Physics and Astronomy

A University of Michigan scientist is part of a European Space Agency team that has detected methane gas on Mars, the clearest indicator yet that there could be life there, said Sushil Atreya, professor and director of the Planetary Science Laboratory in the College of Engineering.

“Biologically produced methane is one of many possibilities,” Atreya said. “Methane is a potential biomarker, if a planet has methane we begin to think of the possibility of life on the planet. On Earth

An international team of astronomers [1] has succeeded in measuring with high precision the velocities of a large number of planetary nebulae [2] in the intergalactic space within the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. For this they used the highly efficient FLAMES spectrograph 3] on the ESO Very Large Telescope at the Paranal Observatory (Chile).

These planetary nebulae stars free floating in the otherwise seemingly empty space between the galaxies of large clusters can be used as “pro

VLTI Watches the Changing Size of Bright Southern Cepheids

Taking advantage of the very high spatial resolution provided by the Very Large Telescope Interferometer, a team of French and Swiss astronomers [1] has measured directly the change in angular diameter of four southern Cepheid variable stars over their pulsation cycle.

When combined with spectroscopic radial velocity measurements, this allowed the astronomers to measure very accurately the distances of these st

An international team of astronomers is announcing today that they have identified the probable surviving companion star to a titanic supernova explosion witnessed in the year 1572 by the great Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe and other astronomers of that era.

A new discovery provides the first direct evidence supporting the long-held belief that Type Ia supernovae originate in binary star systems that contain a normal star and a burned-out white dwarf star. The normal star spills m

Cornell University researchers have demonstrated for the first time a device that allows one low-powered beam of light to switch another on and off on silicon, a key component for future “photonic” microchips in which light replaces electrons.

Photonics on silicon has been suggested since the 1970s, and previous light-beam switching devices on silicon have been demonstrated, but they were excessively large (by microchip standards) or have required that the beam of light that doe

Ming Zhang’s cosmic radiation research takes first step in missions to Mars, moon base

As American space exploration fulfills promises for a new era of long-term moon colonization and a mission to Mars, the research of Florida Institute of Technology space physicist Ming Zhang will become more important to the lives of each and every astronaut. While his research on cosmic radiation has its roots in pure science, the practical applications of what he has learned about space weath