SciByte

This is the first time we're actually seeing water-transported gravel on Mars

transition from speculation about the size of streambed material to direct observation of

finding site lies between the north rim of Gale Crater and the base of Mount Sharp, a mountain inside the crat

Earlier imaging of the region from Mars orbit allows for additional interpretation of the gravel-bearing conglomerate

rounded shape of some stones in the conglomerate indicates long-distance transport from above the rim

channel named Peace Vallis feeds into the alluvial fan.

abundance of channels in the fan between the rim and conglomerate suggests flows continued or repeated over a long time, not just once or for a few years.

discovery comes from examining two outcrops, called "Hottah" and "Link," with the telephoto capability of Curiosity's mast camera during the first 40 days after landing

observations followed up on earlier hints from another outcrop, which was exposed by thruster exhaust as Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory Project's rover, touched down

Hottah looks like someone jack-hammered up a slab of city sidewalk, but it's really a tilted block of an ancient streambed

gravels in conglomerates at both outcrops range in size from a grain of sand to a golf ball. Some are angular, but many are rounded

shapes tell you they were transported and the sizes tell you they couldn't be transported by wind

team may use Curiosity to learn the elemental composition of the material, which holds the conglomerate together, revealing more characteristics of the wet environment that formed these deposits

stones in the conglomerate provide a sampling from above the crater rim, so the team may also examine several of them to learn about broader regional geology.

slope of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater remains the rover's main destination

sulfate minerals detected there from orbit can be good preservers of carbon-based organic chemicals that are potential ingredients for life

The discovery comes from examining two outcrops, called “Hottah” and “Link,” with the telephoto capability of Curiosity’s mast camera during the first 40 days

exposed by thruster exhaust as Curiosity touched down

We are getting better about integrating the orbital data,” said Grotzinger. “We see an alluvial fan and debris flow from orbit, and then see these water-transported pebbles from the ground

abundance of channels in the fan between the rim and conglomerate suggests flows continued or repeated over a long time, not just once or for a few years

Glenelg area marks the intersection of three kinds of terrain: bedrock for drilling, several small craters that may represent an older or harder surface, and also terrain similar to where Curiosity landed

can do comparisons

ología in

seeing temperatures this warm already during the day is a surprise and very interesting

If this warm trend carries on into summer, we might even be able to foresee temperatures in the 20s

REMS pressure sensors have also been recording slightly higher pressures than expected

the first three weeks after landing to around 750 pascals – a tiny fraction of the average pressure at sea level on Earth.

pressure data show a very significant daily variation of pressure

The minimum is near 685 pascals and the maximum near 780 pascals. The majority of the variation is due to large scale waves in the atmosphere called tides

, the team observed the glow of matter near the edge of this black hole—a region known as the "event horizon."

, not everything can cross the event horizon to squeeze into a black hole

"cosmic traffic jam" in which gas and dust build up, creating a flat pancake of matter known as an accretion disk

disk of matter orbits the black hole at nearly the speed of light, feeding the black hole a steady diet of superheated material

Over time, this disk can cause the black hole to spin in the same direction as the orbiting material

Caught up in this spiraling flow are magnetic fields, which accelerate hot material along powerful beams above the accretion disk

resulting high-speed jet, launched by the black hole and the disk, shoots out across the galaxy, extending for hundreds of thousands of light-years

jets can influence many galactic processes, including how fast stars form.

. Because M87's jet is magnetically launched from this smallest orbit,

astronomers can estimate the black hole's spin through careful measurement of the jet's size as it leaves the black hole

Until now, no telescope has had the magnifying power required for this kind of observation

team used a technique called Very Long Baseline Interferometry, or VLBI, which links data from radio dishes located thousands of miles apart.

, taken together, create a "virtual telescope" with the resolving power of a single telescope as big as the space between the disparate dishes

enables scientists to view extremely precise details in faraway galaxies.

Using the technique

team measured the innermost orbit of the accretion disk to be only 5.5 times the size of the black hole event horizon

According to the laws of physics, this size suggests that the accretion disk is spinning in the same direction as the black hole

first direct observation to confirm theories of how black holes power jets from the centers of galaxies

The team plans to expand its telescope array, adding radio dishes in Chile, Europe, Mexico, Greenland and Antarctica, in order to obtain even more detailed pictures of black holes in the future.

www.eventhorizontelescope.org/

Super-heavy elements do not occur in nature and have to be discovered in the lab, using particle accelerators, nuclear reactors, ion separators and other complex equipment

Science have been hunting for 113 for nine years, and have claimed to see it a few times already — but the evidence has never been this clear,

the team used a customized gas-filled recoil ion separator paired with a semiconductor detector that can pick out atomic reaction products

created element 113 by speeding zinc ions through a linear accelerator until they reached 10 percent of the speed of light.

ions then smashed into a piece of bismuth. When the zinc and bismuth atoms fused, they produced an atom with 113 protons

NASA announced

the international partners

one American astronaut and one Russian cosmonaut

are scheduled to begin their voyage in spring 2015

“If the mission proves to be effective, we will discuss sending year-long missions to ISS on a permanent basis

