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Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 27.09.2019

More accurate than expected
Despite their extremely small mass, neutrinos play a key role in cosmology and particle physics. After evaluation of the first measurement results in the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment (KATRIN), it is now clear: The previously unknown mass of the neutrinos must be less than 1 electron volt. This result is more accurate than previous measurements and raises hopes of discovering new neutrino properties.

Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 16.09.2019

New results for the mass of neutrinos
Apart from photons, the fundamental quanta of light, neutrinos are the most abundant elementary particles in the universe. As they possess a small non-zero mass, these “light-weights of the universe” play a key role in cosmology and particle physics. The most precise scale for neutrinos in the world is the international experiment "KATRIN" at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, in which scientists of the University of Münster are also involved.

Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 05.09.2019

Closing in on elusive particles
In the quest to prove that matter can be produced without antimatter, the GERDA experiment at the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory is looking for signs of neutrinoless double beta decay. The experiment has the greatest sensitivity worldwide for detecting the decay in question. To further improve the chances of success, a follow-up project, LEGEND, uses an even more refined decay experiment.

Astronomy / Space Science - 18.07.2019

"It was the greatest adventure of the 1960s"
Professor Schreiber, how big an impression did the Moon landing make on you when you were young? It wasn't just the Moon landing as such. What amazed me most were the steps that led up to it. It was a huge technical challenge. For example the question: How do I accelerate a rocket to reach the Moon? Back then, the technical possibilities were still quite limited.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 17.07.2019

Hunting for "ghost particles": Neutrino observatory at the South Pole will be extended
For almost ten years, scientists from all over the world have been using the large-scale experiment "IceCube" to search for neutrinos in the permanent ice of the South Pole. Neutrinos are the smallest particles that reach Earth as cosmic rays. Now the participating researchers, among them Prof. Alexander Kappes from the University of Münster, are pleased about a huge upgrade of the laboratory, which should contribute to measuring the properties of neutrinos much more accurately than before.

Astronomy / Space Science - Environment - 12.07.2019

New Findings on Early Bombardment of the Earth and Moon and Their Development
Freie Universität Researchers Contribute to International Study Published in Nature No 215/2019 from Jul 12, 2019 How did the Earth evolve from a fireball about 4.5 billion years ago to a habitable world? The key to this question lies in the early history of our planet, when the bombardment with cosmic bodies slowly declined.

Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 11.06.2019

Dwarf planet Ceres: a new form of volcanism found
An international research team solves the mystery of how the mountain Ahuna Mons on Ceres was probably formed / Study in "Nature Geoscience" The scientists could hardly believe their eyes when they first saw this formation on the images acquired by their Framing Camera on board the Dawn space probe: a symmetrical mountain over 4000 metres tall and with steep, smooth sides rising over the crater-strewn surface of.

Astronomy / Space Science - 20.05.2019

Formation of the moon brought water to earth
The Earth is unique in our solar system: It is the only terrestrial planet with a large amount of water and a relatively large moon, which stabilizes the Earth's axis. Both were essential for Earth to develop life. Planetologists at the University of Münster have now been able to show, for the first time, that water came to Earth with the formation of the Moon some 4.4 billion years ago.

Environment - Astronomy / Space Science - 14.05.2019

EUMETSAT, Japanese space agency to cooperate on greenhouse gas monitoring
EUMETSAT and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) today signed an agreement which will result in the agencies working closely together to monitor greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. Mr Kazuo Tachi, on behalf of the Direc tor General of JAXA's Space Technology Directorate 1 Ryoichi Imai, and EUMETSAT Director-General Alain Ratier signed the agreement at a ceremony at EUMETSAT's Darmstadt headquarters today.

Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 24.04.2019

Astroparticle physicists observe the longest half-life ever directly measured
The universe is almost 14 billion years old. An inconceivable length of time by human standards - yet compared to some physical processes, it is but a moment. There are radioactive nuclei that decay on much longer time scales. An international team of scientists has now directly measured the rarest decay process ever recorded in a detector.

