Molecular hydrogen (H2) makes up 99 percent of the cold, dense gas in galaxies. So mapping where stars are born basically means measuring H2, which lacks a strong characteristic signature at low temperatures. Astronomers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research and the University of Groningen have now mapped an emission signal from the trace molecule hydrogen fluoride (HF) in a…
Tag: cold
NASA studies plan to send an orbiter to Pluto
Remember when New Horizons swept past Pluto in 2015? That was exciting! Who knew Pluto had a heart? Now scientists are proposing a new Pluto orbiter mission. It would gather details on Pluto’s heart and the rest of its youthful surface, its hazy bluish nitrogen atmosphere, and its system of 5 known moons. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/nasa-studies-plan-to-send-an-orbiter-to-pluto…
Why don’t evergreen trees change color and drop their leaves?
As temperatures drop, broad-leafed deciduous trees – think maples and oaks – withdraw the green chlorophyll from their leaves. Their leaves turn colors and fall. Evergreens solve the problem of winter in a different way. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/why-dont-evergreen-trees-change-drop-leaves…
Is daylight time worth the trouble?
This is the weekend we “fall back” here in the U.S. Are you glad? Sad? Mad? Advocates say daylight time saves energy and wins wars. Studies show injuries and illnesses rise when clocks change. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/is-daylight-saving-time-worth-the-trouble…
Mist over an Antarctic research station
A photo of mist above an Antarctic research station. Sunlight returns to this part of the world in August, after 4 months of continuous night. Now the station is getting ready for an influx of summer visitors. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/antarctic-mist-spring-photo…
Putting the ‘bang’ in Big Bang
Physicists have pondered how the cold, uniform matter of the inflationary early universe became the ultrahot, complex mixture of matter, space and time that led to the universe we know. New work simulates a bridge between cosmic inflation and … everything else. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/big-bang-simulation-inflation-reheating-period…
Physicists Simulate Critical ‘Reheating’ Period That Kickstarted the Big Bang
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.Org: Just before the Big Bang launched the universe onto its ever-expanding course, physicists believe, there was another, more explosive phase of the early universe at play: cosmic inflation, which lasted less than a trillionth of a second. During this period, matter — a cold, homogeneous goop — inflated exponentially quickly before processes of…
An update on that ‘gel’ on the moon
China’s Yutu-2 rover has sent back a new image of the unusual “gel-like” material it found last July, which seems to confirm that it’s not gel at all. Instead, it now appears it’s probably impact glass from a meteorite impact. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/gel-on-the-moon-impact-glass-china-yutu-2…
Satellite Captures Rare Images of Atmospheric Gravity Waves
Earlier this week, Australian weather forecast service Weatherzone captured satellite images of atmospheric gravity waves pulsing through clouds over the ocean. CNN reports: The images show the waves spreading out from the coast of Western Australia, sending ripples through clouds over the Indian Ocean. The gravity waves were triggered by thunderstorms, with cold air flowing out from the squalls resulting in…
Ice cliffs in Antarctica might not contribute to extreme sea-level rise in this century
A 2016 study suggested tall ice cliffs along Antarctica’s coast might collapse rapidly under their own weight and contribute to more than 6 feet of sea-level rise by 2100. Now, MIT researchers have found this prediction may be overestimated. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/ice-cliff-collapse-antarctica-sea-level-rise…