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Public Release: 4-Nov-2009
USGS science picks Did you know that that the United States uses less water today than 35 years ago and that there might be caves on Mars? In this edition of Science Picks, learn more about these stories, as well as the latest on carbon storage in the Arctic and faulty wallboard from China that may be making Florida residents sick. Also, discover why bats are dying near wind turbines and how endangered whooping cranes are being saved. Contact: Kara Capelli Public Release: 4-Nov-2009
Carbon atmosphere discovered on neutron star Evidence for a thin veil of carbon has been found on the neutron star in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant. This discovery, made with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, resolves a ten-year mystery surrounding this object. Contact: Megan Watzke Public Release: 4-Nov-2009
Study uses satellite imagery to identify active magma systems in East Africa's Rift Valley A team from University of Miami, University of El Paso and University of Rochester used Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) images compiled over a decade to study volcanic activity in the African Rift. A paper, published in the November issue of Geology, focuses on the section of the rift in Kenya. Surface deformation of four active volcanoes underscore possibility for human hazard, as well as the potential of geothermal resources. Contact: Barbra Gonzalez Public Release: 4-Nov-2009
Texas A&M prof to predict weather on Mars Is there such a thing as "weather" on Mars? There are some doubts, considering the planet's atmosphere is only 1 percent as dense as that of the Earth. Mars, however, definitely has clouds, drastically low temperatures and out-of-this-world dust storms, and Istvan Szunyogh, a Texas A&M professor of atmospheric sciences, has been awarded a NASA grant to analyze and forecast Martian weather. Contact: Istvan Szunyogh Public Release: 4-Nov-2009
Follow Rosetta's final Earth boost ESA's comet chaser Rosetta will swing by Earth for the last time on Nov. 13 to pick up energy and begin the final leg of its 10-year journey to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. ESA's European Space Operations Center will host a media briefing on that day. Contact: Jocelyne Landeau-Constantin Public Release: 4-Nov-2009
U of A physicist identifies mysterious core left by exploding star University of Alberta physics professor Craig Heinke has solved a mystery that lies 11,000 light years beyond Earth. A supernova (or exploding star), 20 times heavier than our sun blasted apart, leaving behind a small core that has puzzled astronomers since its discovery in 1999. Contact: Brian Murphy Public Release: 3-Nov-2009
Tropical Depression 97W passing through central Philippines Tropical Depression 97W hasn't grown into a tropical storm and is now tracking through the central Philippines, far south of Manila. The storm is weakening and is dissipating, and NASA's Aqua satellite verified that the thunderstorm cloud tops are not as cold as they were yesterday, indicating a weakening storm. Contact: Rob Gutro Public Release: 3-Nov-2009
NASA's TRMM satellite provides a rainfall map of Mirinae's flooding rains The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite is managed by NASA and the Japanese Space Agency, JAXA. From its vantage point in space, TRMM flew over Typhoon Mirinae during its lifetime and cataloged its rainfall. Contact: Rob Gutro Public Release: 3-Nov-2009
SMOS forms 3-pointed star in the sky Following the launch of ESA's SMOS satellite on Nov. 2, the French space agency CNES, which is responsible for operating the satellite, has confirmed that the instrument's three antenna arms have deployed as planned, and that the instrument is in good health. Contact: Robert Meisner Public Release: 3-Nov-2009
NRL sensor provides critical space weather observations Launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., aboard an United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle, Oct. 18, 2009, the Special Sensor Ultraviolet Limb Imager (SSULI) developed by NRL's Space Science Division and Spacecraft Engineering Department offers a first of its kind technique for remote sensing of the ionosphere and thermosphere from space. Contact: Daniel Parry Public Release: 3-Nov-2009
Shedding light on the cosmic skeleton Astronomers have tracked down a gigantic, previously unknown assembly of galaxies located almost seven billion light-years away from us. The discovery, made possible by combining two of the most powerful ground-based telescopes in the world, is the first observation of such a prominent galaxy structure in the distant Universe, providing further insight into the cosmic web and how it formed. Contact: Dr. Henri Boffin Public Release: 2-Nov-2009
NASA's Fermi telescope detects gamma-ray from 'star factories' in other galaxies Nearby galaxies undergoing a furious pace of star formation also emit lots of gamma rays, say astronomers using NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Two so-called "starburst" galaxies, plus a satellite of our own Milky Way galaxy, represent a new category of gamma-ray-emitting objects detected both by Fermi and ground-based observatories. Contact: Francis Reddy Public Release: 2-Nov-2009
