Saturn's tilt caused by its moons

Two scientists from CNRS and Sorbonne University working at the Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Ephemeris Calculation (Paris Observatory—PSL/CNRS) have just shown that the influence of Saturn's satellites can explain ...

NIST's compact atomic gyroscope displays new twists

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have upgraded their compact atomic gyroscope to enable multitasking measurement capabilities and measure its performance, important steps toward practical ...

Model suggests Earth is undergoing true polar wander

At various points throughout Earth's history, the planet's solid exterior has drifted about in relation to the planetary rotation axis. This solid body drift, which is known as "true polar wander," results in a wholesale ...

The riddle of the heavenly bursts

This cosmic lightning storm is happening all around us. Somewhere in the earthly sky, there is a pulse that flashes and extinguishes in the next moment. These bursts, which must be measured with radio telescopes and last ...

I see the moon: Introducing our nearest neighbour

The moon. Our nearest neighbour. The main source of the ocean's tides, and a beacon that drives the lives of animals across the globe. And also, to date, the only object beyond Earth on which humans have set foot.

Asteroid Toutatis slowly tumbles by earth

(Phys.org)—Scientists working with NASA's 230-foot-wide (70-meter) Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif., have generated a series of radar data images of a three-mile-long (4.8-kilometer) asteroid that made its ...

Creating vortices in a superfluid made of light

By using a special combination of laser beams as a very fast stirrer, RIKEN physicists have created multiple vortices in a quantum photonic system and tracked their evolution. This system could be used to explore exotic new ...

Black hole jets might be molded by magnetism

Even though black holes—by their definition and very nature—are the ultimate hoarders of the Universe, gathering and gobbling up matter and energy to the extent that not even light can escape their gravitational grip, ...

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