Astronomy posts
- March 6, 2012
- 07:50 AM
- 372 views
Venus – Beautiful, Deadly, Strange or Fascinating?
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
Venus symbolizes femininity, beauty, and love. It is the twin planet to Earth, our world of vast green forests, deep...... Read more »
A. Moullet, E. Lellouch, R. Moreno, M. Gurwell, & H. Sagawa. (2012) Wind mapping in Venus' upper mesosphere with the IRAM-Plateau de Bure interferometer. Astronomy . DOI: arXiv:1202.5279v1
Costantino Sigismondi. (2012) Solar diameter with 2012 Venus transit. Fourth French-Chinese meeting on Solar Physics Understanding Solar Activity: Advances and Challenges. DOI: arXiv:1201.4011v1
- March 6, 2012
- 01:28 AM
- 288 views
Puzzle remains around dark core in cosmic collision
by Charles Daney in Today's Science
Galaxy clusters, like the universe as a whole, are composed of both baryonic (“ordinary”) matter and dark matter, with about 1 part in 6 of the former, and five parts in 6 of the latter. A curious thing happens – usually – when two clusters collide. Both the visible baryonic matter, consisting mainly of luminous [...]... Read more »
Jee, M., Mahdavi, A., Hoekstra, H., Babul, A., Dalcanton, J., Carroll, P., & Capak, P. (2012) A STUDY OF THE DARK CORE IN A520 WITH THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE: THE MYSTERY DEEPENS . The Astrophysical Journal, 747(2), 96. DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/747/2/96
- March 5, 2012
- 08:06 AM
- 659 views
Let’s Explore the States of Matter
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
Our universe is actually constructed of a small number of building blocks that interact in a small number of well...... Read more »
Nikolay Prokof'ev, & Boris Svistunov. (2005) On the Supersolid State of Matter. American Physical Society. arXiv: cond-mat/0409472v2
Zhang, S. (2008) Topological states of quantum matter. Physics. DOI: 10.1103/Physics.1.6
- March 2, 2012
- 08:06 AM
- 684 views
Meet I Zw 18: A Dwarf Galaxy
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
The Center of Astrophysics of the University of Porto recently came up with an analysis that seriously calls into question...... Read more »
Papaderos, P., & Östlin, G. (2012) I Zw 18 as morphological paradigm for rapidly assembling high- galaxies . Astronomy . DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201117551
Izotov, Y., Chaffee, F., Foltz, C., Thuan, T., Green, R., Papaderos, P., Fricke, K., & Guseva, N. (2001) A Spectroscopic Study of Component C and the Extended Emission around I Zw 18. The Astrophysical Journal, 560(1), 222-235. DOI: 10.1086/322494
- March 1, 2012
- 06:03 AM
- 502 views
Let’s Explore Gamma-ray Bursts
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
Astronomers remain fascinated by gamma-ray bursts. These bursts of energy appear to be the most powerful explosions in the universe...... Read more »
Woosley, S., & Bloom, J. (2006) The Supernova–Gamma-Ray Burst Connection. Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 44(1), 507-556. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.astro.43.072103.150558
- February 29, 2012
- 09:00 AM
- 307 views
How 'UFOs curb black hole growth
by Kelly Oakes in Basic Space
Something unusual has been spotted lurking around several galaxies’ central black holes. Astronomers think it may be limiting the growth of the black holes – and stars elsewhere in the galaxies, too.
... Read more »
Tombesi, F., Cappi, M., Reeves, J., & Braito, V. (2012) Evidence for ultrafast outflows in radio-quiet AGNs - III. Location and energetics. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2012.01221.x
- February 28, 2012
- 08:00 AM
- 778 views
Tellurium Detected for the First Time in Ancient Stars
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
Nearly 13.7 billions years ago our universe consisted of three basic elements which included hydrogen, helium, and a little bit...... Read more »
Ian U. Roederer, James E. Lawler, John J. Cowan, Timothy C. Beers, Anna Frebel, Inese I. Ivans, Hendrik Schatz, Jennifer S. Sobeck, & Christopher Sneden. (2012) Detection of the Second r-process Peak Element Tellurium in Metal-Poor Stars. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 747(1). DOI: arXiv:1202.2378
- February 27, 2012
- 07:11 PM
- 367 views
The dwarf satellite galaxy problem
by Charles Daney in Today's Science
Simulations of galaxy formation based on the Lambda-Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM) cosmological model predict that a large galaxy such as the Milky Way should have many dwarf satellite galaxies, perhaps thousands. However, only about 20 or 30 have been identified. Where are the rest? Are they really there? That question alludes to the “dwarf galaxy [...]... Read more »
Vegetti, S., Lagattuta, D., McKean, J., Auger, M., Fassnacht, C., & Koopmans, L. (2012) Gravitational detection of a low-mass dark satellite galaxy at cosmological distance. Nature, 481(7381), 341-343. DOI: 10.1038/nature10669
- February 27, 2012
- 07:43 AM
- 524 views
Seismic Shake-ups in Our Solar System
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
The U.S. Geological survey estimates that Earth experiences several million earthquakes and around 50 volcanic eruptions every year. But ours is...... Read more »
Martínez-Oliveros, J., Moradi, H., Besliu-Ionescu, D., Donea, A., Cally, P., & Lindsey, C. (2007) From Gigahertz to Millihertz: A Multiwavelength Study of the Acoustically Active 14 August 2004 M7.4 Solar Flare. Solar Physics, 245(1), 121-139. DOI: 10.1007/s11207-007-9004-8
A. Grigahcène, M.-A. Dupret, S. G. Sousa, M. J. P. F. G. Monteiro, R. Garrido, R. Scuflaire, & M. Gabriel. (2011) Towards precise asteroseismology of solar-like stars. Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings series (ASSP). DOI: arXiv:1112.5961
Sibani, P., & Christiansen, S. (2008) Thermal shifts and intermittent linear response of aging systems. Physical Review E, 77(4). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.77.041106
- February 24, 2012
- 11:44 AM
- 505 views
The Extraterrestrial Debate Rages On
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
Sigh…another day, another research paper trying to convince the world that we are alone in the universe… I came across...... Read more »
Spiegel, D., & Turner, E. (2011) Bayesian analysis of the astrobiological implications of life's early emergence on Earth. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(2), 395-400. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1111694108
- February 23, 2012
- 10:22 PM
- 469 views
Changing Faces of Titan
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
... Read more »
Rodriguez S, Le Mouélic S, Rannou P, Tobie G, Baines KH, Barnes JW, Griffith CA, Hirtzig M, Pitman KM, Sotin C.... (2009) Global circulation as the main source of cloud activity on Titan. Nature, 459(7247), 678-82. PMID: 19494910
Fortes, D. (2008) Uncovering Titan's secrets. Nature Geoscience, 1(7), 415-416. DOI: 10.1038/ngeo238
Fortes, A., & Grindrod, P. (2006) Modelling of possible mud volcanism on Titan. Icarus, 182(2), 550-558. DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2005.11.013
- February 22, 2012
- 03:17 PM
- 692 views
Phases of Matter: Sublimation and Deposition
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
... Read more »
Heiselberg, H. (2000) Phases of dense matter in neutron stars. Physics Reports, 328(5-6), 237-327. DOI: 10.1016/S0370-1573(99)00110-6
- February 21, 2012
- 02:44 PM
- 1,001 views
Drilling Lake Vostok
by Olga Vovk in Milchstraße
On February 5th, 2012, the Russian team has finally managed to penetrate through almost 4000 m (3,768 m) of Antarctica’s ice and reach the surface of lake Vostok.... Read more »
Bulat, S., Alekhina, I., Marie, D., Martins, J., & Petit, J. (2011) Searching for life in extreme environments relevant to Jovian’s Europa: Lessons from subglacial ice studies at Lake Vostok (East Antarctica). Advances in Space Research, 48(4), 697-701. DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2010.11.024
Vasiliev, N., Talalay, P., & , . (2011) Twenty Years of Drilling the Deepest Hole in Ice. Scientific Drilling. DOI: 10.2204/iodp.sd.11.05.2011
- February 21, 2012
- 02:16 PM
- 489 views
GJ 1214b: A New Class of Planet Discovered
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
... Read more »
