Thursday 16 November 2017

On the origins of star stuff: Shedding new light on origin of anti-matter

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Astronomers have used a high-altitude observatory in Mexico to better understand where gamma rays come from. More than 300 massive water tanks sit waiting at the site for cascades of particles initiated by high-energy packets of light called gamma rays -- many of which have more than a million times the energy of a dental X-ray. When these gamma rays smash into the upper atmosphere, they blast apart atoms in the air, producing a shower of particles that moves at nearly the speed of light toward the ground. When this shower reaches HAWC's tanks, it produces coordinated flashes of blue light in the water, allowing researchers to reconstruct the energy and cosmic origin of the gamma ray that kicked off the cascade.
via Science Daily
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Lava or not, exoplanet 55 Cancri e likely to have atmosphere

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Twice as big as Earth, the super-Earth 55 Cancri e was thought to have lava flows on its surface. Now, a new analysis finds this planet likely has an atmosphere whose ingredients could be similar to those of Earth's atmosphere, but thicker.
via Science Daily
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Space missions locate whistling space electrons' origins

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Plasma waves in space are likely responsible for accelerating high-energy particles into Earth's atmosphere, new research shows.
via Science Daily
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Fracture swarms on Mars

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These striking features on Mars were caused by the planet’s crust stretching apart in response to ancient volcanic activity.


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

What is the computational power of the universe?

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Can a close look at the universe give us solutions to problems too difficult for a computer -- even if we built a computer larger than a planet? Physicist Stephen Jordan reflects on this question in a new NIST video, along with a scientific paper that considers one particular tough problem the universe might answer.
via Science Daily
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