A Jupiter-sized gas planet is being described by Astronomers as the darkest known extrasolar planet (exoplanet). Known as TrES-2b, astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) have concluded that the gas giant reflects less than one percent of the sunlight falling on it, making it blacker than coal or any planet or moon in …Continue Reading
Scientists have found evidence of flowing salt water on mars, which has again sparked the debate of possible alien life on the red planet. The images that were sent from NASA’s orbiter show briny salt water falling from rocky slopes. “NASA’s Mars Exploration Program keeps bringing us closer to determining whether the Red Planet could harbor life in some form …Continue Reading
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has recently predicted that a massive solar storm could create global disruptions in power grids, satellite communication, airline communication and even in GPS systems. With Solar activity expected to peak at around 2013, the sun is entering a very active time, and these solar flares previously described will be common in the next …Continue Reading
According to scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of Bern in Switzerland, two moons merged in a very slow collision more than 4 billion years ago to create the one that lights up the night sky. The theory says a collision would explain the vast differences in the lunar landscape. The moon’s far side has …Continue Reading
Engineers from University of Southhampton made and flew the first “printed aircraft ever.” The plane is an unmanned air vehicle (UAV). The entire structure of the plane was printed including the control surfaces, access, hatches, and even the wings. During the build of it, no fasteners were used and all the equipment was “snapped in” so it could be put …Continue Reading
Just when you thought your Smartphone couldn’t get any smarter, a new app has successfully been tested to detect cancer. How? First you use a special scanner, developed by Harvard and MIT researchers, to extract cells using a tiny needle. Then you hook it up to your Smartphone, which analyzes the cells and delivers a diagnosis within an hour. The most …Continue Reading
The US space agency says its Dawn probe should go into orbit around the Asteroid Vesta early on Saturday The robotic satellite will be spending a year at the 530km-wide body before moving on to the “dwarf planet” Ceres.
For the past decade, researchers have tried to reprogram the identity of all kinds of cell types. Heart cells are one of the most sought-after cells in regenerative medicine because researchers anticipate that they may help to repair injured hearts by replacing lost tissue. Now, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania are the first …Continue Reading
Space shuttle Atlantis displayed its power and majesty one final time, rocketing into space from Kennedy Space Center at 11:26 a.m. ET Friday morning despite threatening weather — marking the final launch after 30 years for NASA’s storied fleet of shuttles. Seven million pounds of thrust from the shuttle’s rocket booster carried the vehicle into orbit one last time, at …Continue Reading
Record snowfall, killer tornadoes, devastating floods: There’s no doubt about it. Since Dec. 2010, the weather in the USA has been positively wild. But why? Some recent news reports have attributed the phenomenon to an extreme “La Niña,” a band of cold water stretching across the Pacific Ocean with global repercussions for climate and weather. But NASA climatologist Bill Patzert …Continue Reading