Tag Archive for 'Ion'

A rendering of the ion trap chip. Image credit: Jochen Wolf & Tom Harty, University of Oxford.

Scientists Set New Record for Qubit Operation Accuracy

Jun 10, 2025 by News Staff

A team of physicists at the University of Oxford has achieved the lowest-ever error rate for a quantum logic operation — just 0.000015%, or one error...

This composite image, made using data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, shows auroral activity (cyan splotches) on Neptune. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / Heidi Hammel, AURA / Henrik Melin, Northumbria University / Leigh Fletcher, University of Leicester / Stefanie Milam, NASA-GSFC.

Webb Detects Trihydrogen, Captures Aurorae on Neptune for First Time

Mar 26, 2025 by News Staff

Emissions from the upper-atmospheric trihydrogen cation (H3+) have been used to study the global-scale interactions of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus with...

Illustration of the atomic arrangement within a single lanthanide-doped nanocrystal; each lanthanide ion can emit light. Image credit: Andrew Mueller / Columbia Engineering.

Researchers Create New Nanosensors of Force

Jan 1, 2025 by News Staff

The newly-developed all-optical nanosensors are luminescent nanocrystals that can change intensity and/or color when you push or pull on them; they are...

The center of this infographic shows the sharpest-ever image of the cloud of charged particles trapped in Earth’s magnetic field, while the insets show measurements of high-energy ions and electrons detected along the JUICE’s flyby route. Image credit: ESA / NASA / Johns Hopkins APL / Josh Diaz.

JUICE Captures Sharpest Ever Image of Earth’s Radiation Belt

Oct 2, 2024 by News Staff

In August 2024, ESA’s JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer (JUICE) made history with a daring Moon-Earth flyby and double gravity assist maneuver. As the spacecraft...

The South Pole-Aitken Basin on the lunar far side is one of the largest and oldest impact features in the Solar System. It’s easily seen in the elevation data. The low center is dark blue and purple. Mountains on its edge, remnants of outer rings, are red and yellow. Image credit: NASA / GSFC / University of Arizona.

NILS Detects Negative Ions on Lunar Surface

Jun 6, 2024 by News Staff

The Negative Ions at the Lunar Surface (NILS) instrument onboard China’s Chang’e-6 probe has detected negative ions on the surface of the Moon. These...

Schematic view of planetary material escaping through Venus magnetosheath flank; the red line and arrow show the region and direction of observations by BepiColombo when the escaping ions (C+, O+, H+) were observed. Image credit: Thibaut Roger / Europlanet 2024 RI / Hadid et al.

BepiColombo Detects Oxygen and Carbon Ions in Magnetosphere of Venus

Apr 15, 2024 by Natali Anderson

In August 2021, the ESA/JAXA Mercury-bound BepiColombo spacecraft performed its second flyby of Venus and provided a short-lived observation of its induced...

This illustration shows charged particles from Jupiter impacting Europa’s surface, splitting frozen water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen molecules; scientists believe some of these newly created oxygen gases could migrate toward the moon’s subsurface ocean, as depicted in the inset image. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SWRI / PU.

Europa Produces Less Oxygen than Previously Thought

Mar 4, 2024 by News Staff

Using data from the Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment (JADE) instrument onboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft, planetary scientists have calculated the...

Physicists Create Five New Isotopes of Thulium, Ytterbium and Lutetium

Feb 19, 2024 by News Staff

Physicists using the Advanced Rare Isotope Separator (ARIS) at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) have produced, separated, and identified five...

Litman et al. show that ions and water molecules at the surface of most salt-water solutions, known as electrolyte solutions, are organized in a completely different way than traditionally understood. Image credit: Litman et al., doi: 10.1038/s41557-023-01416-6.

Water Molecules at Salt Water’s Surface Organized Differently than Previously Thought: Study

Jan 17, 2024 by News Staff

The distribution of ions at the air/water interface plays a decisive role in many natural processes. Several studies have reported that larger ions tend...

This Webb image shows HH 211, a Herbig-Haro object located 1,000 light-years away in the constellation of Perseus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / T. Ray, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.

