CAMBRIDGE, MA -- For nearly as long as astronomers have been able to observe asteroids, a question has gone unanswered: Why do the surfaces of most asteroids appear redder than meteorites — the remnants of asteroids that have crashed to Earth?
Heavens
NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission began with a smooth countdown and flawless launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41. The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the 5,400-pound spacecraft lifted off at 1:28 p.m. EST, the mission's first opportunity. MAVEN's solar arrays deployed and are producing power.
"We're currently about 14,000 miles away from Earth and heading out to the Red Planet right now," said MAVEN Project Manager David Mitchell of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
MOUNT VERNON, WA--In the mild coastal climate of western Washington, agricultural growers are learning more about the advantages of growing popular fresh-market vegetables in high tunnel production systems. High tunnels can offer many benefits for delicate vegetable crops, including protection from environmental stresses such as hail, frost, excessive rainfall, and high wind. Despite these obvious benefits, the use of high tunnels for growing both lettuce and tomato is currently limited in the region--estimated to be only 50 acres for tomato and less than 20 acres for lettuce.
Deep-space radiation is a significant danger for interplanetary human space flight. But now an instrument on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has learned more than ever before about the high-energy hazards at and around the moon. New findings from the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) were published today in the journal Space Weather.
DURHAM, N.H. -- Scientists from the University of New Hampshire and colleagues have published comprehensive findings on space-based radiation as measured by a UNH-led detector aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The data provide critical information on the radiation hazards that will be faced by astronauts on extended missions to deep space such as those to Mars.
The papers in a special issue of the journal Space Weather document and quantify measurements made since 2009 by the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) radiation detector.
Hopes are high for Comet ISON, which has the potential to become the most spectacular comet seen in years. ISON is speeding through the inner solar system at about 120,000 miles per hour, on its way to a close approach to the Sun on November 28th. Assuming it survives its close encounter, it could become easily visible to the unaided eye in dawn skies.
Currently, maintenance and safety inspection of tunnels used for vehicular traffic is carried out by direct in situ observation. This process, which is slow and requires intensive labor, requires that traffic be stopped on entire streets or sections of the underground passageways, resulting in an inconvenience for users. "The automated ROBINSPECT system allows tunnel inspection to be carried out automatically without stopping traffic," highlights the head of the project at UC3M, Carlos Balaguer, a tenured professor in the department of Systems Engineering and Automation.
Researchers now have stronger evidence of granite on Mars and a new theory for how the granite – an igneous rock common on Earth -- could have formed there, according to a new study. The findings suggest a much more geologically complex Mars than previously believed.
New York, NY—November 17, 2013—A team of Columbia Engineering researchers, led by Mechanical Engineering Professor James Hone and Electrical Engineering Professor Kenneth Shepard, has taken advantage of graphene's special properties—its mechanical strength and electrical conduction—and created a nano-mechanical system that can create FM signals, in effect the world's smallest FM radio transmitter.
Just one minute of CPR video training for bystanders in a shopping mall could save lives in emergencies, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013.
Researchers used a one-minute CPR video to improve responsiveness and teach compression only CPR to people with no CPR experience.
Coming
Active region 1897 rounded the sun's southeastern limb on Nov. 11, 2013, and like AR1890, is approximately the size of Jupiter.
What is a Solar Flare?
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.
Why This Uptick in Flares Now?
Somewhere on Earth, there's always a lightning flash. The globe experiences lightning some 50 times a second, yet the details of what initiates this common occurrence and what effects it has on the atmosphere – lightning may be linked to incredibly powerful and energetic bursts called terrestrial gamma ray flashes, or TGFs -- remains a mystery. In mid-November, a football-sized mission called Firefly, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, will launch into space to study lightning and these gamma ray flashes from above.
WASHINGTON D.C. Nov. 15, 2013 -- Despite decades of brewing tea in a whistling kettle, the source and mechanism of this siren sound of comfort has never been fully described scientifically. Acknowledging the vibrations made by the build-up of steam escaping through two metal spout plates is about as far as the explanation went -- and was good enough for most people.
During the study period, Brazil cut its deforestation rate from approximately 15,400 square miles (40,000 square kilometers) per year to approximately 7,700 square miles (20,000 square kilometers) per year.
"That's the result of a concerted policy effort to reduce deforestation, and it sets a standard for the rest of the world," Hansen said.
Washington, DC (November 14, 2013) — Women with advanced kidney disease who start dialysis during pregnancy have superior live birth rates than those already on dialysis at the time of conception, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). The findings provide valuable information for counseling women with kidney disease who are of child-bearing age.