Monday 18 December 2017

Our Journalists Share Their Most Memorable Interviews of 2017

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Times reporters reflect on the conversations that stuck with them long after their assignments ended.
via New York Times

Black hole pair born inside a dying star?

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Researchers are investigating the properties of gravitational waves and binary black holes to see if they formed inside a collapsing star.
via Science Daily
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Star mergers: A new test of gravity, dark energy theories

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Observations and measurements of a neutron star merger have largely ruled out some theories relating to gravity and dark energy, and challenged a large class of theories.
via Science Daily
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New approach for detecting planets in the Alpha Centauri system

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Astronomers have taken a fresh look at the nearby Alpha Centauri star system and found new ways to narrow the search for habitable planets there. According to a study, there may be small, Earth-like planets in Alpha Centauri that have been overlooked. Meanwhile, the study ruled out the existence of a number of larger planets in the system.
via Science Daily
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Development on muon beam analysis of organic matter in samples from space

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Researchers have developed a muon-based approach to non-destructive investigations for unique asteroid samples, report scientists.
via Science Daily
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Arts at CERN’s Collide International award now open

The National Apavilion of Then and Now, a piece by artist Haroon Mirza, who founded the studio platform hrm199, winner of the Collide International Award in 2017. (Image: Kiki Triantafyllou, courtesy of hrm199 and Lisson Gallery)

Today, Arts at CERN has announced a new edition of the Collide International award, in partnership with the UK’s leading media arts centre, FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology). The competition is open to artists of any age and from anywhere in the world whose work reflects on the cultural and social understanding of science and advanced knowledge.

Collide International was created to challenge and transform the way in which encounters between art and science are understood and the influence of science on new methods of artistic expression. The winning artist will benefit from a fully funded residency, the first two months of which will be spent at CERN, Geneva, followed by a one-month stay at FACT in Liverpool.

“Collide has become an influential platform that enriches the cultural dynamics of the Laboratory; it brings together science and art to inspire each other in new creative forms that help to enhance our understanding of the world around us”, says Charlotte Lindberg Warakaulle, CERN Director for International Relations.

Collide offers the winning artist an exclusive opportunity to spend time among scientists and engineers in CERN’s groundbreaking research environment, providing an inspirational place to explore and expand their research in order to find new means of artistic expression. After the CERN residency, FACT, with its collaborative spirit and wide-ranging programme of exhibitions and participant-led art projects, will offer the artist an excellent setting in which to reflect on and contextualise his or her work.

“For the third year running, we are coming together with CERN to give one artist a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore, research, question and create. We bring art, technology and people together in a think-can-do-tank of immense possibilities between CERN and FACT Liverpool”, says Professor Mike Stubbs, Director of FACT.

“The primary objective of Collide is to open up exceptional opportunities for dialogue and exchange between artists and scientists and to encourage significant connections between both types of creative mind”, affirms Mónica Bello, Head of Arts at CERN.

Guidelines for the international open call have now been released and applications will be accepted here from today until 15 February 2018. 


via CERN: Updates for the general public
https://home.cern/about/updates/2017/12/arts-cerns-collide-international-award-now-open

Festive garlands

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Space Science Image of the Week: This colourful streamer represents the motion of our Gaia satellite as it scans the sky
via ESA Space Science
http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2017/12/Gaia_sky_scan