Outflows from Young Protostars are Mostly Molecular, Webb Astronomers Find

Sep 17, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Herbig-Haro (HH) objects are formed when stellar winds or jets of gas spewing from protostars form shock waves colliding with nearby gas and dust at high...

This image taken by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera shows a part of the Orion Nebula known as the Orion Bar. It is a region where energetic ultraviolet light from the Trapezium Cluster -- located off the upper-left corner -- interacts with dense molecular clouds. The energy of the stellar radiation is slowly eroding the Orion Bar, and this has a profound effect on the molecules and chemistry in the protoplanetary disks that have formed around newborn stars here. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / M. Zamani / PDRs4All ERS Team.

Webb Detects Crucial Carbon Molecule in Protoplanetary Disk

Jun 26, 2023 by News Staff

The vital role of a carbon molecule called methyl cation (CH3+) in interstellar carbon chemistry was predicted in the 1970s, but the unique capabilities...

Saturn’s moon Enceladus with a plume. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI / Kevin M. Gill.

Phosphorus, Rare Building Block for Life, Discovered at Enceladus

Jun 15, 2023 by News Staff

Phosphorus has not previously been detected in oceans beyond those on Earth and this discovery provides a promising step forward in our understanding of...

Alkaliphile is a new taste receptor dedicated to sensing the alkaline pH of food. Image credit: Yali Zhang, Monell Chemical Senses Center.

Scientists Identify Taste Receptor for Alkaline pH

Mar 20, 2023 by News Staff

Monell Chemical Senses Center researcher Yali Zhang and colleagues identified a previously unknown chloride ion channel, which they named alkaliphile (Alka),...

Ionocaloric refrigeration would eliminate the risk of greenhouse gases escaping into the atmosphere by replacing them with solid and liquid components. Image credit: Jenny Nuss / Berkeley Lab.

Ionocaloric Cooling: Novel Method of Refrigeration Developed

Jan 4, 2023 by News Staff

Solid- or liquid-state cooling strategies often rely on caloric effects in which materials are taken through some sort of phase change. Researchers from...

Zuber et al. observed a new type of molecular ion based on the interaction between a neutral Rydberg atom and a charged ion with a bond length of several micrometers. Image credit: Zuber et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04577-5.

Physicists Observe New Type of Molecular Bond

Jul 7, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Rydberg atoms — atoms with a highly excited electron — can form unusual types of molecular bonds. These bonds differ from the well-known ionic...

This illustration shows a night-side view of the exoplanet WASP-76b. To the left of the image, we see the evening border of the exoplanet, where it transitions from day to night. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Ionized Calcium Detected in Exotic Atmosphere of WASP-76b

Oct 6, 2021 by News Staff

Using high-resolution spectra obtained with GRACES at the Gemini North Observatory, astronomers have detected ionized calcium in the atmosphere of the...

Two gold ions (red) move in opposite direction at 99.995% of the speed of light (v, for velocity, = approximately c, the speed of light). As the ions pass one another without colliding, two photons (γ) from the electromagnetic cloud surrounding the ions can interact with each other to create a matter-antimatter pair: an electron (e-) and positron (e+). Image credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Physicists Produce Matter and Antimatter from Photon Collisions

Aug 11, 2021 by News Staff

Physicists with the STAR Collaboration at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) have produced definitive evidence for...

Hubble resolved roughly 25 fragments of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) on April 23, 2020. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / D. Jewitt, University of California, Los Angeles / Q. Ye, University of Maryland.

ESA’s Solar Orbiter Encounters Tail of Fragmented Comet ATLAS

Jul 20, 2021 by News Staff

The long-period comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) fragmented during its perihelion in April 2020. About two months later, ESA’s Solar Orbiter observed the dusty...

Jupiter’s X-ray aurorae. Image credit: ESA / NASA / Zhonghua Yao / William Dunn.

Planetary Scientists Solve Mystery of Jupiter’s X-Ray Auroral Flares

Jul 12, 2021 by News Staff

The rapidly rotating, strong magnetic field of Jupiter provides a natural lab that is key to understanding the dynamics of high-energy plasmas. Spectacular...

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...