Heavens | Page 204 | Science Codex

New paths into the world of quasiparticles

Christian Roos' research team at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Innsbruck has established a new experimental platform for investigating quantum phenomena: In a string of trapped ultracold ions they can precisely initialise, control and measure the states and properties of quasiparticle excitations in a many-body quantum system. "Quasiparticles are a well-established concept in physics to describe the collective behaviour of particles in a simplified way," says Christian Roos.

Entanglement propagation

VLT clears up dusty mystery

The origin of cosmic dust in galaxies is still a mystery [1]. Astronomers know that supernovae may be the primary source of dust, especially in the early Universe, but it is still unclear how and where dust grains condense and grow. It is also unclear how they avoid destruction in the harsh environment of a star-forming galaxy. But now, observations using ESO's VLT at the Paranal Observatory in northern Chile are lifting the veil for the first time.

Urban heat -- not a myth, and worst where it's wet

A new Yale-led study quantifies for the first time the primary causes of the "urban heat island" (UHI) effect, a common phenomenon that makes the world's urban areas significantly warmer than the surrounding countryside and may increase health risks for city residents.

New technology illuminates colder objects in deep space

Too cool and faint, many objects in the universe are impossible to detect with visible light. Now a Northwestern University team has refined a new technology that could make these colder objects more visible, paving the way for enhanced exploration of deep space.

Carbon monoxide predicts 'red and dead' future of gas guzzler galaxy

Astronomers have studied the carbon monoxide in a galaxy over 12 billion light years from Earth and discovered that it's running out of gas, quite literally, and headed for a 'red and dead' future.

The galaxy, known as ALESS65, was observed by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in 2011 and is one of less than 20 known distant galaxies to contain carbon monoxide.

Astronomers bring the third dimension to a doomed star's outburst

The shape model, which is now published by the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, was developed using only a single emission line of near-infrared light emitted by molecular hydrogen gas. The characteristic 2.12-micron light shifts in wavelength slightly depending on the speed and direction of the expanding gas, allowing the team to probe even dust-obscured portions of the Homunculus that face away from Earth.

NASA's SDO spots a summer solar flare

The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 12:20 p.m. EDT on July 8, 2014, and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

NASA-JAXA's new precipitation satellite sees first Atlantic hurricane

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory flew over Hurricane Arthur five times between July 1 and July 5, 2014. Arthur is the first tropical cyclone of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season.

GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The Core Observatory was launched Feb. 27 from Japan and began its prime mission on May 29, just in time for the hurricane season.

Planet Mercury a result of early hit-and-run collisions

TEMPE, Ariz. - Planet Mercury's unusual metal-rich composition has been a longstanding puzzle in planetary science. According to a study published online in Nature Geoscience July 6, Mercury and other unusually metal-rich objects in the solar system may be relics left behind by collisions in the early solar system that built the other planets.

Virtual reality crowds produce real behavior insights

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] —The cognitive scientists in the Virtual Environment Navigation lab at Brown University are not only advancing a frontier of behavioral research but also of technology.

Led by Professor William Warren, the group developed a wireless virtual reality system to study a phenomenon that scientists don't yet understand: how pedestrians interact with each other and how those individual behaviors, in turn, generate patterns of crowd movement. It's an everyday experience for all kinds of animals including ants, birds, fish and people.

Three NASA satellites dissect powerful Typhoon Neoguri

When CloudSat passed overhead, Typhoon Neoguri had a notably large eye with meso vorticies (small scale rotational areas usually found in an intensifying tropical cyclone as was the case with Neoguri) in the inner eye. CloudSat passed over Neoguri from northwest to southeast and cut through the center of the storm. CloudSat found a wide area of moderate to heavy rainfall and convection (rising air that forms thunderstorms) south of the eyewall and outer bands.

Record levels of solar ultraviolet measured in South America

A team of researchers in the U.S. and Germany has measured the highest level of ultraviolet radiation ever recorded on the Earth's surface. The extraordinary UV fluxes, observed in the Bolivian Andes only 1,500 miles from the equator, are far above those normally considered to be harmful to both terrestrial and aquatic life. The results are being published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Environmental Science.

Damage assessment of runaway barges at Marseilles lock and dam

URBANA, Ill. - It takes a synchronized lock and dam system—operating like a motorized flight of stairs on the Illinois River, using gravity to move the water—to maintain a minimum depth for boat traffic. A disastrous domino effect occurred on April 19, 2013, when heavy rain and runoff, strong winds, and river currents resulted in seven unmoored barges crashing into the dam at Marseilles. University of Illinois soil scientist Ken Olson studied the extensive repercussions of the incident.

Cosmic accounting reveals missing light crisis

Pasadena, CA—Something is amiss in the Universe. There appears to be an enormous deficit of ultraviolet light in the cosmic budget.

The vast reaches of empty space between galaxies are bridged by tendrils of hydrogen and helium, which can be used as a precise "light meter." In a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, a team of scientists finds that the light from known populations of galaxies and quasars is not nearly enough to explain observations of intergalactic hydrogen. The difference is a stunning 400 percent.

Wolf mother deaths threaten pack survival but not population

DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE, Alaska — When a breeding wolf dies, its sex and the size of its pack can determine whether that pack continues, according to research published July online by the Journal of Animal Ecology.

In 2012, biologists at Denali National Park and Preserve noted a drop in wolf sightings following the death of a breeding female from a pack that lived along the Denali Park Road. This was one of several instances where the death of an individual wolf from legal trapping or hunting sparked widespread attention in recent years.