Boston MA (SPX) Jan 13, 2022
The Earth sits in a 1,000-light-year-wide void surrounded by thousands of young stars - but how did those stars form? In a paper appearing in Nature, astronomers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian (CfA) and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) reconstruct the evolutionary history of our galactic neighborhood, showing how a chain of events beginning 14 million

Washington DC (SPX) Jan 13, 2022
Webb has begun the detailed process of fine-tuning its individual optics into one huge, precise telescope. Engineers first commanded actuators - 126 devices that will move and shape the primary mirror segments, and six devices that will position the secondary mirror - to verify that all are working as expected after launch. The team also commanded actuators that guide Webb's fine steering

Green Bank WV (SPX) Jan 13, 2022
An international team of astronomers has discovered what could be the early sign of a background signal arising from supermassive black holes, observed through low-frequency gravitational waves. These scientists are comparing data collected from several instruments, including the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope (GBT.) Gravitational Waves ripple through spacetime at a lig

Liverpool UK (SPX) Jan 13, 2022
Scientists have witnessed for the first time exactly what happens to the most massive stars at the end of their lives. Most very large stars explode in a fiery supernova explosion that leaves behind a neutron star in a process frequently witnessed by Earth's most powerful telescopes. But some - the most massive, 30 times the size of the Sun or more - are believed to undergo a less vi

Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Jan 13, 2022
Every living thing requires energy. This is also true of microorganisms. This energy is frequently generated in the cells by respiration, that is by the combustion of organic compounds, in other words: food. During this process, electrons are released which the microorganisms then need to get rid of. In the absence of oxygen, microorganisms can use other methods to do so, including transporting

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 13, 2022
The upcoming satellite experiment LiteBIRD is expected to probe the physics of the very early Universe if the primordial inflation happened at high energies. But now, a new paper in Physical Review Letters shows it can also test inflationary scenarios operating at lower energies. Cosmologists believe that in its very early stages, the Universe underwent a very rapid expansion called "cosmi

Montreal, Canada (SPX) Jan 13, 2022
The days of the U.S.-Soviet Space Race are over, and the domain of space exploration is expanding daily to include more countries than ever before. With the advent of private companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX, which aim to reduce the costs of space transportation, expeditions into our extraterrestrial surroundings are no longer limited to just two contenders. Though it may seem like we

London, UK (SPX) Jan 13, 2022
An international team of researchers, led by postgraduate student Alexis Andres, has found that the black hole at the centre of our galaxy, Sagittarius A*, not only flares irregularly from day to day but also in the long term. The team analysed 15 years' worth of data to come to this conclusion. The research was initiated by Andres in 2019 when he was a summer student at the University of Amster

Gottingen, Germany (SPX) Jan 13, 2022
Planets like Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn with global magnetic fields of their own are surrounded by so-called radiation belts: Trapped in the magnetic field, fast moving charged particles such as electrons, protons, and heavier ions whiz around thus forming the invisible, torus-shaped radiation belts. With their high velocities reaching almost the speed of light, the particles can ionize other mo

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 13, 2022
Today Curiosity is doing a little bit of everything: some contact science, some targeted science, and a little driving. When we started planning this morning, we had a beautiful view of the small ledge in front of us, named "The Prow," which shows some amazing layering. We also can see some disturbances in the sand that may be sliding caused by our approach. We, the rover planners, were bu