Berta, Z., Charbonneau, D., Désert, J., Miller-Ricci Kempton, E., McCullough, P., Burke, C., Fortney, J., Irwin, J., Nutzman, P., & Homeier, D. (2012) THE FLAT TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF THE SUPER-EARTH GJ1214b FROM WIDE FIELD CAMERA 3 ON THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE . The Astrophysical Journal, 747(1), 35. DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/747/1/35
- February 20, 2012
- 05:00 PM
- 482 views
The Universe, Its Way Past, and Its Way Future
by Brooke N in Smaller Questions
Scientific American recently published a cosmic timeline, beginning after the Big Bang and going to a time when sueprmassive black holes evaporate. This post is a primary-source investigation of the cosmic events cited in the timeline.... Read more »
Abraham Loeb. (2011) Cosmology with Hypervelocity Stars. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. arXiv: 1102.0007v2
- February 18, 2012
- 01:22 PM
- 398 views
Let’s Explore Photosynthesis on Exoplanets
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
Imagine an astronaut stepping out of a spacecraft onto the surface of an extrasolar planet that is capable of sustaining life. Now imagine the astronaut is greeted by the sight of red colored trees and grass. Such a scenario could be more reality than science fiction because of the variances in photosynthesis theorized to exist in other parts of the Milky Way Galaxy.... Read more »
Kiang, N., Siefert, J., Govindjee, ., & Blankenship, R. (2007) Spectral Signatures of Photosynthesis. I. Review of Earth Organisms. Astrobiology, 7(1), 222-251. DOI: 10.1089/ast.2006.0105
Kiang, N., Segura, A., Tinetti, G., Govindjee, ., Blankenship, R., Cohen, M., Siefert, J., Crisp, D., & Meadows, V. (2007) Spectral Signatures of Photosynthesis. II. Coevolution with Other Stars And The Atmosphere on Extrasolar Worlds. Astrobiology, 7(1), 252-274. DOI: 10.1089/ast.2006.0108
- February 17, 2012
- 05:00 PM
- 358 views
'Dropout' electrons get pushed out of Van Allen belts
by Kelly Oakes in Basic Space
Judging by the many flares erupting from the sun at the moment, it is well on track to reach its next peak in activity early next year. As this peak approaches, we can expect many more huge bursts of energy that erupt from the sun and send lots of energetic particles, and sometimes magnetic fields, our way. These in turn will lead to more of the fantastic light displays, which you might have seen (or at least heard about) lately, creeping down from the North Pole towards the equator.... Read more »
Turner, D., Shprits, Y., Hartinger, M., & Angelopoulos, V. (2012) Explaining sudden losses of outer radiation belt electrons during geomagnetic storms. Nature Physics. DOI: 10.1038/nphys2185
- February 8, 2012
- 10:00 PM
- 334 views
How did some early black holes get so big so fast?
by Charles Daney in Today's Science
The supermassive black holes (SMBHs) found in the centers of large galaxies can be astonishingly large. The closest example to us is in the giant elliptical galaxy M87, and it’s estimated to be 6.6 billion solar masses (M⊙). More distant examples can be even larger, more than 10 billion M⊙ (at distances ~300 million light-years). [...]... Read more »
Di Matteo, T., Khandai, N., DeGraf, C., Feng, Y., Croft, R., Lopez, J., & Springel, V. (2012) COLD FLOWS AND THE FIRST QUASARS. The Astrophysical Journal, 745(2). DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/745/2/L29
- February 5, 2012
- 01:35 PM
- 876 views
why aliens might not need a stabilizing moon
by Greg Fish in weird things
Quite a bit of scientific literature on astrobiology is filled with references to very exacting criteria for exoplanets capable of sustaining alien ecosystems. They have to be just the right distance from their suns, have the right kind of atmosphere, fall in the right temperature range, and hopefully, have a large stabilizing moon to counter [...]... Read more »
Lissauer, J., Barnes, J., & Chambers, J. (2012) Obliquity variations of a moonless Earth. Icarus, 217(1), 77-87. DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2011.10.013
- February 2, 2012
- 08:39 AM
- 882 views
Europa: Life in our Solar System?
by thesoftanonymous in the.soft.anonymous
This article first appeared in Guru Magazine.
Please listen carefully. There is life on Europa. I repeat: there is life on Europa…like huge strands of wet seaweed, crawling along the ground…Imagine an oak tree…flattened out by gravity…Tendrils, stamens, waving feebly…... Read more »
Kivelson MG, Khurana KK, Russell CT, Volwerk M, Walker RJ, & Zimmer C. (2000) Galileo Magnetometer Measurements: A Stronger Case for a Subsurface Ocean at Europa. Science (New York, N.Y.), 289(5483), 1340-3. PMID: 10958778
Schmidt BE, Blankenship DD, Patterson GW, & Schenk PM. (2011) Active formation of 'chaos terrain' over shallow subsurface water on Europa. Nature, 479(7374), 502-5. PMID: 22089135
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