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Categories: Geoscience: Earthquakes, Space: General
Published How were amino acids, one of the key building blocks of life, formed before the origin of life on Earth?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The amino acid abundances of two Ryugu particles were measured and compared with their rocky components. The results demonstrate the important role that water plays in the formation of amino acids on the giant precursors of asteroids like Ryugu. Our solar system formed from a molecular cloud, which was composed of gas and dust that was emitted into the interstellar medium (ISM), a vast space between stars. On collapse of the molecular cloud, the early sun was formed, with a large disk of gas and dust orbiting it. The dusty material collided to produce rocky material that would eventually grow in size to give large bodies called planetesimals.
Published Was plate tectonics occurring when life first formed on Earth?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers used small zircon crystals to unlock information about magmas and plate tectonic activity in early Earth. The research provides chemical evidence that plate tectonics was most likely occurring more than 4.2 billion years ago when life is thought to have first formed on our planet. This finding could prove beneficial in the search for life on other planets.
Published Do Earth-like exoplanets have magnetic fields? Far-off radio signal is promising sign
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Earth's magnetic field does more than keep everyone's compass needles pointed in the same direction. It also helps preserve Earth's sliver of life-sustaining atmosphere by deflecting high energy particles and plasma regularly blasted out of the sun. Researchers have now identified a prospective Earth-sized planet in another solar system as a prime candidate for also having a magnetic field -- YZ Ceti b, a rocky planet orbiting a star about 12 light-years away from Earth.
Published A new measurement could change our understanding of the Universe
(via sciencedaily.com) When it comes to measuring how fast the Universe is expanding, the result depends on which side of the Universe you start from. A recent study has calibrated the best cosmic yardsticks to unprecedented accuracy, shedding new light on what's known as the Hubble tension.
Published Researchers devise new membrane mirrors for large space-based telescopes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a new way to produce and shape large, high-quality mirrors that are much thinner than the primary mirrors previously used for telescopes deployed in space. The resulting mirrors are flexible enough to be rolled up and stored compactly inside a launch vehicle and then reshaped after deployment.
Published Galaxy clusters yield new evidence for standard model of cosmology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study probing the structure and evolution of galaxy clusters shows good agreement with the predictions of standard cosmological models.
Published Molecules precursors to life discovered in the Perseus Cloud
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study has detected the presence of large quantities of complex organic molecules in one of the nearest star forming regions to the solar system.
Published AI algorithm unblurs the cosmos
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers adapted a well-known computer-vision algorithm used for sharpening photos and, for the first time, applied it to astronomical images from ground-based telescopes. While astrophysicists already use technologies to remove blur, the adapted AI-driven algorithm works faster and produces more realistic images than current technologies. The resulting images are blur-free and truer to life.
Published Scientists observe flattest explosion ever seen in space
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have observed an explosion 180 million light years away which challenges our current understanding of explosions in space, that appeared much flatter than ever thought possible.
Published 'Taffy galaxies' collide, leave behind bridge of star-forming material
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, operated by NSF's NOIRLab, captured a dazzling image of UGC 12914 and UGC 12915, which are nicknamed the Taffy Galaxies. Their twisted shape is the result of a head-on collision that occurred about 25 million years prior to their appearance in the image. A bridge of highly turbulent gas devoid of significant star formation spans the gap between the two galaxies.
Published Astronomers witness the birth of a very distant cluster of galaxies from the early Universe
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have discovered a large reservoir of hot gas in the still-forming galaxy cluster around the Spiderweb galaxy -- the most distant detection of such hot gas yet. Galaxy clusters are some of the largest objects known in the Universe and this result further reveals just how early these structures begin to form.
Published How cosmic winds transform galactic environments
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Much like how wind plays a key role in life on Earth by sweeping seeds, pollen and more from one place to another, galactic winds -- high-powered streams of charged particles and gases -- can change the chemical make-up of the host galaxies they form in, simply by blowing in a specific direction.
Published Brightest gamma-ray burst ever observed reveals new mysteries of cosmic explosions
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists believe the gamma-ray emission, which lasted over 300 seconds, is the birth cry of a black hole, formed as the core of a massive and rapidly spinning star collapses under its own weight.
Published Redness of Neptunian asteroids sheds light on early Solar System
(via sciencedaily.com) Asteroids sharing their orbits with the planet Neptune have been observed to exist in a broad spectrum of red color, implying the existence of two populations of asteroids in the region, according to a new study by an international team of researchers.
Published JWST confirms giant planet atmospheres vary widely
(via sciencedaily.com) Astronomers have found the atmospheric compositions of giant planets out in the galaxy do not fit our own solar system trend.
Published Temperature of a rocky exoplanet measured
(via sciencedaily.com) An international team of researchers has used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to measure the temperature of the rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b. The measurement is based on the planet's thermal emission: heat energy given off in the form of infrared light detected by Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). The result indicates that the planet's dayside has a temperature of about 500 kelvins (roughly 450 degrees Fahrenheit) and suggests that it has no significant atmosphere.
Published Two meteorites are providing a detailed look into outer space
(via sciencedaily.com) If you've ever seen a shooting star, you might have seen a meteor on its way to Earth. Those that land here can be used to peek back in time, into the far corners of outer space or at the earliest building blocks of life. Scientists have conducted some of the most detailed analyses yet on the organic material of two meteorites.
Published Artificial intelligence discovers secret equation for 'weighing' galaxy clusters
(via sciencedaily.com) Astrophysicists have leveraged artificial intelligence to uncover a better way to estimate the mass of colossal clusters of galaxies. The AI discovered that by just adding a simple term to an existing equation, scientists can produce far better mass estimates than they previously had. The improved estimates will enable scientists to calculate the fundamental properties of the universe more accurately, the astrophysicists have reported.
Published AI finds the first stars were not alone
(via sciencedaily.com) Machine learning and state-of-the-art supernova nucleosynthesis has helped researchers find that the majority of observed second-generation stars in the universe were enriched by multiple supernovae.
Published Surprisingly simple explanation for the alien comet 'Oumuamua's weird orbit
(via sciencedaily.com) When the first interstellar comet ever seen in our solar system was discovered in 2017, one characteristic -- an unexplained acceleration away from the sun -- sparked wild speculation, including that it was an alien spacecraft. An astrochemist found a simpler explanation and tested it with an astronomer: in interstellar space, cosmic rays converted water to hydrogen in the comet's outer layers. Nearing the sun, outgassed hydrogen gave the tiny comet a kick.