The solar system is protected from galactic cosmic rays by the heliosphere, a giant magnetic bubble around the sun (Illustration: Richard Mewaldt/Caltech) 29 September 2009 by David Shiga Like a wounded Starship Enterprise, our solar system’s natural shields are faltering, letting in a flood of cosmic rays. The sun’s recent listlessness is resulting in record-high …
24 June 2009 by Justin Mullins It’s 1986, and there’s a puzzle on Dave Alburger’s desk. Not Ernö Rubik’s latest toy, but the data from a four-year experiment to measure the half-life of the rare radioactive isotope silicon-32. On one level, the numbers fit together just fine, adding up to a half-life of 172 years, …
Solar ghosts may haunt Earth’s radioactive atoms Read More »
Astronomers have tracked down a gigantic, previously unknown assembly of galaxies located almost seven billion light-years away from us. The discovery, made possible by combining two of the most powerful ground-based telescopes in the world — ESO’s Very Large Telescope and NAOJ’s Subaru Telescope — is the first observation of such a prominent galaxy structure …
Shedding light on the cosmic skeleton – Popular Mechanics Read More »
1. Betelgeuse resolved The sharpest image ever of Betelgeuse shows a mammoth star that is slowly evaporating. A recent image from the Very Large Telescope in Chile resolves not only the face of Betelgeuse, but a large and previously unknown plume of surrounding gas. This plume gives fresh indications of how the massive star is …
The interface between a sunspot’s central and outer regions shows a complex structure. Image credit: Matthias Rempel/NCAR In a breakthrough that will help scientists unlock mysteries of the Sun and its impacts on Earth, scientists have created the first-ever comprehensive computer model of sunspots. The resulting visuals capture both scientific detail and remarkable beauty. The …
Scientists create first comprehensive computer model of sunspots Read More »
