whether it would be able to nudge a massive asteroid - which has a remote chance to hitting Earth in 2135 - off course.
Theoretical physicist @stonybrooku Prof. Luis Alvarez-Gaume remembers Dr. Stephen Hawking
Stony Brook University
Arrested Development: Hubble Finds Relic Galaxy Close to Home
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have identified a very rare and odd assemblage of stars that has remained essentially unchanged for the past 10 billion years. The diffuse stellar island, galaxy NGC 1277, provides valuable new insights into the origin and evolution of galaxies billions of years ago.
NASA's Webb Telescope to Make a Splash in Search for Interstellar Water
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Most of the water in the universe floats in vast reservoirs called molecular clouds. It coats the surface of dust grains, turning them into cosmic snowflakes. When stars and planets form, those snowflakes get swept up, delivering key ingredients for life. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will map water and other cosmic ices to gain new insights into these building blocks for habitable planets.
Unveiling the Depths of Jupiter's Winds
Weizmann Institute of Science
Part of NASA's historic Juno mission to Jupiter, the Weizmann Institute's Prof. Yohai Kaspi and colleagues have revealed that the depth of Jupiter's winds is far greater than expected.
First Look at Jupiter's Poles Show Strange Geometric Arrays of Storms
University of Chicago
With NASA's Juno spacecraft, scientists have gotten a good look at the top and bottom of the planet for the first time. What they found astounded them: bizarre geometric arrangements of storms, each arrayed around one cyclone over the north and south poles--unlike any storm formation seen in the universe.