July 14, 2015 New images of Pluto The New Horizons probe flew near Pluto, dwarf planet Solar system... The distance between the spacecraft and Pluto was approximately 12,500 km. The goal of the 9.5-year mission has been achieved! At 20:55 EDT on July 14, 2015 (03:55 Moscow time, July 15, 2015), the New Horizons spacecraft "called home" from the far reaches of the solar system. The call indicates a successful flight past Pluto and its moons, as well as the completion of the main part of the research mission. During the closest approach to Pluto for 30 minutes, New Horizons made about 150 scientific measurements, and for the next 9 hours did not send information to Earth. Having received the signal from the probe, the scientists were convinced of the successful fulfillment of its main mission. A programmed ring is a 15-minute series of messages about the state of the device. With this call, a very disturbing 21 hour waiting period ended. New Horizons in automatic mode all this time collected as much information as possible about the Pluto system, communication with the Earth was postponed. Pluto is the first Kuiper belt object to be visited by a terrestrial apparatus. New Horizons will continue to a new destination in the Belt, home to thousands of similar icy objects with clues about how our solar system formed. The New Horizons mission is a NASA project. Its implementation costs exceed $ 600 million. The device itself was launched into space on January 19, 2006 from the cosmodrome at Cape Canaveral on an Atlas V launch vehicle. Over the years, the device went to its target, alternating cycles of activity when Earth checked the spacecraft systems and instruments, and periods of hibernation. when the device was flying in autonomous mode with the systems turned off. In total, from mid-2007 to December 2014, there were 18 such periods with a total duration of 1873 days. On August 26, 2014, the probe crossed the orbit of the planet Neptune, 4.0 billion km from the planet itself. The orbit of the eighth planet in the solar system was passed exactly 25 years after the legendary Voyager 2 meeting with Neptune.
December 8, 2013 Prometheus, satellite of the sixth planet of the solar system Prometheus is a satellite of the sixth planet of the solar system Saturn. A new image from the Cassini spacecraft shows how the satellite's gravitational field is disturbing Saturn's F ring. To make the satellite better visible, the brightness of the photo is increased. Thanks to this, about 20 stars can be seen in the picture. Prometheus is a very small satellite of this planet, the linear dimensions of which are 120 by 74 kilometers. It was discovered in 1980 from photographs taken by the Voyager 1 apparatus. Prometheus has a very low density, therefore, according to scientists, it is a porous ice body. The origin of Saturn's rings is still not completely clear. There are gaps of almost empty space between the rings. Rings are designated by letters of the Latin alphabet. They were named in the order of opening. At a distance from the center of Saturn, the rings are located so D, C, B, A, F, G and E. The diameter of the main rings, A, B and C, is approximately equal to the distance from the Earth to the Moon. The thickness of the rings does not exceed 1 kilometer. The Cassini spacecraft is a joint project between NASA and the Italian Space Agency. Mission "Huygens" is a joint project of NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). It is planned to study the rings of Saturn, water volcanoes on its satellites. Launched October 15, 1997. The launch weight of the apparatus is 6250 kg. The Cassini space probe has been operating in orbit around Saturn since 2004. In the course of its work, the mission of the apparatus was repeatedly extended. The current mission is called Solstice and it will end in 2017.
There is nothing more significant and fundamental in the world of science than a discovery related to the very nature of our reality. And just such a discovery this year can boast scientists of the Laser Interferometric Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), which. At the same time, they confirmed not once, but as many as two times.
We are all more or less familiar with the concept of space-time - a kind of four-dimensional box where we eat, live, grow and eventually die. But it turns out that space-time is not a rigid box. Rather, it's not even quite a box, but a spacious and living ocean filled with waves of subatomic magnitude, formed when black holes, neutron stars and other incredibly massive objects collide. These waves are called gravitational waves. This ripple of space-time, which was first discovered by the scientists at LIGO, actually back in September last year. However, official confirmation of their observation came only in February. Then, in June, physicists at LIGO were able to detect again. This frequency forces scientists to continue their observations. But it can be considered that a new window into the darkest secrets of the universe is finally officially opened.
