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Monday, December 30, 2013

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What Lies Beneath: Tiny Organisms Thrive Below Earth's Surface

And scientists have failed to culture, or grow, the bacteria in the lab, making it difficult to understand how they survive the harsh, energy-starved environment below the planet's surface. How many of them are there?" said Jan Amend, an earth scientist at the University of Southern California's Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations.

China Targets Moon Sample-Return Mission in 2017

As China's Chang'e 3 lander and Yutu rover mission to the moon unfolds, the country's space authorities are pushing forward on their next stage of lunar progress — gathering select samples of the moon and rocketing them back to Earth. China plans to launch the unmanned sample-return mission, known as Chang'e 5, in 2017, signaling the third stage in the country's lunar exploration plans, officials said. "The development of Chang'e 5 is proceeding smoothly," Wu Zhijian, a spokesman for China's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, said in a Dec. 16 press conference. As reported by China's state-run Xinhua news organization, Chang'e 4 is the backup probe for the Chang'e 3 mission, which successfully put a lander and rover down on the moon on Dec. 14.

5 Most Amazing Spaceflight Feats of 2013

The year 2013 marked an incredible one for spaceflight, with space agencies around the world making giant leaps in their own exploration of the solar system, while NASA welcomed the addition of a new commercial cargo ship to its list of supplies for the International Space Station. Also this year, Virgin Galactic and other private spaceflight companies made strides in their work to make space tourist flights a reality, while one Canadian astronaut became a social media mega-star by showing what life is truly like in space. When China's Chang'3 spacecraft landed on the moon on Dec. 14, it marked the first soft lunar landing in 37 years and the country's first-ever successful touchdown on an extraterrestrial surface. China is the third country to achieve a soft landing on the moon after Russian and the United States, Chang'e 3 beamed live views of its landing on the moon's Sinus Iridium (Bay of Rainbows), as well as the Chinese flag on Yutu — a symbol of how far China's space program has come in a short while.

'Neanderthal' Remains Actually Medieval Human

Instead, the new study reveals the bones to belong to modern Homo sapiens. The teeth and the bone were found in the San Bernardino Cave in the 1980s in a rock layer dating back to Neanderthal times, approximately 28,000 to 59,000 years ago. But location alone is not enough for a firm identification, said study researcher Stefano Benazzi, a physical anthropologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany. "The taxonomical discrimination of the species was based mainly on the layer the human fossil was found instead of the morphological features," or shape and size of the bones, Benazzi told LiveScience.

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Sunday, December 29, 2013

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Strange New Worlds: The Amazing Alien Planet Discoveries of 2013

While astronomers didn't bag that elusive first "alien Earth" in 2013, they made plenty of exciting exoplanet discoveries during the past year. Here's a list of the top exoplanet finds of 2013, from a tiny world about the size of Earth's moon to a blue gas giant on which it rains molten glass: In February, astronomers announced the discovery of Kepler-37b, the smallest alien world ever found around a sun-like star. Kepler-37b, which was spotted by NASA's prolific Kepler space telescope, lies about 215 light-years from Earth.

Scientists Petition U.S. Congress for Return to the Moon

China's Chang'e 3 robotic landing on the moon has helped spur a political crusade in the United States to more aggressively explore and utilize the moon. At the heart of the campaign is the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG), a group chartered by NASA Headquarters to assist in planning the scientific exploration of the moon. LEAG is organizing a letter writing campaign to Congress to underscore the importance of the moon. The LEAG scripted strategy is being orchestrated under the banner "Destination Moon" with a key, straightforward goal highlighted in a flyer: "Use the moon to create a sustained human space-faring capability, advancing exploration of the Solar System." [See photos from China's first moon lander and rover] The flyer is to be sent, along with a cover letter, to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate committees that have influence on NASA funding, and to all the lawmakers of the LEAG executive committee members.

6 Biggest Space Science Discoveries of 2013

From extrasolar planets to extraterrestrial neutrinos, these finds have made sure that 2013 has been an unforgettable year. NASA's Voyager 1 reaches interstellar space After almost 35 years of traveling, scientists reported this year that NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft reached interstellar space in August 2012. Because the solar system doesn't contain helpful "You Are Here" signs to mark its boundary, scientists relied on a powerful solar eruption to determine the density of the molecules in space around the craft.

