Steps into Space - Commercialisation, Occupation, Colonization: 08/27/14

Wednesday 27 August 2014

Bionic Liquids from Lignin

While the powerful solvents known as ionic liquids show great promise for liberating fermentable sugars from lignocellulose and improving the economics of advanced biofuels, an even more promising candidate is on the horizon – bionic liquids. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have developed “bionic liquids” from lignin and hemicellulose, two by-products of biofuel production from biorefineries. JBEI is a multi-institutional partnership led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) that was established by the DOE Office of Science to accelerate the development of advanced, next-generation biofuels. “What if we could turn what is now a bane to the bioenergy industry into a boon?” says Blake Simmons, a chemical engineer who is JBEI’s Chief Science and Technology Officer and heads JBEI’s Deconstruction Division. “Lignin is viewed as a waste stream that is typically burned to generate heat and electricity for the biorefinery, but if other uses for lignin could be found with higher economic value it would significantly improve the refinery’s overall economics. Our concept of bionic liquids opens the door to realizing a closed-loop process for future lignocellulosic biorefineries, and has far-reaching economic impacts for other ionic liquid-based process technologies that currently use ionic

The post Bionic Liquids from Lignin has been published on Technology Org.

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Red Planet's Climate History uncovered in Unique Meteorite

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Was Mars — now a cold, dry place — once a warm, wet planet that sustained life? Research underway may one day answer those questions — and perhaps even help pave the way for future colonization of the Red Planet. By analyzing the chemical clues locked inside an ancient Martian meteorite known as Black Beauty, scientists are revealing the story of Mars’ ancient, and sometimes startling, climate history.

via Science Daily

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Early growth of giant galaxy, just 3 billion years after the Big Bang, revealed

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The birth of massive galaxies, according to galaxy formation theories, begins with the buildup of a dense, compact core that is ablaze with the glow of millions of newly formed stars. Evidence of this early construction phase, however, has eluded astronomers — until now. Astronomers identified a dense galactic core, dubbed "Sparky," using a combination of data from several space telescopes. Hubble photographed the emerging galaxy as it looked 11 billion years ago, just 3 billion years after the birth of our universe in the big bang.

via Science Daily

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Orion rocks! Pebble-size particles may jump-start planet formation

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Astronomers have discovered that filaments of star-forming gas near the Orion Nebula may be brimming with pebble-size particles -- planetary building blocks 100 to 1,000 times larger than the dust grains typically found around protostars.

via Science Daily

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Best view yet of merging galaxies in distant universe

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Astronomers have obtained the best view yet of a collision between two galaxies when the Universe was only half its current age. To make this observation, the team also enlisted the help of a gravitational lens, a galaxy-size magnifying glass, to reveal otherwise invisible detail.

via Science Daily

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NASA Telescopes Help Uncover Early Construction Phase Of Giant Galaxy

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The birth of massive galaxies, according to galaxy formation theories, begins with the buildup of a dense, compact core that is ablaze with the glow of millions of newly formed stars. Evidence of this early construction phase, however, has eluded astronomers until now. Astronomers identified a dense galactic core, dubbed "Sparky," using a combination of data from Hubble and Spitzer, other space telescopes, and the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. Hubble photographed the emerging galaxy as it looked 11 billion years ago, just 3 billion years after the birth of our universe in the big bang.

via HubbleSite NewsCenter -- Latest News Releases

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2014/37/

Orion's Belt Deep Wide Field Poster

Here's a great poster featuring a beautiful image from deep space

Orion's Belt Deep Wide Field Poster

tagged with: astronomy, space, nebula, orion

A deep field panorama that extends from Orion's belt (left) to the M42 nebula (upper right).

