DOCSLIB.ORG

Clefs-Cea-68-Latest-News-Space

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Clefs-Cea-68-Latest-News-Space #68 APRIL 2019 LATEST NEWS FROM THE OUTER SPACE CONTEXT − TECHNOLOGIES − SCOPE OF APPLICATIONS − OUTLOOK THE UNIVERSE • BY ROLAND LEHOUCQ (Fundamental Research Division) DEFINITION What is Roland Lehoucq is an astrophysicist (Institute of Research into the Fundamental Laws of the Universe) at the CEA and teaches at the École the Universe? polytechnique and Institut d’Études y definition, the Universe is everything that receive weave our cone of light from the past, a set of Politiques. exists. But not all events, not all stars are events linked to our spacetime position – the here and © Laurence Honnorat / Utopiales 2014 accessible to us and astrophysicists now – from a messenger made of light. We thus only concretely define the Universe as being observe a section (our cone of light from the past) of Beverything that they can observe with their a finite volume of the Universe (the observable instruments. This “observable universe” is necessarily universe). Moreover, some of the observable objects finite for two reasons. Firstly, most of the information escape our detectors owing to their low luminosity due we collect on Earth reaches us in the form of light at a to their considerable spacetime distance. Finally, we variety of wavelengths. We also collect a few particles only have access to a finite quantity of information, and, since September 2015, gravitational waves. Light perceived from the “here and now”, on the basis of and gravitational waves propagate at the speed of which we aim to reconstruct the content, history and light, which is finite and is approximately 300,000 structure of the entire Universe. These obstacles pose kilometres per second. Secondly, since the early 20th the question of the exhaustiveness of this century, we have known that the objects in the reconstruction using the partial information available “ At present, the most Universe, notably the stars, have not always existed. and give some idea of the complexity of the task facing coherent and robust We can therefore only observe objects that are close astrophysics. enough for their light to have had the time to reach us description of the Universe since they were formed. In other words, when taken Strangely, on the scale of cosmological time, our is the “concordance together, the finite nature of the speed of light and the situation would appear to be more favourable. At finite age of the stars and galaxies mean that only a present, the most coherent and robust description of model”, which describes part of the Universe is directly accessible to us. Our the Universe is the “concordance model”, which it as a homogeneous, observations are therefore limited by a horizon whose describes it as a homogeneous, isotropic, infinite isotropic, infinite space internal volume defines the observable universe the space with Euclidian geometry and experiencing astrophysicists talk about. According to the current accelerated expansion. If this model is correct, there with Euclidian geometry cosmological model, this horizon is today 45 billion is a boundary beyond which events occur will remain and experiencing light years away and the Universe is 13.8 billion years for ever invisible to us, an event horizon limiting our old. In the same way as the maritime horizon, the future perception of the Universe. Within this accelerated expansion. ” cosmological horizon depends on the position of the framework, our sky will gradually empty of its galaxies observer in space. It also depends on the time, because over the course of billions of years, as the increasingly every second, information arrives from a little further rapid expansion takes them beyond our event horizon. away, from objects which are just appearing over our In a far distant future, cosmology – which is already horizon. a difficult discipline – could become nearly impossible, with no objects left to observe. The most Another consequence of the finiteness of the speed of reasonable model of the Universe will doubtless be light is that an object in the observable universe does that of an island universe consisting solely of our not appear as it is at the moment it is observed, but galaxy, which will have merged with that of rather as it was at the moment the light which reaches Andromeda, a model which was already postulated at us was emitted: for example, a galaxy appears all the the very beginning of the 20th century, at the dawn of younger, the further away it is. The light rays that we scientific cosmology! 