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Estimating When Life Could Have Arisen on Earth The question how life began on Earth has always been a matter of profound interest to scientists. But just as important as how life emerged is the question of when it emerged. In addition to discerning how non-living elements came together to form the first living organisms (a process known as abiogenesis), scientists have also sought to determine when the first living organisms appeared on Earth. In a new study by a team of Canadian researchers, the question of when life emerged on Earth is constrained using two approaches. By combining astrophysical and geophysical evidence with biosignaturesRead More →

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Precise measurement using a continent-wide collection of National Science Foundation (NSF) radio telescopes has revealed that a narrow jet of particles moving at nearly the speed of light broke out into interstellar space after a pair of neutron stars merged in a galaxy 130 million light-years from Earth. The merger, which occurred in August of 2017, sent gravitational waves rippling through space. It was the first event ever to be detected both by gravitational waves and electromagnetic waves, including gamma rays, X-rays, visible light, and radio waves. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

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€17 Million Fund to Power European Detection and Imaging Innovation The pioneering ATTRACT initiative couples world-class research laboratories and business management experts to create a European innovation ecosystem that will accelerate the development of disruptive technologies and their progress to market. The initiative, in which ESO is a partner, will fund 170 breakthrough detection and imaging ideas with market potential, and aims to create products, services, companies and jobs based on new detection and imaging technologies. ESO News Feed Go to Source Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

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An international team led by Chin-Fei Lee at the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) has discovered a very small accretion disk formed around one of the youngest protostars, with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). This discovery poses a constraint on current theory of disk formation stronger than before, by pushing the disk formation time by a factor of a few earlier. Moreover, a compact rotating outflow has been detected. It may trace a disk wind carrying away angular momentum from the disk and thus facilitate the disk formation. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

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A group of researchers led by Paula Sánchez-Sáez, a doctoral student in the Department of Astronomy of the Universidad de Chile, managed to determine that the rate of variability in the light emitted by material being swallowed by supermassive black holes in nuclei of active galaxies is determined by the accretion rate, that is, how much matter they are “eating.” Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

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Carnival of Space #577 This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Zain Husain at the Brownspaceman.com blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #577. And if you’re interested in looking back, here’s an archive to all the past Carnivals of Space. If you’ve got a space-related blog, you should really join the carnival. Just email an entry to susie@wshcrew.space, and the next host will link to it. It will help get awareness out there about your writing, help you meet others in the space community – and community is what blogging is all about. And if you really want to help out, sign up toRead More →

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At the end of its life, a red supergiant star explodes in a hydrogen-rich supernova. By comparing observation results to simulation models, an international research team found that in many cases this explosion takes place inside a thick cloud of circumstellar matter shrouding the star. This result completely changes our understanding of the last stage of stellar evolution. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

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At the end of its life, a red supergiant star explodes in a hydrogen-rich supernova. By comparing observation results to simulation models, an international research team found that in many cases this explosion takes place inside a thick cloud of circumstellar matter shrouding the star. This result completely changes our understanding of the last stage of stellar evolution. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

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Astronomers from the Department of Physics at the University of Tokyo discovered a dense disk of material around a young star, which may be a precursor to a planetary system. Their research could vastly improve models of how solar systems form, which would tell us more about our own place in the cosmos. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

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An international group of astronomers has conducted a study of a peculiar white dwarf known as WD 1145+017 that showcases periodic transits of planetary debris. The new research, presented in a paper published August 22 on arXiv.org, determines fundamental parameters of this object and provides essential insights into the nature of debris around it. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

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Aerojet Rocketdyne Tests Out its New Advanced Ion Engine System When it comes to the next generation of space exploration, a number of key technologies are being investigated. In addition to spacecraft and launchers that will be able to send astronauts farther into the Solar System, NASA and other space agencies are also looking into new means of propulsion. Compared to conventional rockets, the goal is to create systems that offer reliable thrust while ensuring fuel-efficiency. To this end, NASA has paired with Aerojet Rocketdyne, a California-based rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer, to develop a Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) Hall Effect thruster. Known as theRead More →

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The little-known nebula IRAS 05437+2502 billows out among the bright stars and dark dust clouds that surround it in this striking image from the Hubble Space Telescope. It is located in the constellation of Taurus (the Bull), close to the central plane of our Milky Way galaxy. Unlike many of Hubble’s targets, this object has not been studied in detail and its exact nature is unclear. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

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How the Next Generation of Ground-Based Super-Telescopes will Directly Observe Exoplanets Over the past few decades, the number of extra-solar planets that have been detected and confirmed has grown exponentially. At present, the existence of 3,778 exoplanets have been confirmed in 2,818 planetary systems, with an additional 2,737 candidates awaiting confirmation. With this volume of planets available for study, the focus of exoplanet research has started to shift from detection towards characterization. For example, scientists are increasingly interested in characterizing the atmospheres of exoplanets so that they can say with confidence that they have the right ingredients for life (i.e. nitrogen, carbon dioxide, etc). Unfortunately,Read More →

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Telescope Pierces into One of the Biggest Nebulae in the Milky Way to Reveal its Newly Forming (and Nearly Dying) Stars Located about 7500 light-years from Earth, in the constellation of Carina, lies a star-forming region known as the Carina Nebula. This dynamic, evolving cloud of interstellar gas and dust measures about 300 light-years in diameter and is one of the Milky Way’s largest star-forming regions. It is also an exercise in contrasts, consisting of bright regions of gas illuminated by intense stellar radiation and dark pillars of dust that obscure star formation. While thousands of pictures have been taken of this scenic nebula, scientistsRead More →

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This is the Habitat in Hawaii Helping Astronauts Preparing to Explore Mars When it comes time to send astronauts to Mars, those who make the journey will need to be ready for a number of challenges. In addition to enduring about six-months in space both ways, the first astronauts to explore Mars will also need to be prepared to spend months living on the surface. This will consist of long periods spent in a pressurized habitat and regular forays to the surface wearing pressure suits. Preparing astronauts for this kind of living situation is the purpose behind the NASA-funded Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and SimulationRead More →

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In the future, when spacecrafts are sent to other planets or when the rotation of planet Earth is studied, a new reference frame will be used. On 30 August, at the General Meeting of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Vienna, the new international celestial reference frame ICRF3 was adopted, allowing for more precise directional specifications in space. It is based on the accurate measurement of over 4000 extragalactic radio sources. TU Wien (Vienna) played an important role in the international consortium, which was in charge of providing the new realization. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →