Newswise Feature Channel: Space and Astronomy

UAH Doctoral Candidate Awarded $150,000 NASA Finesst Grant to Research 3D-Printed Lunar Concrete

University of Alabama Huntsville — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 15:00:14 EST

Ledia Shehu, a doctoral student at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), has been selected to receive a NASA Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) grant for her proposal, "Physics-Based Multiscale Constitutive Model for ISRU-Based 3D-Printed Lunar Concrete." The project seeks to develop a multiscale model for 3D-printed concrete using lunar materials by simulating lunar conditions.

National Space Club taps UAH Eminent Scholar Dr. Gary Zank to receive 2024 Distinguished Science Award

University of Alabama Huntsville — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 11:05:23 EST

The National Space Club (NSC), Huntsville Chapter, has selected Dr. Gary Zank at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) to receive the 2024 Distinguished Science Award. Zank is the Aerojet/Rocketdyne Chair in Space Science, as well as director of the Center for Space Physics and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR). The award was presented at the 36th Annual Dr.

Scientists' 'Next-Generation' Space Materials Blast Off for Tests on ISS

University of Bristol — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 05:40:48 EST

A new generation of space materials left Earth this morning [02:29 GMT 05/11/2024] as they head to the International Space Station (ISS) to undergo testing in the brutal conditions of low Earth orbit.

Health Research Launches Into Orbit to Discover How Spaceflight Affects Blood

University of Utah Health — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 16:30:30 EST

NASA crew and ground-based scientists are sending blood cells to the International Space Station on November 4 to learn why astronauts have a higher risk of blood clots.

Argonne to Help Drive AI Revolution in Astronomy with New Institute Led by Northwestern University

Argonne National Laboratory — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 16:05:47 EST

A group of institutions, including Argonne National Laboratory, received a $20 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation and Simons Foundation to establish an AI and astronomy institute called the NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI).

NSF NOIRLab Astronomers Discover the Fastest-Feeding Black Hole in the Early Universe

NSF's NOIRLab — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 11:00:00 EST

Using data from NASA's JWST and Chandra X-ray Observatory, a team of U.S. National Science Foundation NOIRLab astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang that is consuming matter at a phenomenal rate -- over 40 times the theoretical limit. While short lived, this black hole's 'feast' could help astronomers explain how supermassive black holes grew so quickly in the early Universe.

NASA's Hubble, Webb Probe Surprisingly Smooth Disk Around Vega

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 10:00:21 EST

Combining the power of the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, astronomers revisited the legendary star Vega and found a smooth disk surrounding it--a surprise to astronomers who expected to see evidence of one or more large planets plowing through the disk, which is common around other young stars. But Vega is forcing astronomers to rethink the range and variety of planetary systems around stars.

Scientists Prepare for the Most Ambitious Sky Survey Yet, Anticipating New Insight on Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Argonne National Laboratory — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 15:00:13 EST

Argonne scientists are contributing to the success of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time through advanced simulation, analysis and collaborative partnership.

'Blood-Soaked' Eyes: NASA's Webb, Hubble Examine Galaxy Pair

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 10:05:33 EST

This ghastly galactic "countenance" recalls mythological human-hunters like the Algonquian wendigo -- an emaciated figure with ashen flesh and glowing eyes that grows larger and larger as it feasts, and is never satiated.

Hunting for Dark Matter Axions

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 14:20:02 EST

The search for dark matter includes expertise in radio frequency signal detection, quantum sensing, and high-energy physics at PNNL.

Impact of molecular symmetry on crystallization pathways in extremely supersaturated solutions

National Research Council of Science and Technology — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 09:00:28 EST

The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has become the first in the world to observe the structural evolution of solute molecules in extremely supersaturated aqueous solutions, revealing that changes in molecular symmetry impact on the formation of new metastable material phases.

Using Multimode Propulsion for More Efficient Trips in Space

University Of Illinois Grainger College Of Engineering — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 10:40:57 EST

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explore how a multimode propulsion system that integrates both a chemical high-thrust mode and an electric low-thrust mode--while using the same propellant--can succeed.

New Metal 3D Printing Technology for Ultra-Strong Materials used in Space!

National Research Council of Science and Technology — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 00:00:53 EST

The research team led by Dr. Jeong Min Park from the Nano Materials Research Division at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) has successfully developed a new high-performance metal 3D-printed alloy tailored for space environments.

Illuminating the Journey of a 4-Billion-Year-Old Asteroid

Department of Energy, Office of Science — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 15:20:36 EST

Researchers at the Advanced Photon Source joined an international effort to study tiny fragments of a nearby asteroid. The specks of asteroid dust were collected from asteroid 162173 Ryugu by a Japanese space mission. The team discovered that Ryugu began its life in the outer solar system as part of a larger asteroid more than 4 billion years ago. Since breaking off from its larger parent, Ryugu slowly made its way to its current orbit within 60,000 miles of Earth.

Planets Beware: NASA Unburies Danger Zones of Star Cluster

Chandra X-ray Observatory — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 14:30:46 EST

Most stars form in collections, called clusters or associations, that include very massive stars. These giant stars send out large amounts of high-energy radiation, which can disrupt relatively fragile disks of dust and gas that are in the process of coalescing to form new planets. A team of astronomers used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, in combination with ultraviolet, optical, and infrared data, to show where some of the most treacherous places in a star cluster may be, where planets' chances to form are diminished.

Dandelion Supernova Revealed in 3-D

Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 10:55:56 EST

For nearly six months, during the year 1181, people looked up to the skies to find a new star glittering in the constellation Cassiopeia. Chinese and Japanese astronomers recorded the rare event, an explosion of a star, or supernova. Now, astronomers have mapped the location and speed of those unusual filaments in three dimensions for the first time.

The Vandal Theory Podcast - Season 7, Episode 7: Geology on Mars and in Minecraft

University of Idaho — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 21:55:17 EST

Question: Did you ever nerd out about geology as a kid?

Rocky Planets Orbiting Small Stars Could Have Stable Atmospheres Needed to Support Life

University of Washington — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 15:15:55 EST

A new study finds that rocky planets orbiting small stars do have the potential for stable, life-supporting atmospheres. The finding supports continued study of the TRAPPIST-1 system and other top candidates in the search for life outside our solar system.

A Cosmic Chemical Breakthrough: Astronomers Discover New Building Blocks for Complex Organic Matter

National Radio Astronomy Observatory — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 14:00:00 EST

The element carbon is a building block for life, both on Earth and potentially elsewhere in the vast reaches of space. There should be a lot of carbon in space, but surprisingly, it's not always easy to find. While it can be observed in many places, it doesn't add up to the volume astronomers would expect to see. The discovery of a new, complex molecule (1-cyanopyrene), challenges these expectations, about where the building blocks for carbon are found, and how they evolve. This research was published today in the journal Science.

New Imagery Technique Helps Understand the Universe

University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 08:00:30 EST

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering have developed a new technique that reconstructs two dimensional (2D) radio images-visual representations created from radio waves-into three dimensional (3D) "Pseudo3D cubes" to help better understand objects in the Universe.