APOTD: Molecular Cloud in Monoceros

Planetquest: A Historic Timeline of the Search for Exoplanets

If you'd like to learn more about the history of the search for exoplanets, check out this video from Planetquest, which gives a detailed account of exactly that. Chances are, the search for worlds outside our own solar system has been going on for longer than you think.

-CAINE-

You can checkout more videos from Planetquest HERE.

NASA Finds Possible Proof of liquid Water on Mars

Earlier this month, NASA sent out a press release along with a series of images taken by the HRISE camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance orbiter showing a series of dark trails radiating down from the edges of steep slopes of Mars' Newton Basin crater, located on the planet's southern hemisphere. These trails first begin to appear and grow throughout the warmer months on the planet, and then recede as temperatures drop in the winter. Because the temperature in this particular area is too warm to allow for the creation of carbon dioxide frost, researchers concluded that the the most likely candidate behind the unusual markings were deposits of salt water, either on or just beneath the planet's surface, thawing and draining down the slopes with the changing of the seasons.

While it is generally accepted that Mars once had liquid water, possibly even an ocean flowing on it's surface, and the existence of water ice just beneath the planet's soil has been confirmed in various regions. These strange dark trails in the martian sand represent the best evidence to date that liquid water could in fact still exist on the red planet. Which would of course greatly increase the odds that Mars is also potentially host to at least microbial life.

However, while the images are compelling. The argument they make as proof of flowing water, is little more than circumstantial. As the water itself has yet to be directly observed or detected, and an attempt to confirm it's presence using the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars on board the MRO, was unsuccessful. Which could either mean that the water isn't there, it evaporates too quickly to detect, or that there simply isn't enough of it present in the atmosphere for it to be detected at all. Only time and further observation will tell for sure.

-CAINE-

Source:NASA

You can also view this post on: GGB on Tumblr

Some of The Building Blocks of DNA May Have Come From Space

In two of the meteorites, the team also discovered for the first time, trace amounts of three molecules related to nucleobases (nucleobase analogues), purine, 2,6-diaminopurine, and 6,8-diaminopurine; two of which rarely appear in biology. According to Dr. Michael Callahan, lead author of a paper on the discovery appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America;

"You would not expect to see these nucleobase analogs if contamination from terrestrial life was the source, because they're not used in biology, aside from one report of 2,6-diaminopurinecyanophage S-2L,"

While the presence of molecules not known to commonly appear in biology was a strong indication that the findings were not the result of contamination. Callahan's group further confirmed this fact by analyzing a sample of ice taken from Antarctica, where most of the meteorites in the study were found. The result showed much smaller concentrations of the nucleobases, as well as xanthine and hypoxanthine, all of which appeared in parts per trillion in the ice sample, as oppose to the parts per billion generally found within the samples taken from the meteorites. None of the Nucleobase analogues were discovered in the sample. Analysis of the soil taken from the surrounding area where one of the meteorites used in study fell in Austraila, also failed to detect those analogs.

In one final experiment designed to rule out terrestrial contamination and confirm the extraterrestrial origin of the molecules. Callahan's team was able to successfully generate all of the nucleobases and analogues found within the meteorite samples in a completely non-biological chemical reaction in the lab, using hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, and water. Showing not only that the find was almost certainly not the result of contamination, but more importantly, that chemical processes taking place within certain types of asteroids could potentially produce all of the molecules detected in the study.

If confirmed by further research, the findings of Callahan and his team could be a major step towards understanding the true origins of life on Earth. Particularly when considered along with previous research conducted by the team which detected amino acids, the molecules responsible for building proteins, within similar samples; as well samples taken from the Comet Wild 2 during NASA's stardust mission. All of which, adds to the growing body of evidence supporting the theory that the chemistry taking place within comets and asteroids is capable of generating the basic building blocks of essential biological molecules, and that life may owe it's existence, at least in part, to materials delivered from space via meteorite and comet impacts.

-CAINE-

Source: NASA
Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith

Pluto Has a New Moon, & it Needs a Name

Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered a tiny new moon orbiting Pluto. This newest object, currently dubbed "P4", is estimated to be between13 and 34 kilometres across, and joins three other known satellites orbiting the former planet; Hydra, Nix, and Charon.

Moving past what some would call the strange irony, and even confusion, of an object no longer designated as a planet having it's own moons (if you STILL don't get Pluto's downgrade, try going HERE), Pluto's newest companion needs a name. And while there isn't any official way to go about suggesting one, there are a number of places to go where your suggestions could potentially be heard.

Personally, I suggest you visit the source for this entry on New Scientist, where Mark Showalter, who lead the team who discovered the object, left the following comment:

"I want you all to know that we're paying attention to this thread. We welcome any and all serious suggestions. The name must come from Greek mythology and be associated with Hades and the Underworld. We'll probably be making our recommendations to the IAU Nomenclature committee within a week or two. Sorry, no cash prizes."

You obviously shouldn't expect any recognition for your efforts either, as this is really more like casting a vote. But hey, if your suggestion does end up being chosen as the name of Pluto's newest moon, no one's going to stop you if you decide to go around bragging to your friends that they went with your personal suggestion. Of course, unless your friends are as geeky and uncool as I am, they probably won't care.

[sigh]

-CAINE-

Source: New Scientist

Felicia Day, Sean Astin- Behind The Scenes: When Galaxies Collide

Posted by Youtube user: SpitzerScienceCenter

With Yesterday’s successful launch of the shuttle Atlantis into space, the final mission for NASA’s long run shuttle program, I thought I should share something sciency, and spacey; given that I don't really have any original thoughts to share where the end of the shuttle program is concerned.

So here’s a funny little video from the Spitzer Science Center in which Felicia Day, tries to explain some of the real science behind Galactic Collisions to an overzealous producer looking for something a little more sensational. It’s also a depressingly accurate depiction of how the worlds of mainstream media and entertainment tend to treat such topics.

-CAINE-

Source: GGB on tumblr

Newly Discovered Quasar is the brightest, and Most Ancient Ever Seen

“This quasar is a vital probe of the early Universe. It is a very rare object that will help us to understand how supermassive black holes grew a few hundred million years after the Big Bang,” says Stephen Warren, the study’s team leader.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Quasars are very bright, very distant, and therefore ancient galaxies that are believed to be powered by supermassive black holes at their centers. ULAS J1120+0641 is believed to be powered by a black hole with an estimated mass of 2 billion times that of the sun.

As for it's distance from the Earth and the age of the object, this newly discovered ancient galaxy is located so far from the Earth that the light being emitted by it is stretched beyond the visible spectrum, and is therefore detectable primarily in the infrared. That means that the light being emitted by the galaxy would have taken around 12.9 billion years to reach Earth. So from our perspective, the galaxy appears as it would have an estimated 770 million years after the Big Bang.

-CAINE-

Source:ESO.org

This ESOcast is about the discovery of the most distant quasar found to date. This brilliant beacon is powered by a black hole with a mass two billion times that of the Sun. It is by far the brightest object yet discovered in the early Universe.

Posted by Youtube user: ESOobservatory

Australian Grad Student Solves Universe's Missing Mass Problem...sort of