{"id":1492,"date":"2016-02-17T12:43:01","date_gmt":"2016-02-17T12:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/abergavennyas.org.uk\/?page_id=1492"},"modified":"2016-02-17T12:47:54","modified_gmt":"2016-02-17T12:47:54","slug":"2015-posts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/abergavennyas.org.uk\/?page_id=1492","title":{"rendered":"2015 posts"},"content":{"rendered":"

2015 Cosmology Posts<\/strong><\/h2>\n

News Items discussed at the <\/strong>November 9th Cosmology Meeting<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Comets – Lovejoy & alcohol
    \nDate 24th<\/sup> October;\u00a0 \u00a0Source NASA\/Goddard Space Centre;\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>Links:\u00a0 Science Daily<\/a>\u00a0 :\u00a0 ZME Science<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n
  2. Comet – Rosetta & oxygen
    \nDate \u00a029th<\/sup> October;\u00a0\u00a0 Source University of Bern;\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>Links:\u00a0     Science Daily<\/a>\u00a0 :\u00a0 ZME Science<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n
  3. Chemicals – Common chemical makeup at largest cosmic scales
    \nDate 26th<\/sup> October;\u00a0\u00a0 Source\u00a0 : NASA\/Goddard Space Flight Center;\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>Links:\u00a0     Science Daily<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n
  4. The Moon – Origin of organic matter in Apollo lunar samples revealed by NASA study
    \nDate 29th<\/sup> October;\u00a0\u00a0 Source NASA\/Goddard Space Flight Center;\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>Links:\u00a0     Science Daily<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n
  5. Gravity -Advanced LIGO On the Hunt
    \nDate 22nd<\/sup> October;\u00a0\u00a0 Source LIGO – Caltech;\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>Links     Sky & Telescope<\/a>\u00a0 : Quanta Magazine<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n
  6. Milky Way – New component discovered, a disc of young stars near the central bulge
    \nDate 28th<\/sup> October;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Source ESO;\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>Links:\u00a0     Science Daily<\/a>\u00a0 : Quanta Magazine<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n
  7. Milky Way – Astrophysicists produce the first age map of the halo
    \nDate 28th<\/sup> October;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Source ESO;\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>Links:\u00a0     Science Daily<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n
  8. Milky Way – photo with 46 billion pixels, the largest astronomical image yet
    \nDate 21st<\/sup> October;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Source\u00a0 : Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum;\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>Links:\u00a0     Science Daily<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n
  9. The Universe – Birth of universe modelled in one of largest cosmological simulations
    \nDate 29th<\/sup> October;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Source\u00a0 : DOE\/Argonne National Laboratory;\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>Links:\u00a0     Science Daily<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n
  10. Who\u2019s there? – The Curious Case of KIC 8462852
    \nDate 17th<\/sup> October;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Source Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society;\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>Links:\u00a0     Sky & Telescope<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    News Items discussed at the October 12th Cosmology Meeting, plus web-links<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    1) \u00a0Converging black holes in Virgo Cluster \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Link<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

    2) \u00a0Eleven year cosmic search leads to black hole rethink \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Link<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

    3) \u00a0Too big for its boots: Black hole is too big \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Link<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

    4) \u00a0A new study predicts a quantum Goldilocks effect: Everything in moderation \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Link<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

    5) \u00a0‘Fossils’ of galaxies reveal the formation & evolution of massive galaxies \u00a0 \u00a0 Link<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

    6) \u00a0Making the Brightest, Rarest Galaxies \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Link<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

    7) \u00a0New theory of stealth dark matter may explain universe’s missing Mass \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Link<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

    ————————————————————————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n

    A couple of links to items which have come up at our April and May meetings \u00a0: \u00a022nd May, 2015<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    Longterm galactic cosmic ray exposure leads to dementia like cognitive impairments<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Findings of UCI study have implications for astronauts on extended spaceflights<\/em><\/p>\n

