Artist concept of GRAIL mission. Grail will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon to measure its gravity field in unprecedented detail. Image credit: NASA/JPL Pasadena, CA-(ENEWSPF)- NASA’s Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)-A spacecraft is within 24 hours of its insertion burn that will place it into[Read More…]
Environmental
Time for a Change? Johns Hopkins Scholars Say Calendar Needs Serious Overhaul
Baltimore, MD-(ENEWSPF)- Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University have discovered a way to make time stand still — at least when it comes to the yearly calendar. Using computer programs and mathematical formulas, Richard Conn Henry, an astrophysicist in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, and Steve H. Hanke,[Read More…]
First Low-Mass Star Detected In Globular Cluster
The Milky Way with Globular Cluster M22. (PHOTO SUPPLIED) University of Zurich-(ENEWSPF)- Until now, it was merely assumed that low-mass and therefore extremely faint stars must exist. However, in view of the vast distances and weak luminosity of low-mass stars, even the most modern telescopes fail. Together with a Polish-Chilean[Read More…]
Some Nearby Young Stars May Be Much Older
University of Rochester-(ENEWSPF)- Low in the south in the summer sky shines the constellation Scorpius and the bright, red supergiant star Antares. Many of the brightest stars in Scorpius, and hundreds of its fainter stars, are among the youngest stars found near the earth, and a new analysis of them[Read More…]
Quadrantids Will Create Brief, Beautiful Show on Jan. 4
False-color image of a rare early Quadrantid, captured by a NASA meteor camera in 2010. (NASA/MSFC/MEO/B. Cooke) NASA-(ENEWSPF)- The 2012 Quadrantids, a little-known meteor shower named after an extinct constellation, will present an excellent chance for hardy souls to start the year off with some late-night meteor watching. Peaking in[Read More…]
NRC Approves Rule to Certify Amended AP1000 Reactor Design
Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—December 22, 2011. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has voted to approve a rule certifying an amended version of Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactor design for use in the United States. The amended certification, which will be incorporated into the NRC’s regulations, will be valid for 15 years. “The Commission is able[Read More…]
Cryogenic Testing Completed for NASA’s Webb Telescope Mirrors
Caption: The James Webb Space Telescope mirrors have completed deep-freeze tests and are removed from the X-ray and Cryogenic test Facility at Marshall Space Flight Center. Credit: Emmett Given, NASA Marshall GREENBELT, Md.-(ENEWSPF)- Cryogenic testing is complete for the final six primary mirror segments and a secondary mirror that will[Read More…]
Discovery Of Two Earth-Size Planets Raises Questions About The Evolution Of Stars
Montreal-(ENEWSPF)- University of Toulouse and University of Montreal researchers have detected two planets of sizes comparable to Earth orbiting around an old star that has just passed the red giant stage. This planetary system is located near Lyra and Cygnus constellations at a distance of 3900 light years. This discovery,[Read More…]
NASA Telescopes Help Find Rare Galaxy at Dawn of Time
This image shows one of the most distant galaxies known, called GN-108036, dating back to 750 million years after the Big Bang that created our universe. The galaxy’s light took 12.9 billion years to reach us. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI/University of Tokyo NASA-(ENEWSPF)- Astronomers using NASA’s Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes[Read More…]
EPA Issues First National Standards for Mercury Pollution from Power Plants
Historic ‘mercury and air toxics standards’ meet 20-year old requirement to cut dangerous smokestack emissions WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–December 21, 2011. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, the first national standards to protect American families from power plant emissions of mercury and toxic air[Read More…]
