An unmanned test mission of Boeing’s Starliner space capsule, which is eventually to transport astronauts to the International Space Station, has had to be postponed, NASA said Monday. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-boeing-starliner-flight-postponed.html…
Tag: 2021
Oozing tendrils of lava spew from Mount Etna in spectacular nighttime photos
Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, has been erupting for nearly two weeks straight, and the photos are stunning. Source: https://www.livescience.com/mount-etna-eruption-photos-2021.html
New brine processor increases water recycling on International Space Station
NASA’s newest technology demonstration, which launched on Northrop Grumman’s 15th commercial resupply services mission, is designed to improve water recycling on the International Space Station and boost the efficiency of water recycling for the Artemis generation. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-brine-processor-recycling-international-space-1.html…
International Space Station archives fuel new scientific discoveries
When scientists complete an experiment aboard the International Space Station, the ramifications of that work have just begun. NASA carries on a legacy of decades of biological research data, fueling new discoveries long after studies wrap up in space. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-international-space-station-archives-fuel.html…
Interesting pattern in cross-sections observed in F + HD → HF + D reaction
A team of researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Southern University of Science and Technology, has discovered a thought-provoking pattern in cross-sections observed in an F + HD → HF + D reaction. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their double-pronged approach to learning more…
The distance to the North Polar Spur
One of the largest structures in the Milky Way galaxy, the North Polar Spur, was discovered at radio and X-ray wavelengths. The Spur is a giant ridge of bright emission that rises roughly perpendicularly out of the plane of the galaxy starting roughly in the constellation of Sagittarius and then curves upward, stretching across the sky for over thirty degrees (the…
Gamma-ray and optical flares detected from the blazar S5 1803+784
Using NASA’s Fermi spacecraft, astronomers have conducted a long-term monitoring campaign of a blazar known as S5 1803+784 and have identified several gamma-ray and optical flares from this source. The finding is detailed in a paper published February 19 on arXiv.org. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-gamma-ray-optical-flares-blazar-s5.html…
ESA is working on a mission to explore caves on the moon
Infrastructure is going to be one of the biggest components of any permanent human settlement on the moon. NASA Artemis missions are focused directly on building up the facilities and processes necessary to support a moon base. ESA is also contributing both material and knowledge. Most recently, they made another step in their path to explore lava tubes and caves in…
Through the looking glass: Artificial molecules open door to ultrafast polaritonic devices
Researchers from Skoltech and the University of Cambridge have shown that polaritons, the quirky particles that may end up running the quantum supercomputers of the future, can form structures behaving like molecules—and these “artificial molecules” can potentially be engineered on demand. The paper outlining these results was published in the journal Physical Review B. …
Moon, star Spica on Mar 1, 2021
This evening – March 1, 2021 – look eastward before going to bed and you just might catch the bright waning gibbous moon and the star Spica over the horizon. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-star-spica-on-mar-1-2021…