2 - Latest News from the Outer Space Les voix de la recherche - #68 - Clefs CONTENTS IN THIS ISSUE INTRODUCTION / DEFINITION OF THE UNIVERSE 2 LATEST NEWS FROM THE CONTENTS 3 THE VIEWPOINT OF CATHERINE CÉSARSKY 4 OUTER SPACE CONTEXT 5 DYNAMICS OF STARS AND EXOPLANETS SOLAR AND STELLAR DYNAMICS 13 12 EXOPLANETS 16 STAR-PLANET INTERACTIONS 18 STAR FORMATION AND INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM THE INTERSTELLAR ECOSYSTEM 21 ALONG INTERSTELLAR FILAMENTS 23 20 AT THE HEART OF PROTOPLANETARY DISKS 25 COSMOLOGY AND EVOLUTION OF GALAXIES THE COSMOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE LARGE GALACTIC SURVEYS 29 28 THE ORIGIN OF COSMIC ACCELERATION: NEW ENERGY OR NEW PHYSICS? 30 GALAXY CLUSTERS AS PHYSICS LABORATORIES 32 LARGE SURVEYS OF GALAXY CLUSTERS AND COSMOLOGY 33 OBSERVING THE FORMATION AND EVOLUTION OF THE FIRST GENERATION OF GALAXY CLUSTERS 34 THE ENIGMATIC FORMATION OF MASSIVE GALAXIES 36 HIGH-ENERGY PHENOMENA SUPERNOVA: UNDERSTANDING THE EXPLOSION OF MASSIVE STARS 38 EXTREME EXPLOSIONS 40 37 SUPERNOVA REMNANTS AND COSMIC RADIATION: THE GAMMA SKY SHEDS LIGHT ON THE MATTER 42 RELATIVISTIC JET EJECTIONS IN MICROQUASARS 43 45 OUTLOOK Clefs - #68 - Les voix de la recherche Latest News from the Outer Space - 3 VIEWPOINT The Universe Has More Imagination than Mankind Does. By Catherine Cesarsky, astrophysicist and member of the Académie des Sciences “Continuing to progress with © ESO discoveries in astrophysics demands rigorous programming, not only at the level of a laboratory or a country, but on the scale of a continent or even of the whole world.” n the 20th century, major discoveries in astronomy often rigorous programming, not only at the level of a laboratory or a happened as a result of serendipity. Outstanding examples country, but on the scale of a continent or even of the whole world. are: the microwave background radiation, relic from the Big Programming at CEA’s Astrophysics Department (DAp) is part of Bang; quasars, extremely bright sources drawing their intense this global planning process. Throughout its history, the successful Iluminosity from the kinetic energy acquired by matter drawn research at the DAp has to a large extent been based on space towards a gigantic black hole; pulsars, magnetised, rotating neutron missions, in partnership with the CNES, which were decided on and stars emitting periodic signals; binary star systems emitting strong implemented within the European Space Agency (ESA), via its streams of X rays; gamma ray burst sources and so on. Today, successive Horizon 2000 and Horizon 2000+ programmes. In the discoveries are programmed. Using extremely precise spectrometers coming years, the missions of the next programme, Cosmic Vision, or photometers, astrophysicists have the means of detecting the will be launched. In 2004, the community formulated a list of presence of planets in orbit around stars and prepare specific space essential questions and the programme has been built since then to missions to attempt to characterise their atmospheres. They address them. Even if the DAp is dependent on the choices made by construct space missions carrying cooled telescopes with sensors ESA, it is also highly active, first in submitting proposals and then kept at temperatures close to absolute zero, able to detect in the by having researchers involved in the selection process, participating slightest detail the emissions from the cold Universe or the cosmic in or chairing ESA committees. Preparations for the future ESA microwave background. X-ray and gamma-ray sources are being programme, Voyage 2050, which will cover the period 2035-2050, tracked and examined from space, but also from the ground for the have just begun. highest energy photons. In general, space and ground agency programmes over the world To gain a clearer understanding of how the Sun works, probes are complement each other. For instance, in an attempt to pierce the getting closer and closer to it. Systems capable of detecting the mystery of the