Scientists detect oxygen in noxious atmosphere of Venus
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON Oxygen accounts for about 21% of Earth's air, with the rest of our atmosphere
2023-11-09 02:21
Australia's Westpac dumps PwC as auditor after 55 years
By Lewis Jackson SYDNEY Westpac Group, Australia's fourth-largest bank by market capitalisation, on Wednesday cut ties with scandal-tainted
2023-11-08 09:55
New telescope reveals stunning images of the universe as it has never been seen before
The Euclid space telescope has revealed its first full-colour images, showing the universe as it has never been seen before. The five images, taken by the European Space Agency’s newly launched flying observatory, show the shining lights of distant galaxies. Scientists hope they will also prove useful in better understanding those galaxies, which includes some of the most massive structures in the known universe. Many of the galaxies have never been seen before. And much of the information in them could help explain mysteries such as dark energy and the expansion of the universe. The images released on Tuesday include one of the Perseus cluster of galaxies which shows 1,000 galaxies belonging to the cluster, and more than 100,000 additional galaxies further away in the background. Many of these faint galaxies were previously unseen, and some of them are so far that their light has taken 10 billion years to reach us. Another image captures the spiral galaxy IC 342, nicknamed the Hidden Galaxy, because it is difficult to observe as it lies behind the busy disc of our Milky Way, and so dust, gas and stars obscure our view. One of the new pictures is of globular cluster NGC 6397 - the second-closest globular cluster to Earth, located about 7,800 light-years away. Globular clusters are collections of hundreds of thousands of stars held together by gravity. These faint stars tell us about the history of the Milky Way and where dark matter is located. To create a 3D map of the universe, Euclid will observe the light from galaxies out to 10 billion light-years. The first irregular dwarf galaxy that Euclid observed is called NGC 6822 and is located just 1.6 million light-years from Earth. And the fifth image shows a panoramic and detailed view of the Horsehead Nebula, also known as Barnard 33 and part of the constellation Orion. Scientists hope to find many dim and previously unseen Jupiter-mass planets in their celestial infancy, as well as young brown dwarfs and baby stars, in this new observation. Professor Carole Mundell, ESA director of science, said: “Dark matter pulls galaxies together and causes them to spin more rapidly than visible matter alone can account for; dark energy is driving the accelerated expansion of the universe. “Euclid will for the first time allow cosmologists to study these competing dark mysteries together. “Euclid will make a leap in our understanding of the cosmos as a whole, and these exquisite Euclid images show that the mission is ready to help answer one of the greatest mysteries of modern physics.” Rene Laureijs, the ESA’s Euclid project scientist, said: “We have never seen astronomical images like this before, containing so much detail. “They are even more beautiful and sharp than we could have hoped for, showing us many previously unseen features in well-known areas of the nearby universe. “Now we are ready to observe billions of galaxies, and study their evolution over cosmic time.” Euclid was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida on July 1. Named after the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid, the two-tonne probe made its way towards an area in space known as the second Lagrange point, where the gravitational forces of Earth and the sun are roughly equal - creating a stable location for the spacecraft. The UK has contributed £37 million towards the £850 million mission, with scientists playing key roles in designing and building the probe and leading on one of the two scientific instruments on board. Dr Caroline Harper, head of space science at the UK Space Agency, said: “These first colour images showcase Euclid‘s enormous potential, giving us incredibly sharp images of galaxies and stars, and helping us understand more about the impacts of dark matter and dark energy on the universe. “The UK has played an important role in the mission, leading on the development of the visible imager (VIS) instrument and on key elements of the data processing pipeline, funded by the UK Space Agency. “And this is just the start - UK researchers will be using Euclid data for many years to come to make significant new scientific discoveries about the composition and evolution of the cosmos.” Additional reporting by Press Association Read More Euclid space telescope releases first full-colour images of cosmos First full-colour images of universe captured by Euclid telescope revealed Watch again: ESA reveals first full-colour images of ‘dark universe’ from Euclid Tim Peake: Possibility of all-UK space mission a ‘very exciting development’ Strange purple light phenomenon ‘Steve’ spotted across UK skies Nasa sending VR headset up to ISS to treat astronaut’s mental health
2023-11-08 03:21
EU fine-tunes plan to launch Galileo satellites on SpaceX
(Reuters) -The European Union has struck a tentative deal to launch four Galileo navigation satellites using Falcon 9 rockets of
2023-11-07 22:55
Earthshot Prize: Prince William says climate crisis too visible to be ignored
The Prince of Wales strikes a note of optimism as he reveals the winners of his annual Earthshot Prize.
2023-11-07 21:53
Star-filled Euclid images spur mission to probe 'dark universe'
By Tim Hepher PARIS European astronomers on Tuesday released the first images from the newly launched Euclid space
2023-11-07 21:15
Europe targets competitive shake-up in space launch deal
(Moves expert quote from paragraph 7 to 15 to show he was referring to exploration project) By Tim Hepher and
2023-11-07 20:54
China: DouYu founder, investment guru 'detained'
They include a streaming app founder and an executive referred to as China's Warren Buffett.
2023-11-07 18:19
Japan's Kishida announces $113-billion package to combat inflation pain
By Yoshifumi Takemoto TOKYO Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday the government will spend over 17
2023-11-02 08:57
Deshaun Watson and the 5 worst contracts in the NFL right now
10 games into his Cleveland Browns tenure, Deshaun Watson's fully guaranteed $230 million contract is looking like a massive bust. But it's not the only terrible deal in the NFL right now.
2023-11-02 03:57
Jordan Love is far from the only problem sinking the Packers
Jordan Love may not be playing well in his first season as the Green Bay Packers' starting quarterback, but he is far from their only problem as a franchise currently. What else is plaguing The Pack up to this point in the 2023 NFL season?
2023-11-02 03:48
3 Packers who won’t be back in 2024 after surviving trade deadline
A look at three Green Bay Packers who likely won't call Lambeau Field home in 2024.
2023-11-02 02:28