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In this work, we analyzed in detail the motion of thousands of stars within each cluster,” said Alessandro Della Croce. “It quickly became clear that stars belonging to different populations have distinct kinematic properties…

How do stars form and evolve inside globular clusters? This is what a recent study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics hopes to address as an international team of researchers conducted a groundbreaking examination of star populations that reside within globular clusters, which consists of a densely packed group of stars pulled together by gravity, with the densest part in the center of the cluster. This study holds the potential to help researchers better understand the formation and evolution of stars and star populations in these unique environments throughout the cosmos.

For the study, the researchers conducted a 3D kinematic analysis of stars and star populations within 16 Galactic globular clusters (GCs) to determine the movements of stars and star populations within these clusters and how this causes the cluster to evolve over time. Since astronomers hypothesize that globular clusters are almost as old as the universe itself, they offer a unique opportunity to study some of the oldest stars in the universe, as well. In the end, the researchers found the rotation and orbital behaviors of stars were based on their light properties.

Continue reading “Unveiling the Evolution of Globular Clusters: A 3D View of Stellar Kinematics” »

How is California’s rapidly shrinking Salton Sea contributing to dust pollution in the Golden State? This is what a recent study published in Geographies hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated how much dust pollution is occurring from Salton’s receding shoreline, which has been occurring due to water needs transitioning from the Colorado River to San Diego. This study holds the potential to help researchers better understand water management strategies and how to curtail potential environmental catastrophes from them.

“This research was a direct response to a request from the community, which wanted to be involved in impactful research questions to understand shoreline reduction,” said Dr. Ryan Sinclair, MPH, who is an associate professor of environmental microbiology at Loma Linda University School of Public Health and lead author of the study. “The community wants to be able to live next to a Salton Sea that they’re proud of.”

For the study, the researchers analyzed balloon and satellite images obtained between 2002 and 2021 and estimated the average rate of shoreline loss the Salton Sea experienced during that period. They estimated the shoreline loss averaged 12.53 meters/year between 2002 and 2017 and more than tripled to 38.44 meters/year between 2017 to 2020. They also provided predictions regarding its continued retreat, estimating that between 2030 and 2041 the shoreline is estimated to retreat 22 meters in total. They caution this retreat will contribute to increased dust pollution as a result of the continued shoreline retreat.

What is the origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs) and what can this teach us about the galaxies where they reside? This is what a recent study published in Nature hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated how FRB signals that originate from magnetars could reside in galaxies outside the Milky Way with the goal of better understanding the processes responsible for producing FRBs, and specifically the galaxies they inhabit. Since FRBs and magnetars remain some of the most mysterious objects in the universe, this study holds the potential to help researchers gain greater insight into not only their formation and evolution, but also how this bodes for finding life beyond Earth.

“The immense power output of magnetars makes them some of the most fascinating and extreme objects in the universe,” said Kritti Sharma, who is a PhD Candidate at Caltech and lead author of the study. “Very little is known about what causes the formation of magnetars upon the death of massive stars. Our work helps to answer this question.”

For the study, the researchers used the Deep Synoptic Array (DSA-110) to analyze 30 galaxies where FRBs have been confirmed to exist with the goal of ascertaining comparing the properties of each galaxy to the FRBs they produce. While researchers have long hypothesized that FRBs are produced in galaxies of all sizes that are actively forming stars, the researchers discovered a higher number of FRBs were produced in larger galaxies as opposed to smaller galaxies. They concluded that this was likely due to larger galaxies being more metal-rich, also known as metallicity, whereas smaller galaxies tend to have smaller metallicities.

“We’re showing that, everywhere we look now, there was some sort of magnetic field that was responsible for bringing mass to where the sun and planets were forming,” said Dr. Benjamin Weiss.

What can dust grains that were returned to Earth from the asteroid Ryugu teach scientists about the early solar system? This is what a recent study published in AGU Advances hopes to address as an international team of researchers led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) investigated how dust grains from the asteroid Ryugu that returned to Earth by Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission could help unlock secrets of the early solar system, specifically regarding the formation of the gas giants that orbit beyond the asteroid belt.

For the study, the researchers analyzed three dust grain particles for evidence of magnetic fields that might have existed when Ryugu first formed billions of years ago. In the end, they found that the particles displayed an ancient magnetic field equal to 15 microtesla, which is 30 percent of the Earth’s current magnetic field at 50 microtesla. Despite this decrease, the researchers hypothesize that this could be powerful enough to allow matter in the early solar system to coalesce, known as accretion, to form the asteroids and possibly the gas giants that orbit in the outer solar system approximately 4.6 billion years ago.

Continue reading “New Clues to the Formation of Outer Planets from Ryugu’s Ancient Grains” »

A researcher made the discovery when a larva comb jelly mysteriously ‘replaced’ an adult comb jelly in his laboratory.

A research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences elucidated the high-resolution structure of the Orf2971-FtsHi complex, a chloroplast motor complex from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The study reveals the highly complex protein composition and assembly details of the complex, and explores the potential translocation pathway of precursor proteins.

The study, conducted by Prof. Li Mei’s team from the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Prof. Yang Wenqiang’s team from the Institute of Botany is published in Molecular Plant.

The Orf2971-FtsHi complex is a structure with 20 subunits formed by 19 proteins, spanning the chloroplast inner membrane and extending into the intermembrane space as well as the stromal side.

A robot trained via video observation performs surgery with skill rivaling human doctors, moving robotic surgery closer to autonomous procedures.

Coelacanths are strange fish that are currently only known from two species found along the East African coast and in Indonesia. A team from the Natural History Museum (MHNG) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has succeeded in identifying an additional species, with a level of detail never before achieved. This discovery was made possible by the use of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, a particle accelerator for analyzing matter.

Teams lifted NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II test flight out of the Final Assembly and System Testing cell and moved it to the altitude chamber to complete further testing on Nov. 6 inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Engineers returned the spacecraft to the altitude chamber, which simulates deep space vacuum conditions, to complete the remaining test requirements and provide additional data to augment data gained during testing earlier this summer.

The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew under the Artemis campaign, sending NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman, as well as CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back.