Synchrotron Radiation 101: How Light Sources Work and Their Applications
When a beam of electrons traveling near light speed is bent away from a straight trajectory, it gives off a special kind of light called "synchrotron radiation."
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Drone Surveying: Why Do Coordinate Reference Systems Matter?
Let’s unpack what coordinate reference systems are, how they work, and why they’re important in drone surveying.
How Particle Accelerators Work: From Linac to Synchrotron
Accelerating particles is a simple concept: an electric field moves a charged particle from one location to another.
Exploring Coordinate Systems and Map Projections
Coordinate systems provide X, Y, Z, locations for all points in space. Knowing this information lets you determine where you (or your worksite) are on the earth.
Dawn Sees Ceres Bright Spots and More
New results from the Dawn orbiter show bright spots, a pyramid-shape mountain, and mysterious haze on the dwarf planet Ceres.
Kapteyn b: Habitable-zone Exoplanet or Illusion?
Recent research casts doubt on whether nearby Kapteyn b, a supposed super-Earth circling in its star’s habitable zone, is a planet at all.
Volcanoes on a Super-Earth?
Observations of nearby super-Earth 55 Cancri e reveal huge, as-yet unexplained changes in the exoplanet’s infrared emission. Volcanoes are one possible cause.
NASA's Chandra Finds Potential Mid-size Black Hole
Scientists found what seems to be an intermediate-mass black hole in a spiral arm in a galaxy 100 million light-years away.
Long-Lived Magnetic Fields of Meteorites
Research shows that the magnetic fields in the asteroid parent bodies of two meteorites lasted hundreds of millions of years after our solar system’s formation.
Rosetta Update: Philae Landed in a Hole
The exact location of Philae’s landing site remains unknown, though the site’s topography might allow the lander to operate longer than planned. Meanwhile, Rosetta is detecting organics and heavy elements even when Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko is far from the Sun.
The 2014 Autumnal Equinox Arrives
To those who’ve unpacked their winter coats, closed their windows at night, and felt that telltale crispness in the air, it seems that autumn has already started. Astronomically speaking, however, the fall season only comes to the Northern Hemisphere on Tuesday, September 23rd at 2:29 Universal Time (10:29 p.m. EDT on Monday, the 22nd).
Rosetta Catches Its Comet
It’s been a decade-long voyage for the European Space Agency’s comet-chaser, Rosetta, but on August 6th the spacecraft caught up with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (C-G) at last.
Professional-Amateur Galaxy Photos | The Power of Citizen Science
Amateur astronomers have teamed up with the pros to produce four stunning multiwavelength images of the galaxies M101, M81, M51, and Centaurus A.
Mars Rover Gets a Cleaning | Opportunity Lives to Rove Another Day
The Mars rover Opportunity has been cleaned of heavy dust coating its solar panels, thanks to some strong winds blowing over the rim of Endeavour Crater.
An Asteroid to Rule Them All
Scientists have new insight into the damage caused by a Rhode Island–size asteroid impact more than 3 billion years ago, making the rock that wiped out the dinosaurs look like a lightweight.
Dust in the Heart of Circinus
Infrared observations of the Circinus Galaxy may help reveal the shape of the dusty region fueling its active galactic nucleus and shed light on what governs dust structures in other galaxies.
Interactive Mosaic of Moon's North Pole
With the first interactive lunar north pole mosaic released by the NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team you can explore an area of the Moon’s northern hemisphere about the size of Alaska and Texas combined.
Hubble Displays Galactic Jellyfish
These stunning new images of spiral galaxy ESO 137-001 highlight its violent encounter with the intracluster plasma of Abell 3627, which is stripping away its gas and forming stars in the streamers.
Rocky Encounter with Stellar Lighthouse
Asteroid debris might be bombarding a radio pulsar in the constellation Puppis.
Red Sky for Brown Dwarf
Astronomers have discovered a new failed star with unusually red, dusty skies.
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