Novel technique boosts hunt for water on planets around other stars

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(Phys.org) —Using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), a team of astronomers have been able to detect the tell-tale spectral fingerprint of water molecules in the atmosphere of a planet in orbit around another star. The discovery endorses a new technique that will let astronomers efficiently search for water on hundreds of worlds without the need for space-based telescopes. Dr Jayne Birkby of Leiden University will present the new result on Friday 5 July at the RAS National Astronomy Meeting in St Andrews, Scotland.



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Star Birth in Constellation Cygnus, The Swan Post Card

Star Birth in Constellation Cygnus, The Swan Post Card

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NASA Partner Boeing Invites Media to View CST-100 Spacecraft Mockup

The Boeing Company of Houston is inviting media to view a full-size test version of its CST-100 spacecraft as NASA astronauts conduct evaluations inside it.

via NASA Breaking News

http://www.nasa.gov/press/2013/july/nasa-partner-boeing-invites-media-to-view-cst-100-spacecraft-mockup

Super-freezer supernova 1987A is a dust factory

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(Phys.org) —Surprisingly low temperatures detected in the remnant of the supernova 1987A may explain the mystery of why space is so abundant with dust grains and molecules. The results will be presented by Dr Mikako Matsuura at the National Astronomy Meeting 2013 in St Andrews on Friday 5 July.



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Recent findings on makeup of universe may spawn new research

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(Phys.org) —New areas of extragalactic study may emerge from research by University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) astrophysicists using data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory to conclude that baryons making up all visible matter – once thought to be missing from clusters – are present in the expected ratios in large, luminous clusters.



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NASA TV to Air Briefing Today on Early End to Spacewalk

NASA Television will air a news conference today at 4:30 p.m. EDT to discuss this morning's spacewalk outside the International Space Station. The news conference will take place at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

via NASA Breaking News

http://www.nasa.gov/press/2013/july/nasa-tv-to-air-briefing-today-on-early-end-to-spacewalk

NASA Invites Media, Public to Hangout at Live Orion Parachute Test

NASA will host a Google+ Hangout from the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. EDT July 24, as an Orion test capsule is dropped from a plane at 35,000 feet to evaluate its parachutes.

via NASA Breaking News

http://www.nasa.gov/press/2013/july/nasa-invites-media-public-to-hangout-at-live-orion-parachute-test

New nanoscale imaging method finds application in plasmonics

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Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland have shown how to make nanoscale measurements of critical properties of plasmonic nanomaterials—the specially engineered nanostructures that modify the interaction of light and matter for a variety of applications, including sensors, cloaking (invisibility), photovoltaics and therapeutics.



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Large wave-vector phonon modes in silicon nanomembranes

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(Phys.org) —Modified large wave-vector phonons in semiconductor membranes via hard X-ray thermal diffuse scattering (TDS) were observed that provide new insight into the fundamental thermal and electronic properties of nanomaterials. The observation of X-ray TDS from suspended silicon membranes with thicknesses below 10 nm vastly expands the range of materials for which these vibrational modes can be studied. Understanding phonon confinement in nanostructures will enable control of thermal, optical, and electrical transport properties.



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Artificial organelles transform free radicals into water and oxygen

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Researchers at the University of Basel have successfully developed artificial organelles that are able to support the reduction of toxic oxygen compounds. This opens up new ways in the development of novel drugs that can influence pathological states directly inside the cell. The results have been published in the journal Nano Letters.



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New findings on makeup of universe may spawn research

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New areas of extragalactic study may emerge from research by astrophysicists using data from the Chandra Space Telescope to conclude that baryons making up all visible matter – once thought to be missing from clusters – are present in the expected ratios in large, luminous clusters.

via Science Daily

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Heart of space weather observed in action

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Two NASA spacecraft have provided the most comprehensive movie ever of a mysterious process at the heart of all explosions on the sun: magnetic reconnection. Magnetic reconnection happens when magnetic field lines come together, break apart and then exchange partners, snapping into new positions and releasing a jolt of magnetic energy. This process lies at the heart of giant explosions on the sun, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which can fling radiation and particles across the solar system.

via Science Daily