Science

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An origin story for a family of oddball meteorites

Study suggests the rare objects likely came from an early planetesimal with a magnetic core.

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Samples from a rare meteorite family, including the one shown here, reveal that their parent planetesimal, formed in the earliest stages of the solar system, was a complex, layered object, with a molten core and solid crust similar to Earth.

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Mapping the Oaxaca earthquake from space

On the morning of 23 June 2020, a strong earthquake struck the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico. The 7.4- magnitude earthquake prompted evacuations in the region, triggered a tsunami warning and damaged thousands of houses. Satellite radar data, from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, are being used to analyse the effects of the earthquake on land.

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COVID-19 pandemic causes seismic noise quiet period in 2020

Research published in the journal Science has shown that lockdown measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 led to a 50% reduction in seismic noise observed around the world in early to mid 2020.

Seismic noise is measure by seismometers. These are sensitive scientific instruments to record vibrations travelling through the ground – known as seismic waves. Traditionally, seismology focuses on measuring seismic waves arising after earthquakes. Seismic records from natural sources however are contaminated by high-frequency vibrations (“buzz”) from humans at the surface – walking around, driving cars, public transport, heavy industry and construction work all create unique seismic signatures in the subsurface that are recorded on seismometers. The buzz is stronger during the day than at night and weaker on weekends than weekdays.

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NASA Juno Takes First Images of Jovian Moon Ganymede's North Pole

Infrared images from Juno provide the first glimpse of Ganymede's icy north pole.

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These images the JIRAM instrument aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft took on Dec. 26, 2019, provide the first infrared mapping of Ganymede's northern frontier. Frozen water molecules detected at both poles have no appreciable order to their arrangement and a different infrared signature than ice at the equator.

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First Ever Image of a Multi-Planet System around a Sun-like Star Captured by ESO Telescope

The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) has taken the first ever image of a young, Sun-like star accompanied by two giant exoplanets. Images of systems with multiple exoplanets are extremely rare, and — until now — astronomers had never directly observed more than one planet orbiting a star similar to the Sun. The observations can help astronomers understand how planets formed and evolved around our own Sun.

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First ever image of a multi-planet system around a Sun-like star

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A Special Family Portrait

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A Special Family Portrait

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Letting a satellite breathe

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Letting a satellite breathe

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Sea-level charting satellite passes with flying colors

Like students all over the world currently awaiting exam grades, the Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite has also been put through a series of strenuous tests leaving the eyes of the teams involved in this international mission set firmly on its final results. Happily, Sentinel-6 has passed with flying colours and engineers can now prepare it for shipment to the US for liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon-9, which is scheduled for 10 November.

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Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich.

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NASA’s 'Robot Hotel' Gets Its Occupants

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The Mobile Base System moves on the Mobile Transporter rail car along truss rails covering the length of the space station. It provides a movable platform for Canadarm2 and Dextre and can access any of eight worksites that feature power connections.

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THE ISAAC NEWTON TELESCOPE GALACTIC PLANE SURVEYS

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Number of sources as a function of Galactic longitude in each of the six pass bands, with Sloan i < 20.5 magnitudes.