Lack of oxygen delayed the rise of animals on Earth
New Haven CT (SPX) Nov 04, 2014 -
Geologists are letting the air out of a nagging mystery about the development of animal life on Earth. Scientists have long speculated as to why animal species didn't flourish sooner, once sufficient oxygen covered the Earth's surface.
Animals began to prosper at the end of the Proterozoic period, about 800 million years ago - but what about the billion-year stretch before that, when most ...
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Rare 2.5-billion-year-old rocks reveal hot spot of sulfur-breathing bacteria
College Park MD (SPX) Nov 07, 2014 -
Wriggle your toes in a marsh's mucky bottom sediment and you'll probably inhale a rotten egg smell, the distinctive odor of hydrogen sulfide gas. That's the biochemical signature of sulfur-using bacteria, one of Earth's most ancient and widespread life forms.
Among scientists who study the early history of our 4.5 billion-year-old planet, there is a vigorous debate about the evolution of s ...
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Orion launch to test human flight risks in deep space
Washington (AFP) Nov 06, 2014 -
With memories still fresh of two commercial space flight accidents in the past 10 days, NASA is readying its first test flight of the Orion spacecraft that could one day carry humans to Mars.
No one will be on board when Orion launches next month from Cape Canaveral in Florida, but the test will involve more than $370 million in rocket equipment and hardware.
That price tag does not incl ...
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Boeing demos use of anti-jamming system with existing satellite
El Segundo, Calif. (UPI) Nov 6, 2014 -
Boeing reports that its anti-jamming communications, using a protected tactical waveform, can be used with existing satellites and ground terminals.
The capability was demonstrated recently done in a test conducted under a U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center contract that was supervised by the U.S. government.
The anti-jam technology proved it could shield transmitted ...
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Birth of planets revealed in concentric rings of comets, asteroids and dust
Washington DC (SPX) Nov 07, 2014 -
Astronomers have captured the best image ever of planet formation around an infant star as part of the testing and verification process for the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array's (ALMA) new high-resolution capabilities.
This revolutionary new image reveals in astonishing detail the planet-forming disk surrounding HL Tau, a Sun-like star located approximately 450 light-years fro ...
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Japanese Satellites Orbited as Part of Russia-Ukraine Program
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Nov 07, 2014 -
A converted RS-20B (SS-18 Satan) intercontinental ballistic missile has placed five Japanese satellites into orbit as part of a joint Russia-Ukraine program, a spokesperson for the Russian Strategic Missile Forces told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
"The rocket has successfully put the space vehicles into orbit," Col. Igor Egorov said.
A representative for Kosmotras company, in charge of t ...
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NASA's Hubble Surveys Debris-Strewn Exoplanetary Construction Yards
Washington DC (SPX) Nov 07, 2014 -
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have completed the largest and most sensitive visible-light imaging survey of dusty debris disks around other stars. These dusty disks, likely created by collisions between leftover objects from planet formation, were imaged around stars as young as 10 million years old and as mature as more than 1 billion years old.
"It's like looking back i ...
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