Science & Technology

Boundary between the heliosphere and interstellar space mapped for the first time

EurekAlert
Thu, 10 Jun 2021 19:24 UTC

Los Alamos, N.M. - For the first time, the boundary of the heliosphere has been mapped, giving scientists a better understanding of how solar and interstellar winds interact.

© NASA/IBEX/Adler Planetarium
A diagram of our heliosphere. For the first time, scientists have mapped the heliopause, which is the boundary between the heliosphere (brown) and interstellar space (dark blue).

"Physics models have theorized this boundary for years," said Dan Reisenfeld, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and lead author on the paper, which was published in the Astrophysical Journal today. "But this is the first time we've actually been able to measure it and make a three-dimensional map of it."

The heliosphere is a bubble created by the solar wind, a stream of mostly protons, electrons, and alpha particles that extends from the Sun into interstellar space and protects the Earth from harmful interstellar radiation.

Reisenfeld and a team of other scientists used data from NASA's Earth-orbiting Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) satellite, which detects particles that come from the heliosheath, the boundary layer between the solar system and interstellar space. The team was able to map the edge of this zone -- a region called the heliopause. Here, the solar wind, which pushes out toward interstellar space, collides with the interstellar wind, which pushes in towards the Sun.

New form of silicon developed by scientist

Carnegie Institution for Science
Thu, 03 Jun 2021 19:59 UTC

© Thomas Shiell and Timothy Strobel
Visualization of the structure of 4H-Si viewed perpendicular to the hexagonal axis. A transmission electron micrograph showing the stacking sequence is displayed in the background.

Washington, DC — A team led by Carnegie's Thomas Shiell and Timothy Strobel developed a new method for synthesizing a novel crystalline form of silicon with a hexagonal structure that could potentially be used to create next-generation electronic and energy devices with enhanced properties that exceed those of the "normal" cubic form of silicon used today.

Their work is published in Physical Review Letters.

Silicon plays an outsized role in human life. It is the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust. When mixed with other elements, it is essential for many construction and infrastructure projects. And in pure elemental form, it is crucial enough to computing that the longstanding technological hub of the U.S. — California's Silicon Valley — was nicknamed in honor of it.

Like all elements, silicon can take different crystalline forms, called allotropes, in the same way that soft graphite and super-hard diamond are both forms of carbon. The form of silicon most commonly used in electronic devices, including computers and solar panels, has the same structure as diamond. Despite its ubiquity, this form of silicon is not actually fully optimized for next-generation applications, including high-performance transistors and some photovoltaic devices.

While many different silicon allotropes with enhanced physical properties are theoretically possible, only a handful exist in practice given the lack of known synthetic pathways that are currently accessible.

BREST Fast Neutron Reactor: Russia offers a new nuclear paradigm for sustainable development

Ekaterina Blinova
Sputnik
Sat, 12 Jun 2021 13:03 UTC

Rosatom's newly inaugurated nuclear energy complex with a BREST-OD-300 fast neutron reactor may become a breakthrough providing relatively inexpensive, safe, carbon-free, and nearly inexhaustible nuclear power as energy consumption is set to dramatically soar in the coming decades.

On 8 June, the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom inaugurated the construction of a 300 MW nuclear power unit with an innovative lead-cooled BREST-OD-300 fast neutron reactor in Seversk, in Russia's Tomsk region. Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Mariano Grossi tweeted:

"Today we celebrate the pouring of the first concrete of Russia's BREST reactor! This is part of the 'Proryv' ['Breakthrough'] project towards a closed nuclear fuel cycle, which will help to reduce the final waste burden. Milestone for the nuclear industry!"

Rosatom's project "Breakthrough" is aimed at developing a new nuclear technology platform based on a closed nuclear fuel cycle (CNFC) with advanced fast neutron nuclear reactors. Fast reactors are touted for their ability to increase energy yields from natural uranium and utilise nuclear byproducts and spent fuel. This would allow nuclear power programmes to be extended for thousands of years, while at the same time solving the radioactive waste problem. Thus, it is hardly surprising that major nuclear countries, such as China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the US have been developing fast neutron reactors as breeders and high-level waste burners.

