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Saturn Moon's Atmosphere May Hold Ingredients for Life. This story was updated at 8:05 p.m. EDT on Oct. 7. The hazy atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, may contain complex organic molecules that are the building blocks of life as we know it, a new study suggests. In the lab, researchers simulated possible chemical reactions occurring high up in the nitrogen-rich atmosphere of Titan. They found that various complex molecules, such as amino acids and nucleotide bases, could form without much prodding. "We can do this entirely in an atmosphere," researcher Sarah Horst, a University of Arizona graduate student, said in a statement. The molecules synthesized in the experiment include the five nucleotide bases found in the genetic code of life on Earth — cytosine, adenine, thymine, guanine and uracil — and the two smallest amino acids, glycine and alanine, researchers said.

Horst presented the results today (Oct. 7) at the 42nd annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Division of Planetary Sciences in Pasadena, Calif. The Grey agenda 1 of 4. James Gilliland ECETI Update November 4 2010.

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Center of the Sun Ice Cold? The sun is a searing 9,941 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface. And yet one scientist says what lies beneath may not be so hot at all, as dark matter works to cool it at the center. Royal Holloway's Dr. Stephen West has a theory that the mysterious substance, which comprises an astonishing 80 percent of the universe, and whose very existence has been a subject of hot debate recently, actually has a lasting effect on the sun to chill it out. Everyone is told that staring at the sun too long will cause you to go blind. And yet if this matter is affected by gravity, then Dr. By creating and then studying several simulations on the effect this buildup could have, Dr.

Dr. Though we may not ritually revere the sun as much as the Aztecs did, there is certainly a great deal of attention being given to our Solar friend even today. [1006.4962] Methane, ammonia, and their irradiation products at the surface of an intermediate-size KBO? A portrait of Plutino (90482) Orcus. Venus' Atmosphere Proves a Real Drag, Leading to a Discovery. A spacecraft using a bold new method to study Venus — flying directly through the planet's atmosphere — has found that the atmosphere at Venus' poles is thinner than expected. The European Space Agency's Venus Express probe made the discovery during a series of dives through the atmosphere of Venus over the past two years. Scientists measured the drag on the spacecraft during these atmospheric dips to determine Venusian air density.

"It's really a very accurate and precise method," Venus Express project scientist Hakan Svedhem said at a news briefing Wednesday (Oct. 6). Svedhem and his colleagues presented their findings at the American Astronomical Society's Division of Planetary Sciences meeting in Pasadena, Calif. The observations will help prepare Venus Express for one final, deep dive that will alter its orbit and extend its operational life, the researchers said. Thinner than they thought Changing course Mission planners want to give the probe a chance to keep operating beyond 2015. The Interplanetary Magnetic Field. The Interplanetary Magnetic Field It comes from the Sun! Back to spaceweather.com The Sun is a big magnet . During solar minimum the Sun's magnetic field, like Earth's, resembles that of an iron bar magnet, with great closed loops near the equator and open field lines near the poles. Scientists call such a field a " dipole . " The Sun's dipolar field is about as strong as a refrigerator magnet, or 50 gauss.

During the years around solar maximum (2000 and 2001 are good examples) spots pepper the face of the Sun. The Sun's magnetic field isn't confined to the immediate vicinity of our star. Above : Steve Suess (NASA/MSFC) prepared this figure, which shows the Sun's spiraling magnetic field from a vantage point ~100 AU from the Sun. Earth has a magnetic field, too. Above : Earth's magnetosphere . "When B z is south, that is, opposite Earth's magnetic field, the two fields link up," explains Christopher Russell, a Professor of Geophysics and Space Physics at UCLA. Back to spaceweather.com. The Planetary K index. Relationship between Kp and the Aurora [ref] Right: From thousands of observations, Cornell University scientists have determined geographic subpoints for the southern edges of auroral displays.

The curves represent four values of the planetary index (Kp). As this index increases, the aurora's southern edge moves southward. In this article we briefly explain some of the ideas behind the association of the aurora with geomagnetic activity and a bit about how the ‘K-index’ or ‘K-factor’ works. The aurora is understood to be caused by the interaction of high energy particles (usually electrons) with neutral atoms in the earth's upper atmosphere.

These high energy particles can ‘excite’ (by collisions) valence electrons that are bound to the neutral atom. The ‘excited’ electron can then ‘de-excite’ and return back to its initial, lower energy state, but in the process it releases a photon (a light particle). For further reading we can recommend a couple of books for you. Space: Mystery Surrounds Solar Flare Event : Video. Caesium. Caesium or cesium[note 1] is a chemical element with symbol Cs and atomic number 55. It is a soft, silvery-gold alkali metal with a melting point of 28 °C (82 °F), which makes it one of only five elemental metals that are liquid at or near room temperature. [note 2] Caesium is an alkali metal and has physical and chemical properties similar to those of rubidium and potassium. The metal is extremely reactive and pyrophoric, reacting with water even at −116 °C (−177 °F). It is the least electronegative element with a stable isotope, caesium-133.

Caesium is mined mostly from pollucite, while the radioisotopes, especially caesium-137, a fission product, are extracted from waste produced by nuclear reactors. Two German chemists, Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff, discovered caesium in 1860 by the newly developed method of flame spectroscopy. The first small-scale applications for caesium were as a "getter" in vacuum tubes and in photoelectric cells. Characteristics[edit] Compounds[edit]