Important Innovations

Stardust 5 to 7 Billion Years Old Found in a Meteorite in Australia Source:  NASA Meteorite  Stardust Material That's Older than the Sun This is an extraordinary scientific discovery just announced by a team of astronomers led by University of Chicago Professor Dr. Philipp Heck. In a meteorite that fell from space in Australia 50 years ago, there is awesome stardust dating back 5 to 7 billion years.  This stardust predates the Sun. Heck and his team analyzed the contents of the meteorite.  They found it to be the oldest, solid material ever found on Earth.  Their work has just been published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. What This Discovery Opens Innovative Views On The scientists say this stardust will tell us how parent stars were formed in our galaxy. It will tell us about the origins of the oxygen that we breathe and provide the opportunity to trace materials back before the creation of the Sun. The stardust is the oldest materi

Jupiter Hit by Massive Planet in Early Years of Our Solar System Source:  Astrobiology Center Japan - Jupiter Collision US-Chinese Astronomers' Research on Ancient Interplanetary Collision An international team of scientists have just reported that an ancient planet ten times bigger than the Earth may have crashed hard into Jupiter in the early stages of the solar system.  That cataclysmic collision may be the cause of Jupiter's less dense and more extended core, proportions different than previously thought and just discovered.  The astronomers are working on and analyzing data from the Juno probe that's been circling Jupiter for three years.  It's providing significant new information about our galaxy's largest planet, including the new discovery of the less dense and more extended core of Jupiter. US-Chinese Astronomers Collaborating Astronomers from Rice University in Texas and Sun Yat-sen University in China have just released a new theory.  They thi

New Stars Discovered by Astronomers Source:  NASA  Star Discovered May Be Older Than Time A very old star just discovered by astronomers is presenting an intergalactic cosmic riddle.  Astronomers have found a star that they think may be older than the universe.  Best estimates by astronomers is that the universe is 13.8 billion years old.  But they have found a star close to earth that is estimated to be 14.5 billion years old, based on its very low metal content.  The star is HD 140283, nicknamed the Methuselah Star. It's raising a lot of fascinating questions.  Is that beautiful twinkling star older than time and the universe itself? The Methuselah Star The questions come from many including a top physicist at the UK's Royal Astronomical Society Dr. Robert Mathews.  He calls it a riddle of cosmic proportions. How can the universe contain stars older than itself?  This question sparks questions about how accurate calculations are about the age of the universe. 

Polish Astronomers Provide Large and Precise 3D Scaled Map  Source:  University of Warsaw Surprise Finding "Warped and Twisted", Not Flat Astronomers from the University of Warsaw in Poland have created the most precise and largest  map of the Milky Way to date.  By tracking thousands of stars pulsating in the galaxy, they've created a 3D scale map of the system.  They discovered that it isn't as flat as a pancake but twists and turns in shape much more than previously thought by astronomers. Spiral Galaxy The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy measuring 120,000 light years across.  It's a mass of stars, gas and dust about 27,000 light years from the Earth.  The team found the distortions in the Milky Way are immense with some stars 60,000 light years away from the Milky Way's center. And, the galaxy's thickness is quite variable. Potential Causes The astronomers cited several potential causes for the "warped and twisted"

Using Astronomers' Tools to Understand Space to Fight Cancer Source:  NASA - Cloud of Gas & Dust Detection and Analysis By Light Techniques used by astronomers to understand the formation of planets and stars can help in the early detection of skin and breast cancers in humans here on earth.  This is new research on the cross-disciplinary use of space technology to fight cancer just published by the University of Exeter, UK. Shedding Light From Space The specific technique is the detection and analysis by light.  Astronomers study the light that is scattered, pulled in and discharged by clouds of gas and dust in space.  By following the light, they're developing information on what's inside the massive clouds to determine, among other things, how stars and planets are created. Shedding Light on Cancer The process is very similar when light travels through the human body.  When light hits cancerous tissue, a change is seen.  For instance, breast cancer cre

Intergalactic Innovation & Discovery Source:  University of Leeds Artist Rendering of Star Birth Massive New Star Either Morphing into a Planet or Has a Companion New Star Rising Astronomers at the University of Leeds in the UK have some of the most detailed images ever taken of a young star forming.  The views show an unexpected companion in orbit around the massive young star.  This may be the birth of not one but two new stars in our galaxy.  The original, new massive star, a proto-star they are tracking, is MM1a and the smaller star in orbit is MM1b forming in the outer region..   Disc Around a New Star This is one of the first examples of a fragmented disc detailed around a massive young star.  The scientists say it is in these discs that planets can form.  They believe in this case we're witnessing the birth of 2 new stars. Twice the Mass of the Sun The central star MM1a is massive.  It weighs 40 times the mass of the sun.  Star 2 weighs less than half the we