Abra Science

  An image of Neptune from Voyager 2. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Deep inside Neptune and Uranus, temperatures and pressures are extreme enough to produce superionic water—a phase in which oxygen ions crystallize while highly mobile hydrogen ions float through interstitial spaces. Information about superionic water’s phase behavior would help planetary scientists model and understand the ice giants’ evolution, structure, and unusual magnetic fields. Theoretical and computational studies of superionic water’s structure and stability have supplemented scarce experimental data—the phase was observed for the first time in 2019. But those have yielded limited, and sometimes contradictory, results. Now Bingqing Cheng at the University of Cambridge and her collaborators have made predictions about superionic water’s lattice structure at planetary conditions by simulating the material using machine-learning potentials (MLPs) and an artificial neural-network architecture. Molecular-dyn...

  This deep Hubble Space Telescope image reveals the diffuse dwarf galaxy NGC2052-DF2, an unusual “see-through” galaxy. The giant cosmic cotton ball is so diffuse and its ancient stars so spread out that distant galaxies in the background can be seen through it. Astronomers measured the luminosities of faint stars at the tip of the red giant branch in this galaxy to improve the accuracy of its distance and to conclude that, in agreement with earlier studies, it does appear to be very deficient in dark matter. Credit: Science: NASA, ESA, STScI, Zili Shen (Yale), Pieter van Dokkum (Yale), Shany Danieli (IAS) Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI) The galaxy NGC 1052-DF2 resides in a field of galaxies about sixty-five million light-years away. Its low mass, only about two hundred million solar-masses, makes it a “dwarf” and its size, about fifteen thousand light-years in diameter, places it in the regime of ultra-diffuse galaxies. It is also distinguished by hosting a large populatio...

  A quasar – the most luminous persistent source of light in the universe. Credit: NASA A discovery that provides new insight into how galaxies evolve. At the center of galaxies, like our own Milky Way, lie massive black holes surrounded by spinning gas. Some shine brightly, with a continuous supply of fuel, while others go dormant for millions of years, only to reawaken with a serendipitous influx of gas. It remains largely a mystery how gas flows across the universe to feed these massive black holes. University of Connecticut Assistant Professor of Physics Daniel Anglés-Alcázar, lead author on a paper published recently in The Astrophysical Journal, addresses some of the questions surrounding these massive and enigmatic features of the universe by using new, high-powered simulations. “Supermassive black holes play a key role in galaxy evolution and we are trying to understand how they grow at the centers of galaxies,” says Anglés-Alcázar. “This is very important not just ...

  William Shatner (pictured September 2017), who played Captain James T. Kirk in the cult classic TV series "Star Trek," is set to become the first member of the iconic show's cast to journey to the final frontier as a guest aboard a Blue Origin rocket. Blue Origin announced Sunday it was delaying an upcoming flight set to carry actor William Shatner to space due to anticipated winds. Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk in the cult classic TV series "Star Trek," is due to become the first member of the iconic show's cast to journey to the final frontier as a guest aboard a Blue Origin suborbital rocket. His history-making flight was scheduled for October 12. But "due to forecasted winds on Tuesday, October 12, Blue Origin's mission operations team has made the decision to delay the launch of NS-18 and is now targeting Wednesday, October 13," a spokeswoman said in a statement. The new flight is scheduled for 8:30 am (1330 GMT). Sha...

Many contrarians dispute that cosmic inflation occurred. The evidence says otherwise The expanding Universe, full of galaxies and the complex structure we observe today, arose from a smaller, hotter, denser, more uniform state. But even that initial state had its origins, with cosmic inflation as the leading candidate for where that all came from. (Credit: C.-A. Faucher-Giguere, A. Lidz, and L. Hernquist, Science, 2008) KEY TAKEAWAYS Studying the Big Bang tells us how our universe evolved to become this way, but it doesn't immediately reveal why the Big Bang occurred or what might have preceded it. Theoretically and observationally, the evidence for cosmic inflation preceding and setting up the Big Bang is incredibly strong and comprehensive. There are still some new, sensitive things to measure, but the lack of low-hanging fruit doesn't mean the tree is dead. For as long as humans have been around, our innate curiosity has compelled us to ask questions about the universe. Why ...

  In a rare non-magnetic kagome material, a topological metal cools into a superconductor through a sequence of novel charge density waves. Researchers have discovered a complex landscape of electronic states that can co-exist on a kagome lattice, resembling those in high-temperature superconductors, a team of Boston College physicists reports in an advance electronic publication of the journal Nature. The focus of the study was a bulk single crystal of a topological kagome metal, known as CsV3Sb5  a metal that becomes superconducting below 2.5 degrees Kelvin, or minus 455 degrees Fahrenheit. The exotic material is built from atomic planes composed of Vanadium atoms arranged on a so called kagome lattice described as a pattern of interlaced triangles and hexagons  stacked on top of one another, with Cesium and Antimony spacer layers between the kagome planes. The material offers a window into how the physical properties of quantum solids  such as light transm...

While the EU proposes a launcher alliance to support next-generation launch vehicle develop, ESA is working to keep the first Ariane 6 launch on schedule for 2022. Credit: Arianespace WASHINGTON — The European Union is proposing a “launcher alliance” involving companies and governments to develop the next generation of European launch vehicles, although some European startups are skeptical of those plans. In a June 22 speech highlighting the EU’s space programs, including the signing of a Financial Framework Partnership Agreement with the European Space Agency, the EU commissioner responsible for space highlighted the launcher alliance as part of a “ambitious and disruptive space agenda.” “There is no space policy without autonomous access to space,” said Thierry Breton, commissioner for the internal market. “However, it is a segment under massive business and technological changes.” He said the EU had a “fantastic” launch vehicle industry, but that given growing global completion, Eur...