Astrophysics
Featured Topics in General Sciences: Astrophysics | Oceanography | Meteorology | | Evolution | all topics
Filter by: News | Articles | New to Market | Tools & Technology | Videos | Podcasts | Journal Articles | White Papers
Sep 1 | News
The
world’s first kilometer-scale neutrino, buried deep under Antarctic
ice, should be all systems go by Christmas 2010. With 5,160 sensors
occupying a gigaton of ice, researchers hope to detect the small
neutrino fluxes that could reveal the sources of cosmic rays and the
particle nature of dark matter.
Aug 26 | RDBlog
What is it about doomsday scenarios? Every once in a while, it seems, the general public can’t get enough of predictions about impending disaster. And the most recent spate of disaster ruminations seems more pervasive than ever.
Aug 25 | News
The
New Jersey Institute of Technology team at Big Bear Solar Observatory in
California have achieved “first light” using a deformable adaptive
optics mirror, capturing detailed solar images at a resolution of about
50 miles on Sun’s surface. A more complex mirror will be installed next
year.
Aug 13 | News
Scientists
at the University of Central Florida are studying various minerals with
far-infrared spectroscopy. Soon, they’ll be comparing their results
with readings from the Herschel and Spitzer telescopes to conclusively
identify compounds in space dust and learn more about about life emerged
on Earth. Prior to now, these studies were ambiguous at best.
Aug 13 | News
PCs
in Ames, Iowa, and Mainz, Germany, were cited Thursday in the discovery
of fast-rotating pulsar called PSR J2007+2722. It marks the first
scientific discovery for the project, known as Einstein(at)Home, that
uses spare computer power donated by 250,000 volunteers in 192
countries.
Jul 27 | News
The total impact probability is only one-in-a-thousand, but the scientists who have estimated and monitored the potential impacts for this
asteroid through 2200 by means of two mathematical models (Monte Carlo
Method and line of variations sampling) were surprised to find that over half of this chance (0.00054) corresponds to the year 2182.
Jul 26 | News
In
1984, Robert L. Forward proposed the use of a solar sail that would
allow satellites placed outside of usual geostationary orbits to
maintain position through the pressure sunlight alone. Though initially
met with skepticism, Forward’s concept has now been proven to work by an
engineering team.
Jul 23 | News
Websites
developed recently at Arizona State University's Mars Space Flight
Facility, in collaboration with NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and
Microsoft, make it easy for anyone to trek craters, volcanoes, dusty
plains, and Valles Marineris (pictured), the "Grand Canyon of Mars”.
Jul 22 | News
The
magnetic fields of Neptune and Uranus are very different from Earth’s,
and it probably has something to do with the exotic state of water in
their cores. Researchers have announced plans to, for the first time,
replicate the high-pressure conditions in those gas giants at a new ion
research facility being constructed in Germany.
Jul 21 | News
Stars are born heavy, and lose weight as they
age. For this reason, a star called R136a1 recently found by
astrophysicists once weighed in at perhaps 320 solar masses, twice as
heavy as any previously discovered. Other stars can be larger, but they
are typically cooler red giants. This one is 10 million times more
luminous than the sun.