Monday 7 August 2017

New CubeSat propulsion system uses water as propellant

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A new type of micropropulsion system for miniature satellites called CubeSats uses an innovative design of tiny nozzles that release precise bursts of water vapor to maneuver the spacecraft.
via Science Daily
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From greenhouse gas to 3-D surface-microporous graphene

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Tiny dents in the surface of graphene greatly enhances its potential as a supercapacitor. Even better, it can be made from carbon dioxide in a novel approach. The process uses a heat-releasing reaction to dig micropores into 3-D graphene and could be a useful supercapacitor material.
via Science Daily

Astronauts to bring asteroid back into lunar orbit

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Future space exploration aims to fly further from Earth than ever before. New research examines the robotic phase of the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). In addition to taking manned spaceflights deeper into space than ever before, the proposed mission would also bring some benefit for planetary science.
via Science Daily
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Nanocrystalline LEDs: Red, green, yellow, blue …

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The color of the light emitted by an LED can be tuned by altering the size of their semiconductor crystals. Researchers have now found a clever and economical way of doing just that, which lends itself to industrial-scale production.
via Science Daily

Spiral Galaxy NGC 1512: The Inner Ring

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Most galaxies don't have any rings -- why does this galaxy have two? To begin, the bright band near NGC 1512's center is a nuclear ring, a ring that surrounds the galaxy center and glows brightly with recently formed stars. Most stars and accompanying gas and dust, however, orbit the galactic center in a ring much further out -- here seen near the image edge. This ring is called, counter-intuitively, the inner ring. If you look closely, you will see this the inner ring connects ends of a diffuse central bar that runs horizontally across the galaxy. These ring structures are thought to be caused by NGC 1512's own asymmetries in a drawn-out process called secular evolution. The gravity of these galaxy asymmetries, including the bar of stars, cause gas and dust to fall from the inner ring to the nuclear ring, enhancing this ring's rate of star formation. Some spiral galaxies also have a third ring -- an outer ring that circles the galaxy even further out.

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Gravity waves detected in Sun’s interior reveal rapidly rotating core

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Scientists using the ESA/NASA SOHO solar observatory have found long-sought gravity modes of seismic vibration that imply the Sun’s core is rotating four times faster than its surface.


via ESA Space Science
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Gravity_waves_detected_in_Sun_s_interior_reveal_rapidly_rotating_core

Summer fireworks

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Space Science Image of the Week: Rosetta captured views of the comet during its most active phase two years ago
via ESA Space Science
http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2017/08/Summer_fireworks_on_Rosetta_s_comet