    Irvine, Calif., May 1, 2015 \u2014 What happens to an astronaut\u2019s brain during a mission to Mars? Nothing good. It\u2019s besieged by destructive particles that can forever impair cognition, according to a UC Irvine radiation oncology study appearing in the May 1 edition of Science Advances. \u00a0Charles Limoli and colleagues found that exposure to highly energetic charged particles \u2013 much like those found in the galactic cosmic rays that bombard astronauts during extended spaceflights \u2013 cause significant damage to the central nervous system, resulting in cognitive impairments.
    \n……. While cognitive deficits in astronauts would take months to manifest, Limoli said, the time required for a mission to Mars is sufficient for such deficits to develop. People working for extended periods on the International Space Station do not face the same level of bombardment with galactic cosmic rays, as they are still within the protective magnetosphere of the Earth.<\/p>\n

    http:\/\/news.uci.edu\/pressreleases\/longtermgalacticcosmicrayexposureleadstodementialikecognitiveimpairments\/<\/p>\n

    \n

    Mars trip to use astronaut poo as radiation shield<\/strong><\/p>\n

    To protect themselves from cosmic rays the couple aboard the proposed Inspiration mission to Mars will line the craft’s walls with water, food \u2013 and their own faeces
    \nJacob Aron and Lisa Grossman\u00a001 March 2013<\/p>\n

    http:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn23230-mars-trip-to-use-astronaut-poo-as-radiation-shield.html<\/p>\n

    or search http:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/ \u00a0for phrase “mars trip to use astronaut poo as radiation shield”<\/p>\n

    \n

    What Happens if You Fall Into a Black Hole? – from Quanta Magazine<\/strong><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.quantamagazine.org\/20150508-what-happens-when-you-fall-into-a-black-hole\/<\/p>\n

    \n

    Possible topics for future Cosmology Discussion group<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Posted 14th April, 2015<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Unsolved problems : Cosmology, and general relativity<\/strong>
    \nfrom:- \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>    http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_unsolved_problems_in_physics<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

    Cosmic inflation;\u00a0 Horizon problem;\u00a0 Electroweak horizon problem;\u00a0 Future of the universe;\u00a0 Gravitational wave;\u00a0 Baryon asymmetry;\u00a0 Cosmological constant problem;\u00a0 Dark matter;\u00a0 Dark energy;\u00a0 Dark flow;\u00a0 Ecliptic alignment of CMB anisotropy;\u00a0 Shape of the Universe<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>Recent stories from the New Scientist<\/strong><\/p>\n

    http:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/topic\/cosmology<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 LATEST COSMOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Looking into the voids could help explain dark energy (10\/04\/15);\u00a0 Einstein puts a ring on distant galaxy (07\/04\/15);\u00a0 Baby star before-and-after shows how it gets massive (02\/04\/15);\u00a0 \u00a0Alien FAQ: 6 questions about strange cosmic radio bursts (02\/04\/15);\u00a0 Dark energy could signal collapse of the universe (01\/04\/15);\u00a0 Is this ET? Mystery of strange radio bursts from space (31\/03\/15);\u00a0 Twin Earths may lurk in our nearest star system (27\/03\/15);\u00a0 Galaxy smash-ups show dark matter wants to be alone (26\/03\/15);\u00a0 Black holes devour stars in gulps and nibbles (25\/03\/15)<\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ANTIMATTER<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The great antimatter mystery<\/p>\n

    If you want to lead a discussion or have any other points you wish to make my contact is:-\u00a0 \u00a0astrogw8@yahoo.com<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n

    \u00a010 items that caught my attention in the last month \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 : \u00a0Posted 10th April, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

    any comments to\u00a0astrogw8@yahoo.com<\/a><\/p>\n

    1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Einstein Ring seen in stunning image of lensed galaxy
    \n<\/strong>A very good picture of an Einstein Ring caused by a gravitational lens where a distant galaxy bends the light from a more distant source.<\/p>\n

    2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Black holes don\u2019t erase information, scientists say<\/strong>
    \nAnother chapter in the Black Hole information debate<\/p>\n