dominant components of the Universe, dark matter passage of gravitational waves are developed on ground and in and dark energy, ESA is preparing the Euclid mission, while an space. Once new cutting-edge instruments are deployed and in international telescope, the LSST, is under construction in Chile under service, they usually obtain results close to the predictions, but as American leadership and NASA is studying the WFirst mission. the Universe always has more imagination than humankind does, there are still many surprises. Thus, the coalescing stellar black holes On ground, European astronomy is in pole position in the field of perceived by the LIGO and VIRGO interferometers were more optics and near infrared, thanks to the European Southern massive than expected; very massive galaxies were discovered earlier Observatory (ESO). The DAp, which participates in building ESO on in the life of the Universe than predicted. Astrophysicists know instruments, is a frequent user of ESO telescopes. The era of what they are looking for, they even produce highly detailed advance worldwide observatories
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The X-Ray Universe 2011
    THE X-RAY UNIVERSE 2011 27 - 30 June 2011 Berlin, Germany A conference organised by the XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre, European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), European Space Agency (ESA) ABSTRACT BOOK Oral Communications and Posters Edited by Andy Pollock with the help of Matthias Ehle, Cristina Hernandez, Jan-Uwe Ness, Norbert Schartel and Martin Stuhlinger Organising Committees Scientific Organising Committee Giorgio Matt (Universit`adegli Studi Roma Tre, Italy) Chair Norbert Schartel (XMM-Newton SOC, Madrid, ESA) Co-Chair M. Ali Alpar (Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey) Didier Barret (Centre d’Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, Toulouse, France) Ehud Behar (Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel) Hans B¨ohringer (MPE, Garching, Germany) Graziella Branduardi-Raymont (University College London-MSSL, Dorking, UK) Francisco J. Carrera (Instituto de F´ısicade Cantabria, Santander, Spain) Finn E. Christensen (Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, Copenhagen, Denmark) Anne Decourchelle (Commissariat `al’´energie atomique et aux ´energies alternatives, Saclay, France) Jan-Willem den Herder (SRON, Utrecht, The Netherlands) Rosario Gonzalez-Riestra (XMM-Newton SOC, Madrid, ESA) Coel Hellier (Keele University, UK) Stefanie Komossa (MPE, Garching, Germany) Chryssa Kouveliotou (NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA) Kazuo Makishima (University of Tokyo, Japan) Sera Markoff (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Brian McBreen (University College Dublin, Ireland) Brian McNamara (University of Waterloo, Canada)
    [Show full text]
  • Widespread and Hidden Active Galactic Nuclei in Star-Forming Galaxies at Redshift >0.3 Stéphanie Juneau, Mark Dickinson, Frédéric Bournaud, David M
    Widespread and hidden active galactic nuclei in star-forming galaxies at redshift >0.3 Stéphanie Juneau, Mark Dickinson, Frédéric Bournaud, David M. Alexander, Emanuele Daddi, James R. Mullaney, Benjamin Magnelli, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe, Ho Seong Hwang, S. P. Willner, et al. To cite this version: Stéphanie Juneau, Mark Dickinson, Frédéric Bournaud, David M. Alexander, Emanuele Daddi, et al.. Widespread and hidden active galactic nuclei in star-forming galaxies at redshift >0.3. The Astro- physical Journal, American Astronomical Society, 2013, 764, pp.176. 10.1088/0004-637X/764/2/176. cea-00825844 HAL Id: cea-00825844 https://hal-cea.archives-ouvertes.fr/cea-00825844 Submitted on 30 Jun 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. The Astrophysical Journal, 764:176 (19pp), 2013 February 20 doi:10.1088/0004-637X/764/2/176 C 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. WIDESPREAD AND HIDDEN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI IN STAR-FORMING GALAXIES AT REDSHIFT >0.3 Stephanie´ Juneau1,2, Mark Dickinson3,Fred´ eric´ Bournaud1, David M. Alexander4, Emanuele Daddi1, James R. Mullaney4, Benjamin Magnelli5, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe3, Ho Seong Hwang6,S.P.Willner6,AlisonL.Coil7, David J.
