Surprising Theorists, Stars Within Middle-Aged Clusters Are of Similar Age
Oxnard CA (SPX) Dec 18, 2014 -
A close look at the night sky reveals that stars don't like to be alone; instead, they congregate in clusters, in some cases containing as many as several million stars. Until recently, the oldest of these populous star clusters were considered well understood, with the stars in a single group having formed at different times, over periods of more than 300 million years.
Yet new research p ...
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Rosetta Reignites Debate on Earth's Oceans
Huntsville AL (SPX) Dec 18, 2014 -
Where did our planet get its oceans? Among planetary scientists, this is one of the most important and perplexing questions about the origins of Earth. One popular theory holds that water was brought to Earth by the ancient impacts of comets and asteroids. However, new data from the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft indicate that terrestrial water did not come from comets like 67P/Chury ...
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NASA Satellites Measure Increase of Sun's Energy Absorbed in the Arctic
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 18, 2014 -
NASA satellite instruments have observed a marked increase in solar radiation absorbed in the Arctic since the year 2000 - a trend that aligns with the steady decrease in Arctic sea ice during the same period.
While sea ice is mostly white and reflects the sun's rays, ocean water is dark and absorbs the sun's energy at a higher rate. A decline in the region's albedo - its reflectivity, in ...
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'Perfect Storm' Quenching Star Formation around a Supermassive Black Hole
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 18, 2014 -
High-energy jets powered by supermassive black holes can blast away a galaxy's star-forming fuel, resulting in so-called "red and dead" galaxies: those brimming with ancient red stars yet containing little or no hydrogen gas to create new ones.
Now astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have discovered that black holes don't have to be nearly so powerful ...
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Fifth SpaceX Mission Lets the CATS Out on the International Space Station
Houston TX (SPX) Dec 18, 2014 -
Not like cats that you might pet in your lap at night, International Space Station CATS study the atmosphere's plight. CATS and new research including flatworms, wearable technology, an external radiation monitor and tools to use the station as a microbial observatory will head to the orbiting outpost on the fifth SpaceX mission. Additionally, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft will deliver equipment fo ...
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Australian university students aim to generate first 'breathable' air on Mars
Melbourne, Australia (XNA) Dec 18, 2014 -
A Mars One astronaut candidate and a team of Western Australian students aiming to generate the first breathable air on Mars have reached the finals of the international competition that will land vital experiments on the Red Planet.
Josh Richards, a physicist from Perth, plans to send a system that produces oxygen from water to the Martian surface, as part of the Mars One project that aim ...
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NASA awards Launch Services Contract for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 18, 2014 -
NASA has selected SpaceX to provide launch services for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission. TESS will launch aboard a Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle, with liftoff targeted for August 2017 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The total cost for NASA to launch TESS is approximately $87 million, which includes the launch service, spacecraft processing, payload ...
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