#Major 7. 3-Magnitude Earthquake Aftershock Hits Nepal A 7. 3-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal this morning (May 12), toppling buildings and killing at least a dozen people.
The temblor was centered 11 miles (18 kilometers) southeast of Kodari, Nepal, and 47 miles (76 km) east-northeast of the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu.
Earth scientists had anticipated major aftershocks and even larger earthquakes in the area. In fact, a recent study found that smaller aftershocks strike within the main earthquake rupture,
Computer simulations showed that the polythiophenes could indeed fit into a space found on one end of a prion,
#Perseid Meteor shower: Best Places to See'Shooting stars'This Week The annual Perseid meteor shower is typically the most spectacular"shooting star"display for people in the Northern hemisphere,
and this week, skywatchers could be in for a remarkable show. The meteor shower peaks during the overnight hours tomorrow (Aug 12) and Thursday (Aug 13),
and weather permitting, stargazers can expect to spot an average of one meteor per minute radiating from the constellation Perseus in the northern sky, somewhat near the North pole.
At the meteor shower's peak, skywatchers could see as many as 100 meteors per hour according to NASA.
Meteor showers occur when the Earth, on its orbital path through space, collides with particles from a comet or an asteroid.
The Perseids come from the tail of Comet Swift-Tuttle, which last made its closest approach to Earth in 1992.
This week marks the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, but the sky show will continue through Aug 24.
Here are some of the best ways to enjoy the celestial show. Your own backyard You don't need any special equipment to see the Perseids.
For the best viewing experience, face northeast under dark skies and make sure to get as far away from city lights as you can,
because light pollution will wash out the fainter meteors. And be sure to give your eyes time to adjust to the dark.
This year, there will be a new moon, providing maximum darkness for stargazers. If you must look at a star map,
use a flashlight with red paper over it to preserve your night vision. National or State Parks If you're looking for a place far away from light pollution,
a National or State Park is a great start. Those locations are usually rural enough for stargazing
and some of them even offer astronomy events during the summer. Parks in the western United states, in particular including Great basin national park (in Nevada) and Bryce canyon national park (in Utah) host astronomy events year-round.
The National park service website has listings of all U s. National and State Parks. Public observatories Although most astronomical observatories are reserved for professional research,
some have museums or outreach programs that host astronomy nights for the public. In Los angeles, Griffith Observatory is dedicated solely to public education.
Even though a telescope is needed not to view a meteor shower your local observatory might have people on hand to tell you more about skywatching.
You may even get a chance to look at other celestial objects through a telescope. Check with local observatories for details.
Online If bad weather threatens to spoil your view of the Perseids, fear not! You can catch all the action live online.
NASA'S MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER in Huntsville, Alabama, will be livestreaming views of the meteor shower from 10 p m. EDT tomorrow to 2 a m. EDT on Thursday (Aug 13.
Meteor experts Bill Cooke, Danielle Moser and Rhiannon Blaauw, all from NASA Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space flight Center, will also provide onair commentary.
You can tune in to the NASA TV webcast on Space. com . If you miss the Perseids this time around,
though, meteor showers do occur throughout the year. Other prominent showers include the Leonids (in November) and the Quadrantids (in January) u
#'Exercise Hormone'Irisin Really Does Exist The"exercise hormone"irisin has generated controversy among scientists some say it's produced
when humans work up a sweat, and holds promise as a weight-loss treatment, but others contend that irisin doesn't even really exist in people.
Now, one research team says it has proven the existence of irisin in humans once and for all,
sunlight and insects can ravage the texts, while storing them at temperatures that are too high
when there isn't enough sunlight. Additionally, when conditions in the container are just right, the device will automatically power down,
cold or even the vacuum of space.""When you remove the water, they quickly coat themselves in large amounts of glassy molecules,"Juan de Pablo,
it will allow experiments with multiple animals in the same space to better understand social interaction in the treatment of chronic pain and mental disorders, for example."
and the number-crunching processors in the same tiny space, said Max Shulaker, one of the designers of the chip,
#Thermal'Invisibility Cloak'Could Keep People Cool A new thermal"invisibility cloak"that channels heat around whatever it is trying to hide may one day help keep people and satellites cool,
Other applications may include shielding satellites that need to change shape over time, he added say, by unfolding antennas.
