Science

University Of Arizona: Cosmic Yeti From The Dawn Of The Universe Found Lurking In Dust

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UA News:
 
TUCSON, Ariz. — Astronomers accidentally discovered the footprints of a monster galaxy in the early universe that has never been seen before.
 
Like a cosmic Yeti, the scientific community generally regarded these galaxies as folklore, given the lack of evidence of their existence, but astronomers in the United States and Australia managed to snap a picture of the beast for the first time.
 
Published in the Astrophysical Journal, the discovery provides new insights into the first growing steps of some of the biggest galaxies in the universe.
 
University of
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U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Developing Space Solar Power Beaming

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AFRL is developing space-based solar power transmission capability. Courtesy/KAFB
 
KAFB News:
 
KIRTLAND AFB ― The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, is developing space-based solar power transmission capability using high-efficiency solar cells to collect the sun’s energy, convert it to radio frequency, and beam it to earth.
 
“Energy is a strategic enabler and potential vulnerability for our nation and our Department of Defense” said Col. Eric Felt, director of AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate. “To ensure DoD mission success we must have the energy we need at
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UA: Researchers Discover ‘Cradle Of Comets’

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UA News:

TUCSON, Ariz. — Comets are known to have a temper.

As they swoop in from the outer edges of our solar system, these icy bodies begin spewing gas and dust as they venture closer to the sun. Their luminous outbursts can result in spectacular sights that grace the night sky for days, weeks or even months.

But comets aren’t born that way, and their pathway from their original formation location toward the inner solar system has been debated for a long time. Comets are of great interest to planetary scientists because they are likely to be the most pristine remnants of material left over from the Read More

LANL AI Model Wins CDC Flu Forecasting Challenge

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Dave Osthus, a statistician at Los Alamos National Laboratory, developed Dante, a predictive computer model that won the CDC’s FluSight Challenge for the 2018-2019 flu season. Courtesy/LANL
 
Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity is highly spatially variable, with higher than typical levels of flu activity (pink) concentrated around the Gulf of Mexico, and typical (white) to below typical (green) ILI levels seen throughout the rest of the country. The spatial variability illustrates the challenge and importance of jointly modeling ILI for forecasting. Courtesy/LANL
 
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KAFB: Air Force Research Laboratory To Rendezvous And Inspect Malfunctioning S5 Satellite

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KAFB News:
 
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE ― The Air Force Research Laboratory will begin maneuvers today, Oct. 20, as the first-ever inspection mission to support real-time on-orbit spacecraft anomaly resolution operations.
 
This effort will be a rendezvous between the experimental Mycroft satellite and a second experimental AFRL satellite called the Small Satellite Space Surveillance System, or S5. The S5, launched Feb. 22, 2019, is a small satellite designed to test affordable SmallSat space situational awareness constellation technologies.
 
AFRL has experienced
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Science On Tap With Dr. Mark Boslough Oct. 21

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Dr. Mark Boslough
 
Los Alamos Creative District News:
 
Join the Bradbury Science Museum and the Los Alamos Creative District for Science On Tap at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21 at projectY cowork, 150 Central Park Square.
 
This On Tap will feature a conversation with Dr. Mark Boslough about uncertainty and risk at the planetary catastrophe threshold.
 
What is the probability that the Earth will be wiped out, in our lifetimes, by the impact of an enormous asteroid or comet? How does it compare with the self-inflicted threat of catastrophic global warming?
 
Should we
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More Detail On Giant LANL Rotor

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A truck convoy transporting a giant rotor headed out today from Los Alamos National Laboratory and is shown here this morning passing the ‘Y’ on N.M. 4 near White Rock. Photo/Copyright 2019 by Leigh House
 
By LEIGH HOUSE
Los Alamos
 
The rotor (spinning part) of a very large motor-generator was found to need repairs at a specialized repair site in Virginia.
 
The first part of this trip to repair it will be by truck that will take it to a rail station. Because it is so large and so heavy, it required a special truck assembly to move it. The truck took up two lanes of NM Highway 4 as it travelled.
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AGU: Radioactive Chlorine From Nuclear Bomb Tests Remain Present In Antarctica

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New research finds some glaciers in Antarctica are still releasing radioactive chlorine-36 created during 1950s nuclear weapons tests. Courtesy/NASA/Joe MacGregor
 
Vostok and Talos Dome are both shown on this map of Antarctica. Vostok is still releasing anthropogenic chlorine-36 into the atmosphere. Courtesy/AGU
 
AGU News:
 
Antarctica’s ice sheets are still releasing radioactive chlorine from marine nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s, a new study finds.
 
This suggests regions in Antarctica store and vent the radioactive element differently than previously
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Rotary: Espanola Y Teen Center Director Sandoval

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Ben Sandoval, director of the YMCA Teen Center in Espanola, recently spoke at the Rotary Club of Los Alamos about Team Intergalactic, the students from the YMCA who traveled to China in July to compete in the Entrepreneurial Challenge Category of the RoboRAVE International robotics competition. The project had to show an application for improving conditions in the world. Sandoval and three students of the eight-person team were able to travel to Guangdong with their project, a robotic, programmable solar-and-wind-powered irrigation system on a track, which had already won at regional Read More

University Of Arizona Astronomer Receives Packard Fellowship To Pursue Black Hole Research

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Astronomer Peter Behroozi
 
UA News:
 
TUCSON, Ariz. — University of Arizona astronomer Peter Behroozi was selected by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation as a Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering, which comes with a grant of $875,000 over five years to pursue research.
 
This year’s class of fellows features 22 early-career scientists and engineers. The Packard Fellowships in Science and Engineering are among the nation’s largest nongovernmental fellowships, designed to allow maximum flexibility in how the funding is used.
 
Since 1988, the program has
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