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European Satellite Confirms UW Numbers: Arctic Ocean is on Thin Ice

By Guest PostFebruary 20, 2013Environmentandy ridout, arctic ocean, Arctic sea ice, arctic waters, assimilation system, axel schweiger, below the ice, cloud, cryosat 2 satellite, data, duncan wingham, european satellite, european space agency, extent, ice ocean modeling, icesat, jinlun zhang, katharine giles, land elevation satellite, NASA, ocean surface, pan arctic, piomas, polar scientist, rosemary willatt, satellite observation, seymour laxon, thin ice, total volume, uk, university of washington, vulnerable, warming

The September 2012 record low in Arctic sea-ice extent was big news, but a missing piece of the puzzle was lurking below the ocean’s surface. What volume of ice floats on Arctic waters? And how does that compare to previous summers? These are difficult but important questions, because how much ice actually remains suggests how vulnerable the ice pack will be to more warming.

New satellite observations confirm a University of Washington analysis that for the past three years has produced widely quoted estimates of Arctic sea-ice volume. Findings based on observations from a European Space Agency satellite, published online in Geophysical Research Letters, show that the Arctic has lost more than a third of summer sea-ice volume since a decade ago, when a U.S. satellite collected similar data. (more…)

CryoSat-2 Mission Reveals Major Arctic Sea-Ice Loss

By Guest PostFebruary 18, 2013Environmentalfred wegener institute, aperture radar altimeter, Arctic, Arctic sea ice, assimilation system, autumn, canadian archipelago, cracks, cryosat 2 satellite, data, energy, european space agency, german aerospace center, greenland, high resolution, ice ocean modelling, ice thickness, icesat satellite, jet propulsion laboratory, katharine giles, microwave, modelling, NASA, pan arctic, piomas, polar observation, pulse, sea ice, seymour laxon, svalbard, synthetic, uk, university of washington, volume, york university

Arctic sea ice volume has declined by 36 per cent in the autumn and 9 per cent in the winter between 2003 and 2012, a UK-led team of scientists has discovered.

Researchers from the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at UCL used new data from the European Space Agency’s CryoSat-2 satellite spanning 2010 to 2012, and data from NASA’s ICESat satellite from 2003 to 2008 to estimate the volume of sea ice in the Arctic. (more…)

How Planets Form: Astronomers Weigh a Protoplanetary Disk with Unprecedented Accuracy

By Guest PostFebruary 5, 2013Scienceabundant element, accuracy, amount of hydrogen, astronomers, constellation hydra, discrepancy, dust and gas, dust grains, edwin bergin, european space agency, extra neutron, five solar systems, fraction, gaseous hydrogen, goran pilbratt, herschel space observatory, how planets form, human hair, ilsedore cleeves, jupiter, like earth, Nature, nucleus, orbiting radio telescope, origin of planets, planet building process, planet forming disk, planetary birth, protoplanetary disk, solar systems, starlight, sun, terrestrial worlds, total gas mass, tw hydra, universe, university of michigan, water and carbon, weighing a disc, young star

ANN ARBOR — In a study that gives astronomers new insights into how planets form, research led by the University of Michigan has enabled a dramatically more precise measurement of the amount of dust and gas in the planet-forming disk around a young star.

The findings speak, in a way, to a fundamental question: “Why are we here?” (more…)

From Cassini for the Holidays: A Splendor Seldom Seen

By Guest PostDecember 20, 2012Sciencecarolyn porco, cassini spacecraft, dark side, earth, european space agency, high solar phase, in saturns shadow, jpl, NASA, orbit, planet saturn, rings, saturn, sun

PASADENA, Calif — Just in time for the holidays, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn for more than eight years now, has delivered another glorious, backlit view of the planet Saturn and its rings.

