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Most Distant Solar System Object Ever Observed![]() Washington DC (SPX) Dec 18, 2018 A team of astronomers has discovered the most distant body ever observed in our solar system. It is the first known solar system object that has been detected at a distance that is more than 100 times farther than Earth is from the Sun. The new object was announced on Monday, December 17, 2018, by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center [https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/mpc.html] and has been given the provisional designation 2018 VG18. The discovery was made by Carnegie's ... read more |
A nuclear-powered 'tunnelbot' to search for life on Jupiter's icy moon EuropaChicago IL (SPX) Dec 18, 2018 Between 1995 and 2003, NASA's Galileo spacecraft made several flybys of Jupiter's moon, Europa. Several findings from observations of the moon pointed to evidence of a liquid ocean beneath Europa's ... more
A young star caught forming like a planetLeeds UK (SPX) Dec 17, 2018 Astronomers have captured one of the most detailed views of a young star taken to date, and revealed an unexpected companion in orbit around it. While observing the young star, astronomers led ... more
Planets with Oxygen Don't Necessarily Have LifeBaltimore MD (SPX) Dec 18, 2018 In their search for life in solar systems near and far, researchers have often accepted the presence of oxygen in a planet's atmosphere as the surest sign that life may be present there. A new Johns ... more
Narrowing the universe in the search for lifeColumbus OH (SPX) Dec 18, 2018 Humankind's exploration of space has for years pondered one central question: Is there another world somewhere in the universe where human beings could survive? And as astrophysicists and astr ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Dec 14 | Dec 13 | Dec 12 | Dec 11 |
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New models sense human trust in smart machinesWest Lafayette IN (SPX) Dec 17, 2018 New "classification models" sense how well humans trust intelligent machines they collaborate with, a step toward improving the quality of interactions and teamwork. The long-term goal of the ... more
NASA seeks US partners to develop reusable systems to land astronauts on MoonWashington DC (SPX) Dec 14, 2018 As the next major step to return astronauts to the Moon under Space Policy Directive-1, NASA announced plans on Dec. 13 to work with American companies to design and develop new reusable systems for ... more
Planetary scientists assist in capturing image of Insight from orbitLondon, Canada (SPX) Dec 14, 2018 Houston, there is no problem here. Eric Pilles assisted in capturing - for the first-time ever - extraordinary and highly significant scientific images of the NASA InSight robotic lander using HiRIS ... more
Hubble finds faraway planet vanishing at record speedBaltimore MD (SPX) Dec 14, 2018 The speed and distance at which planets orbit their respective blazing stars can determine each planet's fate - whether the planet remains a longstanding part of its solar system or evaporates into ... more
UNLV study unlocks clues to how planets formLas Vegas NV (SPX) Dec 13, 2018 Astronomers have cataloged nearly 4,000 exoplanets in orbit around distant stars. Though the discovery of these newfound worlds has taught us much, there is still a great deal we do not know about t ... more |
![]() NASA's Juno mission halfway to Jupiter science
China's Chang'e-4 probe enters lunar orbitBeijing (XNA) Dec 13, 2018 China's Chang'e-4 probe decelerated and entered the lunar orbit Wednesday, completing a vital step on its way to make the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon, the China National Spac ... more |
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Common ground discovered in planet-forming disksHouston TX (SPX) Dec 13, 2018 A distant star surrounded by a protoplanetary disk of dust and gas has given up more of its secrets to a team led by a Rice University astronomer. And it's in good company. Rice astronomer And ... more
Taming turbulence to make complex simulations a breezeMadison WI (SPX) Dec 12, 2018 For scientists wrestling with problems as diverse as containing superhot plasma in a fusion reactor, improving the accuracy of weather forecasts, or probing the unexplained dynamics of a distant gal ... more
Developing new materials for the fusion reactorTokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 12, 2018 In the future fusion reactor, plasma is confined by using the magnetic field inside the doughnut-shaped vacuum vessel. The blanket is in a location where it almost touches the plasma, and as if to e ... more
Astroscale enters technical cooperation with European Space AgencyLondon, UK (SPX) Dec 13, 2018 Astroscale UK Ltd has signed an agreement with ESA to exchange data and expertise related to space debris collision avoidance, environmental monitoring of debris and the development of monitoring te ... more
NASA's InSight takes its first selfiePasadena CA (JPL) Dec 12, 2018 NASA's InSight lander isn't camera-shy. The spacecraft used a camera on its robotic arm to take its first selfie - a mosaic made up of 11 images. This is the same imaging process used by NASA's Curi ... more |
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NASA's InSight takes its first selfie Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 12, 2018
NASA's InSight lander isn't camera-shy. The spacecraft used a camera on its robotic arm to take its first selfie - a mosaic made up of 11 images. This is the same imaging process used by NASA's Curiosity rover mission, in which many overlapping pictures are taken and later stitched together. Visible in the selfie are the lander's solar panel and its entire deck, including its science instruments ... more |
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NASA seeks US partners to develop reusable systems to land astronauts on Moon Washington DC (SPX) Dec 14, 2018
As the next major step to return astronauts to the Moon under Space Policy Directive-1, NASA announced plans on Dec. 13 to work with American companies to design and develop new reusable systems for astronauts to land on the lunar surface. The agency is planning to test new human-class landers on the Moon beginning in 2024, with the goal of sending crew to the surface in 2028.