    3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As stars form, magnetic fields influence regions big and small<\/strong>
    \nMagnetic fields influence the dust clouds that form stars.<\/p>\n

    4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How Slippery Is Dark Matter?<\/strong>
    \n5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dark matter even darker than once thought<\/strong>
    \nDark matter doesn’t even seem to react with itself.<\/p>\n

    6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mystery galaxies: Astronomers discover likely precursors of galaxy clusters we see today<\/strong>
    \nMore insight into galaxy formation from Planck & Hershel.<\/p>\n

    7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Milky Way’s center unveils supernova ‘dust factory’<\/strong>
    \nAs covered by Professor Steve Eales, at our March 9th meeting,<\/span>\u00a0more evidence supporting dust formation by supernova<\/p>\n

    8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Have alien civilizations built cosmic accelerators from black holes?<\/strong>
    \nSo, have aliens something better than the LHC??<\/p>\n

    9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 New clues from the dawn of the solar system<\/strong>
    \nMeteorite studies provide more info from the birth of our solar system.<\/p>\n

    10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 First VIMOS Spectra of Faint Galaxies<\/strong>
    \nLots of spectra from the Visible MultiObject Spectrograph fitted to the ESO Melipal telescope in Chile.
    \n——————————————————————————————————————–
    \n1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Einstein Ring seen in stunning image of lensed galaxy\u00a0 :\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>April 7, 2015\u00a0 :\u00a0\u00a0 National Radio Astronomy Observatory
    \n    \"Einstein
    \n<\/a>Astronomers have discovered that a distant galaxy — seen from Earth with the aid of a gravitational lens — appears like a cosmic ring, thanks to the highest resolution images ever taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
    \nScience Daily:\u00a0 http:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2015\/04\/150407095345.htm<\/i>
    \n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

    2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Black holes don\u2019t erase information, scientists say<\/strong>\u00a0 :\u00a0 Apr 2, ’15\u00a0 :\u00a0 University at Buffalo<\/p>\n

    Shred a document, and you can piece it back together. But send information into a black hole, and it’s lost forever. A new study finds that contrary to what some physicists have argued for the years information is not lost once it has entered a black hole. The research presents explicit calculations showing how information is, in fact, preserved.
    \n<\/em>Science Daily: www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2015\/04\/150402132708.htm
    \n<\/em>http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Black_hole_information_paradox<\/em><\/p>\n

    3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As stars form, magnetic fields influence regions big and small<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mar 30, ’15\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics
    \nStars form when gravity pulls together material within giant clouds of gas and dust. But gravity isn’t the only force at work. Both turbulence and magnetic fields battle gravity, either by stirring things up or by channeling and restricting gas flows, respectively. New research focusing on magnetic fields shows that they influence star formation on a variety of scales, from hundreds of lightyears down to a fraction of a lightyear.
    \n<\/em>Science Daily: www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2015\/03\/150330122613.htm
    \n<\/em>Nature: http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nature\/journal\/vaop\/ncurrent\/full\/nature14291.html<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u00a04\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How Slippery Is Dark Matter?<\/strong>\u00a0Mar 30, ’15
    \n    \"How<\/a><\/p>\n

    Dozens of galaxy cluster collisions confirm that dark matter particles probably slip right past each other within messy cluster mergers.
    \nSky & Telescope: http:\/\/www.skyandtelescope.com\/astronomy-news\/how-slippery-is-dark-matter-0330201534\/<\/em><\/p>\n

    5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dark matter even darker than once thought\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0 Mar 26, ’15\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ESA\/Hubble Information Centre
    \nAstronomers have studied how dark matter in clusters of galaxies behaves when the clusters collide. The results show that dark matter interacts with itself even less than previously thought, and narrows down the options for what this mysterious substance might be.<\/em>
    \nScience Daily: www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2015\/03\/150326152238.htm
    \n<\/em>Science: http:\/\/www.sciencemag.org\/content\/347\/6229\/1462<\/em><\/p>\n

