Category Astronomy/Space

Prebiotic Atmosphere discovered on Accretion disk of Baby Star

Jet, disk, and disk atmosphere in the HH 212 protostellar system. (a) A composite image for the HH 212 jet in different molecules, combining the images from the Very Large Telescope (McCaughrean et al. 2002) and ALMA (Lee et al. 2015). Orange image shows the dusty envelope+disk mapped with ALMA. (b) A zoom-in to the central dusty disk. The asterisk marks the position of the protostar. A size scale of our solar system is shown in the lower right corner for comparison. (c) Atmosphere of the accretion disk detected with ALMA. In the disk atmosphere, green is for deuterated methanol, blue for methanethiol, and red for formamide. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/Lee et al.

Jet, disk, and disk atmosphere in the HH 212 protostellar system. (a) A composite image for the HH 212 jet in different molecules, combining the images from the Very Large Telescope (McCaughrean et al. 2002) and ALMA (Lee et al. 2015). Orange image shows the dusty envelope+disk mapped with ALMA. (b) A zoom-in to the central dusty disk. The asterisk marks the position of the protostar. A size scale of our solar system is shown in the lower right corner for comparison. (c) Atmosphere of the accretion disk detected with ALMA. In the disk atmosphere, green is for deuterated methanol, blue for methanethiol, and red for formamide. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/Lee et al.

An international team has used the Atacama Large Millimeter/ submillimeter Array (ALMA) to detect complex organic molecules for...

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Kepler has taught us that Rocky Planets are Common

New planet candidates from the eighth Kepler planet candidate catalog show numerous terrestrial worlds that are near the size of Earth and within the habitable zone of their stars. The dark green span represents an optimistic estimate for habitable zone, while the brighter green a more conservative estimate. Blue circles are confirmed exoplanets, while yellow circles are new planet candidates that require follow-up observations. Credit: NASA/Ames Research Center/Wendy Stenzel

New planet candidates from the eighth Kepler planet candidate catalog show numerous terrestrial worlds that are near the size of Earth and within the habitable zone of their stars. The dark green span represents an optimistic estimate for habitable zone, while the brighter green a more conservative estimate. Blue circles are confirmed exoplanets, while yellow circles are new planet candidates that require follow-up observations. Credit: NASA/Ames Research Center/Wendy Stenzel

Rocky planets are probably a whole lot more common in our galaxy than astronomers previously believed—according to the latest release of Kepler Space Telescope data last week—a scenario that enhances the prospects for extraterrestrial life in nearby solar systems...

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Nanostructures Taste the Rainbow

This is an artist's representation of a conceptual design for the color detector, which uses thermoelectric structures with arrays of nanoscale wires that absorb different wavelengths of light based on their width. Credit: Harry Atwater and Kelly Mauser/Caltech

This is an artist’s representation of a conceptual design for the color detector, which uses thermoelectric structures with arrays of nanoscale wires that absorb different wavelengths of light based on their width. Credit: Harry Atwater and Kelly Mauser/Caltech

Engineers at Caltech have for the first time developed a light detector that combines 2 disparate technologies – nanophotonics, which manipulates light at the nanoscale, and thermoelectrics, which translates temperature differences directly into electron voltage – to distinguish different wavelengths (colors) of light, including both visible and infrared wavelengths, at high resolution...

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Hints of Extra Dimensions in Gravitational Waves?

Hints of extra dimensions in gravitational waves?

Merging black holes generate gravitational waves. These ripples in space-time might be used to unveil hidden dimensions. Credit: © Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS)

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute/AEI) in Potsdam found that hidden dimensions– as predicted by string theory could influence gravitational waves. In a recently published paper they study the consequences of extra dimensions on these ripples in space-time, and predict whether their effects could be detected.

LIGO’s first detection of gravitational waves from a black-hole binary in September 2015 has opened a new window onto the universe...

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