ScienceDaily: Space & Time NewsAstronomy News. Read the latest astronomy news and articles from around the world. Space and time theory and more. Full-text, images, updated daily.Phoenix Mars Lander Puts Soil In Chemistry Lab, Team Discusses Next Steps- June 26, 2008 NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander placed a sample of Martian soil in the spacecraft's wet chemistry laboratory June 25 for the first time. Results from that instrument, part of Phoenix's Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer, are expected to provide the first measurement of the acidity or alkalinity of the planet's soil.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080625222852.htm Moon-Bound NASA Spacecraft Passes Major Preflight Tests- June 25, 2008 Engineering teams are conducting final checkouts of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, that will take a significant step forward in the search for water on the moon.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080624214709.htm Mars Air Once Had Moisture, New Soil Analysis Says- June 25, 2008 A new analysis of Martian soil data suggests that there was once enough water in the planet's atmosphere for dew to hit the ground, leaving tell-tale signs of its interaction with the planet's surface. The study's conclusion breaks from the more dominant view that the liquid water that once existed during the red planet's infancy came mainly in the form of upwelling groundwater.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080625093242.htm Phoenix Lander Prepares For Microscopy, Wet Chemistry On Mars- June 25, 2008 NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has delivered a scoop of Martian soil from the "Snow White" trenches to the optical microscope for analysis tomorrow, June 24, the 29th Martian day of the mission, or Sol 29.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080624214313.htm Celestial Clues Hint At Eclipse In Homer's Odyssey- June 24, 2008 Among countless other debates about Homer's Odyssey -- not the least of which is whether the entire poem can be attributed to Homer himself -- is whether Odysseus returns home to experience a total solar eclipse. But scientists believe they have found astronomical references in the Odyssey that provide corroborating evidence of this celestial event.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080623175435.htm Radio Telescopes Reveal Unseen Galactic Cannibalism- June 24, 2008 Using radio telescopes, astronomers have solved a mystery of how the gigantic black holes at the cores of active galaxies known as Seyfert galaxies get their "food." While visible-light images showed little evidence that these galaxies had any interaction with their neighbors, the radio-telescope images revealed that the galaxies are snacking on their neighbors, and the "meal" ultimately reaches the black hole.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080623113718.htm Protons Partner With Neutrons More Often Than With Other Protons- June 23, 2008 Fast-moving protons are much more likely to pair up with fast-moving neutrons than with other protons in the nuclei of atoms, according to a recent experiment. The research confirms a previous theoretical prediction by a Penn State physicist. The theory and its experimental confirmation show that the high-energy interactions can be used to make future discoveries in order to understand the structure of nuclear systems, from light nuclei to massive neutron stars.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080618114558.htm Phoenix Mars Lander Delivers Soil Sample To Microscope- June 22, 2008 NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Saturday beamed back images showing that Phoenix's Robotic Arm successfully sprinkled soil onto the delivery port of the lander's Optical Microscope.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080622001716.htm Phoenix Mars Lander Confirms Frozen Water On Red Planet- June 22, 2008 Scientists relishing confirmation of water ice near the surface beside NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander anticipate even bigger discoveries from the robotic mission in the weeks ahead.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080622001541.htm Newly Born Twin Stars Are Far From Identical- June 22, 2008 The analysis of the youngest pair of identical twin stars yet discovered has revealed surprising differences in brightness, surface temperature and possibly even in size, suggesting that the stars formed at significantly different times rather than simultaneously as generally assumed.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080618133731.htm |