November 21, 2015,
Astronomy/Space
On approach in July 2015, the cameras on NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft captured Pluto rotating over the course of a full “Pluto day.” The best available images of each side of Pluto taken during approach have been combined to create this view of a full rotation. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI
Pluto’s day is 6.4 Earth days long...
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November 21, 2015,
Astronomy/Space
A collage showing 22 individual planetary nebulae artistically arranged in approximate order of physical size. The scale bar represents 4 light years. Each nebula’s size is calculated from the authors’ new distance scale, which is applicable to all nebulae across all shapes, sizes and brightnesses. The very largest planetary nebula currently known is nearly 20 light years in diameter, and would cover the entire image at this scale. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, ESO, Ivan Bojicic, David Frew, Quentin Parker
A way of estimating more accurate distances to the thousands of so-called planetary nebulae dispersed across our Galaxy has been announced by a team of three astronomers based at the University of Hong Kong: Dr David Frew, Prof Quentin Parker and Dr Ivan Bojicic...
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November 20, 2015,
Physics, Astronomy/Space
The decay of a kaon (K+) into three pions (2 π+, 1 π−) is a process that involves both weak and strong interactions. Weak interactions : The strange antiquark (s) of the kaon transmutes into an up antiquark (u) by the emission of a W+ boson; the W+ boson subsequently decays into a down antiquark (d) and an up quark (u). Strong interactions : An up quark (u) emits a gluon (g) which decays into a down quark (d) and a down antiquark (d).
Scientists devised the first calculation of how the behavior of kaons differs when matter is swapped out for antimatter, known as direct “CP” symmetry violation...
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November 20, 2015,
Astronomy/Space, Environment/Geology
Space scene (stock image). Earth’s equatorial regions are largely unstudied and more susceptible to disruptive space weather than previously thought, which should prompt scientists to examine the infrastructure and economic implications on countries near the equator. Credit: © frenta / Fotolia
Dr Brett Carter of RMIT SPACE Research Centre and his team found these equatorial electrical disruptions threaten power grids in SE Asia, India, Africa and South America, where protecting electricity infrastructure from space shocks has not been a priority.
“Massive space weather events have crashed power grids across North America and Europe, but we have found that often with little warning, smaller events strike in equatorial regions more frequently than previously thought,” Carter said...
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