EurekAlert! - Space and Planetary Science

The premier online source for science news since 1996. A service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.http://www.eurekalert.org en-usCopyright 2012 by the American Association for the Advancement of ScienceThu, 05 Jul 2012 15:45:03 EDTEurekAlert!http://www.eurekalert.org/images/logo.gifhttp://www.eurekalert.org The premier online source for science news since 1996. A service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.60webmaster@eurekalert.org (EurekAlert!)(<i>American Geophysical Union</i>) Stick a shovel in the ground and scoop. That's about how deep scientists need to go in order to find evidence for ancient life on Mars, if there is any to be found, a new study suggests. The new findings, which suggest optimal depths and locations to probe for organic molecules like those that compose living organisms as we know them, could help the newest Mars rover scout for evidence of life beneath the surface and within rocks.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/agu-alm070512.php Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/agu-alm070512.php(<i>University of Saskatchewan</i>) A University of Saskatchewan-led international research team has discovered that aerosols from relatively small volcanic eruptions can be boosted into the high atmosphere by weather systems such as monsoons, where they can affect global temperatures.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/uos-srr070512.php Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/uos-srr070512.php(<i>NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center</i>) As a powerful summertime derecho moved from Illinois to the Mid-Atlantic states on June 29, expanding and bringing destruction with it, NASA and other satellites provided a look at various factors involved in the event, its progression and its aftermath.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/nsfc-nse070512.php Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/nsfc-nse070512.php(<i>NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center</i>) Tropical "fireworks" happened in the eastern Pacific Ocean on July 4 as Tropical Depression 04E formed off western Mexico's coast and strengthened into Tropical Storm Daniel. NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured an image of TD 4E's rainfall and towering clouds as it passed overhead, and saw "hot towers" that suggested it would become a tropical storm.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/nsfc-nst070512.php Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/nsfc-nst070512.php(<i>NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center</i>) Active Region 1515 has now spit out 12 M-class flares since July 3. Early in the morning of July 5, 2012, there was an M6.1 flare. It peaked at 7:44 AM EDT. This caused a moderate -- classified as R2 on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's space weather scale -- radio blackout that has since subsided.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/nsfc-amf070512.php Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/nsfc-amf070512.php(<i>American Museum of Natural History</i>) An advanced telescope imaging system that started taking data last month is the first of its kind capable of spotting planets orbiting suns outside of our solar system. The collaborative set of high-tech instrumentation and software, called Project 1640, is now operating on the Hale telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California after more than six years of development.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/amon-nis070512.php Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/amon-nis070512.php(<i>Council of Canadian Academies</i>) An international expert panel convened by the Council of Canadian Academies has assessed that decisions regarding science funding and performance can't be determined by metrics alone. The Panel's findings are discussed in detail in the Council's report "Informing Research Choices: Indicators and Judgment." This report is the first in a new series of assessments by the Council that address various parts of the Canadian science and technology environment.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/coca-tco070412.php Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/coca-tco070412.php(<i>Weizmann Institute of Science</i>) The elusive Higgs boson particle may have finally been discovered, as reported by LHC particle accelerator scientists today at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, CERN, near Geneva.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/wios-anp070312.php Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/wios-anp070312.php(<i>University of Georgia</i>) A study published in the July 5 edition of the journal Nature is challenging scientists' understanding of planet formation, suggesting that planets might form much faster than previously thought or, alternatively, that stars harboring planets could be far more numerous.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/uog-sin062812.php Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/uog-sin062812.php(<i>NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center</i>) Using combined data from a trio of orbiting X-ray telescopes, including NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Japan-led Suzaku satellite, astronomers have obtained a rare glimpse of the powerful phenomena that accompany a still-forming star. A new study based on these observations indicates that intense magnetic fields drive torrents of gas into the stellar surface, where they heat large areas to millions of degrees. X-rays emitted by these hot spots betray the newborn star's rapid rotation.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/nsfc-imn070312.php Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/nsfc-imn070312.php(<i>The Science Coalition</i>) All Things Research 2012 is an on-the-record, roundtable discussion on the state of US science, technology and innovation with experts from leading research universities. This is a unique opportunity to hear from and ask questions of people with a broad view of America's research enterprise, who are engaged in research themselves, and who are actively working to move innovations from the lab to the marketplace.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/tsc-atr070312.php Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/tsc-atr070312.php(<i>FAIR - Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in Europe</i>) German Parliamentary State Secretary Helge Braun presented project organizers with a ?526 million investment commitment -- the highest sum that Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research has ever awarded to a research project. This undertaking gives the green light to construction work at the site. Once the facility is completed in 2018, scientists aim to use FAIR to investigate the evolution of the universe and gain insights into the building blocks of matter.