X-ray navigation could open up new frontiers for robotic spacecraft

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In a technology first, a team of engineers has demonstrated fully autonomous X-ray navigation in space -- a capability that could revolutionize NASA's ability in the future to pilot robotic spacecraft to the far reaches of the solar system and beyond.
via Science Daily
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Swarm of hydrogen clouds flying away from center of the Milky Way

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Astronomers have discovered what appears to be a grand exodus of more than 100 hydrogen clouds streaming away from the center of the Milky Way and heading into intergalactic space.
via Science Daily
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Black hole spin cranks-up radio volume

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Statistical analysis of supermassive black holes suggests that the spin of the black hole may play a role in the generation of powerful high-speed jets blasting radio waves. By analyzing nearly 8000 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, research team found that the oxygen emissions are 1.5 times stronger in radio loud quasars than in radio quiet quasars. This implies that spin is an important factor in the generation of jets.
via Science Daily
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Trilobites: If We Ever Get to Mars, the Beer Might Not Be Bad

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College students at Villanova University found that hops, leafy greens, carrots and scallions all could grow in an approximation of Martian dirt.
via New York Times

Nanostructure boosts stability of organic thin-film transistors

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A nanostructured gate dielectric may have addressed the most significant obstacle to expanding the use of organic semiconductors for thin-film transistors. The structure, composed of a fluoropolymer layer followed by a nanolaminate made from two metal oxide materials, serves as gate dielectric and protects the organic semiconductor - which had previously been vulnerable to damage from the ambient environment.
via Science Daily

Rosetta and Planck honoured in annual Royal Astronomical Society awards

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ESA’s Matt Taylor has been awarded the 2018 Service Award for Geophysics by the Royal Astronomical Society for his outstanding contribution to the Rosetta mission, while the Planck mission has been honoured with the Group Achievement Award for their extraordinary achievements in cosmology.

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

White graphene makes ceramics multifunctional

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Bilayer white graphene combined with a ceramic creates a multifunctional material with high strength and toughness, according to new research. The material may be suitable for construction and refractory materials and applications in the nuclear industry, oil and gas, aerospace and other areas that require high-performance composites.
via Science Daily

A major step forward in organic electronics

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Researchers have developed the world's first complementary electrochemical logic circuits that can function stably for long periods in water. This is a highly significant breakthrough in the development of bioelectronics.
via Science Daily

Archeology of our Milky Way's ancient hub

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A new analysis of about 10,000 normal Sun-like stars in the Milky Way's bulge reveals that our galaxy’s hub is a dynamic environment of variously aged stars zipping around at different speeds.
via Science Daily
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Supermassive black hole caught burping — twice

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Astronomers have caught a supermassive black hole in a distant galaxy snacking on gas and then "burping" — not once, but twice.
via Science Daily
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Magnified and stretched out image of extremely distant galaxy

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An intensive survey deep into the universe by NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes has yielded the proverbial needle-in-a-haystack: the farthest galaxy yet seen in an image that has been stretched and amplified by a phenomenon called gravitational lensing.
via Science Daily
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