Teleporting an object from one point in the universe to another without it moving through the space in between may sound like science fiction pulled from an episode of"Star trek,
which finds that the fundamental building blocks of the universe can essentially exist in two or more places at once.
"However, the experiment at the Canary islands involved a telescope on top of one mountain and a telescope on top of another mountain,
with the telescopes pointed at each other at night, since background light during the day would interfere with the experiment,
#Salty Water Flows on Mars Today, Boosting Odds for Life Liquid water flows on Mars today,
boosting the odds that life could exist on the Red planet, a new study suggests. The enigmatic dark streaks on Mars called recurring slope lineae (RSL) that appear seasonally on steep,
relatively warm Martian slopes are caused likely by salty liquid water, researchers said.""Liquid water is a key requirement for life On earth,
"study lead author Lujendra Ojha, of the Georgia Institute of technology in Atlanta, told Space. com via email."
"The presence of liquid water on Mars'present-day surface therefore points to environment s that are more habitable than previously thought."
"Ojha was part of the team that first discovered RSL in 2011, by studying images captured by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (Hirise) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
These dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks (called recurring slope lineae) are flowing downhill on Mars,
and are inferred to have been formed by contemporary flowing water. Recently, planetary scientists detected hydrated salts on these slopes at Hale crater,
RSL occur in many different locations on Mars, from equatorial regions up to the planet's middle latitudes.
Ojha and his colleagues scrutinized data gathered about four different RSL locations by another MRO instrument, the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM."
we can deduce the mineralogical makeup of surface materials on Mars, "Ojha said.""What we found was that at times
and places when we see biggest RSL on the surface of Mars, we also found spectral evidence for hydrated salts on the slopes where RSL form."
CRISM observes the Red planet at the driest time of the Martian day, about 3 p m,
No planet is steeped more in myth and misconception than Mars. This quiz will reveal how much you really know about some of the goofiest claims about the red planet."
"Due to that, I do not think we will ever find the RSL still in their liquid form at 3: 00 p m,
a class of chlorine-containing substances that are widespread on Mars. These salts lower the freezing point of water from 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) to minus 94 F (minus 70 C),
"This property vastly increases the stability of brine salty water on Mars, "he said. Perchlorates can absorb atmospheric water,
if Mars'air is the source of the brine flows. Other possibilities include melting of surface or near-surface ice or discharges of local aquifers."
"It is conceivable that RSL are forming in different parts of Mars through different formation mechanisms,
Observations by NASA's Curiosity rover and other spacecraft have shown that, billions of years ago, the Red planet was a relatively warm and wet world that could have supported microbial life, at least in some regions.
Mars is extremely cold and dry today, which is why the discovery of RSL sites has generated so much excitement over the past four years:
The features point to the possibility that simple life-forms could exist on the planet's surface now.
But the new results don't imply that life thrives on Mars today, or even that this is a likely proposition, Ojha stressed.
Perchlorate brines have a very low water activity, "he said, meaning that the water within them is not easily available for potential use by organisms."
which could help it cram into the tiny space of a cell's nucleus n
when he flew too close to the sun. The mythological character fell into the sea and drowned.
it should be possible to create a region with low pressure that effectively counteracts gravity, trapping an object in midair.
000 suns The latest in solar power comes to us from Swiss inventors working for Airlight Energy, Dsolar (a subsidiary of Airlight),
it tracks the sun and cools itself by pumping water through its veins like a plant.
this method entails using reflectors to concentrate the sun, as well as highly efficient photovoltaic cells (known as gallium arsenide photovoltaic cells) to convert that concentrated solar energy into electricity.
According to Gianluca Ambrosetti, Airlight's head of research, the Solar Sunflower's reflectors concentrate the sun"to about 5, 000 suns."
000 suns. To counteract this, the Sunflower makes use of a hot water cooling system invented by the project's IBM collaborators.
#This whiskey glass was designed for imbibing in space If you're one of the many whiskey drinkers who has put off journeying into space simply
because there's no good way to enjoy your favorite beverage, today is your day. Scottish distiller Ballantine's, in partnership with Open Space agency James Parr, has designed the world's first whiskey glass optimized for drinking in the microgravity of space."
"Our brief was to develop a whisky glass that worked under the conditions of microgravity,
the scientific term for zero gravity,"says Parr.""It was important that we focused on creating a ritual around how you drink from the Ballantine Space Glass to ensure a familiarity of what we are used to here On earth?
the end result is one with several elements to that ritual, from the liquid entering the glass through to sipping from it."