The study

, found that the apples lowered

"bad" cholesterol. When LDL

, the cholesterol is more likely to promote inflammation and can cause tissue damage.

tremendous effect against LDL being oxidized with just one apple a day for four weeks

difference was similar to that found between people with normal coronary arteries versus those with coronary artery disease

the polyphenol extract did register a measurable effect, but not as strong as the straight apple

could either be because there are other things in the apple that could contribute to the effect, or, in some cases, these bioactive compounds seem to get absorbed better when they're consumed in foods

eating apples had some effects on antioxidants in saliva, which has implications for dental health

Almost camouflaged with the patch's green-colored North American continent is a four leaf clover. The symbol for luck, the clover has become a regular feature on SpaceX's insignias since the Hawthorne, Calif.-based company's first successful Falcon 1 launch in September 2008

Based on pre-launch photos, the CRS-1 emblem does not appear on the Falcon 9 rocket or the Dragon capsule

embroidered versions of the patch may fly to the space station and back as part of the mission's Official Flight Kit (OFK) of mementos to be presented to NASA and SpaceX team members for a job well done.

will replace a 19-year-old navigation satellite in the global system that includes 31 operational satellites on-orbit which broadcast position

the third of 12 planned launches to provide improved GPS signals

featuring improved anti-jam technology, more precise atomic clocks, an upgraded civilian channel for commercial aviation and on-board processors that can be reprogrammed in flight

the military will probably get first dibs

projects is only possible from repurposing military nuclear testing equipment, essentially stuff America used to test nuclear weapons

, the sponsors of the fusion engine project have ties to military funding—the Aerophysics

still a few kinks to work out though

issue of harnessing fusion is prominent

also the question of turning the power generated by fusion into thrust for an engine

craft using the impulse drive would also need to be assembled in space

the technology has applications far beyond military or space exploration

altitude of 53 miles (85 km), the thermosphere transitions into the mesosphere, an atmospheric layer known for its faint clouds, as well as electrical discharge events called red sprites and blue jets.

e stratosphere extends from an altitude of 6 miles (10 kilometers) up to about 30 miles (50 km) above the surface. The air pressure drops from 10 percent of its value at sea level to just 0.1 percent

, unlike in the layers above and below, absorption of ultraviolet sunlight by ozone causes the temperature to increase as you move up in altitude

coupling of temperature with altitude prevents convection from happening, and so the air in this layer is dynamically stable.

troposphere, which includes everything from an altitude of 6 miles down over most of Eart

re all weather happens, as well as longer-term processes such as the jet stream. In this layer, temperature and pressure both drop as you move up in altitude

n named Jenya, after the 11-year-old Russian boy who found the animal's limbs sticking out of the frozen mud

2 meters (6 feet 6 inches) tall and weighed 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds).

what killed Jenya was

t a missing left tusk that made him unfit for fights with other mammoths or human hunters

proved that the massive humps on mammoths seen on Ice Age cave paintings

e were not extended bones but huge chunks of fat that helped them regulate their body temperatures and survive the long, cold winters

, its DNA has been damaged by low temperatures and is "hardly" suitable for possible cloning

an earlier mammoth discovery might be able to help recreate the Ice Age elephant.

in early September that an international team of researchers had discovered mammoth hair, soft tissues and bone marrow some 328 feet (100 meters) underground

Scientists already have deciphered much of the genetic code of the woolly mammoth from balls of mammoth hair found frozen in the Siberian permafros

atmosphere above 12 miles, or 63,000 feet (19,200 meters)

is so thin that, if not protected, human blood will literally boil

, Baumgartner's airtight suit and the capsule around him will be continuously pressurized to create a personal atmosphere that isolates him from the void surrounding him

The smallest crack in this protective layer would cause almost immediate death

It is assumed this is what occurred on previous attempts to break Kittinger's record. Russian Pyotr Dolgov (1962) and American Nick Piantanida (1966) both died, most likely due to depressurization at extreme altitude

Baumgartner's balloon will be stressed by the cold, constructed as it is from plastic film just 0.0008 inch (0.02 millimeter) thick, to optimize weight-to-lift ratio

his balloon and capsule will pass through an atmospheric layer called the tropopause

Wind Could Blow Baumgartner off Course

Baumgartner Could Spin Uncontrollably, Even Fatally

flat-spin risk can be mediated with a technology first developed for Kittinger: a stabilization parachute to prevent further increase in rotation, deployed on command, or automatically if -3.5 G's are achieved.

Baumgartner has his eyes on a new speed record

won't open automatically

he will assume a rigid aerodynamic body position for the entire free fall—head first, arms at sides—and hope for the best.

Sonic Boom Could Do Unknown Damage

If Baumgartner becomes the first human to achieve supersonic speed with just his body—and without breaking his body—he will break new scientific ground.

prominent

GLACIER, or General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator, is primarily used to preserve science samples that require temperatures between minus 301 and 39 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 160 and 4 degrees Celsius

The brand of ice cream flying in the Dragon's GLACIER is Blue Bell Creameries, a Texas dairy that has a strong fan base in Houston

Blue Bell ice cream has been flown to the space station before. The creamery's cups first launched to the orbiting laboratory in 2006 on board the space shuttle Atlanti