The Rise and Fall of Galaxy Formation
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 31, 2016 -
An international team of astronomers, including Carnegie's Eric Persson, has charted the rise and fall of galaxies over 90 percent of cosmic history. Their work, which includes some of the most sensitive astronomical measurements made to date, is published by The Astrophysical Journal.
The FourStar Galaxy Evolution Survey (ZFOURGE) has built a multicolored photo album of galaxies as they g ...
more
India tests new scramjet rocket engine
New Delhi (Sputnik) Aug 31, 2016 -
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully tested its new scramjet engine and expects a commercial launch. This is being touted as the most cost-effective rocket engine the world has seen.
With this, the ISRO, which is already the most inexpensive commercial satellite launch service provider in the world, expects to attract more customers worldwide.
The test carri ...
more
First satellite-based wildlife monitoring tool for airports
Paris (ESA) Aug 31, 2016 -
Wildlife habitats close to airports pose a serious risk to safety at takeoff and landing. Thanks to ESA, a new service lets airports use satellites to identify and manage these areas. Developed by Ascend XYZ in Denmark with ESA's help, the service uses free images and data from Earth observation satellites combined with smart software.
Several airports in Denmark have tested the Ascend sof ...
more
Milky Way Had A Blowout Bash 6 Million Years Ago
Boston MA (SPX) Aug 31, 2016 -
The center of the Milky Way galaxy is currently a quiet place where a supermassive black hole slumbers, only occasionally slurping small sips of hydrogen gas. But it wasn't always this way. A new study shows that 6 million years ago, when the first human ancestors known as hominins walked the Earth, our galaxy's core blazed forth furiously. The evidence for this active phase came from a search f ...
more
Hunt For Ninth Planet Reveals New Extremely Distant Solar System Objects
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 31, 2016 -
In the race to discover a proposed ninth planet in our solar system, Carnegie's Scott Sheppard and Chadwick Trujillo of Northern Arizona University have observed several never-before-seen objects at extreme distances from the Sun in our solar system. Sheppard and Trujillo have now submitted their latest discoveries to the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center for official design ...
more
Anomalous grooves on Martian moon Phobos explained by impacts
Santa Cruz CA (SPX) Aug 31, 2016 -
Some of the mysterious grooves on the surface of Mars' moon Phobos are the result of debris ejected by impacts eventually falling back onto the surface to form linear chains of craters, according to a new study.
One set of grooves on Phobos are thought to be stress fractures resulting from the tidal pull of Mars. The new study, published August 19 in Nature Communications, addresses anothe ...
more
Sentinel-1 provides new insight into Italy's earthquake
Paris (ESA) Aug 31, 2016 -
On 24 August, an earthquake struck central Italy, claiming at least 290 lives and causing widespread damage. Satellite images are being used to help emergency aid organisations, while scientists have begun to analyse ground movement.
The Italian peninsula is prone to earthquakes owing to the fault lines created by the separation of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates. The fault line s ...
more
Could Proxima Centauri b Really Be Habitable
Seattle WA (SPX) Aug 31, 2016 -
The world's attention is now on Proxima Centauri b, a possibly Earth-like planet orbiting the closest star, 4.22 light-years away. The planet's orbit is just right to allow liquid water on its surface, needed for life. But could it in fact be habitable?
If life is possible there, the planet evolved very different than Earth, say researchers at the University of Washington-based Virtual Pla ...
more
SpaceX to launch satellite by reusing rocket
Washington (AFP) Aug 31, 2016 -
SpaceX and satellite operator SES have agreed to launch a commercial satellite later this year by reusing a Falcon 9 rocket, the companies announced Tuesday.
The launch of SES-10, which will be the first satellite sent into space on a SpaceX flight-proven rocket, was scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2016.
Terms of the deal were not announced. Officials with California-based SpaceX, he ...
more
