Category: Space-Earth
The wild early lives of today’s most massive galaxies: Dramatic star formation cut short by black holes
Astronomers have found the strongest link so far between the most powerful bursts of star formation in the early Universe, and the most massive galaxies found today. The galaxies, flowering with dramatic starbursts in the early Universe, saw the birth of new stars abruptly cut short, leaving them as massive — but passive — galaxies of aging stars in the present day. The astronomers also have a likely culprit for the sudden end to the starbursts: the emergence of supermassive black holes.
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The wild early lives of today’s most massive galaxies: Dramatic star formation cut short by black holes
Jupiter’s ‘Trojans’ on an atomic scale
The planet Jupiter keeps asteroids on stable orbits — and in a similar way, electrons can be stabilized in their orbit around the atomic nucleus. Calculations have now been verified in a new experiment.
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Jupiter’s ‘Trojans’ on an atomic scale
Lab mimics Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids inside a single atom
Physicists have built an accurate model of part of the solar system inside a single atom. Scientists have shown that they could make an electron orbit the atomic nucleus in the same way that Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids orbit the sun. The findings uphold a 1920 prediction by physicist Niels Bohr.
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Lab mimics Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids inside a single atom
Catching a comet death on camera
On July 6, 2011, a comet was caught doing something never seen before: die a scorching death as it flew too close to the sun. That the comet met its fate this way was no surprise — but the chance to watch it first-hand amazed even the most seasoned comet watchers.
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Catching a comet death on camera
Hearty bacteria help make case for life in the extreme
The bottom of a glacier is not the most hospitable place on Earth, but at least two types of bacteria happily live there, according to researchers.
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Hearty bacteria help make case for life in the extreme
Helix Nebula in new colors
Astronomers have captured a striking new image of the Helix Nebula. A new picture, taken in infrared light, reveals strands of cold nebular gas that are invisible in images taken in visible light, as well as bringing to light a rich background of stars and galaxies. The Helix Nebula is one of the closest and most remarkable examples of a planetary nebula.
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Helix Nebula in new colors
Solar Dynamics Observatory helps measure magnetic fields on the sun’s surface
A subset of data that helps map out the sun’s magnetic fields was recently released from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Observations that measure the strength and direction of magnetic fields on the solar surface — known as vector magnetograms — play a crucial role in understanding how those fields change over time and trigger giant eruptions off the surface of the sun such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
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Solar Dynamics Observatory helps measure magnetic fields on the sun’s surface
Planck space telescope warms up as planned
The High Frequency Instrument aboard the Planck space telescope has completed its survey of the remnant light from the Big Bang explosion that created our universe. The sensor ran out of coolant on Jan. 14, as expected, ending its ability to detect this faint energy.
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Planck space telescope warms up as planned
Montana students pick winning names for moon craft
Twin NASA spacecraft that achieved orbit around the moon New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day have new names, thanks to elementary students in Bozeman, Mont. Their winning entry, “Ebb and Flow,” was selected as part of a nationwide school contest that began in October 2011.
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Montana students pick winning names for moon craft
Voyager instrument cooling after heater turned off
In order to reduce power consumption, mission managers have turned off a heater on part of NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft, dropping the temperature of its ultraviolet spectrometer instrument more than 23 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit). It is now operating at a temperature below minus 79 degrees Celsius (minus 110 degrees Fahrenheit), the coldest temperature that the instrument has ever endured. This heater shut-off is a step in the careful management of the diminishing electrical power so that the Voyager spacecraft can continue to collect and transmit data through 2025.
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Voyager instrument cooling after heater turned off