First interstellar comet may be the most pristine ever found
New observations with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) indicate that the rogue comet 2I/Borisov, which is only the second and most recently detected interstellar visitor to our Solar System, is one of the most pris.....»»
Shedding light on comet Chury"s unexpected chemical complexity
A team of researchers led by the University of Bern has for the first time identified an unexpected richness of complex organic molecules at a comet. This was achieved thanks to the analysis of data collected during ESA's Rosetta mission at comet 67P.....»»
Triply eclipsing stellar systems
Stars with the mass of the sun or larger are typically accompanied by one or more orbiting companion stars. The system forms when gravity contracts the gas and dust of an interstellar cloud until clumps develop that are dense enough to coalesce into.....»»
A sanitizer in the galactic center region
An international group of researchers led by Arnaud Belloche (MPIfR, Bonn, Germany) reports the first identification of iso-propanol in interstellar space, a substance which is used as a sanitizer on Earth. Iso-propanol is the largest alcohol detecte.....»»
Taking quantum control of life"s building blocks
Life (as we know it) is based on carbon. Despite its ubiquity, this important element still holds plenty of secrets, on earth and in the heavens above us. For example, astrophysicists like Columbia's Daniel Wolf Savin who study interstellar clouds wa.....»»
Dying stars could seed interstellar medium with carbon nanotubes
Evidence suggests that carbon nanotubes, tiny tubes consisting of pure carbon, could be forged in the envelopes of dust and gas surrounding dying stars. The findings propose a simple, yet elegant mechanism for the formation and survival of complex ca.....»»
Ningaloo corals are ill-equipped to handle future climate change
The relatively pristine coral populations of WA's inshore Kimberley region are better equipped to survive ocean warming than those in the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Marine Park, according to a new Curtin University study......»»
Zugu case review: a stylish iPad case with a few tricks up its sleeve
Zugu's eponymous iPad case is stylish and uses magnets to keep the case on and protect your iPad from bumps and drops.Keeping your iPad in pristine condition is a noble goal. It feels good to realize that your much-loved device looks as nice as the d.....»»
The Arctic"s tricky quest for sustainable tourism
Home to polar bears, the midnight sun and the northern lights, a Norwegian archipelago perched high in the Arctic is trying to find a way to profit from its pristine wilderness without ruining it......»»
Engineers Investigating NASA"s Voyager 1 Telemetry Data
The engineering team with NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is trying to solve a mystery: The interstellar explorer is operating normally, receiving and executing commands from Earth, along with gathering and returning science data. But readouts from the p.....»»
Universal mechanism to explain formation of carbon nanoparticles in interstellar and terrestrial environments
Carbon nanostructures that formed in circumstellar envelopes around carbon-rich stars may have a shared chemical origin with soot particles produced by fuel combustion. The same reaction mechanism may underpin each process, KAUST researchers have sho.....»»
Scientists discover comet"s hourglass-shaped dust trail
Researchers from Finland, Canada, and Russia have discovered an unusual, hourglass-shaped dust trail of the comet 17P/Holmes. The particles that formed the dust trail were released by the most powerful of the thus-far documented outbursts by a comet......»»
Nigeria"s pristine freshwater ecosystems need protection before they are lost
As human populations grow, pure freshwater systems are becoming rare around the world. Urbanization and infrastructure development have had an impact on the natural environment in African countries, as elsewhere. Many species have become extinct......»»
Astronomers confirm size of largest comet ever discovered, bigger than Rhode Island
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Telescope have confirmed the existence the largest comet ever discovered, and it will pass by our sun in the next decade......»»
US Space Command Releases Decades of Secret Military Data, Confirms Interstellar Meteor in 2014
"The U.S. Space Command announced this week that it determined a 2014 meteor hit that hit Earth was from outside the solar system," reports CBS News. "The meteor streaked across the sky off the coast of Manus Island, Papua New Guinea three years earl.....»»
Hubble Telescope Confirms Largest Comet Nuclear Ever Seen
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has confirmed the largest icy comet nucleus ever seen by scientists. NPR reports: The nucleus of comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) is about 80 miles in diameter, which is larger than the state of Rhode Island,.....»»
Largest comet ever seen is coming our way, but don’t worry
The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a comet which at 80 miles across has been confirmed as the largest comet ever observed......»»
NASA"s Hubble Space Telescope confirms largest comet nucleus ever observed
The comet is still too far away for its solid nucleus to be visually resolved by Hubble, so astronomers had to make a computer model of the surrounding coma and adjust it to fit Hubble's images. Then, the coma was subtracted, leaving behind the starl.....»»
4 billion-year-old relic from early solar system heading our way
An enormous comet—approximately 80 miles across, more than twice the width of Rhode Island—is heading our way at 22,000 miles per hour from the edge of the solar system. Fortunately, it will never get closer than 1 billion miles from the sun, whi.....»»
Shards of Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs May Have Been Found in Fossil Site
The New York Times reports: Pristine slivers of the impactor that killed the dinosaurs have been discovered, said scientists studying a North Dakota site that is a time capsule of that calamitous day 66 million years ago... "If you're able to actua.....»»
Secret Government Info Confirms First Known Interstellar Object On Earth, Scientists Say
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: An object from another star system crashed into Earth in 2014, the United States Space Command (USSC) confirmed in a newly-released memo. The meteor ignited in a fireball in the skies near Papua N.....»»