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/f-ff-5me070312.php Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/f-ff-5me070312.php(<i>ESA/Hubble Information Centre</i>) The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a new image of Herbig-Haro 110, a geyser of hot gas flowing from a newborn star.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/eic-ago070312.php Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/eic-ago070312.php(<i>European Space Agency</i>) Over a dozen radio signals that have hindered data collection on ESA's SMOS water mission have been switched off. The effort also benefits satellites such as NASA's Aquarius mission, which measures ocean salinity at the same frequency.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/esa-ssm070312.php Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/esa-ssm070312.php(<i>Rochester Institute of Technology</i>) X-ray observations have revealed something curious about the young star that illuminates McNeil's Nebula, a glowing jewel of cosmic dust in the Orion constellation: The object is a protostar rotating once a day, or 30 times faster than the sun. The stellar baby also has distinct birthmarks -- two X-ray-emitting spots, where gas flows from a surrounding disk, fueling the infant star.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/riot-oba070312.php Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/riot-oba070312.php(<i>Rice University</i>) Researchers use Doppler tracking to see, for the first time, loops of 1,800,000-degree Fahrenheit plasma flowing up from the sun at more than 12 miles per second.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/ru-rpo070312.php Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/ru-rpo070312.php(<i>NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center</i>) The South Pacific hurricane Tropical Depression season normally ends in April but Tropical Depression 21P has developed in the South Pacific Ocean between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands from "System 91P," a low pressure area. NASA's TRMM Satellite passed over Tropical Depression 21P and captured rainfall dates and cloud heights.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/nsfc-tsp070212.php Mon, 02 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/nsfc-tsp070212.php(<i>NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center</i>) On July 5, NASA will launch a mission called the Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Investigation or SUMI, to study the intricate, constantly changing magnetic fields on the sun in a hard-to-observe area of the sun's low atmosphere called the chromosphere.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/nsfc-srm070212.php Mon, 02 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/nsfc-srm070212.php(<i>Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council</i>) The UK's most powerful GPU-based supercomputer, "Emerald," will enter into service tomorrow, alongside the "Iridis 3" system. The combination of these two high-performance computing systems will give businesses and academics unprecedented access to their super-fast processing capability.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/eaps-sgu070212.php Mon, 02 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/eaps-sgu070212.php(<i>University of Cambridge</i>) The first images of an upward surge of the sun's gases into quiescent coronal loops have been identified by an international team of scientists. The discovery is one more step towards understanding the origins of extreme space storms, which can destroy satellite communications and damage power grids on Earth.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/uoc-nls062912.php Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/uoc-nls062912.php(<i>NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center</i>) NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. is leading an international effort to develop and launch the High Resolution Coronal Imager, or Hi-C, on a sounding rocket from the White Sands Missile Range at White Sands, N.M.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/nsfc-hti062912.php Fri, 29 Jun 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/nsfc-hti062912.php(<i>NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center</i>) If the day seems a little longer than usual on Saturday, June 30, 2012, that's because it will be. An extra second, or "leap" second, will be added at midnight to account for the fact that it is taking Earth longer and longer to complete one full turn--a day--or, technically, a solar day.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/nsfc-new062912.php Fri, 29 Jun 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/nsfc-new062912.php(<i>American Geophysical Union</i>) Featured in this release are research papers on the following topics: "Section of Atlantic circulation driven by transient southern Africa current," "Prediction system to protect astronauts from solar storms," "Streamflow changes following the 2010 Chile earthquake," "Reanalyses find rising humidity in the Arctic," "Local factors important for water availability," and "Peat-based climate reconstructions run into murky waters?"http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/agu-ajh062912.php Fri, 29 Jun 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/agu-ajh062912.php(<i>National Physical Laboratory</i>) Scientists at the National Physical Laboratory will be adding a leap second at 00:59 BST on July 1 to its atomic clocks, to ensure UK time remains synchronized with international time.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/npl-nsh062912.php Fri, 29 Jun 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/npl-nsh062912.php(<i>University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science</i>) Funded by a grant from the NSF, a study led by University of Miami's Dr. Igor Kamenkovich and Naval Postgraduate School's Dr. Timour Radko will investigate critical oceanic processes involved in Large-Scale Eddy-Driven Patterns (LEDPs). This will offer offer a more complete and realistic description of LEDPs, directly applicable to observations and comprehensive climate models. The project will also help describe the eddy transport of important tracers like heat and carbon caused by the LEDPs.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/uomr-nfu062912.php Fri, 29 Jun 2012 00:00:00 EDThttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/uomr-nfu062912.php

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