"Wee engineered a#Spaceglass that works in microgravity to ensure the spirit of whisky lives on into the future https://t. co/Ykpe2lsl0qballatine's poured an incredibly amount of time
and vision into coming up with the Space Glass, studying everything from the ways various liquids behave in microgravity to the special distilling process necessary On earth to bring out the smells
and flavors that might otherwise be lost in space. n space, you do not experience the sense of smell
and taste with the same intensity as you do on earth, Sandy Hyslop, Ballantine Master Blender,
explained. his meant I had to make the Ballantine Space Whisky more heightened in flavor
Astronauts miss the taste of home so crafting a fruitier, stronger, more floral blend is a way they can keep the taste of home with them.
and distilling for a whiskey beverage in space, check out Ballantine's in depth chronicle on Medium.
#There's water on Mars, NASA confirms There's water on Mars, and it flows there today.
In an eagerly anticipated news event, NASA revealed this morning the evidence of liquid, flowing seasonal water on the Red planet.
Water often signals life, so this new discovery gives hope to the search for life in our solar system.
Data from various probes and rovers like Curiosity and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have provided researchers with evidence concluding that there is flowing water on present-day Mars. Scientists understand that Mars was once Earthlike with large
amounts of water on the surface. Something unknown happened in the planet's history causing it to change.
However today's revelation confirms that Mars has harbored water in the past, and that water exists there today.
Now, scientists can pursue the implications of what flowing water means in relation to the planet's history
and what it could also mean for the potential for life. Michael Meyer of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA explained,
"We found the active process on Mars today that shows that water was a likelihood."
"He continued with a description of the geological features that caused scientists to suspect water prior to the confirmation of its presence.
which shows how scientists were able to study the RSLS on the planet's surface.
However, recently scientists found a way to analyze data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter by extracting data from the pictures on a per pixel level.
This allows scientists to study smaller details on the Red planet's surface and those details provided the new information.
Findings show that hydrated salts are present on the surface of Mars. Hydrated salts would mean that the water on Mars is briny.
Mary Beth Wilhelm of NASA's Ames Research center explained that the evidence of water means many things,
Also, water on Mars could aid in the human exploration of the planet. Water on Mars would be a crucial resource for astronauts visiting the planet or for long-term colonists.
Of course scientists will need to study the nature of the water to know the full implications.
Researchers note that there is potential for the Curiosity rover to travel to an RSL and analyze a sample of the liquid.
Another possibility is the future Mars 2020 rover or other rovers designed for the task.
The discovery of liquid water on Mars leads to more intriguing questions and mysteries. If there has been did life on mars,
These new findings about liquid water on Mars make scientists and space exploration enthusiasts thirsty for more information n
#Transparent Batteries That Charge In The Sun A group of Japanese researchers have managed to improve the design of a transparent lithium-ion battery
when exposed to sunlight without the need for a separate solar cell. The transparent battery was developed first by the researchers,
the Japanese researchers have found a way to make these transparent batteries now recharge themselves in the presence of sunlight,
but also store power as theye recharged by the sun. And as an extension of that idea,
harvesting sunlight to charge the device whenever youe outside t
#Light-Powered Contact lenses In a patent granted this month, Google shows off plans to build contact lenses that are powered by
which requires squeezing through small spaces. They are also using the PLL approach to increase throughput by operating many cantilevers on a single chip m
and also aggravate climate change up in the atmosphere. Being able to detect such emissions is needed a critically measure.
and also aggravate climate change up in the atmosphere. Being able to detect such emissions is needed a critically measure.
This amalgamation makes it a terrifically attractive material to apply to scientific developments in a wide variety of fields, such as electronics, aerospace and sports.
night-vision goggles and smoke detectors to surveillance systems and satellites-that rely on electronic light sensors. Integrated into a digital camera lens, for example, it could reduce bulkiness and boost both the acquisition speed and quality of video or still photos.
night-vision goggles and smoke detectors to surveillance systems and satellites-that rely on electronic light sensors. Integrated into a digital camera lens, for example, it could reduce bulkiness and boost both the acquisition speed and quality of video or still photos.
###Konstantin Likharev from the Department of physics and Astronomy at Stony Brook University also conducted research for this project.