    [Show full text]
  • Messengers from Outer Space
    The complete absence of national laboratories for standardizing radiation measurements and the lack of physics departments in most radiotherapy centres in Latin America warrant the setting up of one or more regional dosimetry facilities, the functions of which would be primarily to calibrate dosimeters; to provide local technical assistance by means of trained staff; to check radiation equipment and dosimeters; to arrange a dose-intercomparison service; and to co-operate with local personnel dosimetry services. To be most effective, this activity should be in the charge of local personnel, with some initial assistance in the form of equipment and experts provided by the Agency. Although the recommendations were presented to the IAEA as the or­ ganization responsible for the setting up of the panel, the participants re­ commended that the co-operation of the World Health Organization and the Pan-American Health Organization should be invited. It was also suggested that the panel report be circulated to public health authorities in the countries represented. MESSENGERS FROM OUTER SPACE Although no evidence has yet been confirmed of living beings reaching the earth from space, it has been estimated that hundreds of tons of solid matter arrive every day in the form of meteorites or cosmic dust particles. Much is destroyed by heat in the atmosphere but fragments recovered can give valuable information about what has been happening in the universe for billions of years. Some of the results of worldwide research on meteorites were given at a symposium in Vienna during August. During six days of discussions a total of 73 scientific papers was present­ ed and a special meeting was held for the purpose of improving international co-operation in the research.
    [Show full text]
  • The Water on Mars Vanished. This Might Be Where It Went
    The water on Mars vanished. This might be where it went. timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/the-water-on-mars-vanished-this-might-be-where- it-went-/articleshow/81599751.cms NYT News Service | Mar 20, 2021, 10:32 IST Mars was once wet, with an ocean’s worth of water on its surface. Today, most of Mars is as dry as a desert except for ice deposits in its polar regions. Where did the rest of the water go? Some of it disappeared into space. Water molecules, pummeled by particles of solar wind, broke apart into hydrogen and oxygen atoms, and those, especially the lighter hydrogen atoms, sped out of the atmosphere, lost to outer space. A tall outcropping of rock, with layered deposits of sediments in the distance, marking a remnant of an ancient, long-vanished river delta in Jezero Crater, are pictured in this undated image taken by NASA's Mars rover Perseverance. (Reuters) But most of the water, a new study concludes, went down, sucked into the red planet’s rocks. And there it remains, trapped within minerals and salts. Indeed, as much as 99% of the water that once flowed on Mars could still be there, the researchers estimated in a paper published this week in the journal Science. Data from the past two decades of robotic missions to Mars, including NASA ’s Curiosity rover and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, showed a wide distribution of what geologists call hydrated minerals. “It became very, very clear that it was common and not rare to find evidence of water alteration,” said Bethany Ehlmann, a professor of planetary science at the California Institute of Technology and one of the authors of the paper.
    [Show full text]
  • The Protection of Frequencies for Radio Astronomy 1
    JOURNAL OF RESEARCH of the National Bureau of Standards-D. Radio Propagation Vol. 67D, No. 2, March- April 1963 b The Protection of Frequencies for Radio Astronomy 1 R. 1. Smith-Rose President, International Scientific Radio Union (R eceived November 5, 1962) The International T elecommunications Union in its Geneva, 1959 R adio R egulations r recognises the Radio Astronomy Service in t he two following definitions: N o. 74 Radio A st1" onomy: Astronomy based on t he reception of waves of cos mi c origin. No. 75 R adio A st1"onomy Se1"vice: A service involving the use of radio astronomy. This service differs, however, from other r adio services in two important respects. 1. It does not itself originate any radio waves, and therefore causes no interference to any other service. L 2. A large proportion of its activity is conducted by the use of reception techniques which are several orders of magnit ude )]).ore sensitive than those used in other ra dio services. In order to pursue his scientific r esearch successfully, t he radio astronomer seeks pro­ tection from interference first, in a number of bands of frequencies distributed t hroughout I t he s p ~ct run:; and secondly:. 1~10r e complete and s p ec i~c prote.ction fOl: t he exact frequency bands III whIch natural radIatIOn from, or absorptIOn lD, cosmIc gases IS known or expected to occur. The International R egulations referred to above give an exclusive all ocation to one freq uency band only- the emission line of h ydrogen at 1400 to 1427 Mc/s.
