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NASA finds very heavy rainfall in Tropical Cyclone Zena

Tropical cyclone Zena intensified over the open waters between Vanuatu and Fiji and the Global Precipitation Measurement mission core satellite known as GPM found very heavy rainfall and very high cloud tops. By the next day, April 7, Zena was on its way to dissipation.

At peak intensity Zena had sustained winds estimated at about 90 knots (104 mph). The GPM core observatory satellite had an excellent view of tropical cyclone Zena on April 6, 2016 at 0933 UTC (4:33 a.m. EDT) when tropical cyclone Zena was located southwest of Fiji.

Study: Daily deal websites can capitalize by displaying sales numbers

Daily deal websites, such as Groupon and LivingSocial, have emerged as a popular way for small local merchants to conduct online promotions, but unlike other online and offline discount sources, they continually track and display the number of deals sold.

Dr. Upender Subramanian, assistant professor of marketing, and Dr. Ram C. Rao, Founders Professor, developed a theoretical model that considers the strategic interaction between a daily deal website, a merchant and consumers.

When will a neutron star collapse to a black hole?

Neutron stars are the most extreme and fascinating objects known to exist in our universe: Such a star has a mass that is up to twice that of the sun but a radius of only a dozen kilometres: hence it has an enormous density, thousands of billions of times that of the densest element on Earth. An important property of neutron stars, distinguishing them from normal stars, is that their mass cannot grow without bound. Indeed, if a nonrotating star increases its mass, also its density will increase.

Behemoth black hole found in an unlikely place

Astronomers have uncovered a near-record breaking supermassive black hole, weighing 17 billion suns, in an unlikely place: in the center of a galaxy in a sparsely populated area of the universe. The observations, made by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the Gemini Telescope in Hawaii, may indicate that these monster objects may be more common than once thought.

Solar storm researchers prepare for the 'big one' with new urgency

The specter of a geomagnetic solar storm with the ferocity to disrupt communications satellites, knock out GPS systems, shut down air travel and quench lights, computers and telephones in millions of homes for days, months or even years has yet to grip the public as a panic-inducing possibility.

NASA's GPM views Tropical Cyclone Zena hitting Vanuatu

Tropical Cyclone Zena, formerly known as Tropical Cyclone 18P formed in the South Pacific Ocean near Vanuatu early on April 5, 2016. The Global Precipitation Measurement or GPM core observatory satellite flew directly above the newly formed tropical cyclone and measured rainfall and cloud heights in the storm.

Supermassive black holes may be lurking everywhere in the universe

A near-record supermassive black hole discovered in a sparse area of the local universe indicates that these monster objects - this one equal to 17 billion suns - may be more common than once thought, according to University of California, Berkeley, astronomers.

Proof that ancient supernovae zapped Earth sparks hunt for after effects

LAWRENCE -- Two new papers appearing in the journal Nature this week are "slam-dunk" evidence that energies from supernovae have buffeted our planet, according to astrophysicist Adrian Melott of the University of Kansas.

Melott offers his judgment of these studies in an associated letter, entitled "Supernovae in the neighborhood," also appearing this week in Nature.

Supernovae showered Earth with radioactive debris

An international team of scientists has found evidence of a series of massive supernova explosions near our solar system, which showered the Earth with radioactive debris.

The scientists found radioactive iron-60 in sediment and crust samples taken from the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

The iron-60 was concentrated in a period between 3.2 and 1.7 million years ago, which is relatively recent in astronomical terms, said research leader Dr Anton Wallner from The Australian National University (ANU).

Behemoth black hole found in an unlikely place

Astronomers have uncovered one of the biggest supermassive black holes, with the mass of 17 billion Suns, in an unlikely place: the centre of a galaxy that lies in a quiet backwater of the Universe. The observations, made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the Gemini Telescope in Hawaii, indicate that these monster objects may be more common than once thought. The results of this study are released in the journal Nature.

Particulate vaccine delivery systems may help

Most traditional vaccines have safety and efficacy issues, whereas particulate vaccine delivery systems--which utilize nano- or micro-particulate carriers to protect and deliver antigens--are efficient, stable, include molecules to bolster immune responses, and minimize adverse reactions due to the use of biocompatible biomaterials. A new review summarizes the current status of research efforts to develop particulate vaccine delivery systems against bioterrorism agents and emerging infectious pathogens.

Insect eyes enable drones to fly independently

After studying how insects navigate through dense vegetation, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have come up with a system that can be applied to flying robots. By adapting the system to drones, they can be made to adjust their speed to their surroundings and fly on their own- completely without human intervention and control.

Young, unattached Jupiter analog found in solar neighborhood

Washington, DC--A team of astronomers from Carnegie and the University of Western Ontario has discovered one of the youngest and brightest free-floating, planet-like objects within relatively close proximity to the Sun. The paper reporting these results will be published by The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Simulations 'sharpen' their tools

In science, there is theory: a fairly general "statement" that describes the world. For example (simplifying somewhat) take the statement "the Earth rotates around its own axis and around the Sun". To test this theory, we need to produce predictions that we are able to compare by means of measurements (when these are possible). And to do this, we need more specific models translated into a mathematical language. However, there may be several, slightly different models or even models based on radically different methodologies that predict the same thing.

NASAs New Horizons fills gap in space environment observations

When NASA's New Horizons sped past Pluto on July 14, 2015, it took the best-ever pictures of the rocky world s surface, giving us new insight into its geology, composition and atmosphere. These stunning images are the most famous result of New Horizons, but the spacecraft also sent back over three years worth of measurements of the solar wind the constant flow of solar particles that the sun flings out into space from a region that has been visited by only a few spacecraft.