Astronomy / Space Science - 09.04.2019

Are Brown Dwarfs Failed Stars Or Super-Planets?
Brown dwarfs fill the 'gap' between stars and the numerous smaller planets ' two very different types of astronomical objects. But how they originate has yet to be fully explained. Astronomers from Heidelberg University may now be able to answer that question. They discovered that the star Îoe Ophiuchi in the Milky Way is being orbited by two brown dwarfs, which in all probability formed along with the star from a gas and dust disk, just as planets do.

Astronomy / Space Science - 29.03.2019

Cassini mission reveals the secrets of Saturn’s walnut-shaped ring moons
New study in in the high-ranking journal Science No 73/2019 from Mar 29, 2019 A new study of Saturn's small inner moons was published in the high-ranking journal Science . Images of Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Pandora and Epimetheus, obtained by the Cassini spacecraft in winter 2016/17, show that several of these so-called "shepherd moons" exhibit huge ridges around their equators, giving them a very peculiar and impressing walnut-like shape (Fig.

Astronomy / Space Science - 15.02.2019

Tidal Tails - The Beginning Of The End Of An Open Star Cluster
In the course of their life, open star clusters continuously lose stars to their surroundings. The resulting swath of tidal tails provides a glimpse into the evolution and dissolution of a star cluster. Thus far only tidal tails of massive globular clusters and dwarf galaxies have been discovered in the Milky Way system.

Astronomy / Space Science - 12.12.2018

Unprecedented Views of the Birth of Planets
Hitherto unknown structures in belts of dust and gas around young stars are providing new insights into the birth of planets along with compelling fodder for research. They were discovered by an international team of astronomers that studied 20 of these so-called protoplanetary discs in a months-long observing campaign.

Health - Astronomy / Space Science - 26.11.2018

Universität Heidelberg Successful with Two Approvals for Collaborative Research Centres
Heidelberg University succeeded in gaining support from the German Research Foundation in the latest approval round, receiving funding for two Collaborative Research Centres. The newly established "Vascular Control of Organ Function" Collaborative Research Centre (CRC 1366) will take up its work at the Medical Faculty Mannheim.

Astronomy / Space Science - 15.11.2018

Our stellar neighbourhood expands
Astronomers from the Observatory of the University of Hamburg were involved in the discovery of a new planet. As part of an international research team led by the Institut de Ciències de l'Espai (ICE, CSIC), they have found a planet in orbit of Barnard's star. Barnard's star is a so-called red dwarf and after the Alpha-Centauri triple stellar system the second closest star to the Sun.

Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 05.10.2018

Mission Cassini: Nano Dust Rain from Saturn’s Rings
Findings Published in "Science" No 260/2018 from Oct 05, 2018 Nanometer-sized particles of dust are whirling in the gap between the planet Saturn and its rings, as shown by experiments following the grand finale of the Cassini spacecraft, which burned out in 2017. The particles consist of water ice and silicates, and according to the latest measurements, they come from Saturn's rings.

Astronomy / Space Science - 25.07.2018

How to Weigh Stars With Gravitational Lensing
Using data from Gaia astrometry satellite, astronomers at Heidelberg University investigated the movement of millions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy. For the first time, they were able to predict the approach of two stars with extreme precision and to forecast characteristic effects of relativistic light deflection that can be used to precisely measure the mass of stars.

Astronomy / Space Science - 12.07.2018

First evidence on the source of extragalactic particles
Research news For the first time ever, scientists have determined the cosmic origin of highest-energy neutrinos. A research group led by Prof. Elisa Resconi from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), provides an important piece of evidence that the particles detected by the IceCube neutrino telescope at the South Pole originate from a galaxy four billion light-years away from Earth.

Chemistry - Astronomy / Space Science - 28.06.2018

Complex Organic Molecules On Saturn’s Moon Enceladus
Under its icy crust, Saturn's moon Enceladus conceals an global ocean of liquid water. A detector on the Cassini space probe detected ice particles propelled from Enceladus that contain high concentrations of organic substances. They exhibit the structures typical of highly complex macromolecular compounds.