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Disentangling a dusty nova: Astronomers take a closer look at LMCN 2009-05a

By analyzing the data from the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) international database and the Small and Medium Aperture Telescope System (SMARTS), astronomers have inspected a nova in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) known as LMCN 2009-05a. Results of the study, published August 19 on the pre-print server arXiv, disentangle the nature and properties of this nova.

Chemists create new high-energy compound to fuel space flight

University at Albany chemists have created a new high-energy compound that could revolutionize rocket fuel and make space flights more efficient. Upon ignition, the compound releases more energy relative to its weight and volume compared to current fuels. In a rocket, this would mean less fuel required to power the same flight duration or payload and more room for mission-critical supplies. Their study is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

“In rocket ships, space is at a premium,” said Assistant Professor of Chemistry Michael Yeung, whose lab led the work. “Every inch must be packed efficiently, and everything onboard needs to be as light as possible. Creating more efficient fuel using our new compound would mean less space is needed for fuel storage, freeing up room for equipment, including instruments used for research. On the return voyage, this could mean more space is available to bring samples home.”

The newly synthesized compound, diboride (MnB2), is over 20% more energetic by weight and about 150% more energetic by volume compared to the aluminum currently used in solid rocket boosters. Despite being highly energetic, it is also very safe and will only combust when it meets an ignition agent like kerosene.

Warped protoplanetary disks reshape existing ideas about how planets form

The textbook picture of how planets form—serene, flat disks of cosmic dust—has just received a significant cosmic twist.

New research, published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, is set to reshape this long-held view. An international team of scientists, wielding the formidable power of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), has found compelling evidence that many , the very birthplaces of planets, are in fact subtly warped.

These slight bends and twists in the disk plane, often just a few degrees, bear a striking resemblance to the subtle tilts observed among the planets in our own solar system. This discovery suggests the initial conditions for planetary systems might be far less orderly than previously thought, with profound implications for how planets grow and settle into their final orbits.

The world’s volcanoes are waking up — And they’re erupting pure technology

One of Earth’s most unique geological formations is volcanoes, as they can be located either on land or underwater. They are even found on other planets. These formations come in all shapes and sizes, varying from shields to composites and cinder cones. When they erupt, they spew lava. As more and more of the world’s volcanoes are waking, they are also erupting pure technology. That’s right, within these unique geological formations, there are valuable elements that could revolutionize the renewable industry.

The world is gradually transitioning to renewable energy sources as alternatives to burning fossil fuels. This transition forms part of a greater goal to reduce the total greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Unfortunately, the renewable technologies that we rely on to harness energy from renewable sources are not as environmentally friendly as we want to believe.

According to the SPIE Digital Library, renewable energy technology needs particular elements for production, and obtaining these elements has proven to be challenging. Without these elements, we cannot address other challenges that these technologies face, which are intermittency and storage. For example, solar panels and wind turbines are both dependent on specific weather conditions, which result in intermittency in power supply.

Strange spotted rock on Mars could reveal signs of ancient life

Learning how to study the leopard-like spots found on both terrestrial and Martian rocks can prepare scientists for when the real samples arrive from space. A curious red Martian rock nicknamed Sapphire Canyon has scientists excited, as its spotted appearance hints at possible organic origins. On Earth, researchers tested a powerful laser technique, O-PTIR, on a similar rock found by chance in Arizona, proving it can rapidly and precisely reveal a material’s chemical makeup. This high-resolution method could play a key role in analyzing Mars samples once they arrive, adding to its growing track record in NASA missions like Europa Clipper.

In 2024, NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance collected an unusual rock sample. The rock, named Sapphire Canyon, features white, leopard-like spots with black borders within a red mudstone and might hold clues about sources of organic molecules within Mars.

Here on Earth, in Review of Scientific Instruments, by AIP Publishing, researchers from Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology used a technique called optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy (O-PTIR) to study a visually similar rock. They wanted to determine if O-PTIR can be applied to the Sapphire Canyon sample when it is eventually brought here for study.

NASA’s Webb Telescope Discovers 300 Mysterious Objects That Shouldn’t Exist

Drawing on observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, researchers at the University of Missouri have identified 300 unusual candidates for early galaxies. In a recent study, researchers from the University of Missouri examined distant regions of the universe and made a surprising discov

Braided magnetic flux ropes found at both human and light year scales

The new equilibrium, called a double helix, applies not only to the but also to much larger astrophysical configurations such as the Double Helix Nebula located near the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

The study is published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Solar corona structures such as flares often have the form of magnetic ropes: twisted tubes of plasma-containing magnetic fields. Such a rope can be visualized as a plasma-filled garden hose with a stripe wrapped around it in a helical pattern. An electric current flows along the length of the hose, and the helical stripe corresponds to the twisted magnetic field. Because it is charged, plasma conducts and is attached, or “frozen,” into magnetic fields.

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