Mirinae floods Philippines, makes landfall in Vietnam with strong thunderstorms Mirinae caused 12 hours of flooding rains in the Philippines when it crossed the northern Luzon region over the weekend. On Oct. 31 at 5 a.m. Local (Asia/Manila) Time (Oct. 30 at 2100 UTC) Typhoon Mirinae weakened dramatically after it moved inland over central Luzon, the Philippines. Contact: Rob Gutro Public Release: 2-Nov-2009
NASA satellite confirms another tropical cyclone may impact the Philippines When NASA's Aqua satellite flew over the Philippine Sea during the early morning hours today, Nov. 2, infrared imagery saw another new tropical cyclone coming together. Contact: Rob Gutro Public Release: 2-Nov-2009
Starburst galaxy sheds light on longstanding cosmic mystery An international collaboration that includes scientists from the University of Delaware's Bartol Research Institute in the Department of Physics and Astronomy has discovered very-high-energy gamma rays in the Cigar Galaxy (M82), a bright galaxy filled with exploding stars 12 million light years from Earth. The gamma rays observed by the team are the highest-energy photons ever detected from a galaxy undergoing large amounts of star formation and point to the origins of cosmic rays. Contact: Tracey Bryant Public Release: 2-Nov-2009
'Ultra-primitive' particles found in comet dust Dust samples collected from the stratosphere have yielded an unexpectedly rich trove of relicts from the ancient cosmos, report scientists from the Carnegie Institution. The dust includes presolar grains and material from interstellar molecular clouds. This "ultra-primitive" material likely wafted into the atmosphere after the Earth passed through the trail of an Earth-crossing comet in 2003, giving scientists a rare opportunity to study cometary dust in the laboratory. Contact: Larry Nittler Public Release: 2-Nov-2009
Iowa State researchers contribute to discovery of gamma rays from starburst galaxy Iowa State University researchers have contributed to the discovery of high-energy gamma rays coming from a galaxy that's quickly creating new stars. The discovery has just been published in the journal Nature. A key to the research is the VERITAS telescope system that Iowa State researchers helped build. Contact: Frank Krennrich Public Release: 2-Nov-2009
VERITAS telescopes help solve 100-year-old mystery: The origin of cosmic rays Nearly 100 years ago, scientists detected the first signs of cosmic rays -- subatomic particles that zip through space at nearly the speed of light. The most energetic cosmic rays hit with the punch of a 98-mph fastball, even though they are smaller than an atom. Astronomers questioned what force could accelerate particles to such a speed. New evidence from the VERITAS telescopes shows that cosmic rays likely are powered by exploding stars and stellar "winds." Contact: Christine Pulliam Public Release: 2-Nov-2009
High-precision measurements confirm cosmologists' standard view of the universe A detailed picture of the seeds of structures in the universe has been unveiled by an international team co-led by Sarah Church of KIPAC, jointly located SLAC and Stanford University, and by Walter Gear, of Cardiff University. These measurements put limits on proposed alternatives to the standard model of cosmology and provide further support for the standard cosmological model, confirming that dark matter and dark energy make up 95 percent of everything in existence. Contact: Kelen Tuttle Public Release: 2-Nov-2009
Precise picture of early universe supports 'dark matter' theory A detailed picture of the seeds of structures in the universe has been unveiled by an international team co-led by a Cardiff University scientist. Contact: Stephen Rouse Public Release: 2-Nov-2009
Solar winds triggered by magnetic fields Solar wind generated by the sun is probably driven by a process involving powerful magnetic fields, according to a new study led by UCL (University College London) researchers based on the latest observations from the Hinode satellite. Contact: Jenny Gimpel Public Release: 2-Nov-2009
Upping the power triggers an ordered helical plasma If you keep twisting a straight elastic string, at some moment it starts kinking in a wild way. Contact: Saralyn Stewart Public Release: 2-Nov-2009
Ropes of plasma: Onset and stagnation of 3-D magnetic reconnection Magnetized plasmas occupy a large fraction of our cosmic universe; they exist on our sun, in the earth's magnetosphere, and in astrophysical plasmas. Contact: Saralyn Stewart Public Release: 1-Nov-2009
Rare space experiment gives clues about the fundamental structure of the universe A physics experiment using a super-fast explosion in a galaxy 7.3 billion light-years away has given scientists rare experimental evidence about the fundamental structure of space and time. he experiment confirmed aspects of Einstein's theories of gravity, which unite space and time in the concept of space-time. Contact: Barbara K. Kennedy Public Release: 30-Oct-2009
Balancing use of the radio spectrum Scientists monitor passive radio-wave emissions from diverse objects such as hurricanes and distant galaxies to study Earth's environment and climate and learn more about the universe. Contact: Rebecca Alvania |