Unraveling the light of fireflies

How do fireflies produce those mesmerizing light flashes? Using cutting-edge imaging techniques, scientists from Switzerland and Taiwan have unraveled the firefly's intricate light-producing system for the first time.

Satellite launch company FireFly aims to lighten costs

(Phys.org) —Satellite launch company FireFly Space Systems, with locations in Austin, Texas and Hawthorne, California, founded early this year, is on a mission: Cut the costs for lighter loads going to low Earth orbit. ...

NASA-led firefly mission to study lightning (w/ Video)

Somewhere on Earth, there's always a lightning flash. The globe experiences lightning some 50 times a second, yet the details of what initiates this common occurrence and what effects it has on the atmosphere – lightning ...

Discovery of the missing link in evolution of bioluminescence

With bioluminescence—the process that makes fireflies glow—now a mainstay in medical research, scientists are reporting discovery of a "missing link" of its evolution, which represents one of the deepest mysteries about ...

US company aims to 'harvest' asteroids

A US company said Tuesday it plans to send a fleet of spacecraft into the solar system to mine asteroids for metals and other materials in the hopes of furthering exploration of the final frontier.

Scientists mimic fireflies to make brighter LEDs

The nighttime twinkling of fireflies has inspired scientists to modify a light-emitting diode (LED) so it is more than one and a half times as efficient as the original. Researchers from Belgium, France, and Canada studied ...

Hubble traps galactic fireflies

(Phys.org)—Luminous galaxies glow like fireflies on a dark night in this image snapped by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The upper central galaxy in this image is a gigantic elliptical galaxy designated 4C 73.08. ...

Solar and wind energy may stabilise the power grid

(Phys.org)—Renewable energies such as wind, sun and biogas are set to become increasingly important in generating electricity. If increasing numbers of wind turbines and photovoltaic systems feed electrical energy into ...

Researchers use nanotechnology to harness power of fireflies

What do fireflies, nanorods and Christmas lights have in common? Someday, consumers may be able to purchase multicolor strings of light that don't need electricity or batteries to glow. Scientists in Syracuse University's ...

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