Steps into Space - Commercialisation, Occupation, Colonization: 11/03/16

Thursday, 3 November 2016

Schiaparelli crash site in colour

New high-resolution images taken by a NASA orbiter show parts of the ExoMars Schiaparelli module and its landing site in colour on the Red Planet.

via ESA Space Science
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/Schiaparelli_crash_site_in_colour

Unusual Martian region leaves clues to planet's past

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An unusual region on Mars — an area with high elevation called Thaumasia Planum — has been the focus of recent research. Scientists analyzed the geography and mineralogy of this area they termed Greater Thaumasia, which is about the size of North America. They also studied the chemistry of this area based on Gamma Ray Spectrometer data collected by the Mars Odyssey Orbiter, which was launched in 2001. What they found was the mountain ridge that outlines Greater Thaumasia was most likely created by a chain of volcanoes.
via Science Daily
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NGC 253: Dusty Island Universe

Shiny NGC 253 is one of the brightest spiral galaxies visible, and also one of the dustiest. Some call it the Silver Dollar Galaxy for its appearance in small telescopes, or just the Sculptor Galaxy for its location within the boundaries of the southern constellation Sculptor. First swept up in 1783 by mathematician and astronomer Caroline Herschel, the dusty island universe lies a mere 10 million light-years away. About 70 thousand light-years across, NGC 253 is the largest member of the Sculptor Group of Galaxies, the nearest to our own Local Group of Galaxies. In addition to its spiral dust lanes, tendrils of dust seem to be rising from a galactic disk laced with young star clusters and star forming regions in this sharp color image. The high dust content accompanies frantic star formation, earning NGC 253 the designation of a starburst galaxy. NGC 253 is also known to be a strong source of high-energy x-rays and gamma rays, likely due to massive black holes near the galaxy's center. Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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A record of ancient tectonic stress on Mars

Sets of ridges and troughs some 1000 km north of the giant Olympus Mons volcano contain a record of the intense tectonic stresses and strains experienced in the Acheron Fossae region on Mars 3.7–3.9 billion years ago.

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

Light shed on process of programmed mitochondrial cell death

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Employing a novel sensor made of graphene – a one-atom-thin layer of carbon – researchers have gained new insight into the process of programmed cell death in mitochondria, possibly opening the door to new ways of forcing cancer cells to self-destruct. They also hit a scientific jackpot of sorts by finding that an accepted paradigm of how cells create energy is only half-right.
via Science Daily

Close galactic encounter leaves 'nearly naked' supermassive black hole

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Astronomers have found the shredded remains of a galaxy that passed through a larger galaxy, leaving only the smaller galaxy's nearly-naked supermassive black hole to emerge and speed away at more than 2,000 miles per second.
via Science Daily
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Pillars of cosmic destruction: Colorful Carina Nebula blasted by brilliant nearby stars

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Spectacular new observations of vast pillar-like structures within the Carina Nebula have been made using the MUSE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope. The different pillars analysed by an international team seem to be pillars of destruction -- in contrast to the name of the iconic Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula, which are of similar nature.
via Science Daily
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