The nucleus of a comet undone: Scientists monitor Hergenrother's breakup

Comet 168P-Hergenrother was imaged by the NOAO/Gemini telescope on Nov. 2, 2011 at about 6 a.m. UTC. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/NOAO/Gemini 

(Phys.org)—The Hergenrother comet is currently traversing the inner-solar system. Amateur and professional astronomers alike have been following the icy-dirt ball over the past several weeks as it has been generating a series of impressive outbursts of cometary-dust material. Now comes word that the comet's nucleus has taken the next step in its relationship with Mother Nature. 

Solar system’s birth record revised

Some 4.567 billion years ago, our solar system’s planets spawned from an expansive disc of gas and dust rotating around the sun. While similar processes are witnessed in younger solar systems throughout the Milky Way, the formative stages of our own solar system were believed to have taken twice as long to occur. 

Now, new research lead by the Centre for Star and Planet Formation at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, suggests otherwise. Indeed, our solar system is not quite as special as once believed.

Город, построенный на соли

В Болгарии обнаружен один из древнейших городов эпохи бронзы, уже названный СМИ древнейшим городом Европы. Между тем на это звание претендуют еще несколько древних протогородов, в том числе на территории России.

Болгарские археологи открыли поселение эпохи бронзы, которое можно считать одним из древнейших, если не самым древним (из надежно датированных) доисторических городов Европы. Поселение, раскопанное в окрестностях города Провадия (Варненская область, Болгария), состояло из двухэтажных домов, мощных оборонительных стен, улицы, некрополя и сооружений производственного и ритуального характера, датируемых радиоуглеродным методом 4700–4200 годами до н. э., то есть эпохой поздней бронзы.

Астрономам удалось зафиксировать реликтовое излучение первых звезд

Наблюдение за блазарами помогло выявить остаточное излучение древнейших звезд.

Американские астрономы из Стэндфордского университета с помощью космического телескопа «Ферми» смогли обнаружить остаточное излучение, принадлежащее первым звездам Вселенной. Результаты исследования опубликованы в свежем выпуске журнала Science.

Climate debate is based on religion

Religion plays a major part in the climate debate, for instance in our fight to preserve endangered species that have no practical use to humans, argues theologian in a new book.

There may not be any obvious point in trying to preserve annoying insects and slimy maggots. Yet most people believe we should try to save them from extinction.

Teoria cuantică, dincolo de spaţiu şi timp

O echipă internaţională de cercetători din Elveţia, Belgia, Spania şi Singapore a propus un experiment care ne-ar putea obliga să facem o alegere între două extreme, nonlocalitatea şi încălcarea teoriei relativităţii a lui Einstein, pentru a descrie Universul.

Propunerea este publicată în revista Nature Physics şi are la bază ceea ce oamenii de ştiinţă numesc „inegalitatea influenţei ascunse” (hidden influence inequality). Această inegalitate scoate în evidenţă felul în care predicţiile cuantice pun la încercare cea mai bună descriere a naturii spaţiului şi timpului pe care o avem la dispoziţie în prezent, teoria relativităţii a lui Einstein.

Farthest Supernova Yet Marked Death of Very Massive Star

Astronomers are reaching ever further back in time, seeking events from the earliest days of the universe. Now, the discovery of the farthest (and thus oldest) supernova ever seen is raising hopes that astronomers will soon detect the explosive deaths of the first stars to form after the universe's birth. These stars forged the first heavy elements, which helped create smaller and longer-lived stars like our own sun.

The earliest stars looked different from modern stars. The big bang produced only three light elements—hydrogen, helium, and a little lithium—but today, stars form in gas clouds that also contain heavier elements such as carbon and oxygen. These elements radiate away enough energy to eventually cool the clouds. When the clouds cool, they fragment into smaller clumps that collapse to spawn a plethora of mostly small stars.

Superstorm Sandy threatens to sink Noah's ark

Severe weather shuts down production on Darren Aronofsky's biblical epic starring Russell Crowe and Emma Watson

Darren Aronofsky's biblical epic Noah, starring Russell Crowe and Emma Watson, may be the most high-profile film industry casualty of Superstorm Sandy.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the exterior sets for Noah – including the 450ft-long ark – were constructed directly in the storm's path in Oyster Bay on Long Island Sound; the damage to the area has made it impossible to fully assess what has survived Sandy's impact. The $115m budget film was due to have finished shooting on 9 November, but this will be pushed back as the production has been shut down since Sunday 28 October. (It is due to restart on Thursday 1 November.) However, studio Paramount is confident no delay to its planned release date of 28 March 2013 will occur, as any losses will be covered by insurance.

Misterul blocurilor uriase de piatra din Baalbek

Anticul oras Baalbek ascunde unul dintre cele mai mari mistere ale arheologiei, amplasat la est de răul Litani in valea Bekaa din estul Libanului de azi, este celebru pentru impresionantele ruine ale templelor construite de către romani. 

Oraşul era cunoscut pe vremea romanilor sub numele de Heliopolis, aici romanii au ridicat un complex alcatuit din trei temple dedicate lui Jupiter Bacchus si Venus, acestea fiind printre cele mai mari si mai grandioase temple de acest fel. 

Abhas Mitra,singurul savant care a indraznit sa-i demonstreze lui Hawking ca teoria lui este gresita, marginalizat de lumea ştiinţifică

Abhas Mitra este seful sectiei de Astroficiza Teoretica de la Insitutul de cercetare Atomica Bhabha(BARC) din Mumbai, India. Dincolo de propriile sale cercetari, savantul a atras atentia lumii stiintei dupa ce a contrazis o teorie a lui Stephen Hawking.

In urma cu peste 30 de ani, celebrul fizician Stephen Hawking a publicat teoria sa despre Gaurile Negre din spatiu. Potrivit acesteia, ciudatele "gauri" distrugeau absolut tot ce intra in raza lor gravitationala, inclusiv lumina si informatia, adica baza materiei.