Four planets locked in a perfect rhythm around a nearby star are destined to be pinballed around their solar system when their sun eventually dies, according to a study led by the University of Warwick that peers into its future.
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IMAGE: The far side of the Moon always faces away from the Earth, making communications from lunar equipment there much more challenging. Fortunately, relay communication satellites can act as a bridge. view more
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Space: Science & Technology
Because of a phenomenon called gravitational locking, the Moon always faces the Earth from the same side. This proved useful in the early lunar landing missions in the 20th century, as there was always a direct line of sight for uninterrupted radiocommunications between Earth ground stations and equipment on the Moon. However, gravitational locking makes exploring the hidden face of the moon the far side much more challenging, because signals cannot be sent directly across the Moon towards Earth.
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IMAGE: Senior staff scientist Musahid Ahmed (left) and postdoctoral researcher Wenchao Lu near the Advanced Light Source (ALS) at Berkeley Lab on May 21, 2021. They used a special technique, which. view more
Credit: Thor Swift/Berkeley Lab
For nearly half a century, astrophysicists and organic chemists have been on the hunt for the origins of C
6H
6, the benzene ring - an elegant, hexagonal molecule comprised of 6 carbon and 6 hydrogen atoms.
Astrophysicists say that the benzene ring could be the fundamental building block of polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs, the most basic materials formed from the explosion of dying, carbon-rich stars. That swirling mass of matter would eventually give shape to the earliest forms of carbon - precursors to molecules some scientists say are connected to the synthesis of the earliest forms of life on Earth.