On Oct. 17, 2012, during its 174th orbit around the gas giant, Cassini was deliberately positioned within Saturn’s shadow, a perfect location from which to look in the direction of the sun and take a backlit view of the rings and the dark side of the planet. Looking back towards the sun is a geometry referred to by planetary scientists as “high solar phase;” near the center of your target’s shadow is the highest phase possible. This is a very scientifically advantageous and coveted viewing position, as it can reveal details about both the rings and atmosphere that cannot be seen in lower solar phase. (more…)

Astronomers Test Einstein in a New Regime Using Pair of Burnt-Out Stars

By Guest PostAugust 31, 2012Sciencealbert einstein, apache point telescope, astronomer, austin, burnt out stars, canary islands, carlos allende prieto, don winget, dwarf stars, einstein, emission, energy, european space agency, fabric, Galaxy, gemini north telescope, general relativity, gran telescopio canarias, gravitational wave, hawaii, j j hermes, j0651, mcdonald observatory, milliseconds, moving object, mukremin kilic, NASA, new mexico, new regime, orbital decay, orbital period, otto struve telescope, ripple, space time, spain, sun, test, texas, theory, university, university of oklahoma, warren brown, west texas

AUSTIN, Texas — A team of astronomers led by researchers from The University of Texas at Austin has confirmed the emission of gravitational waves from the second-strongest known source in our galaxy by studying the shrinking orbital period of a unique pair of burnt-out stars. Their observations tested Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity in a new regime. The results will be published soon in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Last year, the same team discovered that the two white dwarf stars are so close together that they make a complete orbit in less than 13 minutes, and they should be gradually slipping closer. The system, called SDSS J065133.338+284423.37 (J0651 for short), contains two white dwarf stars, which are the remnant cores of stars like our sun. (more…)

Planck All-Sky Images Show Cold Gas and Strange Haze

By Guest PostFebruary 14, 2012Sciencebig bang, carbon monoxide, clouds of hydrogen, cold clouds, cold gas, cosmic microwave background, dark matter, dark matter particles, davide pietrobon, electrons, european space agency, form of light energy, galactic haze, galactic winds, Galaxy, greg dobler, haze, images, jan tauber, krzysztof m gorski, magnetic fields, microwave emissions, milky way galaxy, NASA, planck, planck data, poland, relic radiation, santa barbara, star formation, supernovae, the whole sky, universe, university of california, warsaw university observatory, wavelengths, wmap

New images from the Planck mission show previously undiscovered islands of star formation and a mysterious haze of microwave emissions in our Milky Way galaxy. The views give scientists new treasures to mine and take them closer to understanding the secrets of our galaxy.

Planck is a European Space Agency mission with significant NASA participation. (more…)

NASA Telescopes Help Solve Ancient Supernova Mystery

By Guest PostOctober 25, 2011Sciencebill danchi, brian j williams, chandra xray observatory, chinese astronomers, european space agency, exploding star, guest star, infrared observations, NASA, peaceful death of a star, rcw 86, sky, spitzer space telescope, stellar explosion, sun, supernova remnant, type ia supernova, wide field infrared survey explorer, wise, xmm newton observatory

PASADENA, Calif. — A mystery that began nearly 2,000 years ago, when Chinese astronomers witnessed what would turn out to be an exploding star in the sky, has been solved. New infrared observations from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, reveal how the first supernova ever recorded occurred and how its shattered remains ultimately spread out to great distances.

The findings show that the stellar explosion took place in a hollowed-out cavity, allowing material expelled by the star to travel much faster and farther than it would have otherwise. (more…)

Herschel Finds Oceans of Water in Disk of Nearby Star

By Guest PostOctober 22, 2011Scienceastronomers, cold water vapor, constellation hydra, european space agency, herschel space observatory, heterodyne instrument for the far-infrared, hifi, icy comets, jet propulsion laboratory, leiden observatory, michiel hogerheijde, NASA, paul goldsmith, planets like earth, the netherlands, tw hydrae, universe, waterlogged disk, young star

PASADENA, Calif. — Using data from the Herschel Space Observatory, astronomers have detected for the first time cold water vapor enveloping a dusty disk around a young star. The findings suggest that this disk, which is poised to develop into a solar system, contains great quantities of water, suggesting that water-covered planets like Earth may be common in the universe. Herschel is a European Space Agency mission with important NASA contributions.

Scientists previously found warm water vapor in planet-forming disks close to a central star. Evidence for vast quantities of water extending out into the cooler, far reaches of disks where comets take shape had not been seen until now. The more water available in disks for icy comets to form, the greater the chances that large amounts eventually will reach new planets through impacts. (more…)

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