Predicting which African storms will intensify into hurricanes
Tel Aviv, Israel (SPX) Mar 16, 2015 -
Hurricanes require moisture, the rotation of the earth, and warm ocean temperatures to grow from a mere atmospheric disturbance into a tropical storm. But where do these storm cells originate, and exactly what makes an atmospheric disturbance amp up full throttle?
A new study published in Geophysical Research Letters by Tel Aviv University's Prof. Colin Price and his graduate student Naama ...
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ESA minisatellites to follow Europe's solar eclipse
Paris (ESA) Mar 17, 2015 -
On Friday morning, 20 March, Europe will experience a partial solar eclipse. Only a partial solar eclipse will be visible from continental Europe, but the Agency's Sun-watching Proba-2 minisatellite, up in its 820 km-altitude orbit, will see two periods of near-total eclipse for a few dozen seconds.
Meanwhile, other members of ESA's Proba minisatellite family - each smaller than a cubic me ...
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New Mercury surface composition maps illuminate the planet's history
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 17, 2015 -
Two new papers from members of the MESSENGER Science Team provide global-scale maps of Mercury's surface chemistry that reveal previously unrecognized geochemical terranes - large regions that have compositions distinct from their surroundings. The presence of these large terranes has important implications for the history of the planet.
The MESSENGER mission was designed to answer severa ...
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NASA spacecraft in Earth's orbit, preparing to study magnetic reconnection
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Mar 17, 2015 -
Following a successful launch at 10:44 p.m. EDT Thursday, NASA's four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft are positioned in Earth's orbit to begin the first space mission dedicated to the study of a phenomenon called magnetic reconnection. This process is thought to be the catalyst for some of the most powerful explosions in our solar system.
The spacecraft, positioned one on top of ...
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Spacetime Foam Not Slowing Down Photons From Gamma Ray Burst
Jerusalem, Israel (SPX) Mar 17, 2015 -
One hundred years after Albert Einstein formulated the general theory of relativity, an international team has proposed another experimental proof. In a paper published in Nature Physics, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Open University of Israel, Sapienza University of Rome, and University of Montpellier in France, describe a proof for one of the theory's basic assumptio ...
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A second minor planet may possess Saturn-like rings
Boston MA (SPX) Mar 17, 2015 -
There are only five bodies in our solar system that are known to bear rings. The most obvious is the planet Saturn; to a lesser extent, rings of gas and dust also encircle Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. The fifth member of this haloed group is Chariklo, one of a class of minor planets called centaurs: small, rocky bodies that possess qualities of both asteroids and comets.
Scientists only r ...
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Clyde Space wins Outernet contract
Glasgow UK (SPX) Mar 17, 2015 -
Clyde Space has signed a 1 million pound deal to build three CubeSats for American global broadcast company Outernet Inc in an international partnership deal funded by the UK Space Agency.
Outernet's aim is to make web access free and unrestricted all over the world through space-based telecommunications. As the project develops, Clyde Space hopes to secure business from the New York based ...
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