Category Astronomy/Space

This is an image of near-infrared-light-driven hydrogen evolution from water photo-driven by triruthenium photosensitizer. Credit: Kyushu University

Scientists have synthesized a compound with 3 ruthenium atoms connected by an organic molecule that absorbs near-infrared light to produce hydrogen from water. The absorbed light stimulates electrons to ‘jump’ into orbitals that do not exist in other, similar compounds. This is the first successful use of infrared light to reduce water into hydrogen, which can be used for energy conversion and storage, and other industrial purposes in a future sustainable energy society.

Solar cells must absorb light of particular wavelengths, depending on how much energy the cell needs to drive the reaction...

The super-Earth exoplanet 55 Cancri e, depicted with its star in this artist’s concept, likely has an atmosphere thicker than Earth’s but with ingredients that could be similar to those of Earth’s atmosphere. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Twice as big as Earth, the super-Earth 55 Cancri e was thought to have lava flows on its surface. The planet is so close to its star, the same side of the planet always faces the star, such that the planet has permanent day and night sides. Based on a 2016 study using data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists speculated that lava would flow freely in lakes on the starlit side and become hardened on the face of perpetual darkness...

This is Michal Rawlik of ETH Zürich and Nicholas Ayres of Sussex University. Credit: University of Sussex

Scientists at the University of Sussex have disproved the existence of a specific type of axion – an important candidate ‘dark matter’ particle – across a wide range of its possible masses. The data were collected by an international consortium, the Neutron Electric Dipole Moment (nEDM) Collaboration, whose experiment is based at the Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland. Data were taken there and, earlier, at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble. Professor Philip Harris said: “Experts largely agree that a major portion of the mass in the universe consists of ‘dark matter’. Its nature, however, remains completely obscure...

The Van Allen Belts, shown in green in this illustration, are concentric doughnut-shaped belts filled with charged particles, trapped by Earth’s magnetic field. Credit: Tony Phillips/NASA

Scientists have long known that solar-energized particles trapped around the planet are sometimes scattered into Earth’s upper atmosphere where they can contribute to beautiful auroral displays. Yet for decades, no one has known exactly what is responsible for hurling these energetic electrons on their way. New research using data from NASA’s Van Allen Probes mission and FIREBIRD II CubeSat has shown that a common plasma wave in space is likely responsible for the impulsive loss of high-energy electrons into Earth’s atmosphere...