Heavens

Fluid modeling shows the cosmic burp of dying stars

The mysteries of the Universe and how we came to be are set to be unlocked by a technique for modelling fluids, similar to one which is becoming increasingly popular within the film industry to improve the realism of special effects.

Theoretical Astrophysics student, Fergus Wilson from the University of Leicester, is currently utilising a fluid modelling technique within his doctoral research to enable investigation of the mass transfer from one star to another in a binary star system.

Bursting 'bubbles' the origin of galactic gas clouds

Like bubbles bursting on the surface of a glass of champagne, 'bubbles' in our Galaxy burst and leave flecks of material in the form of clouds of hydrogen gas, researchers using CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope in eastern Australia have found.

Their study explains the origin of these clouds for the first time.

NASA's Swift Survey finds 'smoking gun' of black hole activation

NASA's Swift Survey finds 'smoking gun' of black hole activation

Data from an ongoing survey by NASA's Swift satellite have helped astronomers solve a decades-long mystery about why a small percentage of black holes emit vast amounts of energy.

Solved: 40-year-old mysteries of Chasma Boreale and the northern ice cap on Mars

 40-year-old mysteries of Chasma Boreale and the northern ice cap on Mars

Scientists have reconstructed the formation of two curious features in the northern ice cap of Mars — a chasm larger than the Grand Canyon and a series of spiral troughs — solving a pair of mysteries dating back four decades while finding new evidence of climate change on Mars.

Supermassive black holes may frequently roam galaxy centers

Supermassive black holes may frequently roam galaxy centers

New technology will make election voting more efficient

Did you stay up all night to hear your local result during the recent election?

Time-consuming manual vote-counts and ballot boxes could soon be consigned to the history books, thanks to innovative new secure voting technology.

The system is being developed by computer scientists at the Universities of Surrey and Birmingham, with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and in collaboration with the University of Luxembourg.

Discovery clue to origin of Milky Way hydrogen gas clouds

Discovery clue to origin of Milky Way hydrogen gas clouds

A surprising discovery that hydrogen gas clouds found in abundance in and above our Milky Way Galaxy have preferred locations has given astronomers a key clue about the origin of such clouds, which play an important part in galaxy evolution.

Astronomers discover new star-forming H II regions in Milky Way

Astronomers discover new star-forming H II regions in Milky Way

Astronomers studying the Milky Way have discovered a large number of previously-unknown regions where massive stars are being formed. Their discovery provides important new information about the structure of our home Galaxy and promises to yield new clues about the chemical composition of the Galaxy.

Webb Telescope's NIRCam engineering test unit arrives at NASA Goddard

Webb Telescope's NIRCam engineering test unit arrives at NASA Goddard

GREENBELT, Md. -- A test unit for the "NIRCam" instrument that will fly aboard the James Webb Space Telescope has arrived at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and has been placed in a clean room for a year's worth of tests.

Supermassive black holes may frequently roam galaxy centers

A team of astronomy researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology, Florida Institute of Technology and University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, find that the supermassive black hole (SMBH) at the center of the most massive local galaxy, M87, is not where it was expected. Their research, conducted using the Hubble Space Telescope, concludes that the supermassive black hole in M87 is displaced from the galaxy center.

Supermassive black holes may frequently roam

Supermassive black holes may frequently roam

Novel anti-malarial drug candidate found by UT Southwestern researchers

DALLAS – May 25, 2010 – As part of a multicenter study, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified a series of chemical compounds that might serve as starting points for the identification of new classes of anti-malarial drugs.

New INL invention could aid Mars probes' search for life

New INL invention could aid Mars probes' search for life

IDAHO FALLS – The next generation of Mars rovers could have smaller, cheaper, more robust and more sensitive life-detecting instruments, thanks to a new invention by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory.

Nearby black hole is feeble and unpredictable

For over 10 years, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has repeatedly observed the Andromeda Galaxy for a combined total of nearly one million seconds. This unique data set has given astronomers an unprecedented view of the nearest supermassive black hole outside our own Galaxy.Astronomers think that most galaxies - including the Milky Way - contain giant black holes at their cores that are millions of times more massive than the Sun.

Simple change results in fewer unnecessary imaging exams for patients

OAK BROOK, Ill. – A new rule preventing medical support staff from completing orders for outpatient imaging exams that were likely to be negative resulted in a marked decrease in low-yield exams for patients, according to a study appearing in the June issue of Radiology. Many medical institutions request and schedule outpatient diagnostic imaging exams through use of web-based radiology order entry systems. Some systems offer real-time feedback, called decision support, on the appropriateness of the exams being ordered.