Heavens

Study identifies characteristics of sunbed users, motivation for tanning

CHICAGO – A telephone survey of 4,851 individuals in Germany suggests the overall prevalence of sunbed use was nearly 40 percent for participants who had ever used one and 14.6 percent had used a tanning bed within the last 12 months, according to a study published Online First by Archives of Dermatology, a JAMA Network publication.

UNH scientists provide window on space radiation hazards

DURHAM, N.H. – Astrophysicists from the University of New Hampshire's Space Science Center (SSC) have created the first online system for predicting and forecasting the radiation environment in near-Earth, lunar, and Martian space environments. The near real-time tool will provide critical information as preparations are made for potential future manned missions to the moon and Mars.

Space station and space flight gravity influence immune system development

New research findings recently published in The FASEB Journal, show that immune system development is affected by gravity changes, as reported by researchers from the University of Lorraine and University of Luxembourg. Astronauts are exposed to stresses, during launch and landing, which disrupts their body's natural defenses against infection. Changes to the immune system need to be investigated before astronauts undergo longer space missions.

Antibiotic contamination a threat to humans and the environment

Researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, spend August in Sisimiut on the west coast of Greenland studying the prevalence of antibiotic resistance and the effects of antibiotic emissions on communities of bacteria living in marine sediments. More specifically, they were investigating how communities of bacteria in sediment and clay on the seabed are affected by exposure to antibiotics.

University of Tennessee study confirms solar wind as source for moon water

Three years ago University of Tennessee, Knoxville, researchers helped to discover water on the surface of the moon. Now, they are piecing together the origin of that water: solar wind.

A new study confirms solar wind as a source for water embedded in the lunar surface.

Solar wind is the continuous flow of charged particles from the sun. Scientists have speculated it to be responsible for water on the surface of the moon.

Solar wind particles likely source of water locked inside lunar soils

ANN ARBOR—The most likely source of the water locked inside soils on the moon's surface is the constant stream of charged particles from the sun known as the solar wind, a University of Michigan researcher and his colleagues have concluded.

Over the last five years, spacecraft observations and new lab measurements of Apollo lunar samples have overturned the long-held belief that the moon is bone-dry.

NASA spots first tropical cyclone of southern indian ocean season

The very first tropical cyclone of the Southern Indian Ocean season has been born, and NASA's TRMM satellite captured an image of its rainfall.

On Oct. 12 at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT), Tropical Cyclone 01S (TC01S) was "born" about 90 nautical miles (103.6 miles/166.7 km) west-southwest of Diego Garcia, near 8.3 South latitude and 70.6 East longitude. Diego Garcia is a coral atoll located in the south central Indian Ocean and is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory. It is about 1,970 nautical miles (3,650 km) east of Tanzania, Africa.

NASA sees heaviest rainfall near Typhoon Prapiroon's center

NASA measured light-to-moderate rainfall occurring throughout Typhoon Prapiroon, with just a small area of heavy rain near the storm's center is it tracks through the western North Pacific Ocean.

When NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite passed over Typhoon Prapiroon on Oct. 12 at 0741 UTC (3:41 a.m. EDT), the precipitation radar instrument detected light to moderate rainfall occurring over most of the storm at a rate between .78 to 1.57 inches/20 to 40 mm per hour. The northwestern quadrant of the storm had the lightest rainfall rate.

NASA sees some strength in Tropical Storm Patty's brief debut

Tropical Depression 16 formed on Oct. 11 and by 5 p.m. EDT that same day, it strengthened into Tropical Storm Patty. NASA's TRMM and Terra satellite's captured imagery on Patty's rainfall intensity and cloud heights, both of which showed strong, high thunderstorms around the center of circulation.

X-ray satellites monitor the clashing winds of a colossal binary

The hottest and most massive stars don't live long enough to disperse throughout the galaxy. Instead, they can be found near the clouds of gas and dust where they formed -- and where they will explode as supernovae after a few million years. They huddle in tight clusters with other young stars or in looser groupings called OB associations, a name reflecting their impressive populations of rare O- and B-type stars.

When galaxies eat galaxies

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 11, 2012 – Using gravitational "lenses" in space, University of Utah astronomers discovered that the centers of the biggest galaxies are growing denser – evidence of repeated collisions and mergers by massive galaxies with 100 billion stars.

Satellite sees 16th Atlantic tropical depression born near Bahamas

The 16th tropical depression of the Atlantic Ocean season has formed northeast of the Bahamas and NOAA's GOES-14 satellite captured a visible image of the storm as it tracks to the southwest.

NASA sees Typhoon Prapiroon doing a 'Sit and Spin' in the Philippine Sea

As Typhoon Prapiroon slowed down and became quasi-stationary in the Philippine Sea NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead and captured an image of the storm.

NASA's Terra satellite passed over Typhoon Prapiroon on Oct. 11 at 0210 UTC (1010 p.m. EDT, Oct. 10) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument captured a visible image of the storm. The visible imagery clearly showed a small ragged eye, and microwave satellite imagery confirmed the eye. Satellite imagery also confirmed a well-defined low-level center of circulation.

Researchers work across fields to uncover information about hadrosaur teeth

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — An unusual collaboration between researchers in two disparate fields resulted in a new discovery about the teeth of 65-million-year-old dinosaurs.

With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs — an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period — had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5.

Notre Dame researcher helps make Sudoku puzzles less puzzling

For anyone who has ever struggled while attempting to solve a Sudoku puzzle, University of Notre Dame researcher Zoltan Toroczkai and Notre Dame postdoctoral researcher Maria Ercsey-Ravaz are riding to the rescue. They can not only explain why some Sudoku puzzles are harder than others, they have also developed a mathematical algorithm that solves Sudoku puzzles very quickly, without any guessing or backtracking.