What We Learned About Human Origins in 2013

The existence of a mysterious ancient human lineage and the possibility that the earliest humans were actually all one species were among the human-evolution-related discoveries of 2013. Other breakthroughs include the sequencing of the oldest human DNA yet. Recent analyses of fossil DNA have revealed that modern humans occasionally had sex and produced offspring not only with Neanderthals but also with Denisovans, a relatively newfound lineage whosegenetic signatureapparently extended from Siberia to the Pacific islands of Oceania.

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Saturday, December 28, 2013

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Vintage Find: 1,000-Year-Old Vineyards Discovered in Spain

Traces of ancient vineyards that date back 1,000 years were discovered in the terraced fields of a medieval village in Spain, according to a new archaeological study. Researchers from the University of the Basque Country found evidence that fields within the medieval settlement of Zaballa were once intensely used to grow grape vines. "Archaeo-botanical studies of seed remains found in the excavations and pollen studies have provided material evidence of the existence of vine cultivation in a relatively early period like the 10th century," study author Juan Antonio Quirós-Castillo said in a statement. The village of Zaballa was abandoned in the 15th century, largely after local lords operating under a newly created rent-seeking system drove out many of the town's settlers.

New Eruption May Be Brewing at El Hierro Volcano

Two years after a new underwater volcano appeared offshore of El Hierro in the Canary Islands, earthquake swarms and a sudden change in height suggest a new eruption is brewing near the island's villages, officials announced today (Dec. 27). After the announcement, one of the largest temblors ever recorded at the volcanic island, a magnitude-5.1 earthquake, struck offshore of El Hierro at 12:46 p.m. ET (5:46 p.m. local time) today, the National Geographic Institute reported. Before the earthquake struck early this afternoon, the island's volcano monitoring agency, Pelvolca, had raised the volcanic eruption risk for El Hierro to "yellow." This warning means that activity is increasing at the volcano, but no eruption is imminent. Parts of El Hierro have swelled nearly 3 inches (7 centimeters) in the past week, with the growth centered between El Pinar and La Restinga, according to Involcan, the Volcanological Institute of the Canaries.

Technical problem delays space station streaming-video venture

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Spacewalking cosmonauts on Friday installed two cameras outside the International Space Station for a Canadian streaming-video business but then retrieved the gear after electrical connections failed, officials said. Station commander Oleg Kotov and flight engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy left the station's Pirs airlock at 8 a.m. EST (1300 GMT) as the complex sailed 260 miles over Australia, mission commentator Rob Navias said during a NASA Television broadcast of the spacewalk. ...

Cosmonauts Hit Snag with HD Cameras in Record-Breaking Spacewalk

Two Russian cosmonauts installed new HD camera eyes on the International Space Station during a record-setting spacewalk Friday (Dec. 27), only to have to return the devices inside due to an unspecified data glitch. Cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy spent just over eight hours — a new endurance record for Russian spacewalks — working outside the space station to install the new Earth-watching cameras for the Canadian company UrtheCast as part of an agreement with Russia's Federal Space Agency. "It appears that we have seen an unsuccessful attempt at bringing those two cameras to life," NASA spokesman Rob Navias said during spacewalk commentary.

Camera glitch triggers marathon Russian spacewalk

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Spacewalking Russian cosmonauts on Friday spent over eight hours installing two cameras outside the International Space Station for a Canadian streaming-video business and then retrieving the gear due to connectivity problems. Station commander Oleg Kotov and flight engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy left the station's Pirs airlock at 8 a.m. EST (1300 GMT) as the complex sailed 260 miles over Australia, mission commentator Rob Navias said during a NASA Television broadcast of the spacewalk. It was the third spacewalk this week by members of the station's six-man crew.

Russia launches new Soyuz rocket

Russia successfully launched an upgraded version of its Soviet-design Soyuz rocket on Saturday, the Defence Ministry said, giving a boost to the country's troubled space program. The launch of the Soyuz 2.1v rocket, which features a new engine and digital guidance system, had originally been planned for the beginning of 2012 but was postponed due to an accident during testing which caused engine damage, Interfax reported. The lightweight launch vehicle blasted off Saturday afternoon from Russia's Plesetsk launch pad in the northwest Arkhangelsk region. The Soyuz 2.1v is the latest addition to Russia's Soyuz family of rockets, which has become the world's most frequently used booster since its first launch in 1966.

