iron tagged posts

New Insights about the Brightest Explosions in the Universe

Image: Fox, Ori D. et al. Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 454 (2015) no.4

Swedish and Japanese researchers have, after ten years, found an explanation to the peculiar emission lines seen in one of the brightest supernovae ever observed – SN 2006gy. At the same time they found an explanation for how the supernova arose.

Superluminous supernovae are the most luminous explosions in cosmos. SN 2006gy is one of the most studied such events, but researchers have been uncertain about its origin. Astrophysicists at Stockholm University have, together with Japanese colleagues, now discovered large amounts of iron in the supernova through spectral lines that have never previously been seen either in supernovae or in other astrophysical objects...

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Rare Metals on Mars and Earth implicate Colossal Impacts

The surface features of the northern and southern hemispheres of Mars are very different. In this topographic map, the northern hemisphere (shown in blue) is mostly smooth lowlands and has experienced extensive volcanism. The southern hemisphere (in orange) has an older, cratered highland surface. This dichotomy could have been caused by a giant impact. Credit: University of Arizona/LPL/SwRI

The surface features of the northern and southern hemispheres of Mars are very different. In this topographic map, the northern hemisphere (shown in blue) is mostly smooth lowlands and has experienced extensive volcanism. The southern hemisphere (in orange) has an older, cratered highland surface. This dichotomy could have been caused by a giant impact. Credit: University of Arizona/LPL/SwRI

New research has revealed that a giant impact on Mars more than 4 billion years ago would explain the unusual amount of “iron loving” elements in the Red Planet. Planets form as small dust grains stick together and agglomerate with other grains, leading to bigger bodies termed “planetesimals...

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Archeology of our Milky Way’s Ancient Hub

This Hubble Space Telescope image of a sparkling jewel box full of stars captures the heart of our Milky Way galaxy. Aging red giant stars coexist with their more plentiful younger cousins, the smaller, white, Sun-like stars, in this crowded region of our galaxy's ancient central hub, or bulge. Most of the bright blue stars in the image are probably recently formed stars located in the foreground, in the galaxy's disk. Astronomers studied 10,000 of these Sun-like stars in archival Hubble images over a nine-year period to unearth clues to our galaxy's evolution.

This Hubble Space Telescope image of a sparkling jewel box full of stars captures the heart of our Milky Way galaxy. Aging red giant stars coexist with their more plentiful younger cousins, the smaller, white, Sun-like stars, in this crowded region of our galaxy’s ancient central hub, or bulge. Most of the bright blue stars in the image are probably recently formed stars located in the foreground, in the galaxy’s disk. Astronomers studied 10,000 of these Sun-like stars in archival Hubble images over a nine-year period to unearth clues to our galaxy’s evolution. Release type: American Astronomical Society Meeting

A new analysis of about 10,000 normal Sun-like stars in the Milky Way’s bulge reveals that our galaxy’s hub is a dynamic environment of variously aged stars zipping around at diffe...

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Iron Secrets behind Superconductors unlocked

This illustration is based on a theoretical understanding of microscope-based measurements carried out by Cornell Univrsity. It shows a 2-dimensional iron-layer. The lattice seen here rougly measures 10/1.000.000 of 1 millimeter on each side. The red and darkblue clover-like structures represent two diffent iron electrons - each individually expressed (orbital state). In order to arrive at superconductivity the electrons must form groups of two (Cooper pairing) - symbolized by the light blue 'eclipses'. They are superconductive - while the red do not form Cooper pairs because they predominantly contribute to the upholding of magnetism in the entire system. The scientific article from Niels Bohr Institute, Cornell University, University of St. Andrews et.al. demonstrates for the first time ever, that the five unbound iron electrons behave fundamentally different during the state of superconductivity. Illustration: Cornell University

This illustration is based on a theoretical understanding of microscope-based measurements carried out by Cornell Univrsity. It shows a 2-dimensional iron-layer. The lattice seen here rougly measures 10/1.000.000 of 1 millimeter on each side. The red and darkblue clover-like structures represent two diffent iron electrons – each individually expressed (orbital state). In order to arrive at superconductivity the electrons must form groups of two (Cooper pairing) – symbolized by the light blue ‘eclipses’. They are superconductive – while the red do not form Cooper pairs because they predominantly contribute to the upholding of magnetism in the entire system. The scientific article from Niels Bohr Institute, Cornell University, University of St. Andrews et.al...

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