    6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mystery galaxies: Astronomers discover likely precursors of galaxy clusters we see today<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mar 30, ’15\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 University of Arizona<\/p>\n

    \"Mystery
    \n<\/a><\/p>\n

    Observations made with two space observatories, Herschel and Planck, reveal glimpses into how today’s galaxies came to be. Using one of a kind instrumentation, astronomers were able to study large numbers of ‘mystery galaxies’ that appear to be associated with clusters.<\/em>
    \nScience Daily: www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2015\/03\/150330173921.htm<\/em>
    \nAstronomy & Astrophysics: http:\/\/xxx.tau.ac.il\/abs\/1503.08773<\/em><\/p>\n

    7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Milky Way’s center unveils supernova ‘dust factory’<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mar 19, ’15\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cornell University<\/p>\n

    Sifting through the center of the Milky Way galaxy, astronomers have made the first direct observations using an infrared telescope aboard a modified Boeing 747 of cosmic building block dust resulting from an ancient supernova.<\/em>
    \nScience Daily: www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2015\/03\/150319143424.htm<\/em>
    \nScience: http:\/\/www.sciencemag.org\/content\/early\/2015\/03\/18\/science.aaa2208<\/em><\/p>\n

    8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Have alien civilizations built cosmic accelerators from black holes?<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Mar 19, ’15<\/p>\n

    Has an advanced alien civilization built a black hole powered particle accelerator to study physics at “Planck scale” energies? And if such a cosmic collider is lurking in a corner of the universe, could we detect it here on Earth?<\/em>
    \nPhysics World: http:\/\/physicsworld.com\/cws\/article\/news\/2015\/mar\/19\/havealiencivilizationsbuiltcosmicacceleratorsfromblackholes<\/em><\/p>\n

    9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 New clues from the dawn of the solar system<\/strong>\u00a0 Mar 16, ’15\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 University of Arizona<\/p>\n

    Sulfide chondrules, a new type of building blocks discovered in meteorites left over from the solar system’s infancy, provide evidence for a previously unknown region in the protoplanetary disk that gave rise to the planets including Earth.<\/em>
    \nScience Daily: www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2015\/03\/150316102110.htm<\/em><\/p>\n

    10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 First VIMOS Spectra of Faint Galaxies\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 13 Mar 2002
    \n    \"SciAm<\/a>
    \nSome of the first spectra of distant galaxies obtained with VIMOS in Multi-Object-Spectroscopy (MOS) mode. More than 220 galaxies were observed simultaneously, an unprecedented efficiency for such a “deep” exposure, reaching so far out in space.<\/em>
    \nEuropean Southern Observatory: http:\/\/www.eso.org\/public\/images\/eso0209b\/<\/em>
    \nhttp:\/\/www.eso.org\/sci\/facilities\/paranal\/instruments\/vimos.html<\/em><\/p>\n

    —————————————————————————————————————————<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    What’s New – March\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Posted 19th March, 2015<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    At the meeting and AGM last week, 9th March, someone mentioned that they had read the previous cosmology postings so, taking that as an encouragement, here is another in the regular – but infrequent – musings.
    \nIf anyone has a view\/comment on this posting, good, bad or indifferent, I would be pleased to hear from you.\u00a0 It would be nice to know if someone is reading the page!
    \nYou can post comments on the Abergavenny AS website or by email to astrogw8@yahoo.com<\/p>\n

    —————————————————————————————-<\/p>\n

    The Kuiper Belt
    \n<\/strong>Following on from the AGM there was an interesting presentation on the New Horizons mission due to fly-by pluto later in 2015.\u00a0 Last November’s Scientific American had an article on “Pluto & Beyond” discussing current missions that are investigating the Kuiper Belt. This article considered the 2 missions, NASA’s New Horizons and ESA’s Rosetta and what we may learn about the origins of the solar system from the debris left over from its formation.
    \nLinks:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/kuiper-belt-missions-could-reveal-the-solar-systems-origins\/<\/p>\n

