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    Category Astronomy/Space

    Engineers investigate a simple, no-Bake Recipe to make Bricks from Martian Soil

    April 28, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    1.(A) A photo of solid Mars-1a beam quasi-statically compacted with rigid boundary condition. The curved ends show the boundaries of the steel mold. The width of the sample is ~1 cm. (B) Flexural strength of compacted Mars-1a as a function of the initial average particle size. 2. (A) SEM image of a solid Mars-1a fracture surface. The inset displays a TEM image of several basaltic grains bonded together; fuzzy and diffuse areas on the exterior of each particle are indicative of npOx, and the contact suggests npOx binding. The material had the initial particle size of 25–45 μm, and was compressed under 360 MPa quasi-statically with flexible boundary condition; the compression pressure was oriented horizontally in the SEM image. (B) Typical XRD curves of reference Mars-1a and solid Mars-1a compressed to 360 MPa with flexible boundary condition. Asterisks indicate the two main peaks of the bottom curve.

    1.(A) A photo of solid Mars-1a beam quasi-statically compacted with rigid boundary condition. The curved ends show the boundaries of the steel mold. The width of the sample is ~1 cm. (B) Flexural strength of compacted Mars-1a as a function of the initial average particle size.
    2. (A) SEM image of a solid Mars-1a fracture surface. The inset displays a TEM image of several basaltic grains bonded together; fuzzy and diffuse areas on the exterior of each particle are indicative of npOx, and the contact suggests npOx binding. The material had the initial particle size of 25–45 μm, and was compressed under 360 MPa quasi-statically with flexible boundary condition; the compression pressure was oriented horizontally in the SEM image...

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    Scientists propose Mechanism to describe Solar Eruptions of all Sizes

    April 27, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    A long filament erupted on the sun on Aug. 31, 2012, shown here in imagery captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO

    A long filament erupted on the sun on Aug. 31, 2012, shown here in imagery captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO

    From long, tapered jets to massive explosions of solar material and energy, eruptions on the sun come in many shapes and sizes. Since they erupt at such vastly different scales, jets and the massive clouds – called coronal mass ejections, or CMEs – were previously thought to be driven by different processes. Scientists from Durham University, UK and NASA now propose that a universal mechanism can explain the whole spectrum of solar eruptions...

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    ‘Ageless’ Silicon throughout Milky Way may indicate a Well-mixed Galaxy

    April 27, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Artist impression of the Milky Way Galaxy. Using the Green Bank Telescope, astronomers measured the relative abundance of light to heavy isotopes of silicon, as found in the molecule silicon monoxide, across the Milky Way. Surprisingly, the astronomer found none of the expected gradient -- higher ratio of heavier silicon isotopes -- toward the galactic center. This may suggest that the Milky Way is more efficient at mixing its contents than previously assumed. Credit: Alexandra Angelich (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

    Artist impression of the Milky Way Galaxy. Using the Green Bank Telescope, astronomers measured the relative abundance of light to heavy isotopes of silicon, as found in the molecule silicon monoxide, across the Milky Way. Surprisingly, the astronomer found none of the expected gradient — higher ratio of heavier silicon isotopes — toward the galactic center. This may suggest that the Milky Way is more efficient at mixing its contents than previously assumed. Credit: Alexandra Angelich (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

    As galaxies age, some of their basic chemical elements can also show signs of aging. This aging process can be seen as certain atoms “put on a little weight,” meaning they change into heavier isotopes – atoms with additional neutrons in their nuclei...

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    Cassini completes final – and fateful – Titan Flyby: Dive to Saturn next

    April 26, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    This unprocessed image of Saturn's moon Titan was captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft during its final close flyby of the hazy, planet-sized moon on April 21, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

    This unprocessed image of Saturn’s moon Titan was captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft during its final close flyby of the hazy, planet-sized moon on April 21, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

    NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has had its last close brush with Saturn’s hazy moon Titan and is now beginning its final set of 22 orbits around the ringed planet. The spacecraft made its 127th and final close approach to Titan on April 21 at 11:08 p.m. PDT (2:08 a.m. EDT on April 22), passing at an altitude of about 608 miles above the moon’s surface. Cassini transmitted its images and other data to Earth following the encounter...

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