Weird! Strangest Science Stories of 2013

A new type of tissue was found in the eye, and was dubbed Dua's layer after its discoverer, Harminder Singh Dua, a professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Nottingham. The structure sits at the back of the cornea, the structure in the eye that helps focus light.

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Friday, December 27, 2013

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Alien Planet May Lurk Around Nearby Failed Stars

If confirmed, the alien world would be one of the closest to our sun ever found. Scientists only discovered the pair of failed stars, known as brown dwarfs, last year. It's actually so close that "television transmissions from 2006 are now arriving there," Kevin Luhman, of Penn State's Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds, noted when their discovery was first announced in June. The brown dwarf system, which has been dubbed Luhman 16AB and is officially classifed as WISE J104915.57-531906, is slightly more distant than Barnard's star, a red dwarf 6 light-years away that was first seen in 1916.

China says satellite network to be big asset, others can use it too

By Adam Rose BEIJING (Reuters) - China's homegrown satellite navigation system will bring untold economic, social and military benefits and other countries in Asia are welcome to use it, the director of China's satellite navigation agency said on Friday. The year-old Beidou satellite navigation system is a rival to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russian GLONASS. Beidou's 16 satellites serve the Asia-Pacific but the number of satellites is expected to grow to 30 by 2020 as coverage expands globally. The system would bring benefits across the board, in both civilian and military applications, said Ran Chengqi, the director of the Satellite Navigation Office.

Duh! The 13 Most Obvious Findings of 2013

Nevertheless, some research turns up results that don't exactly shock and awe. Such no-duh research usually has a serious underlying purpose, from the study of why people cheat to the roots of racism. The "Western diet" of processed and fried foods with a side of sweets and red meat increases the likelihood of premature death, researchers reported in April in The American Journal of Medicine, to the surprise of no one. The study was slightly different than other research into how Twinkies can kill, in that it assessed overall health in old age rather that the effect of diet on specific diseases.

2013's Wild, Unforgettable Weather: A Roundup

In Colorado and central Europe, tropical moisture fed heavy rains and floods. Australia was ravaged by heat waves and wildfires for much of the year. Warm Pacific Ocean temperatures fueled major tropical storms that devastated the Philippines and Asia. The unusually warm temperatures are on pace to set a heat record, making 2013 one of the warmest years in more than a century, according to a report released in December by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC).

Snowflake Science: How It Snows for Days in the Arctic

For snow to form, there has to be stuff in the atmosphere — microbes, specks of dust — for water molecules to freeze on and then form ice crystals. Researchers at Michigan Technological University in Houghton set out to investigate the mystery of where snow in the Arctic comes from, and how it can fall so persistently in the region. "Within a few hours, you basically purge the atmosphere of all those particles," Raymond Shaw, a physicist at Michigan Technological University, said in a statement. It turns out that atmospheric particles that were thought not to play a role in the formation of ice crystals may actually be key drivers of snowfall in the Arctic, a new study by Shaw and his colleagues finds.

Space Shuttle Endeavour Recreated in Flowers for Rose Parade Float

NASA's retired space shuttle Endeavour is again to take to the streets of Los Angeles, this time as the leading feature on a flower-covered float as part of the 125th Tournament of Roses Parade. "[L.A's] most iconic landmarks are set to be re-imagined in a colorful display of flowers and natural materials," the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board stated. "A soaring shuttle Endeavour, which makes its home at the California Science Center, takes flight at the front of the float." The California Science Center in October celebrated the one year anniversary of the real space shuttle Endeavour being delivered to its Samuel Oschin Pavilion for display.

Holiday Blizzard Traps Antarctic Research Ship

A big year for Antarctic sea ice is causing headaches for ship captains. The Australians were only 2 nautical miles (about 4 kilometers) from open water but couldn't push through the ice on Christmas Eve, expedition leader Chris Turney, a professor at the University of New South Wales, wrote in a blog post. A powerful blizzard then trapped their ship, the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, between fast ice, which is "fastened" to the coastline, and wind-driven ice floes. By Friday morning (Dec. 27), a Chinese icebreaker, the Xue Long (Snow Dragon), was in sight of the ship, and two more icebreakers were en route, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

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