Gravitational Tug of War Warps Spiral Shape of Galaxy

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Rashid Faridi

The galaxies pairing in a new image, captured by the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope in Chile, display some curious features, demonstrating that each member of the duo is close enough to feel the distorting gravitational influence of the other. The gravitational tug of war has warped the spiral shape of one galaxy, NGC 3169, and fragmented the dust lanes in its companion NGC 3166. Meanwhile, a third galaxy, NGC 3165, has a front-row seat to the gravitational twisting and pulling.

This galactic grouping, found about 70 million light-years away in the constellation Sextans (The Sextant), was discovered by the English astronomer William Herschel in 1783. Modern astronomers have gauged the distance between NGC 3169 (left) and NGC 3166 (right) as a mere 50 000 light-years, a separation that is only about half the diameter of the Milky Way galaxy. In such tight quarters, gravity can start to play havoc with galactic structure.

read here :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110420112330.htm

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Melting Ice on Arctic Islands a Major Player in Sea Level Rise

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Rashid Faridi

Melting glaciers and ice caps on Canadian Arctic islands play a much greater role in sea level rise than scientists previously thought, according to a new study led by a University of Michigan researcher.

The United Nations projects that the oceans will rise by a full meter by the end of century. This could have ramifications for tens of millions of people who live in coastal cities and low-lying areas across the globe. Future tsunamis and storm surges, for example, would more easily overtop ocean barriers.

Links and Sources:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110420143608.htm

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Big Changes in Atmosphere of Mars

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Rashid Faridi

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has discovered the total amount of atmosphere on Mars changes dramatically as the tilt of the planet’s axis varies. This process can affect the stability of liquid water, if it exists on the Martian surface, and increase the frequency and severity of Martian dust storms.

Researchers using the orbiter’s ground-penetrating radar identified a large, buried deposit of frozen carbon dioxide, or dry ice, at the Red Planet’s south pole. The scientists suspect that much of this carbon dioxide enters the planet’s atmosphere and swells the atmosphere’s mass when Mars’ tilt increases. The findings are published in the journal Science.

The newly found deposit has a volume similar to Lake Superior’s nearly 3,000 cubic miles (about 12,000 cubic kilometers). The deposit holds up to 80 percent as much carbon dioxide as today’s Martian atmosphere. Collapse pits caused by dry ice sublimation and other clues suggest the deposit is in a dissipating phase, adding gas to the atmosphere each year. Mars’ atmosphere is about 95 percent carbon dioxide, in contrast to Earth’s much thicker atmosphere, which is less than .04 percent carbon dioxide.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110421190450.htm

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Is Pluto a Comet with a Poisonous Atmosphere?

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Rashid Faridi

Pluto may no longer have official planetary status, but the dwarf planet does have an atmosphere. In fact, it’s the onlydwarf planet with a known atmosphere. What’s more, it has just been announced that its atmosphere reaches nearly one quarter of the way to Pluto’s largest moon Charon and swept back — like a cometary tail — by the weak pressure of the solar wind.

read here 

 

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