Physics and Astronomy

This area deals with the fundamental laws and building blocks of nature and how they interact, the properties and the behavior of matter, and research into space and time and their structures.

innovations-report provides in-depth reports and articles on subjects such as astrophysics, laser technologies, nuclear, quantum, particle and solid-state physics, nanotechnologies, planetary research and findings (Mars, Venus) and developments related to the Hubble Telescope.

SMART-1 views Hadley Rille near Apollo 15 landing site

This image, taken by the Advanced Moon Micro-Imager Experiment (AMIE) on board ESA’s SMART-1 spacecraft, shows the Hadley Rille on the south-east edge of Mare Imbrium on the Moon.

AMIE obtained this image from an altitude of about 2000 kilometres. It covers an area of about 100 kilometres and shows the region around Hadley Rille centred at approximately 25° North and 3° East.

The sinuous rille follows a course generally to the north-east toward the peak of Mount Hadl

Cassini finds recent, unusual geology on Enceladus

New detailed images taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft of the south polar region of Saturn’s moon Enceladus reveal distinctive geological features, and the most youthful terrains of any seen on Enceladus. These findings point to a very complex evolutionary history for Saturn’s brightest, whitest world.

Cassini’s flyby on July 14 brought it within 175 kilometers (109 miles) of the surface of the icy moon. The close encounter revealed a landscape near the south pole

Researchers help sort out the carbon nanotube problem

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and university researchers report a significant step toward sorting out the nanotube “problem”–the challenge of overcoming processing obstacles so that the remarkable properties of the tiny cylindrical structures can be exploited in new polymer composite materials of exceptional strength.

As described in the current issue of Physical Review Letters,* their analysis reveals that, during mixing, carbon nanotubes suspended i

Compact JILA system stabilizes laser frequency

A compact, inexpensive method for stabilizing lasers that uses a new design to reduce sensitivity to vibration and gravity 100 times better than similar approaches has been demonstrated by scientists at JILA in Boulder, Colo. JILA is a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The method, described in the July 15 issue of Optics Letters,* stabilizes laser light to a single frequency, so that it can be use

The unfolding space telescope

A novel suitcase-sized telescope could revolutionise the way we see the Earth and other planets. ESA has supported the work of a group of students in developing the Dobson Space Telescope, being tested this month aboard ESA’s parabolic flight campaign aircraft.

This experimental prototype launches in a compact configuration and then unfolds to provide a cost-effective space telescope. It could lead to fleets of low-cost telescopes, bigger than the Hubble Space Telescope.

Cassini reveals Saturn’s eerie-sounding radio emissions

Saturn’s radio emissions could be mistaken for a Halloween sound track.

That is how University of Iowa researchers Bill Kurth and Don Gurnett describe their recent findings, published 23 July in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Their research investigated sounds that are not just eerie, but also descriptive of a phenomenon similar to Earth’s northern lights. The study was based on data from the Cassini spacecraft’s radio and plasma wave science instrume

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