    [Show full text]
  • Physique Nucléaire Et De L'instrumentation Associée Introduction
    FR0108546 # DEA-DAPNIA-RA-1997-98 A il. ..33/04 -DSM Département d'Astrophysique, de physique des Particules, de physique Nucléaire et de l'Instrumentation Associée Introduction Motivés par la curiosité pour les connaissances fondamentales et soutenus par des investissements impor- tants, les chercheurs du vingtième siècle ont fait des découvertes scientifiques considérables, sources de retombées économiques fructueuses. Une recherche ambitieuse doit se poursuivre. Organisé pour déve- lopper les grands programmes pour le nucléaire et par le nucléaire, le CEA est bien armé pour concevoir et mettre au point les instruments destinés à explorer, en coopération avec les autres organismes de recherche, les confins de l'infiniment petit et ceux de l'infinimenf grand. La recherche fondamentale évolue et par essence ne doit pas avoir de frontières. Le Département d'astrophysique, de physique des particules, de physique nucléaire et de l'instrumentation associée (Dapnia) a été créé pour abolir les cloisons entre la physique nucléaire, la physique des particules et l'as- trophysique, tout en resserrant les liens entre physiciens, ingénieurs et techniciens au sein de la Direction des sciences de la matière (DSM). Le Dapnia est unique par sa pluridisciplinarité. Ce regroupement a permis de lancer des expériences se situant aux frontières de ces disciplines tout en favorisant de nou- velles orientations et les choix vers les programmes les plus prometteurs. Tout en bénéficiant de l'expertise d'autres départements du CEA, la recherche au Dapnia se fait princi- palement au sein de collaborations nationales et internationales. Les équipes du Dapnia, de I'IN2P3 (Institut national de physique nucléaire et de physique des particules) et de l'Insu (Institut national des sciences de l'Univers) se retrouvent dans de nombreuses grandes collaborations internationales, chacun apportant ses compétences spécifiques afin de renforcer l'impact de nos contributions.
    [Show full text]
  • What Are Cosmic Rays?!
    WhatWWhatWhhaatt areaarearree CosmicCCosmicCoossmmiicc Rays?!RRays?!Raayyss??!! By Hayanon Translated by Y. Noda and Y. Kamide Supervised by Y. Muraki ᵶᵶᵋᵰᵿᶗᶑᵘᴾᴾᵱᶇᶀᶊᶇᶌᶅᶑᴾᶍᶄᴾᵡᶍᶑᶋᶇᶁᴾᵰᵿᶗᶑᵋᵰᵿᶗᶑᵘᵘᴾᴾᵱᶇᶀᶊᶊᶇᶌᶅᶑᴾᶍᶄᴾᵡᶍᶑᶋᶇᶁᴾᵰᵿᶗᶑ Have you ever had an X-ray examination Scientists identified three types at the hospital? In 1896, a German of radiation: positively-charged alpha physicist, W. C. Röntgen, astonished people particles, negatively-charged beta particles, with an image of bones captured through and uncharged gamma rays. In 1903, M. the use of X-rays. He had just discovered Curie along with her husband, P. Curie, and the new type of rays emitted by a discharge Becquerel, won the Nobel prize in physics. device. He named them X-rays. Because Furthermore, M. Curie was awarded the of their high penetration ability, they are Nobel prize in chemistry in 1911. able to pass through flesh. Soon after, it Certain types of radiation including was found that excessive use of X-rays can X-rays are now used for many medical cause harm to bodies. purposes including examining inside the In that same year, a French scientist, body, treating cancer, and more. Radiation, A. H. Becquerel, found that a uranium however, could be harmful unless the compound also gave off mysterious rays. amount of radiation exposure is strictly To his surprise, they could penetrate controlled. wrapping paper and expose a photographic The work with radium by M. Curie later film generating an image of the uranium led to the breakthrough discovery of compound. The uranium rays had similar the radiation coming from space. These characteristics as those of X-rays, but were cosmic rays were discovered by an Austrian determined to be different from them.
