Researchers at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias in Tenerife have captured spectroscopic information from light passing through the Earth’s atmosphere during a lunar eclipse that could greatly enhance our ability to discover extrasolar planets. This so-called “transmission spectrum analysis” ...
Disciplined and observational study of the natural world including, but not limited to: Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and Earth Science.
Random Walk in Quantum Physics
Researchers at the University of Bonn have used caesium to demonstrate the unusual effects of quantum particles. Using the example of tossing a coin, the outcome can either be heads or tails. However, an atomic ‘coin’ can exhibit a superposition ...
The World’s First Bionic Goose
Not quite the object of science-fiction movies, but futuristic nonetheless – we present you the world’s first bionic goose. In a first operation of its kind, vets in the UK have fitted a two-week old gosling with a bionic leg. ...
Herschel Delivers Its First Images
The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched the Herschel Telescope about a month ago; recently, it started delivering its first images. The pictures taken are of higher quality than most space images, allowing astronomers to improve their study of nearby ...
Lasers Lengthen Quantum Bit Memory
Scientists from the University of Michigan have discovered a new feedback reaction that has the capability to stabilise the magnetic field of a quantum dot. Using lasers, the team lengthened the stable existence of a quantum bit to more than ...
Tunguska Mystery Solved
Researchers from Cornell University have confirmed that the mysterious Tunguska explosion was caused by a comet. In 1908, this explosion levelled 830 square miles of the Siberian forest. Now the new findings have been validated, strangely enough by the exhaust ...
Ulysses’ Farewell
The European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA have shut down Ulysses, one of the longest serving solar orbiters in history. Ulysses was the pioneer spacecraft to chart the space area above and below the poles of the Sun. Clocking in ...
Milky Way’s Particle Accelerators
Researchers from the Astronomical Institute at Utrecht University have been observing the Milky Way’s particle accelerators. Using data from NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory and European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope, the researchers have determined that cosmic rays from our ...
Magnetic Super-Atoms Discovered
Scientists from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) have discovered a ‘magnetic superatom’ – a stable cluster of atoms that can imitate various elements of the periodic table. In the future, this discovery could bring about molecular devices that can increase a ...
Scientists Spot Debris from Colliding Galaxies
An international team of astronomers has imaged new tidal galactic-debris, stripped away from colliding galaxies. These new images are of special interest, since they tell the ancient story of galaxies’ collisions and the resultant starburst activities. According to the scientists, ...