Het verhaal van de ontdekking van de mysterieuze groene gaswolk, die is ontdekt door lerares Hanny van Arkel en internationaal bekend staat als ‘Hanny's Voorwerp', is vereeuwigd in een Amerikaans stripboek. Hanny van Arkel en het team van wetenschappers, onder wie een aantal medewerkers van ASTRON, zijn als stripfiguren vereeuwigd in het onwaarschijnlijke, maar waargebeurde verhaal "Hanny and the mystery of the Voorwerp". De strip, die zowel op internet als in boekvorm zal verschijnen, wordt vrijdag 3 september in Atlanta (VS) officieel gepresenteerd tijdens 's werelds grootste science fictionbijeenkomst ‘DragonCon'. Hanny van Arkel zal deze wereldpremière bijwonen door middel van een live verbinding via internet.

Bron: allesoversterrenkunde.nl

When probing the deepest reaches of the Cosmos or magnifying our understanding of the quantum world, a whole host of mysteries present themselves. This is to be expected when pushing our knowledge of the Universe to the limit.



Bron: Discovery News

Astronomers using ESO's world-leading HARPS instrument have discovered a planetary system containing at least five planets, orbiting the Sun-like star HD 10180. The researchers also have tantalising evidence that two other planets may be present, one of which would have the lowest mass ever found. This would make the system similar to our Solar System in terms of the number of planets (seven as compared to the Solar System's eight planets). Furthermore, the team also found evidence that the distances of the planets from their star follow a regular pattern, as also seen in our Solar System.

Bron: Physorg.com

Japanese electronics giant Toshiba plans to market the world's first 3D television that does not need special glasses later this year, a report said on Tuesday.

Bron: Physorg.com

A new-and-improved successor to the troubled Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa – which finally returned a capsule to Earth earlier this year – could launch as soon as 2014. Hayabusa 2 would then be expected to return in 2020, bearing clues to the origin of life on Earth.

Bron: NewScientist

Nog nooit was het zo warm in het Midden-Oosten en Rusland, nog nooit was het in Californië zo koud in juli, een vreemde zomerse sneeuwstorm in Alberta en extreme overstromingen in het zuiden van China. Dit zijn slechts een paar voorbeelden van het extreme weer. Het meest opvallende dit jaar is de hitte. Afgelopen juni werd het Midden-Oosten overvallen door een hittegolf die zorgde voor records in vijf verschillende landen. In de periode tussen 14 en 22 juni werden er in Saudi-Arabië, Irak, Koeweit, Tsjaad en Niger nog nooit zulke hoge temperaturen vastgesteld. Op 11 juli werd een record gezet in Rusland toen het kwik steeg naar 44 graden Celsius in Yashkul. Hiermee werd het oude record van 43,7 graden Celsius verbroken, wat stamt uit 1940. Ook het westen van Europa is in de ban van de hitte.

Bron: Niburu.nl

US scientists have introduced a concept design of the "Cornucopia" or Digital Fabricator, a "personal food factory" able to print food from specified ingredients, with no waste at the point of cooking.



Bron: Physorg.com

More than 100 planets that are a similar size to Earth have been discovered in just the past few weeks, it has been announced. The discovery was made by the space telescope Kepler which has been scanning the skies for planets that are orbiting stars since it was launched in January last year. The breakthrough raises the tantalising prospect that we may not be alone in the Universe. Scientists now believe that there are likely to be around 100 million planets in the Milky Way that harbour exactly the right conditions for life. And they expect to be able to identify around 60 of these habitable Earth-like planets within the next two years.



Bron: Mail online

Boeing unveiled its plans for a capsule spacecraft for ferrying astronauts and cargo to space stations at the biennial Farnborough International Air Show in the UK on July 19th. The craft is designed to fill the gap that will be left when the NASA space shuttles are retired from service next year.



Bron: Physorg.com

The possibility of going back in time only to kill your ancestors and prevent your own birth has posed a serious problem for potential time travelers, not even considering the technical details of building a time machine. But a new theory proposed by physicists at MIT suggests that this grandfather paradox could be avoided by using quantum teleportation and "post-selecting" what a time traveler could and could not do. So while murdering one’s relatives is unfortunately possible in the present time, such actions would be strictly forbidden if you were to try them during a trip to the past.



Bron: Physorg.com

An infrared laser developed by Arizona company Raytheon Missile Systems has been demonstrated shooting down incoming drones over the ocean off the coast of California.

Bron: Physorg.com

The Big Bang theory has formed the basis of our understanding of the universe's origins since it was first proposed in 1927 by Georges Lemaitre. And for good reason: the theory is supported by scientists' latest observations and experiments, and is based on Einstein's widely accepted theory of general relativity. But scientists are always on the lookout for any evidence that might suggest an alternative to the Big Bang. The latest in this area of research comes from astrophysicists Maximo Banados and Pedro Ferreira, who have resurrected a theory of gravity from the early 20th century and discovered that a modified version of the theory may hold some surprises.

Bron: Physorg.com

Forget the magnets on your fridge. How about a magnet in your fridge, one that keeps your leftover pizza cold while consuming less energy than today’s refrigerators?