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AUDIO: Jupiter and Venus light up morning sky

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The two brightest planets, Jupiter and Venus, are currently aligned in the sky, forming a spectacular "double star" in their closest conjunction since 2000.
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» see original post http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28835629#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
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Monogram Omega Nebula - Our Amazing Universe Oval Sticker

Here's a great sheet of stickers featuring a beautiful image from deep space

Monogram Omega Nebula - Our Amazing Universe Oval Sticker

tagged with: awesome astronomy images, omgneb, star forming regions, ngc 6618, omega nebula, inspirational, heavens, uplifting, initials, monogrammed, messier 17, european southern observatory, eso, vista, initialled, monogram, monograms

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A great outer space picture featuring a three-colour composite image of the Omega Nebula (Messier 17, or NGC 6618), based on images obtained with the EMMI instrument on the ESO 3.58-metre New Technology Telescope at the La Silla Observatory. North is down and East is to the right in the image. It spans an angle equal to about one third the diameter of the Full Moon, corresponding to about 15 light-years at the distance of the Omega Nebula. The three filters used are B (blue), V ("visual", or green) and R (red).

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ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA www.eso.org
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Milky Way over Yellowstone

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Christmas Tree Cluster and Cone Nebula, NGC 2264 Wall Decals

Here's a great wall decal featuring a beautiful image from deep space

Christmas Tree Cluster and Cone Nebula, NGC 2264 Wall Decals

tagged with: xmastrclst, star clusters, cone nebula, stars, starfields, nebulae, european southern observatory, christmas tree cluster, galaxies, amazing astronomy images, eso, vista

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A gorgeous outer space photograph featuring a colour image of the region known as NGC 2264 - an area of sky that includes the sparkling blue baubles of the Christmas Tree star cluster and the Cone Nebula.

It was created from data taken through four different filters (B, V, R and H-alpha) with the Wide Field Imager at ESO's La Silla Observatory, 2400 m high in the Atacama Desert of Chile in the foothills of the Andes.

The image shows a region of space about 30 light-years across.

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ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA www.eso.org
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NGC 602 bright stars Cover For The iPad Mini

Here's a great iPad case from Zazzle featuring a Hubble-related design. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!

NGC 602 bright stars Cover For The iPad Mini

tagged with: nasa, space, astronomy, shuttle, hubble, bright, star, starry, blue, nebula

NGC 602 is a young, bright open cluster of stars located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way. Radiation and shock waves from the stars have pushed away much of the lighter surrounding gas and dust that compose the nebula known as N90, and this in turn has triggered new star formation in the ridges (or "elephant trunks") of the nebula.

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Evidence for supernovas near Earth

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Once every 50 years, more or less, a massive star explodes somewhere in the Milky Way. The resulting blast is terrifyingly powerful, pumping out more energy in a split second than the sun emits in a million years. At its peak, a supernova can outshine the entire Milky Way.

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One That Fell to Earth: Researchers Reveal 2012 Novato Meteorite Took a Beating

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What’s the chance of that thump you just heard in your house was a meteorite hitting your roof? That was the case for one family in Novato, California during a fireball event that took place in the north bay area near San Francisco on October 17, 2012. Researchers have now released new results from analysis of the meteor that fell to Earth, revealing that the “Novato meteorite” was part of numerous collisions over a span of 4 billion years. There is nothing ordinary about a meteorite whether it just spent 4.4 billion years all alone or spent such time in a game of cosmic pinball, interacting with other small or large bodies of our Solar System. On any given night one can watch at least a couple of meteors overhead burning up, lighting up the sky but never reaching the Earth below. However, in less than two years, Dr. Peter Jenniskens, SETI Institute’s renowned meteor expert was effectively host to two meteorites within a couple hours drive from his office in Mountain View, California. The first was the Sutter Mill meteorite, a fantastic carbonaceous chondrite full of organic compounds. The second was the Novato meteorite, identified as a L6 chondrite fragmental breccia. which is the

The post One That Fell to Earth: Researchers Reveal 2012 Novato Meteorite Took a Beating has been published on Technology Org.

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What lit up the universe?

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New research from UCL shows we will soon uncover the origin of the ultraviolet light that bathes the cosmos, helping scientists understand how galaxies were built.