Through upco ... more |
Most Distant Solar System Object Ever Observed Washington DC (SPX) Dec 18, 2018
A team of astronomers has discovered the most distant body ever observed in our solar system. It is the first known solar system object that has been detected at a distance that is more than 100 times farther than Earth is from the Sun.
The new object was announced on Monday, December 17, 2018, by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center [https://www.minorplanetcenter.net ... more |
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Where did the hot Neptunes go Geneva, Switzerland (SPX) Dec 17, 2018
"But where did the hot Neptunes go?" This is the question astronomers have been asking for a long time, faced with the mysterious absence of planets the size of Neptunes very close to their star. A team of researchers, led by astronomers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, has just discovered that one of these planets is losing its atmosphere at a frantic pace.
This observa ... more |
Largest piece of SLS rocket test hardware moved for testing New Orleans LA (SPX) Dec 17, 2018
Technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, moved the largest piece of structural test hardware for America's new deep space rocket, the Space Launch System, from the factory to the dock where it was loaded onto NASA's barge Pegasus Dec. 14, 2018.
The liquid hydrogen tank test article will make its way up the river to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, A ... more |
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China's Chang'e-4 probe enters lunar orbit Beijing (XNA) Dec 13, 2018
China's Chang'e-4 probe decelerated and entered the lunar orbit Wednesday, completing a vital step on its way to make the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced.
After flying about 110 hours from earth, an engine on the probe was ignited when it was 129 km above the surface of the moon, in line with instructions sent fr ... more |
GMV leads the system that "drives" the HERA mission for planetary defence Madrid, Spain (SPX) Dec 14, 2018
The technological multinational GMV leads an international consortium entrusted with designing the analysis of the HERA mission and developing its Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) System. The HERA mission is run by the European Space Agency (ESA) and led by OHB-System AG.
Based on the heritage of the Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM) project, HERA aims to be the first interplanetary miss ... more |
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Radiance Technologies tapped for U.S. Army laser research Washington (UPI) Nov 30, 2018
The U.S. Army is contracting Radiance Technologies for high energy laser lethality research, assessment and support in the amount of $28.2 million.
Work on the contract, announced Thursday by the Department of Defense, will be performed in Huntsville, Ala., and is expected to be completed by November 2023.
It falls under a small business contract under acquisition rules, though R ... more |
Pentagon conducts latest successful test of US-Japan interceptor Washington (AFP) Dec 11, 2018
The US military on Tuesday successfully conducted a test of a new ballistic-missile interceptor system, which is being co-developed with Japan.
The launch marks the second successful test in less than two months for the SM-3 Block IIA missile and its associated technologies, which had previously experienced failures.
According to the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), sailors at the Aegis As ... more |
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NASA Research Reveals Saturn is Losing Its Rings at "Worst-Case-Scenario" Rate Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 18, 2018
New NASA research confirms that Saturn is losing its iconic rings at the maximum rate estimated from Voyager 1 and 2 observations made decades ago. The rings are being pulled into Saturn by gravity as a dusty rain of ice particles under the influence of Saturn's magnetic field.
"We estimate that this 'ring rain' drains an amount of water products that could fill an Olympic-sized swimming p ... more |
Pitt chemical engineers develop new theory to build improved nanomaterials Pittsburgh PA (SPX) Dec 17, 2018
Thanks in part to their distinct electronic, optical and chemical properties, nanomaterials are utilized in an array of diverse applications from chemical production to medicine and light-emitting devices.
But when introducing another metal in their structure, also known as "doping," researchers are unsure which position the metal will occupy and how it will affect the overall stability of ... more |
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New squeezing record at GEO600 gravitational-wave detector Hannover, Germany (SPX) Dec 17, 2018
The detection of Einstein's gravitational waves relies on highly precise laser measurements of small length changes. The kilometer-size detectors of the international network (GEO600, LIGO, Virgo) are so sensitive that they are fundamentally limited by tiny quantum mechanical effects.
These cause a background noise which overlaps with gravitational-wave signals. This noise is always presen ... more |
Cosmic fountain powered by giant black hole Huntsville AL (SPX) Dec 17, 2018
Before electrical power became available, water fountains worked by relying on gravity to channel water from a higher elevation to a lower one. This water could then be redirected to shoot out of the fountain and create a centerpiece for people to admire.
In space, awesome gaseous fountains have been discovered in the centers of galaxy clusters. One such fountain is in the cluster Abell 25 ... more |
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New models sense human trust in smart machines West Lafayette IN (SPX) Dec 17, 2018
New "classification models" sense how well humans trust intelligent machines they collaborate with, a step toward improving the quality of interactions and teamwork.
The long-term goal of the overall field of research is to design intelligent machines capable of changing their behavior to enhance human trust in them. The new models were developed in research led by assistant professor Neer ... more |
New foldable drone can navigate narrow holes Washington (UPI) Dec 12, 2018
Drones can be used to explore environs too difficult and dangerous for humans to navigate, like a burned out building or the rubble of a collapsed bridge. But often, entrances to and passageways through these environments are quite small - holes and cracks measuring just a few inches wide.
Engineers at the University of Zurich have developed a foldable drone that can shrink itself to f ... more |
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