Environment

ESA/Hubble: First Detection Of Super-Earth Atmosphere

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ESA News:
 
For the first time astronomers were able to analyze the atmosphere of an exoplanet in the class known as super-Earths.
 
Using data gathered with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and new analysis techniques, the exoplanet 55 Cancri e is revealed to have a dry atmosphere without any indications of water vapor. The results, to be published in the Astrophysical Journal, indicate that the atmosphere consists mainly of hydrogen and helium.
 
The international team, led by scientists from University College London (UCL) in the UK, took observations of the nearby exoplanet
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Planetarium Premiere: Mysteries Of The Unseen World

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A butterfly, up close and personal. Courtesy/PEEC

An aphid, up close and personal. Courtesy/PEEC

PEEC News:

A new film adventure takes audiences on an extraordinary journey into unseen worlds and hidden dimensions beyond normal vision to uncover the mysteries of things too fast, too slow, too small or simply invisible.

The Los Alamos Nature Center will premiere Mysteries Of The Unseen World at 7 p.m., Feb. 19, This full-dome, original production by National Geographic Entertainment and Days End Pictures also will play at 2 p.m. in the Los Alamos Nature Center the last two weekends in February. Read More

Climate Change Lecture Series Begins With Effects In The Southwest At Nature Center Tuesday

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Dr. Chick Keller, a retired LANL scientist and dedicated naturalist. Courtesy photo
 
 
PEEC News:
 
Rapid climate changes are affecting people and ecosystems in the Southwest and around the world, and there is a lot people can do.
 
At 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 16, in the Los Alamos Nature Center planetarium, Dr. Chick Keller will introduce climate science and lead a discussion about how people can move forward.
 
This talk is part of a lecture series on climate change organized by Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC).
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National Park Service Designated 34 New Communities As Certified Local Governments In 2015

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NPS News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― The National Park Service designates 34 communities from across the United States as Certified Local Governments in 2015. 
 
More than 1,900 communities now participate in the program which provides local governments access to historic preservation guidance and grants.
 
Certified Local Government (CLG) designation makes communities official partners in the portion of the federal historic preservation program which engages local, state, and federal partners to promote historic preservation at the grassroots level. 
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EM Releases WIPP Recovery Fact Sheet

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DOE EM News:

CARLSBAD — February 2016 marks two years since the underground fire and radiological release events forced the temporary closure of EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).

Since that time, progress in the recovery of the underground has included mine stability and habitability, initial panel closure, radiological risk remediation, and the addition of an interim ventilation system. Additionally, the site has made significant changes to all safety management programs.

Additionally, in response to investigations from the Accident Investigation Boards (AIB),
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LANL Virus Expert Gave Early Warning On Zika

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ZIKA MAP Source: Created by Congressional Research Service from Pan American Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control maps of Zika cases at https:////www.paho.org and https:////www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/index.html, accessed Jan. 2, 2016.  Courtesy photo
 
BY ROGER SNODGRASS
Los Alamos Daily Post

LANL researcher Brian Foley has worked in bioinformatics since 1984. He has spent 20 years in HIV research at Los Alamos National Laboratory and has published 98 papers currently listed on Research Gate, the science networking site

LANL Microbiologist Brian Foley

A specialist Read More

Gravitational Waves Found, Black-hole Models Led Way

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A simulation of two merging black holes, creating gravitational waves. Courtesy/LIGO

LANL News:

  • Supercomputer models predicted, instruments detected, Einstein was right

Gravitational waves were predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity in 1916, and now, almost exactly 100 years later, the faint ripples across space-time have been found. The advanced Laser Interferometric Gravitational-wave Observatory (aLIGO) has achieved the first direct measurement.  

“We already have indirect evidence of gravitational wave emission from binary pulsars like the Hulse-Taylor Read More

Udall Disappointed In Unprecedented Supreme Court Decision To Halt Clean Power Plan

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall
 
SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON D.C. ― U.S. Sen. Tom Udall issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change:
 
“I’m extremely disappointed in the Supreme Court’s unprecedented decision to halt the administration’s signature effort to fight global warming. The court may have put a stay on the Clean Power Plan, but no one is putting a stay on climate
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