For its next trick, Gaia could help detect background gravitational waves in the universe
Ripples in a pond can be captivating on a nice sunny day as can ripples in the very fabric of space, although the latter are a little harder to observe. Using the highly tuned Gaia probe, a team of astronomers proposes in a paper posted to arXiv prep.....»»
Hubble measures the distance to a supernova
Measuring the distance to truly remote objects like galaxies, quasars, and galaxy clusters is a crucial task in astrophysics, particularly when it comes to studying the early universe, but it's a difficult one to complete......»»
Hubble finds evidence for rare black hole in Omega Centauri
An international team of astronomers has used more than 500 images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope spanning two decades to detect seven fast-moving stars in the innermost region of Omega Centauri, the largest and brightest globular cluster i.....»»
Popular climate assessment method can be enhanced to improve tipping point accuracy
The optimal fingerprinting method (OFM) has been used extensively to detect and attribute the effects of climate change. A recent analysis of the various assumptions used by OFM has revealed several ways the method could be improved to enhance its us.....»»
Oxygen tweaking may be key to accelerator optimization
Particle accelerators are pricey, but their cost comes with good reason: These one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art machines are intricately designed and constructed to help us solve mysteries about what makes up our universe. Still, the scientists and en.....»»
Q&A: Researcher discusses how gravitational waves hint at dark matter and Big Bang mysteries
Gravitational waves, ripples in space-time predicted by Einstein almost a century ago, were detected for the first time in 2015. A new study led by Yanou Cui, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Riverside,.....»»
New portable fluorescence sensors enable targeted detection of heavy metal chromium (III)
Prof. Jiang Changlong's research team from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a highly sensitive ratiometric fluorescent probe that can detect heavy metal trivalent chromium (Cr3+) in the environ.....»»
Threat actors exploited Windows 0-day for more than a year before Microsoft fixed it
The goal of the exploits was to open Explorer and trick targets into running malicious code. Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Threat actors carried out zero-day attacks that targeted Windows users with malware for more tha.....»»
Researchers demonstrate anomalous Brewster effect in metamaterials
The Brewster reflectionless effect stands out as one of the simplest yet pivotal discoveries in manipulating waves. Initial investigations were limited to isotropic materials, but later, thanks to the advent of metamaterials, the phenomenon was found.....»»
Meteorological study provides enhanced understanding of tropical atmospheric waves
In a new meteorological study, an international team of researchers from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF; Reading, UK), and the Nationa.....»»
How cities can use AI to adapt to climate change
Urban spaces are particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change, such as heat waves, floods, and storms. But which areas of a city are affected, and how can city planners respond?.....»»
Heat Waves Need FEMA’s Help
Heat waves are costly and kill more people each year than hurricanes, tornadoes and floods combined, but because FEMA doesn’t count them as disasters, communities miss out on important resources.....»»
Light Is How Astronomers Read the Story of the Universe
Almost everything we know about the cosmos is conveyed by photons traveling across vast distances.....»»
Heat Waves Can Buckle Train Tracks, Delaying Commutes and Commerce
Extreme heat can cause train tracks to expand and buckle. That’s forcing rail operators to adapt as the climate warms.....»»
5 New Types of Gravitational-Wave Detectors Could Reshape Astrophysics
With the confirmation of gravitational waves less than a decade old, scientists are barreling ahead with new detectors to pick up ever more elusive ripples in spacetime.....»»
New Antikythera mechanism analysis challenges century-old assumption
Physicists drew on statistical techniques used to analyze gravitational waves. Enlarge / Fragment of the Antikythera mechanism, circa 205 BC, housed in the collection of the National Archaeological Museum, Athens. (credit: Fine A.....»»
Visualizing the boundary modes of the charge density wave in a topological material
Charge density waves are quantum phenomena occurring in some materials, which involve a static modulation of conduction electrons and the periodic distortion of the lattice. These waves have been observed in numerous condensed matter materials, inclu.....»»
XL-Calibur telescope launched to study black holes
Scientists from Washington University in St. Louis have launched a balloon-borne telescope to unlock the secrets of astrophysical black holes and neutron stars, some of the most extreme objects in the universe......»»
Non-destructive method developed for detecting internal cracks in rice seeds
Recently, a team led by Prof. Wang Rujing and Wang Liusan from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed a method to detect internal cracks in rice seeds using near-infrared spectroscopy......»»
Improved imaging offers new insight into Mount Etna
With a technique called seismic tomography, researchers use the shape of traveling seismic waves from nearby or distant earthquakes to create 3D images of inner Earth, allowing them to "see" hundreds of kilometers below the surface......»»
We need to consider alternatives to dark matter that better explain cosmological observations
Do constants of nature—the numbers that determine how things behave, like the speed of light—change over time as the universe expands? Does light get a little tired traveling vast cosmic distances? It was believed that dark matter and dark energy.....»»