    [Show full text]
  • An Ancient Massive Quiescent Galaxy Found in a Gas-Rich Z~ 3 Group
    Draft version July 29, 2021 Typeset using LATEX twocolumn style in AASTeX62 An ancient massive quiescent galaxy found in a gas-rich z ∼ 3 group Boris S. Kalita,1 Emanuele Daddi,1 Chiara D'Eugenio,1 Francesco Valentino,2, 3 R. Michael Rich,4 Carlos Gomez-Guijarro´ ,1 Rosemary T. Coogan,5 Ivan Delvecchio,6 David Elbaz,1 James D. Neill,7 Annagrazia Puglisi,8 and Veronica Strazzullo9, 6, 10 1CEA, Irfu, DAp, AIM, Universit`eParis-Saclay, Universit`ede Paris, CNRS, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France 2Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Copenhagen, Denmark 3Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Jagtvej 128, DK-2200, Copenhagen, Denmark 4Department of Physics & Astronomy, Univ. of California Los Angeles, PAB 430 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547, USA 5Max-Planck-Institut f¨urExtraterrestrische Physik (MPE), Giessenbachstr.1, 85748 Garching, Germany 6INAF|Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, via Brera 28, I-20121, Milano, Italy 71 California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, MC 278-17, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA 8Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham, UK 9University of Trieste, Piazzale Europa, 1, 34127 Trieste TS, Italy 10INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, via Tiepolo 11, I-34131, Trieste, Italy (Received June 01, 2021; Revised July 13, 2021; Accepted July 22, 2021) Submitted to ApJL ABSTRACT Deep ALMA and HST observations reveal the presence of a quenched massive galaxy within the z = 2:91 galaxy group RO-1001. With a mass-weighted stellar age of 1:6 ± 0:4 Gyr this galaxy is 11 one of the oldest known at z ∼ 3, implying that most of its 10 M of stars were rapidly formed at z > 6{8.
    [Show full text]
  • Problems with Panspermia Or Extraterrestrial Origin of Life Scenarios As Found on the IDEA Center Website At
    Problems with Panspermia or Extraterrestrial Origin of Life Scenarios As found on the IDEA Center website at http://www.ideacenter.org Panspermia is the theory that microorganisms or biochemical compounds from outer space are responsible for originating life on Earth and possibly in other parts of the universe where suitable atmospheric conditions exist. Essentially, it is a hypothesis which states that life on earth came from outer space. It has been popularized in countless science fiction works, however some scientists, including the discoverer of the structure of DNA, Francis Crick, have advocated panspermia. There are generally about 3 different "flavors" of panspermia: 1. Naturalistic Panspermia where life evolves on another planet, and naturally gets ejected off the planet and come to rest on earth. 2. Directed Panspermia where intelligent life on other planets intentionally seeded other planets with their own form of life. 3. Intelligent Design Panspermia, where intelligent beings from another planet came to earth and designed life here. Each type of panspermia will be briefly discussed below: 1. Naturalistic Panspermia where life evolves on another planet, and naturally gets ejected off the planet and come to rest on earth. Naturalistic panspermia has gained popularity because some have recognized that life on earth appears very soon after the origin of conditions which would allow it to exist. Many scientists believed that if life had originated on earth it would have taken many hundreds of millions, or even billions of years to do so. Life appears perhaps less than 200 million after the origin of conditions at which life could exist.
