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    Category Astronomy/Space

    Ancient Signals from the Early Universe

    February 11, 2017, Categories  Physics, Astronomy/Space

    A still image from a computer simulation of an oscillon, a strong localized fluctuation of the inflaton field of the early universe. According to the calculations of Prof. Stefan Antusch and his team, oscillons produced a characteristic peak in the otherwise broad spectrum of gravitational waves. Credit: University of Basel, Department of Physics

    A still image from a computer simulation of an oscillon, a strong localized fluctuation of the inflaton field of the early universe. According to the calculations of Prof. Stefan Antusch and his team, oscillons produced a characteristic peak in the otherwise broad spectrum of gravitational waves. Credit: University of Basel, Department of Physics

    For the 1st time, theoretical physicists from the University of Basel have calculated the signal of specific gravitational wave sources that emerged fractions of a second after the Big Bang. The source of the signal is a long-lost cosmological phenomenon called “oscillon...

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    Planets of Red Dwarf Stars may face Oxygen Loss in Habitable zones

    February 10, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    In this artist's concept, X-ray and extreme ultraviolet light from a young red dwarf star cause ions to escape from an exoplanet's atmosphere. Scientists have developed a model that estimates the oxygen ion escape rate on planets around red dwarfs, which plays an important role in determining an exoplanet's habitability. (screen shot from video) Credit: NASA Goddard/Conceptual Image Lab; Michael Lentz, animator/Genna Duberstein, producer

    In this artist’s concept, X-ray and extreme ultraviolet light from a young red dwarf star cause ions to escape from an exoplanet’s atmosphere. Scientists have developed a model that estimates the oxygen ion escape rate on planets around red dwarfs, which plays an important role in determining an exoplanet’s habitability. (screen shot from video) Credit: NASA Goddard/Conceptual Image Lab; Michael Lentz, animator/Genna Duberstein, producer

    The search for life beyond Earth starts in habitable zones could potentially allow liquid water to pool on a planet’s surface. New NASA research suggests some of these zones might not actually be able to support life due to frequent stellar eruptions from young red dwarf stars...

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    Dwarf Star 200 light years away contains Life’s Building Blocks

    February 10, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Rendering of part of a planetary system in orbit around a white dwarf star (the white spot at the center of the red ring). The foreground shows rocky asteroids; the red ring represents the rocky debris that remains of former asteroids or a minor planet that have already been broken apart by the strong gravity of the white dwarf. Credit: University of Warwick

    Rendering of part of a planetary system in orbit around a white dwarf star (the white spot at the center of the red ring). The foreground shows rocky asteroids; the red ring represents the rocky debris that remains of former asteroids or a minor planet that have already been broken apart by the strong gravity of the white dwarf. Credit: University of Warwick

    Object in the constellation Boötes with C, H, O, N. Many scientists believe the Earth was dry when it first formed, and that the building blocks for life on our planet – carbon, nitrogen and water – appeared only later as a result of collisions with other objects in our solar system that had those elements...

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    New Evidence in Favor of Dark Matter: The Bars in Galaxies are Spinning more Slowly than we thought

    February 9, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Kinematic Clues to Bar Evolution for Galaxies in the Local Universe: Why the Fastest Rotating Bars are Rotating Most Slowly. The Astrophysical Journal, 2017; 835 (2): 279 DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/835/2/279

    Kinematic Clues to Bar Evolution for Galaxies in the Local Universe: Why the Fastest Rotating Bars are Rotating Most Slowly. The Astrophysical Journal, 2017; 835 (2): 279 DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/835/2/279

    Fastest spinning bars are rotating most slowly because of dark matter. Why do the majority of astronomers believe in dark matter: matter whose composition is unknown but which seems to make up 80% of the mass of the galaxies? The concept was invented in the 1930’s by Fritz Zwicky who used it to explain why the galaxies in the Coma cluster are moving much more quickly than can be explained in terms of their known masses...

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