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Competition for graphene: Researchers demonstrate ultrafast charge transfer in new family of 2-D semiconductors

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The first experimental observation of ultrafast charge transfer in photo-excited MX2 materials, the graphene-like two-dimensional semiconductors, has been conducted. Charge transfer time clocked in at under 50 femtoseconds, comparable to the fastest times recorded for organic photovoltaics.

via Science Daily

Laser pulse turns glass into a metal: New effect could be used for ultra-fast logical switches

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For tiny fractions of a second, quartz glass can take on metallic properties, when it is illuminated be a laser pulse. This has been shown by new calculations. The effect could be used to build logical switches which are much faster than today's microelectronics.

via Science Daily

Eagle Nebula, Pillars of Creation Oval Sticker

Here's a great sheet of stickers featuring a beautiful image from deep space

Eagle Nebula, Pillars of Creation Oval Sticker

tagged with: breathtaking astronomy images, eglneb, young stars clusters, star forming nebulae, messier 16 ngc 6611, pillars of creation, inspirational, eagle nebula, heavens, stars, eso, european southern observatory, vista

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A breathtaking outer space picture showing a spectacular three-colour composite mosaic image of the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16, or NGC 6611). It's based on images obtained with the Wide-Field Imager camera on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory.

At the centre, the so-called “Pillars of Creation” can be seen and this wide-field image shows not only the central pillars, but also several others in the same star-forming region, as well as a huge number of stars in front of, in, or behind the Eagle Nebula.

The cluster of bright stars to the upper right is NGC 6611, home to the massive and hot stars that illuminate the pillars. The “Spire” - another large pillar - is in the middle left of the image.

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ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA www.eso.org
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Constellation Puppis, NGC 2467 - Table Ornament Room Decal

Here's a great wall decal featuring a beautiful image from deep space

Constellation Puppis, NGC 2467 - Table Ornament Room Decal

tagged with: stlrnrsry, star clusters, stars, starfields, nebulae, awesome astronomy pictures, constellation puppis, the stern, star nurseries, galaxies, european southern observatory, eso, vista

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A gorgeous outer space picture showing the area surrounding the stellar cluster NGC 2467, located in the southern constellation of Puppis ("The Stern"). With an age of a few million years at most, it is a very active stellar nursery, where new stars are born continuously from large clouds of dust and gas.

The image, looking like a colourful cosmic ghost or a gigantic celestial Mandrill, contains the open clusters Haffner 18 19, as well as vast areas of ionised gas.

The bright star at the centre of the largest pink region on the bottom of the image is HD 64315, a massive young star that is helping shaping the structure of the whole nebular region.

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Stellar Nursery R136 in the Tarantula Nebula iPad Cases

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Stellar Nursery R136 in the Tarantula Nebula iPad Cases

tagged with: astronomy, stellar nursery, massive stars, star cluster, tarantula nebula, hubble, galaxy stars, cosmological, 30 doradus nebula, hrbstslr dorneblmc, large magellanic cloud, r136, amazing hubble images, nebulae

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Hundreds of brilliant blue stars wreathed by warm, glowing clouds in appear in this the most detailed view of the largest stellar nursery in our local galactic neighborhood. The massive, young stellar grouping, called R136, is only a few million years old and resides in the 30 Doradus (or Tarantula) Nebula, a turbulent star-birth region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way.
There is no known star-forming region in our galaxy as large or as prolific as 30 Doradus. Many of the diamond-like icy blue stars are among the most massive stars known. Several of them are over 100 times more massive than our Sun. These hefty stars are destined to pop off, like a string of firecrackers, as supernovas in a few million years. The image, taken in ultraviolet, visible, and red light by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, spans about 100 light-years.
The movement of the LMC around the Milky Way may have triggered the massive cluster's formation in several ways. The gravitational tug of the Milky Way and the companion Small Magellanic Cloud may have compressed gas in the LMC. Also, the pressure resulting from the LMC plowing through the Milky Way's halo may have compressed gas in the satellite. The cluster is a rare, nearby example of the many super star clusters that formed in the distant, early universe, when star birth and galaxy interactions were more frequent.
The LMC is located 170,000 light-years away and is a member of the Local Group of Galaxies, which also includes the Milky Way. The Hubble observations were taken Oct. 20-27, 2009. The blue color is light from the hottest, most massive stars; the green from the glow of oxygen; and the red from fluorescing hydrogen.
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Image credit: Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3

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