    [Show full text]
  • Owning Outer Space Ezra J
    Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business Volume 20 Issue 1 Fall Fall 1999 Owning Outer Space Ezra J. Reinstein Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/njilb Part of the Air and Space Law Commons Recommended Citation Ezra J. Reinstein, Owning Outer Space, 20 Nw. J. Int'l L. & Bus. 59 (1999-2000) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business by an authorized administrator of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. Owning Outer Space Ezra J. Reinstein * I. INTRODUCTION What do we want from space? We want the knowledge we can gain from scientific research; we can learn much about the Earth and its inhabitants, as well as the universe around us, by studying space. We want to explore, to satisfy the thirst for adventure and conquest imagined in countless science fiction books and films. We want to improve our collective lot down here on Earth. Space offers the potential for practically limitless wealth, some already being exploited, some we may only harness in the distant future, and un- doubtedly some we cannot begin to guess. Already the wealth of space is being developed in the form of telecommunications and remote satellite ob- servation. The private-sector investment in telecommunications satellites alone was projected to total $54.3 billion (including launch) between 1996 and 20001 -- and this figure doesn't include other commercial space ven- tures, nor does it include investment in Russian and Chinese satellites.
    [Show full text]
  • Crater: How Cosmic Rays Affect Humans
    Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: (CRaTER) Audience CRaTER: Grades 6-8 How Cosmic Rays Affect Time Recommended 30-45 minutes Humans AAAS STANDARDS • 1B/1: Scientific investigations usually involve the col- lection of relevant evidence, the use of logical reasoning, Learning Objectives: and the application of imagination in devising hypoth- • Students will be able to describe why cosmic rays are dangerous to eses and explanations to make sense of the collected evidence. astronauts. • Students will learn to design a scientific instrument. • 3A/M2: Technology is essential to science for such purposes as access to outer space and other remote • Students will think critically about how to protect astronauts from cosmic locations, sample collection and treatment, measurement, rays. data collection and storage, computation, and communi- cation of information. NSES STANDARDS Preparation: Content Standard A (5-8): Abilities necessary to do scien- None tific inquiry: c. Use appropriate tools to gather, analyze and inter- pret data. Background Information: d. Develop descriptions and explanations using On their trips to and from the Moon, Apollo astronauts saw small white flashes evidence. of light while in the dark—even with their eyes closed. They usually saw no e. Think critically and logically to make relationships more than a couple each minute, although at least one astronaut saw so many between evidence and explanations he had trouble sleeping. What caused these flashes? Content Standard E (5-8): Science and Technology: b. Technology is essential to science, because it The answer is cosmic rays. Because of their high speeds, thousands of these provides instruments and techniques that enable observations of objects and phenomena that cosmic rays were passing through the bodies of the Apollo astronauts every are otherwise unobservable due to factors such second.
    [Show full text]
  • Astrobiology Life in the Universe
    Astrobiology Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. In simplest terms, it is the study of life in the universe–both on Earth and off it. It combines the search for habitable environments in the Solar System and beyond with research into the evolution and adaptability of life here on Earth. By knitting together research in astrophysics, earth science, and heliophysics as well as planetary science, astrobiology seeks to answer fundamental scientific questions about life: how it begins and evolves; what biological, planetary, and cosmic conditions must exist in order for it to take hold; and whether there is/was/can be life elsewhere in the galaxy. Dr. Alka Misra Assistant Professor Department of Mathematics & Astronomy University of Lucknow What is Astrobiology! Astrobiology is the study of life in the Universe – where it is, how it came to be there, what it is like, and where it might be going. As the only life we know about for sure is on Earth, a lot of astrobiology is about trying to predict where we might find life elsewhere. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. This interdisciplinary field encompasses the search for habitable environments in our Solar System and habitable planets outside our Solar System, the search for evidence of prebiotic chemistry, laboratory and field research into the origins and early evolution of life on Earth, and studies of the potential for life to adapt to challenges on Earth and in outer space.
    [Show full text]