Gravity Waves, Predicted By Einstein’s General Relativity Theory, May Soon Be Detected

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In the next five years or so, scientists are poised to discover proof that space and time can wrinkle in the form of gravitational waves. These waves were predicted almost 100 years ago by Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, but have yet to be seen.

That could change soon when the latest, most sensitive experiments hunting gravitational waves come online. “There’s so much activity and excitement in the field right now,” said Mansi M. Kasliwal, an astronomer at the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Pasadena, Calif. “The momentum is really building.”

Kasliwal is the author of a paper published online today (May 2) in the journal Science describing the burgeoning field of gravitational wave studies.

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3D visualization of gravitational waves produced by two orbiting black holes.

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Mercury Meteorite? Green Space Rock Found In Morocco May Be First From Innermost Planet

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Scientists may have discovered the first meteorite from Mercury.

The green rock found in Morocco last year may be the first known visitor from the solar system’s innermost planet, according to meteorite scientist Anthony Irving, who unveiled the new findings this month at the 44th annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas. The study suggests that a space rock called NWA 7325 came from Mercury, and not an asteroid or Mars.

NWA 7325 is actually a group of 35 meteorite samples discovered in 2012 in Morocco. They are ancient, with Irving and his team dating the rocks to an age of about 4.56 billion years.

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ISS Dark Matter Detector Finds Hint Of Elusive Particles From Cosmos, Scientists Say (VIDEO)

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It is one of the cosmos’ most mysterious unsolved cases: dark matter. It is supposedly what holds the universe together. We can’t see it, but scientists are pretty sure it’s out there.

Led by a dogged, Nobel Prize-winning gumshoe who has spent 18 years on the case, scientists put a $2 billion detector aboard the International Space Station to try to track down the stuff. And after two years, the first evidence came in Wednesday: tantalizing cosmic footprints that seem to have been left by dark matter.

But the evidence isn’t enough to declare the case closed. The footprints could have come from another, more conventional suspect: a pulsar, or a rotating, radiation-emitting star.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/03/iss-dark-matter-found_n_3009408.html?ref=topbar

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3D Printers Could Generate Embryonic Stem Cells

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3D printing could become one the biggest innovations during the next decade. Imagine every home in America using the 3D printing technology whenever something breaks or is needed in the household. Space exploration could benefit from the technology to cut costs and weight when traveling to the Moon or Mars. Instead of bringing a tool or instrument to Mars, why not simply print it out once you get there?

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http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/category/sci

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Supernova Warning Explosions May Forecast Star Death, Astronomers Say

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Forecasting when stars will die in giant explosions may one day be possible by looking for the warning outbursts they release beforehand, researchers say.

Supernovas are the most powerful stellar explosions in the universe, visible all the way to the edge of the cosmos. These stars detonate for two known reasons: either from gorging on too much mass stolen from a companion star or by running out of fuel and abruptly collapsing.

Astronomers have suggested that stars can give off smaller explosions just before they go supernova. To find out more about supernovas, researchers used three telescopes — the Palomar Observatory, the Very Large Array and NASA’s Swift mission — to investigate a star 500 million light-years away.

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The image shows a simulation of a collision between two shells of matter ejected by a massive star in two subsequent pulsational pair-instability supernova eruptions, only years apart, just before the star dies. Image released Feb. 7, 2013.

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Metal On Mars? Shiny Object Seen By Curiosity Rover Explained By NASA Scientists (PHOTOS)

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NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has photographed a shiny, metallic-looking object that bears a passing resemblance to a door handle or a hood ornament.

The Curiosity rover has not stumbled onto evidence of an ancient civilization that took the family van to Olympus Mons for vacation, however. The object is simply a rock that the wind has sculpted into an interesting shape, scientists said.

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NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has photographed a shiny, metallic-looking object that bears a passing resemblance to a door handle or a hood ornament.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/mars-metal-shiny-object-nasa-curiosity-rover_n_2671432.html?icid=maing-grid7|myaol|dl5|sec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D269611

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Landsat Launch: Earth-Observing Satellite Will Blast Off Feb. 11, NASA Says

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NASA is gearing up for the Monday (Feb. 11) launch of an Earth-observation satellite that will continue a celebrated 40-year project to monitor our planet’s surface from space.

The Landsat Data Continuity Mission is slated to blast off Monday at 1:02 p.m. EST (1802 GMT/10:02 a.m. PST) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The LDCM satellite is the eighth overall in the Landsat program, which has been scrutinizing Earth from orbit continuously since Landsat 1 launched in 1972.

Mission team members call LDCM the most advanced and capable Landsat spacecraft ever built. It should help the United States and other nations around the world monitor environmental change and better manage their natural resources, they say.

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The payload faIring containing the Landsat Data Continuity Mission spacecraft arrives at Vandenberg Air Force Base’s Space Launch Complex-3E where it will be hoisted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V for launch. Image released Jan 25, 2013.

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Comet ISON Could Outshine Moon, Create Stunning Tail Visible In Night Sky In 2013, Astronomers Say

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(Reuters) – A comet blazing toward Earth could outshine the full moon when it passes by at the end of next year – if it survives its close encounter with the sun.

The recently discovered object, known as comet ISON, is due to fly within 1.2 million miles (1.9 million km) from the center of the sun on November 28, 2013 said astronomer Donald Yeomans, head of NASA’s Near Earth Object Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

As the comet approaches, heat from the sun will vaporize ices in its body, creating what could be a spectacular tail that is visible in Earth’s night sky without telescopes or even binoculars from about October 2013 through January 2014.

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Comet ISON photographed at the RAS Observatory near Mayhill, NM

on Sept. 22, 2012, by amateur astronomers

Ernesto Guido, Giovanni Sostero and Nick Howes of the Remanzacco Observatory.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/30/comet-ison-moon_n_2377883.html?ref=topbar

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Alt-week 12.29.12: the speed of gravity, disease-smelling dogs and catching asteroids

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2012, we salute you. All in all, you’ve been a pretty good year. There’s been highs, lows, and lots of inbetweens. Above all else, though, you’ve been generous in the alternative arena. Whether it’s the discovery of certain particles, or activities in space, 2012 had it covered. What better way to finish it off, then, with a disease smelling dog, a plan to catch an asteroid and a growable hangover cure. This is alt-week.

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.Click link below for article:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/29/alt-week-12-29-12-the-speed-of-gravity-disease-smelling-dogs/

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Tau Ceti: Potentially Habitable Planet Found Orbiting Nearby Star, Study Suggests

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A sun-like star in our solar system’s backyard may host five planets, including one perhaps capable of supporting life as we know it, a new study reports.

Astronomers have detected five possible alien planets circling the star Tau Ceti, which is less than 12 light-years from Earth — a mere stone’s throw in the cosmic scheme of things. One of the newfound worlds appears to orbit in Tau Ceti’s habitable zone, a range of distances from a star where liquid water can exist on a planet’s surface.

With a minimum mass just 4.3 times that of Earth, this potential planet would be the smallest yet found in the habitable zone of a sun-like star if it’s confirmed, researchers said.

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