If this voltage is generated by sunlight in a solar cell, then you could store solar energy by generating hydrogen gas.
Firstly, it produces under sun light illumination a photovoltage of almost 0. 5 volts and very high photocurrent densities of up to 38 ma/cm2;
almost all sun light reaches the photoactive chalcopyrite, leading to the observed high photocurrent density and photovoltage comparable with those of a conventional device-grade thin-film solar cell.
"More than 80%of the incident visible sunlight was converted photoelectrically by this composite system into electric current available for the hydrogen generation,
"When we put these two aliens together, we create something better, "Yap says, explaining that it's important that the materials have lopsided band gaps,
#Camera for the nano-cosmos: Dresden researchers develop an all-purpose optical method for observing physical,
Since before Newton held a prism to a ray of sunlight and saw a spectrum of colour,
conformal electronics and antennas for maximizing space efficiency and reducing aerodynamic drag; and inherently more durable circuits that will withstand the extreme strain, shock,
foldable material that allows the circuitry to fit into extremely tight spaces and even to be integrated into complex curved surfaces,
which detonate after penetrating deep in the earth. Because of the system's toughness, Leever says, initial testing suggests that the flexible circuitry would remain viable
#Artificial leaf harnesses sunlight for efficient fuel production Generating and storing renewable energy, such as solar or wind power, is a key barrier to a clean energy economy.
a cost-effective method of producing fuels using only sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide, mimicking the natural process of photosynthesis in plants
The photoanode uses sunlight to oxidize water molecules, generating protons and electrons as well as oxygen gas.
converts 10 percent of the energy in sunlight into stored energy in the chemical fuel,
"Our work shows that it is indeed possible to produce fuels from sunlight safely and efficiently in an integrated system with inexpensive components,
Methane capture and storage provides a double environmental return-it removes a harmful greenhouse gas from the atmosphere that can then be used as a fuel that is cleaner than other fossil fuels.
HILLS AND POTHOLES Many of these types of flexible electronic devices will rely on thin films of organic materials that catch sunlight
They are planned also for use in the next Mars rover vehicle.""But if they become easier and cheaper to make,
they could be used widely in many applications including as exceptionally strong components in personal electronic devices, in space exploration vehicles,
the less efficiently they convert sunlight to electricity; The fix: A new transparent overlay allows light to hit the cells
Their invention shunts away the heat generated by a solar cell under sunlight and cools it in a way that allows it to convert more photons into electricity.
The material is transparent to the visible sunlight that powers solar cells, but captures and emits thermal radiation,
"Solar arrays must face the sun to function, even though that heat is detrimental to efficiency, "Fan said."
"Our thermal overlay allows sunlight to pass through, preserving or even enhancing sunlight absorption, but it also cools the cell by radiating the heat out
and improving the cell efficiency.""A cool way to improve solar efficiency In 2014, the same trio of inventors developed an ultrathin material that radiated infrared heat directly back toward space without warming the atmosphere.
They presented that work in Nature, describing it as"radiative cooling "because it shunted thermal energy directly into the deep, cold void of space.
In their new paper, the researchers applied that work to improve solar array performance when the sun is beating down.
The Stanford team tested their technology on a custom-made solar absorber-a device that mimics the properties of a solar cell without producing electricity-covered with a micron-scale pattern designed to maximize the capability to dump heat
in the form of infrared light, into space. Their experiments showed that the overlay allowed visible light to pass through to the solar cells,
but requires the preservation of the visible spectrum of sunlight for either practical or aesthetic reasons."
In these new devices, the'rice grains'have been glued together at random points forming a mesh-like structure with lots of open space
the contractor that renovated the lab space for more information about the lights.""I've never had a client
"says Chih-Hao Chang, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State.
resembling little oscillating stars. These starlike excitations are caused by a single magnetic atom put into the layer of superconducting material.
"building constellations of them can be used in quantum electronics. Physicists from France and Russia have discovered that the magnetic atoms in a two-dimensional layered superconductor create electronic disturbances that look like oscillating"nanostars".
"A"constellation"of these disturbances could be used in quantum electronics. The results of the study have been published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Physics.
And the area of excitation was shaped like a sixfold electronic"star"with its rays extending along the axis of the crystal lattice of niobium diselenide.
The observed"stars"are more stable and more suitable to creating new topologically protected states.
