Tag Archive for 'Argon'

Decay scheme of potassium-40. Image credit: Stukel et al., doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.052503.

Physicists Observe Rare Nuclear Decay of Potassium Isotope

May 8, 2024 by News Staff

Physicists with the Potassium Decay (KDK) Collaboration have made the first direct observations of a very rare but critical decay path of potassium-40...

Webb observed the best evidence yet for emission from a neutron star in SN 1987A. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / C. Fransson, Stockholm University / M. Matsuura, Cardiff University / M.J. Barlow, University College London / P.J. Kavanagh, Maynooth University / J. Larsson, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Webb Detects Emission from Neutron Star in Supernova 1987A Remnant

Feb 23, 2024 by News Staff

SN 1987A is the only supernova visible to the naked eye in the last 400 years and the most studied supernova in history. The event was a core-collapse...

This image of the asteroid Ryugu was captured by the Optical Navigation Camera - Telescopic (ONC-T) on JAXA’s Hayabusa-2 spacecraft on June 26, 2018, from a distance of 13.7 miles (22 km). Image credit: JAXA / University of Tokyo / Kochi University / Rikkyo University / Nagoya University / Chiba Institute of Technology / Meiji University / Aizu University / AIST.

Researchers Find Extraterrestrial Noble Gases in Asteroid Ryugu Sample

Nov 3, 2022 by Sergio Prostak

The sample of material delivered to our planet from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu contained a mixture of extraterrestrial (helium and neon) and terrestrial...

An illustration of the idea that a neutrino (v) and an electron (e) interact with a nuclei in comparable ways. Image credit: Jefferson Lab.

New Measurements Shed Light on How Neutrinos Change Their Flavor

Apr 13, 2022 by News Staff

Physicists from the MicroBooNE Collaboration at Fermilab have performed a first-of-its-kind measurement: a comprehensive set of the energy-dependent neutrino-argon...

This composite image shows SNR G344.7-0.1 through the eyes of different telescopes: X-rays from Chandra (blue) have been combined with infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (yellow and green) as well as radio data from the NSF’s Very Large Array and CSIRO’s Australia Telescope Compact Array (red). Image credit: NASA / CXC / Tokyo University of Science / Fukushima et al. / JPL / Spitzer / CSIRO / ATNF / ATCA.

Chandra Observes Distant Remnant of Type Ia Supernova

Oct 14, 2021 by News Staff

The Type Ia supernova remnant (SNR) G344.7-0.1 resides about 19,600 light-years away in the constellation of Scorpius. This composite image shows SNR G344.7-0.1...

Enhanced α-particle preformation in 214U and 216U. Image credit: Zhang et al., doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.152502.

Physicists Discover New Uranium Isotope: Uranium-214

May 14, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Physicists at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in China have observed the lightest uranium isotope to date, uranium-214 (214U), and precisely measured the...

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this image of the larger of Mars’ two moons, Phobos, on March 23, 2008. The image was taken from a distance of about 6,800 km (about 4,200 miles). It is presented in color by combining data from the camera’s blue-green, red, and near-infrared channels. The illuminated part of Phobos seen in the image is about 21 km (13 miles) across. The most prominent feature is the large crater Stickney in the lower right. With a diameter of 9 km (5.6 miles), it is the largest feature on Phobos. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona.

Phobos May Contain Atmospheric Atoms from Ancient Mars

Feb 3, 2021 by News Staff

Martian atmospheric oxygen, carbon, nitrogen and argon ions have been escaping Mars for billions of years and could be preserved inside the uppermost hundreds...

Schematic layout of the KEK Isotope Separation System. Image credit: Wako Nuclear Science Centre, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization.

Physicists Produce World’s First Beam of Neutron-Rich, Radioactive Tantalum Ions

Nov 11, 2020 by News Staff

Using a new mass-separator of radioactive isotopes, called the KEK Isotope Separation System (KISS), which is developed and operated by the Wako Nuclear...

Curiosity rover took this selfie on October 11, 2019. The rover drilled twice in this location, nicknamed Glen Etive. Just left of the rover are the two drill holes, called Glen Etive 1 (right) and Glen Etive 2 (left). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.

New Martian Mystery: Oxygen

Nov 12, 2019 by News Staff

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument onboard NASA’s Curiosity rover has measured the seasonal changes in the gases that fill the air directly...

This image shows ancient Mars capable of supporting liquid water on its surface. Image credit: Michael Lentz / NASA Goddard Conceptual Image Lab.

MAVEN Finds New Evidence that Most of Martian Atmosphere Was Lost to Space

Mar 31, 2017 by News Staff

According to an analysis of new data from NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) spacecraft, solar wind and radiation are responsible...

Noble gas atoms deposited on molecular network are investigated with a probing tip, which is decorated with a Xe atom. The measurements give information about the very weak van der Waals forces between these individual atoms. Image credit: University of Basel.

Van der Waals Forces of Individual Atoms Measured for First Time

May 24, 2016 by News Staff

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in measuring the strength of the very weak van der Waals forces passing between individual atoms. Noble gas...

Mosaic of four images taken by Rosetta’s navigation camera on September 19, 2014, at 28.6 km from the center of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The images used for this mosaic were taken in sequence as a 2x2 raster over a 20 minute period, meaning that there is some motion of the spacecraft and rotation of the comet between the images. Image credit: ESA / Rosetta / NAVCAM / CC BY-SA IGO 3.0.

Rosetta’s Spectrometer Detects Noble Gas Argon at 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Sep 29, 2015 by News Staff

The Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) mass spectrometer aboard ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft has detected the noble gas argon,...

Moon. Image credit: Gregory H. Revera / CC BY-SA 3.0.

LADEE Confirms Presence of Neon in Lunar Exosphere

Aug 18, 2015 by News Staff

While planetary researchers have speculated on the presence of the noble gas neon in the Moon’s atmosphere (called a surface boundary exosphere) for...

The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant. Observers in China and Japan recorded the supernova nearly 1,000 years ago, in 1054. Image credit: NASA / ESA / J. Hester and A. Loll, Arizona State University.

Noble Gas Molecule Detected in Space for First Time

Dec 13, 2013 by News Staff

A molecule containing the noble gas argon has been discovered in the beautiful Crab Nebula, the remains of a star that exploded 1,000 years ago. Before...