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    Category Astronomy/Space

    Astronomers find Jupiter-like Cloud Bands on Closest Brown Dwarf

    May 8, 2020, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Artist’s illustration of the brown dwarf Luhman 16A. Astronomers have inferred the presence of cloud bands on Luhman 16A using a technique called polarimetry, in which polarized light is measured from an astrophysical object much like polarized sunglasses are used to block out glare. This is the first time that polarimetry has been used to measure cloud patterns on a brown dwarf. 
    (Image: © Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC))

    A team of astronomers has discovered that the closest known brown dwarf, Luhman 16A, shows signs of cloud bands similar to those seen on Jupiter and Saturn. This is the first time scientists have used the technique of polarimetry to determine the properties of atmospheric clouds outside of the solar system, or exoclouds.

    Brown dwarfs are objects heavier than planets but ...

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    ESO instrument finds Closest Black Hole to Earth

    May 7, 2020, Categories  Astronomy/Space

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    A team of astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and other institutes has discovered a black hole lying just 1000 light-years from Earth. The black hole is closer to our Solar System than any other found to date and forms part of a triple system that can be seen with the naked eye. The team found evidence for the invisible object by tracking its two companion stars using the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. They say this system could just be the tip of the iceberg, as many more similar black holes could be found in the future.

    Invisible object has two companion stars visible to the naked eye...

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    Groundbreaking new Rocket-propulsion System

    May 6, 2020, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Astronomy/Space

    Rocket soaring in space
    UCF-developed technology will boost rocket performance.

    A University of Central Florida researcher and his team have developed an advanced new rocket-propulsion system once thought to be impossible.

    The system, known as a rotating detonation rocket engine, will allow upper stage rockets for space missions to become lighter, travel farther, and burn more cleanly.

    The result were published this month in the journal Combustion and Flame. “The study presents, for the first time, experimental evidence of a safe and functioning hydrogen and oxygen propellant detonation in a rotating detonation rocket engine,” said Kareem Ahmed, an assistant professor in UCF’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering who led the research.

    The rotating detonations are continuous, Mach 5 expl...

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    4-Billion yr old Nitrogen-containing Organic molecules discovered in Martian Meteorites

    May 5, 2020, Categories  Astronomy/Space, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

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    A rock fragment of Martian meteorite ALH 84001 (left). An enlarged area (right) shows the orange-coloured carbonate grains on the host orthopyroxene rock. Credit: Koike et al. (2020) Nature Communications.

    Scientists exploring Mars and analysing Martian meteorite samples have found organic compounds essential for life: nitrogen-bearing organics in a 4-billion-year-old Martian meteorite. With a new high-spatial resolution in-situ N-chemical speciation technique, they found organic materials – either synthesized locally or delivered during the Noachian – preserved intact in carbonate minerals over a long geological period. Their presence requires abiotic or biotic N-fixation and ammonia storage, suggesting early Mars had a less oxidizing environment than today.

    Because carbonate miner...

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