Bron: Physorg.com

A science historian at The University of Manchester has cracked "The Plato Code" - the long disputed secret messages hidden in the great philosopher's writings.

Bron: Physorg.com

Eminent Australian scientist Professor Frank Fenner, who helped to wipe out smallpox, predicts humans will probably be extinct within 100 years, because of overpopulation, environmental destruction and climate change.

Bron: Physorg.com

In the summer of 2002, a week of heavy rains in Central Texas caused Canyon Lake -- the reservoir of the Canyon Dam -- to flood over its spillway and down the Guadalupe River Valley in a planned diversion to save the dam from catastrophic failure. The flood, which continued for six weeks, stripped the valley of mesquite, oak trees, and soil; destroyed a bridge; and plucked meter-wide boulders from the ground. And, in a remarkable demonstration of the power of raging waters, the flood excavated a 2.2-kilometer-long, 7-meter-deep canyon in the bedrock.

Bron: Physorg.com

A team of scientists from the Instituto Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the University of Texas has succeeded in identifying one of the most complex organic molecules yet found in the material between the stars, the so-called interstellar medium. The discovery of anthracene could help resolve a decades-old astrophysical mystery concerning the production of organic molecules in space. The researchers report their findings in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Bron: Physorg.com

Many animals possess some kind of magnetic sense, allowing them to navigate by using a magnetic field. The ability to detect a magnetic field, called magnetoreception, has been observed in a variety of animals, including birds, turtles, sharks, lobsters, cows, fungi, and bacteria. However, scientists do not fully understand the mechanisms responsible for this ability. In a new study, physicists have investigated the role of quantum interactions in magnetoreception, and have shown that quantum technologies could be used to enhance or reduce the performance of an animal’s chemical compass, and potentially control other biological functions.

Bron: Physorg.com

Ah, the cool, refreshing feel of air conditioning on a sweltering summer day. Ugh, the discomfort when those energy bills in July, August and September come due — $200, $400, $600 or more.

Bron: Physorg.com

Scientists have made a breakthrough toward creating nanocircuitry on graphene, widely regarded as the most promising candidate to replace silicon as the building block of transistors. They have devised a simple and quick one-step process for creating nanowires, tuning the electronic properties of reduced graphene oxide and thereby allowing it to switch from being an insulating material to a conducting material.

Bron: Physorg.com

Scientists in the Netherlands unveiled the largest radiotelescope in the world on Saturday, saying it was capable of detecting faint signals from almost as far back as the Big Bang.

Bron: Physorg.com

The Earth and Moon were created as the result of a giant collision between two planets the size of Mars and Venus. Until now it was thought to have happened when the solar system was 30 million years old or approx. 4,537 million years ago. But new research from the Niels Bohr Institute shows that the Earth and Moon must have formed much later - perhaps up to 150 million years after the formation of the solar system.



Bron: Physorg.com

A vast ocean likely covered one-third of the surface of Mars some 3.5 billion years ago, according to a new study conducted by University of Colorado at Boulder scientists.

Bron: Physorg.com

As of today (Wednesday, June 9), if all the oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico had been used for fuel, it could have powered 38,000 cars, and 3,400 trucks, and 1,800 ships for a full year, according to University of Delaware Prof. James J. Corbett. That's based on the estimated spill rate of 19,000 barrels of oil per day.

Bron: Physorg.com

The Shimizu Corporation, a Japanese construction firm, has recently proposed a plan to harness solar energy on a larger scale than almost any previously proposed concept. Their ambitious plan involves building a belt of solar cells around the Moon’s 6,800-mile (11,000-kilometer) equator, converting the electricity to powerful microwaves and lasers to be beamed at Earth, and finally converting the beams back to electricity at terrestrial power stations. The Luna Ring concept, the company says, could meet the entire world's energy needs.

Bron: Physorg.com

A perfectly preserved shoe, 1,000 years older than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt and 400 years older than Stonehenge in the UK, has been found in a cave in Armenia.



Bron: Physorg.com

Laid-back people can heal up to twice as rapidly as those who are very stressed, research indicates. Scientists inflicted small ''punch'' wounds on healthy volunteers whose levels of life stress were assessed using a standard questionnaire.

Bron: Telegraph.co.uk

Belgisch architect Vincent Callebaut heeft een futuristisch vervoersnetwerk ontworpen, 'Hydrogenase' genaamd. Als het van hem afhangt, verplaatsen we ons op termijn met verticale luchtschepen, die hun energie halen uit drijvende zeewier-krachtcentrales. Hydrogenase moet duidelijk het eco-toerisme stimuleren.



Bron: HLN.BE

Greenland is situated in the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast of Canada. It has stunning fjords on its rocky coast formed by moving glaciers, and a dense icecap up to 2 km thick that covers much of the island--pressing down the land beneath and lowering its elevation. Now, scientists at the University of Miami say Greenland's ice is melting so quickly that the land underneath is rising at an accelerated pace.

Bron: Physorg.com

Scientists in China have succeeded in teleporting information between photons further than ever before. They transported quantum information over a free space distance of 16 km (10 miles), much further than the few hundred meters previously achieved, which brings us closer to transmitting information over long distances without the need for a traditional signal.

Bron: Physorg.com