Thursday 29 October 2015

High-tech methods study bacteria on the International Space Station

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Where there are people, there are bacteria, even in space. But what kinds of bacteria are present where astronauts live and work? In a recent study, researchers used state-of-the-art molecular analysis to explore the microbial environment on the International Space Station. They then compared these results to the bacteria found in clean rooms, which are controlled and thoroughly cleaned laboratory environments on Earth.
via Science Daily
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Rewrite of onboard memory planned for NASA Mars orbiter

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Tables stored in flash memory aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) tell locations of Earth and the sun for the past 10 years, but not their locations next year. That needs to be changed. Carefully.
via Science Daily
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Spirals in Dust Around Young Stars May Betray Presence of Massive Planets


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A team of astronomers is proposing that huge spiral patterns seen around some newborn stars, merely a few million years old (about one percent our sun's age), may be evidence for the presence of giant, unseen planets. This idea not only opens the door to a new method of planet detection, but also could offer a look into the early formative years of planet birth. Though astronomers have cataloged thousands of planets orbiting other stars, the very earliest stages of planet formation are elusive because nascent planets are born and embedded inside vast, pancake-shaped disks of dust and gas encircling newborn stars. The conclusion that planets may betray their presence by modifying circumstellar disks on large scales is based on detailed computer modeling of how gas-and-dust disks evolve around newborn stars.


via HubbleSite NewsCenter -- Latest News Releases
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2015/40/

'One size fits all' when it comes to unraveling how stars form

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A massive star, 25 times the mass of the sun, is forming in a similar way to low-mass stars, astronomers have discovered. The research is one of the final pieces of the puzzle in understanding the lifetimes of the most massive and luminous stars, called O-type stars. These stars are major contributors to heavy element production in the Universe, such as iron and gold, which they eject into space in dramatic supernovae explosions at the end of their lives.
via Science Daily
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Surprising discovery of oxygen in comet's atmosphere

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The biggest surprise so far in the chemical analysis of Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko's atmosphere is the high proportion of oxygen molecules. While such molecules are common in the earth's atmosphere, their presence on comets had originally been ruled out.
via Science Daily
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Study solves mysteries of Voyager 1's journey into interstellar space

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Scientists have answered the question of why NASA's Voyager 1, when it became the first probe to enter interstellar space in mid-2012, observed a magnetic field that was inconsistent with that derived from other spacecraft observations.
via Science Daily
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Origin of organic matter in Apollo lunar samples revealed by new NASA study

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A team of NASA-funded scientists has solved an enduring mystery from the Apollo missions to the moon -- the origin of organic matter found in lunar samples returned to Earth. Samples of the lunar soil brought back by the Apollo astronauts contain low levels of organic matter in the form of amino acids. Certain amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, essential molecules used by life to build structures like hair and skin and to regulate chemical reactions.
via Science Daily
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LHC luminosity upgrade project moving to next phase

IC 1871: Inside the Soul Nebula

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This cosmic close-up looks deep inside the Soul Nebula. The dark and brooding dust clouds outlined by bright ridges of glowing gas are cataloged as IC 1871. About 25 light-years across, the telescopic field of view spans only a small part of the much larger Heart and Soul nebulae. At an estimated distance of 6,500 light-years the star-forming complex lies within the Perseus spiral arm of the Milky Way, seen in planet Earth's skies toward the constellation Cassiopeia. An example of triggered star formation, the dense star-forming clouds of IC 1871 are themselves sculpted by the intense winds and radiation of the region's massive young stars. This color image adopts a palette made popular in Hubble images of star-forming regions.

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