At a cosmologically crisp one degree Kelvin (minus 458 degrees Fahrenheit), the Boomerang Nebula is the coldest known object in the Universe – colder, in fact, than the faint afterglow of the Big Bang, which is the natural ...
Astronomy
Oct 24, 2013
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Nitrous oxide is commonly associated with laughing gas—the pleasantly benign vapor that puts patients at ease in the dentist's chair. But outside the dentist's office, the gas plays a serious role in the planet's warming ...
Environment
Sep 27, 2013
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For millions of years after the Big Bang, there were no stars, or even galaxies to contain stars. During these "Cosmic Dark Ages," neutral hydrogen gas dominated the universe. When clouds of primordial hydrogen gas started ...
Astronomy
Sep 2, 2013
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(Phys.org) —This light-year-long knot of interstellar gas and dust resembles a caterpillar on its way to a feast. But the meat of the story is not only what this cosmic caterpillar eats for lunch, but also what's eating ...
Astronomy
Aug 29, 2013
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(Phys.org) —This new view of the Orion A star-formation cloud from ESA's Herschel space observatory shows the turbulent region of space that hugs the famous Orion Nebula.
Astronomy
Aug 26, 2013
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A lot of people mix up the ozone hole and global warming, believing the hole is a major cause of the world's increasing average temperature. Scientists, on the other hand, have long attributed a small cooling effect to the ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 8, 2013
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How does the sun's energy flow? Despite the fact that we live relatively close (93 million miles, or eight light-minutes) to this star, and that we have several spacecraft peering at it, we still know little about how energy ...
Space Exploration
Jun 25, 2013
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(Phys.org) —A film director looking for a location where a movie about Mars could be shot might consider the Atacama Desert, one of the harshest landscapes the planet has to offer. Due to the accidents of its geography, ...
Space Exploration
Jun 25, 2013
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(Phys.org) —Minuscule crystals that glow different colors may be the missing ingredient for white LED lighting that illuminates homes and offices as effectively as natural sunlight.
General Physics
May 24, 2013
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Why Tibetan antelope can live at elevations of 4,000-5,000m on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau? In a collaborative research published in Nature Communications, investigators from Qinghai University, BGI, and other institutes ...
Earth Sciences
May 17, 2013
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