Merging galaxies create a binary quasar

Tweet

Most, if not all, large galaxies, such as our galaxy the Milky Way, host super-massive black holes at their centers. Because galaxies regularly interact and merge, astronomers have assumed that binary super-massive black holes have been common in the Universe, especially during its early history. Black holes can only be detected as quasars when they are actively accreting matter, a process that releases vast amounts of energy. A leading theory is that galaxy mergers trigger accretion, creating quasars in both galaxies.

Craters young and old in Sirenum Fossae

Tweet

The Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera has imaged craters both young and old in this view of the Southern Highlands of Mars.

Part of the Sirenum Fossae region in the Southern Highlands, the area in this image is centred at about 28°S / 185°E. The image captures an area to the north of the Magelhaens Crater. It extends some 230 km by 127 km and covers about 29 450 sq km, roughly the size of Belgium. The image resolution is approximately 29 metres per pixel.

The stars behind the curtain

Tweet

NGC 3603 is a starburst region: a cosmic factory where stars form frantically from the nebula's extended clouds of gas and dust. Located 22 000 light-years away from the Sun, it is the closest region of this kind known in our galaxy, providing astronomers with a local test bed for studying intense star formation processes, very common in other galaxies, but hard to observe in detail because of their great distance from us.

Research at Marshall University may lead to new ways to transport and manipulate molecules

Tweet

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A group of Marshall University researchers and their colleagues in Japan are conducting research that may lead to new ways to move or position single molecules—a necessary step if man someday hopes to build molecular machines or other devices capable of working at very small scales.

Dr. Eric Blough, a member of the research team and an associate professor in Marshall University's Department of Biological Sciences, said his group has shown how bionanomotors can be used some day to move and manipulate molecules at the nanoscale.

Olga now raining on third of 5 Australia territories

Tweet

Australians in three of five territories have had enough of Tropical Cyclone Olga. After two landfalls, and three times a tropical storm, and traveling through Queensland and the Northern Territory, Olga's remnants are now raining on Australia's New South Wales Territory today, February 1.

Month of birth determines who becomes a sports star

Tweet

The month of your birth influences your chances of becoming a professional sportsperson, an Australian researcher has found.

Tropical Storm Oli forms in the southern Pacific

Tweet

The twelfth tropical cyclone in the Southern Pacific Ocean has formed today, February 1, 2010, and because of its proximity to the Fiji islands, it has been dubbed "Oli." The GOES-11 satellite passed over Oli early this morning and captured an infrared image of the storm's clouds.

Innovative technique can spot errors in key technological systems

Tweet

BOULDER--An innovative computational technique that draws on statistics, imaging, and other disciplines has the capability to detect errors in sensitive technological systems ranging from satellites to weather instruments. The patented technique, known as the Intelligent Outlier Detection Algorithm, or IODA, is described this month in the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology.

Managed wolf populations could restore ecosystems

Tweet

Researchers writing in the February issue of BioScience propose reintroducing small, managed populations of wolves into national parks and other areas in order to restore damaged ecosystems. The populations would not be self-sustaining, and may consist of a single pack. But the BioScience authors suggest that even managed populations could bring ecological, educational, recreational, scientific, and economic benefits.

Compound found that targets wide range of viruses

Tweet

GALVESTON, Texas — The development of antibiotics gave physicians seemingly miraculous weapons against infectious disease. Effective cures for terrible afflictions like pneumonia, syphilis and tuberculosis were suddenly at hand. Moreover, many of the drugs that made them possible were versatile enough to knock out a wide range of deadly bacterial threats.