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IMAGE: The main panel of this graphic is an artist s illustration of a
close-up view of a quasar and its jet, like the one in PJ352-52. The inset contains X-ray data from
Chandra. view more
Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXO/JPL/T. Connor; Optical: Gemini/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA; Infrared: W.M. Keck
Observatory; Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss
Astronomers have discovered evidence for an extraordinarily long jet of particles coming from a supermassive black hole in the early universe, using NASA s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
If confirmed, it would be the most distant supermassive black hole with a jet detected in X-rays. Coming from a galaxy about 12.7 billion light-years from Earth, the jet may help explain how the biggest black holes formed at a very early time in the universe s history.
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IMAGE: Infection of human intestinal epithelial cells by Salmonella Typhimurium during spaceflight aboard NASA Space Shuttle mission STS-131. view more
Credit: Graphic by Shireen Dooling for the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University
Astronauts face many challenges to their health, due to the exceptional conditions of spaceflight. Among these are a variety of infectious microbes that can attack their suppressed immune systems.
Now, in the first study of its kind, Cheryl Nickerson, lead author Jennifer Barrila and their colleagues describe the infection of human cells by the intestinal pathogen Salmonella Typhimurium during spaceflight. They show how the microgravity environment of spaceflight changes the molecular profile of human intestinal cells and how these expression patterns are further changed in response to infection. In another first, the researchers were also able to detect molecular changes in the bacterial pathogen while inside the infected
Chemistry is helping us figure out how life got started on Earth and is giving us molecules to look for on other planets. In this episode of Reactions, we break down what life is and how likely we are to find it out in the cosmos: https://youtu.be/f44OWlsLeT0.
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IMAGE: Artistic impression of the surface of the newly discovered hot super-Earth Gliese 486b. With a temperature of about 700 Kelvin (430°C), the astronomers of the CARMENES Consortium expect a Venus-like. view more
Credit: RenderArea, https://renderarea.com
A newly discovered planet could be our best chance yet of studying rocky planet atmospheres outside the solar system, a new international study involving UNSW Sydney shows.
The planet, called Gliese 486b (pronounced Glee-seh), is a super-Earth : that is, a rocky planet bigger than Earth but smaller than ice giants like Neptune and Uranus. It orbits a red dwarf star around 26 light-years away, making it a close neighbour - galactically speaking.
Credit: RenderArea
During the past 25 years astronomers have discovered a wide variety of exoplanets, made of rock, ice and gas, thanks to the construction of astronomical instruments designed specifically for planet searches. Also, using a combination of different observing techniques they have been able to determine a large numher of masses, sizes, and hence densities of the planets, which helps them to estimate their internal composition and raising the number of planets which have been discovered outside the Solar System.
However, to study the atmospheres of the rocky planets, which would made it possible to characterize fully those exoplanets which are similar to Earth, is extremely difficult with currently available instruments. For that reason, the atmospheric models for rocky planets are still not tested.