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    Category Astronomy/Space

    James Webb Space Telescope reveals new surprises on Galaxy Organic Molecules Near Black Holes

    October 12, 2022, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    James Webb Space Telescope reveals new surprises on galaxy organic molecules near black holes
    Maps of the central ∼6″ region of NGC 7469, which includes the AGN and the circumnuclear ring of star formation. Top-left panel: in color and black contours is the JWST/F770W PSF-subtracted image (which mainly traces the 7.7 μm PAH band). Black regions (s1, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, and s7) correspond to selected circumnuclear zones of NGC 7469. Red and blue regions (o1, o2, o3, o4, o5, and o6) are in the outflow region. The green line represents the orientation of the nuclear molecular gas bar. The gray lines correspond to the approximate outflow region according to the [S IV]λ10.51 μm velocity map (see Appendix B). The white box represents the JWST/MRS ch1 FoV (3.2″ × 3.7″), which is practically identical to the Spitzer/IRS angular resolution...
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    Underground Microbes may have Swarmed Ancient Mars

    October 11, 2022, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Underground microbes may have swarmed ancient Mars
    This image made available by NASA shows the Jezero Crater area on the planet Mars, captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Ancient Mars may have had an environment capable of harboring an underground world teeming with microscopic organisms. That’s according to French scientists who published their findings, Monday, Oct. 10, 2022. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS via AP, File

    Ancient Mars may have had an environment capable of harboring an underground world teeming with microscopic organisms, French scientists reported Monday.

    But if they existed, these simple life forms would have altered the atmosphere so profoundly that they triggered a Martian Ice Age and snuffed themselves out, the researchers concluded.

    The findings provide a bleak view of the ways of the cosmos...

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    A Solar Gravitational Lens will be Humanity’s most Powerful Telescope. What are its best targets?

    October 11, 2022, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Image of a simulated Earth, at 1024×1024 pixel resolution, at the distance of Proxima Centauri,at 1.3 pc, as projectedby the SGL to an image plane at 650 AU from the Sun. Credit: Toth H. & Turyshev, S.G.

    One of the central predictions of general relativity is that a massive object such as a star, galaxy, or black hole can deflect light passing nearby. This means that light from distant objects can be gravitationally lensed by objects closer to us. Under the right conditions, gravitational lensing can act as a kind of natural telescope, brightening and magnifying the light of distant objects. Astronomers have used this trick to observe some of the most distant galaxies in the universe. But astronomers have also thought about using this effect a little closer to home.

    One idea is to ...

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    Citizen Scientists Enhance New Europa Images from NASA’s Juno

    October 7, 2022, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    TOP: This pair of images shows the same portion of Europa as captured by the Juno spacecraft’s JunoCam during the mission’s Sept. 29 close flyby. The image at left was minimally processed. A citizen scientist processed the image at right, and enhanced color contrast causes larger surface features to stand out. Credit: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS. Image processing: Navaneeth Krishnan S © CC BY

    BOTTOM: This highly stylized view of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa was created by reprocessing an image captured by JunoCam during the mission’s close flyby on Sept. 29. Credit: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS. Image processing: Kevin M. Gill / Fernando Garcia Navarro CC BY 2.0

    Citizen scientists have provided unique perspectives of the recent close flyby of Jupiter’s icy...

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