Size matters in the detection of exoplanet atmospheres

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A group-analysis of 30 exoplanets orbiting distant stars suggests that size, not mass, is a key factor in whether a planet’s atmosphere can be detected. The largest population-study of exoplanets to date successfully detected atmospheres around 16 ‘hot Jupiters’, and found that water vapor was present in every case.
via Science Daily
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What do we need to know to mine an asteroid?

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The mining of resources contained in asteroids, for use as propellant, building materials or in life-support systems, has the potential to revolutionise exploration of our Solar System. To make this concept a reality, we need to increase our knowledge of the very diverse population of accessible Near Earth Asteroids (NEA).
via Science Daily
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Nanosat fleet proposed for voyage to 300 asteroids

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A fleet of tiny spacecraft could visit over 300 asteroids in just over three years, according to a mission study. The Asteroid Touring Nanosat Fleet concept comprises 50 spacecraft propelled by innovative electric solar wind sails (E-sails) and equipped with instruments to take images and collect spectroscopic data on the composition of the asteroids. Each nanosat would visit six or seven asteroids before returning to Earth to deliver the data.
via Science Daily
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Mercury's poles may be icier than scientists thought

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A new study identifies three large surface ice deposits near Mercury's north pole, and suggests there could be many additional small-scale deposits that would dramatically increase the planet's surface ice inventory.
via Science Daily
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Novel strategy for chirality controlled synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes

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Researchers have developed a novel strategy for controlling chirality of single-walled carbon nanotubes.
via Science Daily

Graphene and other carbon nanomaterials can replace scarce metals

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Scarce metals are found in a wide range of everyday objects around us. They are complicated to extract, difficult to recycle and so rare that several of them have become "conflict minerals" which can promote conflicts and oppression. New research shows that there are potential technology-based solutions that can replace many of the metals with carbon nanomaterials, such as graphene.
via Science Daily

Veil Nebula: Wisps of an Exploded Star

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Wisps like this are all that remain visible of a Milky Way star. About 7,000 years ago that star exploded in a supernova leaving the Veil Nebula. At the time, the expanding cloud was likely as bright as a crescent Moon, remaining visible for weeks to people living at the dawn of recorded history. Today, the resulting supernova remnant, also known as the Cygnus Loop, has faded and is now visible only through a small telescope directed toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). The remaining Veil Nebula is physically huge, however, and even though it lies about 1,400 light-years distant, it covers over five times the size of the full Moon. The featured picture is a Hubble Space Telescope mosaic of six images together covering a span of only about two light years, a small part of the expansive supernova remnant. In images of the complete Veil Nebula, even studious readers might not be able to identify the featured filaments.

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Superconductors boost acceleration

The new superconducting crab cavities being assembled at CERN. These cavities will be used in the future High-Luminosity LHC to tilt the particle bunches before they collide. (Image: Jules Ordan/CERN)

Thanks to their amazing properties, superconductors have become a vital ally of particle physics. As well as using superconducting magnets to steer particles in the right direction, accelerators use superconducting cavities to accelerate them. During the EUCAS 2017 conference on superconductors and their applications, which is taking place this week in Geneva, many presentations are being made on this subject.

A radiofrequency accelerating cavity is basically a metal chamber in which electromagnetic waves generate an electrical field. As particles pass through the chamber, they receive an electrical impulse. Compared to traditional copper cavities, superconducting cavities generate very strong electrical fields. Those in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), for example, generate an electrical field of 5 million volts per metre.

The first work on superconducting cavities for particle physics began in the 1960s. But it was not until the 1980s that they were actually used in an accelerator, an electron collider at Cornell University in the United States. Meanwhile, the designers working on the Large Electron-Positron Collider (LEP) at CERN were investigating the technology as a way of doubling the energy level of their machine. The 27-kilometre ring was fitted out with 280 such cavities, allowing the LEP to exceed 200 GeV in the 1990s. The LHC is equipped with similar cavities. The brand new XFEL synchrotron at the DESY laboratory in Germany is made up of no fewer than 800 accelerating cavities, which rely heavily on the work carried out in the 1990s by the TESLA collaboration.

Today, the development of new superconducting cavities continues, particularly at CERN, where so-called “crab cavities” are under development to tilt particle bunches before they collide in the High-Luminosity LHC. These cavities will help to maximise overlapping of the beams in order to increase the probability of collisions each time they meet, otherwise known as luminosity. At Fermilab, the Cornell Laboratory and SLAC in the United States, new coatings are also being studied to improve performance even further.

This text is based on the article entitled “Souped up RF”, which appeared in the September issue of the CERN Courier.

via CERN: Updates for the general public
http://home.cern/about/updates/2017/09/superconductors-boost-acceleration

New mirror-coating technology promises dramatic improvements in telescopes

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An electrical engineer has teamed up with astronomers to improve telescope mirrors using thin-film technology from the electronics industry. They are developing new protective coatings using an atomic layer deposition system large enough to accommodate telescope mirrors.
via Science Daily
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