Mathematicians find 'magic key' to drive Ramanujan's taxi-cab number
Atlanta GA (SPX) Oct 15, 2015 -
Taxi-cab numbers, among the most beloved integers in math, trace their origins to 1918 and what seemed like a casual insight by the Indian genius Srinivasa Ramanujan. Now mathematicians at Emory University have discovered that Ramanujan did not just identify the first taxi-cab number - 1729 - and its quirky properties. He showed how the number relates to elliptic curves and K3 surfaces - objects ...
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UIC researchers study gut feelings of identical twin astronauts
Chicago IL (SPX) Oct 15, 2015 -
UIC researchers are part of a NASA study on identical twin astronauts - one who is spending a year at the International Space Station and one who remains on Earth. Ten research teams are studying the impact of long-term stay space by comparing physiological changes in Scott Kelly, who was launched into space in March, and his twin, Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut.
UIC is part of a study wi ...
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Closest-ever Views of Saturn's Moon Enceladus
Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 16, 2015 -
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has begun returning its best-ever views of the northern extremes of Saturn's icy, ocean-bearing moon Enceladus. The spacecraft obtained the images during its Oct. 14 flyby, passing 1,142 miles (1,839 kilometers) above the moon's surface.
Mission controllers say the spacecraft will continue transmitting images and other data from the encounter for the next several ...
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AIMing a light across millions of kilometres
Paris (ESA) Oct 15, 2015 -
Imagine beaming a light across millions of kilometres of empty space, all the way back to Earth. ESA's proposed Asteroid Impact Mission is intended to do just that: demonstrate laser communications across an unprecedented void.
The Asteroid Impact Mission, or AIM, undergoing detailed design ahead of a final go/no-go decision by ESA's Ministerial Council in December 2016, is a deep-space te ...
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Cassini Begins Series of Flybys with Close-up of Saturn Moon Enceladus
Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 16, 2015 -
NASA's Cassini spacecraft will wrap up its time in the region of Saturn's large, icy moons with a series of three close encounters with Enceladus starting Wednesday, Oct. 14. Images are expected to begin arriving one to two days after the flyby, which will provide the first opportunity for a close-up look at the north polar region of Enceladus.
Wednesday's flyby is considered a moderately ...
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China aims to go deeper into space
Beijing (XNA) Oct 16, 2015 -
As China's exploration of the moon progresses, its space experts have begun considering going deeper into the solar system - to Mars, asteroids and Jupiter - and a manned deep-space mission.
At a recent conference on deep-space exploration in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, an official urged scientists and technologists to have a pioneering spirit.
"When e ...
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