    So, I will start this month’s letter with updates in the news on these 2 probes.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Rosetta Mission
    \n<\/strong>Links:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Links: (http:\/\/sci.esa.int\/rosetta\/) (https:\/\/twitter.com\/ESA_Rosetta)<\/p>\n

    As everyone is probably aware the Rosetta probe, launched in March 2004, went into orbit around Comet 67P\/Churyumov-Gerasimenko last August.
    \nOne of its objectives was to provide data to help answer the continuing speculation of the origin of the water on earth.\u00a0 Any original water should have been lost when the earth was formed, as well as when the supposed collision that formed the moon.\u00a0 Various suggestions have been made identifying asteroids, Kuiper belt objects, eg short return comets, and Oort cloud objects, eg long return comets.\u00a0 One of the markers that is used to try and work this out is the Deuterium to Hydrogen ratio (Deuterium is a heavy version of Hydrogen having an extra neutron).
    \nIn the 90s the D:H ratio on some Oort cloud objects was found to be twice that of seawater, a problem for that theory.\u00a0 Measurements of Kuiper belt objects in the last few years indicated a D:H closer to that of seawater.
    \nHowever, data from Rosetta, published in December, 2014, found that 67P has a ratio 3 times that of earth.\u00a0 So, is it now over to asteroids?
    \nLinks:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0     Water vapor on Rosetta’s target comet significantly different from that found on Earth<\/a> : Posted: 10 Dec 2014 05:47 PM PST\u00a0 (http:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2014\/12\/141210204716.htm)
    \n    Asteroids, not comets, gave Earth most of its water<\/a> : <\/strong>10 Dec, 2014 (http:\/\/physicsworld.com\/cws\/article\/news\/2014\/dec\/10\/asteroids-not-comets-gave-earth-most-of-its-water)<\/p>\n

    Another objective was to land the Philae probe on the surface of the comet.\u00a0 This was achieved in mid November.\u00a0 Unfortunately the lander was going a bit too fast and bounced and is presumed to have landed on a shadow preventing the communication instruments from activating.\u00a0 In order for the instruments to work the interior temperature of Philae has to be above -45degC and the solar panels have to generate 5.5Watts of energy.\u00a0 The mission team are now hoping that the lander will be able to contact Rosetta sometime from now until the 20th March.\u00a0 So, fingers crossed!
    \nLinks:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0     Touchdown! Rosetta\u2019s Philae probe lands on comet<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0:\u00a0 Posted: 12 Nov 2014 09:48 AM PST\u00a0 :\u00a0 http:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2014\/11\/141112124834.htm
    \nWaiting for a signal from Philae\u00a0 :\u00a0 Posted\u00a0 16th March, 2015\u00a0 :\u00a0 https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/waiting-for-a-signal-from-philae<\/p>\n

    New Horizons Mission<\/strong>
    \nLinks:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/newhorizons\/main\/) (https:\/\/twitter.com\/NASANewHorizons)<\/p>\n

    Pluto, which New Horizons will fly by on the 14th July, 2015, was a planet when the probe was launched in 2006 but has now been reclassified as a Kuiper belt object.\u00a0 Thus NH will give us more information about the Kuiper belt, the first Kuiper object having been spotted, apart from Pluto that is, only 23 years ago, in August 1992.\u00a0 The probe is now close enough to be able to photograph the 4 moons of Pluto and gave a short engine burn to start slowing the probe down a few days ago.\u00a0 It will be interesting to see what new information and ideas come out of this mission, from Pluto, it’s moons and any other objects that are examined \u00a0– although it will take 16 months for the data to be transmitted back to earth.<\/p>\n

    ————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n

    Large Hadron Collider (LHC)<\/strong>
    \nLinks:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (http:\/\/home.web.cern.ch\/topics\/large-hadron-collider)<\/p>\n

