Wednesday 25 April 2018

Projectile cannon experiments show how asteroids can deliver water

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New research shows that a surprising amount of water survives simulated asteroid impacts, a finding that may help explain how asteroids deposit water throughout the solar system.
via Science Daily
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Ultrahigh-pressure laser experiments shed light on super-Earth cores

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Using high-powered laser beams, researchers have simulated conditions inside a planet three times as large as Earth. The pressures achieved in this study, up to 1,314 gigapascals (GPa), allowed researchers to gather the highest-pressure X-ray diffraction data ever recorded and generate new, more robust models for the interior structure of large, rocky exoplanets.
via Science Daily
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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Could Potentially Detect the First Stars and Black Holes


Gravitational lensing by a galaxy cluster could bring the early universe into focus for Webb

One of the key science goals of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is to learn about “first light,” the moment when the first stars and galaxies lit the universe. While the first galaxies will be within Webb’s reach, individual stars shine so faintly that Webb would not be able to detect them without help. That help could come in the form of natural magnification from gravitational lensing, according to a new theoretical paper.

A cluster of galaxies can provide the needed gravitational oomph to bring distant objects into focus via lensing. Typical gravitational lensing can boost a target’s brightness by a factor of 10 to 20. But in special circumstances, the light of a faraway star could be amplified by 10,000 times or more.

If Webb monitors several galaxy clusters a couple of times a year over its lifetime, chances are good that it will detect such a magnified star, or possibly the accretion disk of a black hole from the same era. This would give astronomers a key opportunity to learn about the actual properties of the early universe and compare them to computer models.


via Hubble - News feed
http://hubblesite.org/news_release/news/2018-23

Assembly of massive galaxy cluster witnessed for the first time

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For the first time, astronomers have witnessed the birth of a colossal cluster of galaxies. Their observations reveal at least 14 galaxies packed into an area only four times the diameter of the Milky Way's galactic disk. Computer simulations of the galaxies predict that over time the cluster will assemble into one of the most massive structures in the modern universe.
via Science Daily
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Molecular evolution: How the building blocks of life may form in space

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In an experiment that mimics astrophysical conditions, with cryogenic temperatures in an ultrahigh vacuum, scientists used an electron gun to irradiate thin sheets of ice covered in basic molecules of methane, ammonia and carbon dioxide, the building blocks of life. The experiment tested how the combination of electrons and basic matter leads to more complex biomolecule forms -- and perhaps eventually to life forms.
via Science Daily
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Turning graphene into light nanosensors

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Graphene has many properties, but it does not absorb light very well. To remedy this, physicists resort to embedding a sheet of graphene in a flat photonic crystal. Scientists now demonstrate that by altering the temperature in such a hybrid cavity structure, they can tune its capacity for optical absorption. This means graphene-based nano-devices could potentially be used as temperature-sensitive sensors.
via Science Daily

To see the first-born stars of the universe

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ASU-led team aims to use new NASA space telescope to capture light from the first stars to be born in the universe.
via Science Daily
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Magma ocean may be responsible for the moon's early magnetic field

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Around four billion years ago, the moon had a magnetic field that was about as strong as Earth's magnetic field is today. How the moon, with a much smaller core than Earth's, could have had such a strong magnetic field has been an unsolved problem in the history of the moon's evolution. A new model proposes that a magma ocean may be responsible.
via Science Daily
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Gaia creates richest star map of our Galaxy – and beyond

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ESA’s Gaia mission has produced the richest star catalogue to date, including high-precision measurements of nearly 1.7 billion stars and revealing previously unseen details of our home Galaxy.


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