Scientists from NAI's Carnegie Institution of Washington Team have a new paper in Meteoritics and Planetary Science detailing their discovery of amino acids in two meteorites at concentrations ten times higher than levels previously measured in other similar meteorites. The result suggests that the early solar system was far richer in the organic building blocks of life than scientists had thought, and that fallout from space may have spiked Earth's primordial broth. [Source: NAI newsletter]

Posted by Keith Cowing at 8:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Scientists from NAI's University of Arizona Team have studied the outflow of VY Canis Majoris, an oxygen-rich supergiant star. Thier results show that, against expectations, an old, oxygen-rich star can synthesize a chemically varied molecular cocktail. The study is published in Nature, and a News and Views about the paper is also available. [Source: NAI Newsletter]

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NASA is seeking representatives of the astronomical community to serve on the Primordial Polarization Program Definition Team (PPPDT). Members of the PPPDT will work in collaboration with NASA Headquarters and the astronomical community to provide input for a space-based Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization mission. The PPPDT will help provide technical input from the astronomy community on questions relating to the science mission and technology developments required for this investigation and will help disseminate information about such a mission to the community. Astronomers from the U.S. and other countries are eligible for membership.

Continue reading "NASA Primordial Polarization Program Definition Team - Representatives Needed" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New work from NAI NASA Ames Research Center Team members and their colleagues published recently in PNAS suggests that the cause for much of the extended red emission, or ERE, is due to closed-shell cationic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, or PAH, dimers. Their work sheds light on the processes involved in carbonaceous dust evolution in the interstellar medium. [Source: NAI Newsletter]

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Cassini Radar Finds Hydrocarbon Lakes on Titan

"The Cassini spacecraft, using its radar system, has discovered very strong evidence for hydrocarbon lakes on Titan. Dark patches, which resemble terrestrial lakes, seem to be sprinkled all over the high latitudes surrounding Titan's north pole. Scientists have speculated that liquid methane or ethane might form lakes on Titan, particularly near the somewhat colder polar regions."

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Researchers from NAI's NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Team and their colleagues publish their analysis of two meteorites in the current issue of Meteoritics and Planetary Science. Their study revealed a suite of amino acids present in the meteorites that are not present in the Antarctic ice on which they were found. [Source: NAI Newsletter]

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Andrey Bekker of NAI's Carnegie Institution of Washington Team and his colleagues have an article in press for Precambrian Research which details the carbon isotope record for the carbonate platform in the Great Lakes area.

Continue reading "Carbon Isotope Record from ~2.2 Ga Rocks in the Great Lakes Area" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University is pleased to announce the 40th Anniversary of the Nininger Award for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing research in meteoritical sciences.

Continue reading "ASU Award for Students Pursuing Research in Meteoritical Sciences" »

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