Google has mapped a piece of human brain in the most detail ever

Michael Marshall
New Scientist
Tue, 08 Jun 2021 07:13 UTC

Google has helped create the most detailed map yet of the connections within the human brain. It reveals a staggering amount of detail, including patterns of connections between neurons, as well as what may be a new kind of neuron.

The brain map, which is freely available online, includes 50,000 cells, all rendered in three dimensions. They are joined together by hundreds of millions of spidery tendrils, forming 130 million connections called synapses. The data set measures 1.4 petabytes, roughly 700 times the storage capacity of an average modern computer.

The data set is so large that the researchers haven't studied it in detail, says Viren Jain at Google Research in Mountain View, California. He compares it to the human genome, which is still being explored 20 years after the first drafts were published.

It is the first time we have seen the real structure of such a large piece of the human brain, says Catherine Dulac at Harvard University, who wasn't involved in the work. "There's something just a little emotional about it."

This mammoth undertaking began when a team lead by Jeff Lichtman, also at Harvard University, obtained a tiny piece of brain from a 45-year-old woman with drug-resistant epilepsy. She underwent surgery to remove the left hippocampus, the source of her seizures, from her brain. To do this, the surgeons had to remove some healthy brain tissue that overlaid the hippocampus.

The mysterious origin of the northern lights has been proven

Jennifer Gray
CNN
Tue, 08 Jun 2021 18:32 UTC

The aurora borealis, or northern lights, could easily be described as Earth's greatest light show. A phenomenon that's exclusive to the higher latitudes has had scientists in awe and wonder for centuries.

The mystery surrounding what causes the northern lights has been speculated but never proven, until now.

The great aurora mystery finally solved

A group of physicists from the University of Iowa have finally proven that the "most brilliant auroras are produced by powerful electromagnetic waves during geomagnetic storms," according to a newly released study.

James Schroeder, from Wheaton College, was the lead author of the study.

The study shows that these phenomena, also known as Alfven waves, accelerate electrons toward Earth, causing the particles to produce the light show we know as the northern lights.

Comment: See also: Existence of magnetic waves in the Sun's photosphere confirmed by astronomers

Astronomers find blinking giant star near heart of Milky Way

Ian Sample
The Guardian
Fri, 11 Jun 2021 05:00 UTC

VVV-WIT-08: an artist’s impression of the giant star that blinked

Astronomers have spotted a giant blinking star, 100 times the size of the sun, lurking near the heart of the Milky Way.

Telescope observations revealed that over a few hundred days the enormous star, which lies more than 25,000 light years away, dimmed by 97% and then slowly returned to its former brightness.

The unexpected and dramatic darkening was probably caused by an orbiting planet or companion star surrounded by a disc of opaque dust crossing in front and blocking out light that would otherwise have reached Earth.

"It appeared to come out of nowhere," said Dr Leigh Smith at Cambridge University's Institute of Astronomy, on the sudden dimming of the star. It began to fade in early 2012 and almost vanished by April that year before recovering over the next 100 days.

Astronomers noticed the mysterious dimming star in data gathered by the Vista telescope, operated by the European Southern Observatory in Chile. The instrument has been watching a billion stars for nearly a decade in search of examples that varied in brightness in the infrared realm of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Bright Nova in Hercules

Ernesto Guido & Adriano Valvasori
Remanzacco Blogspot
Sun, 13 Jun 2021 18:36 UTC

Following the posting on the Central Bureau's Transient Object Confirmation Page about a possible Nova in Her (TOCP Designation: TCP J18573095+1653396) we performed some follow-up of this object through a TEL 0.32-m f/8.0 reflector + CCD located in Nerpio, Spain and operated by iTelescope network (MPC Code I89).

On images taken on June 13.15, 2021 we can confirm the presence of an optical counterpart with R-filtered CCD magnitude +6.2 at coordinates:

R.A. = 18 57 30.98, Decl.= +16 53 39.6

(equinox 2000.0; Gaia DR2 catalogue reference stars for the astrometry).

According to ATel #14704, a spectrum obtained by Munari et al. "has an overall blue shape and shows very pronounced broad absorptions (FWHM about 3000 km/s) compatible with P-Cyg components for Halpha, Hbeta and Hgamma blue-shifted by about 3100 km/s [...] Overall, the spectrum could be compatible with a nova of unusual large velocity".