    The LHC has been in the press recently as it is about to restart after a 2 year upgrade programme which have increased the energy of the particle collisions from 8 TeV to 13 TeV.\u00a0 This energy level takes us back well into the first second of the existence of the universe, around 10-10<\/sup> secs.\u00a0 As a comparison inflation is supposed to have happened at energies of around 1,000 TeV \u00a0However, this upgrade, the physicists are hoping, will enable them to probe for higher energy particles and to, in the words of one headline “For season 2 CERN to shed light on dark matter”.\u00a0 CERN are hoping to find evidence of Supersymetry, which predicts that every particle in the Standard Model has a partner.\u00a0 If correct this will help explain why the Higgs particle is lighter than expected and take Physics beyond the Standard Model.\u00a0 If no evidence is found then it’s back to the drawing board, or white board with a marker pen.<\/p>\n

    ————————————————————————————<\/p>\n

    Other Dark Matter items<\/p>\n

    New revelations on dark matter and relic neutrinos<\/strong><\/a>
    \n<\/strong>Posted: 04 Dec 2014 09:13 AM PST<\/p>\n

    Satellite have been studying relic radiation (the most ancient light in the Universe). This light has been measured precisely across the entire sky for the first time, in both intensity and polarization, thereby producing the oldest image of the Universe. This primordial light lets us “see” some of the most elusive particles in the Universe: dark matter and relic neutrinos. Between 2009 and 2013, the Planck satellite observed relic radiation, sometimes called cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. Today, with a full analysis of the data, the quality of the map is now such that the imprints left by dark matter and relic neutrinos are clearly visible.<\/p>\n

    —————————————————————————————-<\/p>\n

    Researchers detect possible signal from dark matter<\/strong><\/a>
    \n<\/strong>Posted: 11 Dec 2014 08:55 AM PST<\/p>\n

    Scientists have picked up an atypical photon emission in X-rays coming from space, and say it could be evidence for the existence of a particle of dark matter. If confirmed, it could open up new perspectives in cosmology.<\/p>\n

    ——————————————————————————–<\/p>\n

    Gravitational Waves<\/strong><\/p>\n

    You may recall the results from BICEP2 last year that claimed they had found evidence of Inflation.\u00a0 Recent analysis by the BICEP and Planck satellite teams have indicated that the effects seen by BICEP were probably caused by dust in our own galaxy.
    \nLinks:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Physics World\u00a0 :\u00a0 Posted 3rd Feb 2015\u00a0 :\u00a0 http:\/\/physicsworld.com\/cws\/article\/news\/2015\/feb\/03\/galactic-dust-sounds-death-knell-for-bicep2-gravitational-wave-claim<\/p>\n

    ———————————————————————————–<\/p>\n

    And finally:<\/p>\n

    Unexpected Structures in the Universe
    \n<\/strong>    Spooky alignment of quasars across billions of light-years<\/a><\/p>\n

    Posted: 19 Nov 2014 05:45 AM PST<\/p>\n

    New observations with ESO\u2019s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile have revealed alignments over the largest structures ever discovered in the Universe. A European research team has found that the rotation axes of the central supermassive black holes in a sample of quasars are parallel to each other over distances of billions of light-years. The team has also found that the rotation axes of these quasars tend to be aligned with the vast structures in the cosmic web in which they reside.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0————————————————————————————————————<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    2015 Cosmology Posts News Items discussed at the November 9th Cosmology Meeting Comets – Lovejoy & alcohol Date 24th October;\u00a0 \u00a0Source NASA\/Goddard Space Centre;\u00a0\u00a0 Links:\u00a0 Science Daily\u00a0 :\u00a0 ZME Science Comet – Rosetta & oxygen Date \u00a029th October;\u00a0\u00a0 Source University of Bern;\u00a0\u00a0 Links:\u00a0 Science Daily\u00a0 :\u00a0 ZME Science Chemicals – Common chemical makeup at largest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":0,"parent":200,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_s2mail":"no","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1492","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/abergavennyas.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/abergavennyas.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/abergavennyas.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/abergavennyas.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/abergavennyas.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1492"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/abergavennyas.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1496,"href":"http:\/\/abergavennyas.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1492\/revisions\/1496"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/abergavennyas.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/abergavennyas.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}