Hubble Views a Dwarf Galaxy
The constellation of Ursa Major (The Great Bear) is home to Messier 101, the Pinwheel Galaxy. Messier 101 is one of the biggest and brightest spiral galaxies in the night sky. Like the Milky Way, Messier 101 is not alone, with smaller dwarf galaxies...
Chips that can steer light: Record-setting ‘optical phased arrays’ could lead to better laser rangefinders, smaller medical-imaging devices and even holographic TVs
Another possibility, however, is to create an array of light emitters and vary their "phase" — the alignment of the light waves they produce. The out-of-phase light waves interfere with one another, reinforcing each other in some directions but...
How to treat heat like light: New approach using nanoparticle alloys allows heat to be focused or reflected just like electromagnetic waves
The approach relies on engineered materials consisting of nanostructured semiconductor alloy crystals. Heat is a vibration of matter — technically, a vibration of the atomic lattice of a material — just as sound is. Such vibrations can also be thought...
Study quantifies the size of holes antibacterials create in cell walls to kill bacteria: Death on a nanometer scale
Research has shown that alternative antimicrobials such as PlyC can effectively kill bacteria. However, fundamental questions remain about how bacteria respond to the holes that these therapeutics make in their cell wall and what size holes bacteria...
Wavelength-Dependent Shapeshifting: Plasmon-Mediated Growth Control
Methods which allow predictable and reproducible control over the shape and defect structures of nanoparticles are a sought-after ideal...
NASA Rules Out Earth Impact in 2036 for Asteroid Apophis
Asteroid Apophis was discovered on June 19, 2004.
NASA's GALEX Reveals the Largest-Known Spiral Galaxy
The spectacular barred spiral galaxy NGC 6872 has ranked among the biggest stellar systems for decades. Now a team of astronomers from the United States, Chile and Brazil has crowned it the largest known spiral, based on archival data from NASA's...
Life possible on extrasolar moons
Artist’s conception of two extrasolar moons orbiting a giant gaseous planet.
