Sep 30
The filament between us and the Universe
Using complex numerical
simulations that follow the
evolution of the large scale
distribution of matter with
time, it is possible to
illustrate the complex
structure of the Universe.
The image above is the
result
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Sep 29
Terrestrial planets prefer G-type stars
Now that the Kepler space
telescope has identified
over a thousand potential
planets around stars more or
less similar to the Sun, the
number of scientific
publications based on
preliminary data has
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Sep 28
Cosmic distances can be measured with quasars!
The idea that quasars could
be used to measure cosmic
distances has been around
for over 40 years, but this
hope now seems to have
become a reality. A viable
method now seem to have been
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Sep 26
The invisible fall of UARS
The concern over the
re-entry of the Upper
Atmosphere Research
Satellite (UARS) has
disappeared suddenly after
the fragments of the old
laboratory vanished without
trace. It would appear that
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Sep 23
Neutrinos faster than
light?! Hmmm...
A large part of modern
physics rests on one notion,
that until now has seemed
incontrovertible; the finite
speed of light in a vacuum:
299,792,458 m/s. That this
speed is as fast as anything
can
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Sep 22
GX 339-4: a close look at a black hole
Though it is true that it is
impossible to receive
information in the form of
light (or any other form)
from within a black hole, it
is also true that the most
recent observations made
with orbiting telescopes
have
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Sep 21
Baptistina didn't kill the dinosaurs
In 2007 a very interesting
study was published
suggesting that the asteroid
that killed the dinosaurs
(and numerous other species)
came from a collision
between asteroid 298
Baptistina and a similar
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Sep 20
Earth-Moon systems important for life
As we know, the Earth's
natural satellite is very
large in proportion to the
Earth, so much so that
sometimes people speak of a
"double planet" when
referring to the Earth-Moon
system. Although
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Sep 19
UARS satellite re-entry is an impact risk
Between 23rd and 24th
September the Upper
Atmosphere Research
Satellite (UARS) will
re-enter the Earth's
atmosphere and disintegrate
almost completely. We stress
"almost" though
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Sep 16
VSS Enterprise:
first launch within 12 months
With a name to live up to, Richard Branson's space ship is ready to become the first private vehicle for sub-orbital, and possibly orbital, flights. The reference to the USS Enterprise from the first Star
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Sep 15
How the Galaxy's spiral arms were born
Over the last few years
there have several studies
that have used supercomputer
simulations to investigate
the dynamical history of our
galaxy, and how this led to
it looking like it does
today
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Sep 14
CoRoT-2b: bombarded by X-rays
Of the extrasolar planetary
systems discovered by the
French Convection, Rotation
and planetary Transits
(CoRoT) satellite, there is
one that is subjected to
such a fierce flux of X-rays
from its
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Sep 13
A second Earth-like planet discovered
Not since 2007 have
astronomers discovered an
extrasolar planet so similar
to Earth, even if not
identical. But this year
such a planet has been
found, and the details were
presented to 350 experts
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Sep 12
Gold is made in cosmic collisions
A hypothesis which is widely
accepted, but that has never
actually been demonstrated,
is that all elements heavier
than iron originate in
supernova explosions. In
fact there are some doubts
about
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Sep 6
Pumice, cradle of life on Earth?
A collaboration between Oxford University and the University of
Western Australia has produced some research, the results of which
are published in the journal Astrobiology, suggesting that the
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Sep 5
Space cleaners on the way
The well known problem of
space junk may well soon be
treated in the same way as
terrestrial rubbish, that
is, collected up with
purpose-built apparatus and
then sent to the incinerator
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Sep 2
Discovered: a small star with no metals
In yesterday's issue of Nature, the details of a surprising discovery made by a team of European astronomers with ESO's Very Large Telescope were published. What was discovered was a star of
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Sep 1
New SNe remnants in the Galactic plane
A large survey has just been completed that has kept a large number of researchers from the Max Planck Society and the Chinese Academy of Sciences busy for ten years (and taken over 4500
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