Our confirmation image (made with TYCHO software by D. Parrott):

White dwarf measured before it exploded as a Supernova

Brian Koberlein
Universe Today
Sat, 12 Jun 2021 20:05 UTC

Type Ia supernovae are an important tool for modern astronomy. They are thought to occur when a white dwarf star captures mass beyond the Chandrasekhar limit, triggering a cataclysmic explosion. Because that limit is the same for all white dwarfs, Type Ia supernovae all have about the same maximum brightness. Thus, they can be used as standard candles to determine galactic distances. Observations of Type Ia supernova led to the discovery of dark energy and that cosmic expansion is accelerating.

While these supernovae have revolutionized our understanding of the universe, they aren't quite as standard as we first proposed. Some, such as SN 1991T are much brighter, while others, such as SN 1991bg are much dimmer. There is also a variation known as Type Iax, where the white dwarf isn't completely destroyed by the explosion. We can generally take these variations into account when calculating stellar distances, but it would be good to have a better understanding of the mechanism behind their maximum brightness.

According to theoretical models, the maximum brightness of a Type Ia supernova depends upon the mass and central density of the white dwarf before it explodes. But how could these values be measured? After all, we typically only discover these stars after they explode. Fortunately, a new study in The Astrophysical Journal Letters shows how it can be done.

Cleveland Clinic-led study identifies how COVID-19 linked to Alzheimer's disease-like cognitive impairment

Cleveland Clinic
Thu, 10 Jun 2021 00:00 UTC

A new Cleveland Clinic-led study has identified mechanisms by which COVID-19 can lead to Alzheimer's disease-like dementia. The findings, published in Alzheimer's Research & Therapy, indicate an overlap between COVID-19 and brain changes common in Alzheimer's, and may help inform risk management and therapeutic strategies for COVID-19-associated cognitive impairment.

Reports of neurological complications in COVID-19 patients and "long-hauler" patients whose symptoms persist after the infection clears are becoming more common, suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) may have lasting effects on brain function. However, it is not yet well understood how the virus leads to neurological issues.

Feixiong Cheng, Ph.D., assistant staff in Cleveland Clinic's Genomic Medicine Institute and lead author on the study says:

"While some studies suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infects brain cells directly, others found no evidence of the virus in the brain. Identifying how COVID-19 and neurological problems are linked will be critical for developing effective preventive and therapeutic strategies to address the surge in neurocognitive impairments that we expect to see in the near future."

In the study, the researchers harnessed artificial intelligence using existing datasets of patients with Alzheimer's and COVID-19. They measured the proximity between SARS-CoV-2 host genes/proteins and those associated with several neurological diseases where closer proximity suggests related or shared disease pathways. The researchers also analyzed the genetic factors that enabled SARS-COV-2 to infect brain tissues and cells.

Supermassive black holes affect the universe beyond the bounds of their own galaxies

Mike McRae
Science Alert
Sat, 12 Jun 2021 09:13 UTC

They are the hot-headed tyrants that drive the evolution of the cosmos. Black holes so large, so powerful, the energy spilled from their swirling cloaks can define the landscape of nurseries and graveyards of stars in the galaxy surrounding them.

Even with masses equal to billions of suns, these gargantuan objects are still mere pinpricks in the vast galactic core, making a recent discovery of just how far their power might reach all the more surprising.

A team of astronomers and astrophysicists from around the globe have uncovered signs that the supermassive black holes in the hearts of many galaxies not only affect the distribution of stars in their own immediate surroundings but shape those of nearby galaxies as well.

Comment: A recent study revealed that galaxies throughout our universe are surprisingly similar, and this may be because the same forces involved in their formation are, rather than working in isolation, in some way connected:

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Science & Technology

Boundary between the heliosphere and interstellar space mapped for the first time

New form of silicon developed by scientist

BREST Fast Neutron Reactor: Russia offers a new nuclear paradigm for sustainable development

Google has mapped a piece of human brain in the most detail ever

The mysterious origin of the northern lights has been proven

Astronomers find blinking giant star near heart of Milky Way

Bright Nova in Hercules

White dwarf measured before it exploded as a Supernova

Cleveland Clinic-led study identifies how COVID-19 linked to Alzheimer's disease-like cognitive impairment

Supermassive black holes affect the universe beyond the bounds of their own galaxies

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