For example, common methods to diagnose lysozyme protein are Turbidity Meter, Lyso-rocket electrophoresis and ELISA.
automotive and aerospace after being produced mass. In recent years, dye sensitized solar cells have become very important as the third generation of solar cells.
which the space available for onboard fuel storage is limited. ANG has the potential to store high densities of methane within a porous material at ambient temperature and moderate pressures
"Dr. Peter Baum says. e are now able to record the fastest known atomic motions in four dimensions, namely in space and time".
"It would work great on something like the International space station, "Long said. Diamine-Appended Metal-Organic Frameworks The diamine-appended metal-organic framework before and after binding of carbon dioxide.
If the planet's CO2 levels rise much higher than they are today, it may even be necessary to remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere to make the planet livable.
Long and his colleagues describe how the new materials--diamine-appended MOFS--work in this week's issue of the journal Nature("Cooperative insertion of CO2 in diamine-appended metal-organic frameworks".
#Electrospray thruster makes small satellites more capable Small satellites are becoming increasingly popular tools for Earth-imaging, communications,
Once in space, they can accurately point cameras or change orbit, and they usually crash
What these satellites lack is a viable propulsion system, says MIT aeronautics and astronautics alumna Natalya Brikner Phd 5,
cofounder and CEO of Accion Systems. ou can make a satellite the size of a softball with a surprising amount of capabilities,
but it can maneuver properly and falls from orbit quickly, she says. eople are waiting for a solution.
Now Accion has developed a commercial electrospray propulsion system their first is about the size of a pack of gum made of tiny chips that provide thrust for small satellites.
Among other advantages Accion module can be manufactured for significantly less than today alternatives. This technology could enable low-cost satellites,
such as those known as ubesats, to become more viable for various commercial and research applications, including advanced imaging and communications,
where numerous satellites could provide global coverage. hat requires propulsion, but something so small that it won interfere with the small volume
and resources a small satellite already has, says Accion technical advisor Paulo Lozano, an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics who invented the underlying technology.
Ultimately, he adds, the technology could give small startups and even countries without well-funded space programs the opportunity to use low-cost satellites for space exploration. t
what other people have called the emocratization of space,?Lozano says. think this will contribute to making that a reality.
The other Accion cofounder is Louis Perna 9, SM 4, who co-invented the system and now leads product development.
and 2 millimeters thick that can be applied anywhere on a satellite. On earth, it provides enough thrust to ove around a sheet of paper,
But in space, it can push around a Cubesat, or a slightly larger satellite. The module has a plastic tank that stores a nontoxic
nonvolatile, liquid-salt propellant. Above the reservoir are the chips, which each have a porous substrate with about 500 pointed tips and, above that, an extractor grid with small holes.
that momentum exchange propels the spacecraft in the opposite direction, Brikner explains. Accion is on target to launch MAX-1 in July,
to stabilize a Cubesat launched from the International space station, and to compensate for atmospheric drag, hich is the force that pulls small satellites into the atmosphere prematurely,
where they burn up, Brikner says. However, with dozens of small satellites being launched annually, Lozano adds, the system could also help control how long they stay in space,
so they don become floating space junk. ou can climb to an orbit where drag is less,
and stay there for longer, and use the same propulsion system to re-enter the atmosphere, he says.
Not fine jewelry anymore While it is possible to create low-cost chemical-propulsion systems, it not practical,
Brikner says. Chemical systems are made with explosive pressurized tanks, which are allowed not to piggyback on the larger rockets that carry small satellites into space. o theye easy to produce,
but no one allowed to use them, Brikner says. Electric-propulsion systems are, therefore, safer and more popular alternatives.
when Brikner and Perna came to the Space Propulsion Laboratory, which Lozano directs. At the time, Lozano was prototyping an electric-propulsion system the precursor of the Accion technology that he been working on at MIT since around 2004.
a startup that aimed to make chemical-based launchers for small satellites. It closed soon after it started. never thought I have another chance to do a space-propulsion company,
Brikner says. hen when the opportunity came up I said, have shot another at this? This is incredible.?
In the future, Lozano says Accion system could enable small satellites to perform tasks now possible only for much larger satellites such as exploring the moon.
Small satellites aren yet able to reach the appropriate orbit for such missions. ut if youe stuck in an orbit you don want,
you can use propulsion to get to these interesting places, he says. think that a game-changer. s
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