Of course, Albert Einstein was also involved here. In the end, it was he who predicted them when he derived his theory of general relativity in 1916. It is difficult to say which is more improbable here: that every part of Einstein's theory was ultimately confirmed and found evidence, or that modern physics is now testing the ideas that came to the head of the 26-year-old nerd.
Proxima Centauri b: one to rule them all
Artistic representation of the planet Proxima b near the red dwarf Proxima Centauri
Over the past few years, astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets, including a good number of rocky, earth-like worlds. However, all potentially habitable candidates immediately became less interesting this year, after there was a planet slightly larger than Earth, orbiting our closest stellar neighbor, located just 4.3 light year from U.S.
Discovered using the Doppler method (measuring the radial velocity of stars), Proxima b is a rocky world orbiting the star Proxima Centauri at a distance of only 7.5 million kilometers, 10 times closer than Mercury's position to the Sun. Since Proxima Centauri is a cold red dwarf star, the planet's location is ideal for keeping water in liquid form. There is a high probability (at least according to the assumptions of the researchers) that the exoplanet Proxima b could be habitable.
It may, of course, be the case that Proxima b is an airless desert, which, of course, will turn out to be less joyful. However, we will probably be able to figure it out very soon. Quite possibly, already in 2018, when a new and very powerful one will be launched into space Space telescope named after James Webb. If, in this case, the picture does not become clearer, then it will be possible to launch the fleet, which will find out everything for sure.
Zika is a deadly weapon
Yellow fever mosquito
Little-known and first identified in Uganda in 1947, the Zika virus escalated into an international pandemic late last year as the rapidly spreading mosquito-bite disease spread across borders Latin America... Despite little or no symptomatology, the spread of the virus was accompanied by a sharp surge in microcephaly, a rare disease in children, whose characteristic feature is a significant decrease in the size of the skull and, accordingly, the brain. This discovery prompted researchers to look for a link between Zika and the development of these anatomical abnormalities. And the proof was not long in coming.
In January, the Zika virus was found in the placenta of two pregnant women whose babies were later born with microcephaly. That same month, Zika was found in the brains of other newborns who died shortly after birth. The Petri dish experiments, the results of which were published in early March, showed how the Zika virus directly attacks cells involved in brain development, significantly slowing its growth. In April, the fears that many scientists had previously discussed were confirmed: the Zika virus actually causes microcephaly, as well as a number of other severe defects in brain development.
There is currently no cure for the Zika virus, and clinical trials of a DNA-based vaccine are underway.
The first genetically modified humans
CRISPR is a revolutionary gene modification tool that promises not only to cure all diseases, but also to endow humans with improved biological abilities. This year, a Chinese team of scientists used it for the first time to treat a patient with aggressive lung cancer.
To treat it, all immune cells were first removed from the patient's blood sample, and then the CRISPR method was used to "turn off" a special gene that can be used by cancer cells to spread even faster throughout the body. After that, the modified cells were placed back into the patient's body. Scientists believe that the edited cells can help humans fight cancer, but the results of this clinical trial have not yet been disclosed.
Regardless of the outcome of this particular case, the use of CRISPR to treat people opens a new chapter in personalized medicine. There are still many unresolved issues here - after all, CRISPR is new technology... However, it becomes clear that the use of technology that allows you to modify your own genetic codeis no longer just another example of science fiction. And for the right to own this technology, the real ones have already begun.
The elusive ninth planet of the solar system
An artistic representation of Planet Nine
For more than a decade, astronomers have been wondering if the ninth planet might be on the outer edges of our solar system. This year, scientists from California institute of Technology Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown presented quite convincing evidence to the public that the so-called Ninth Planet actually exists. Larger than Neptune and colder than frozen hell, Planet Nine orbits the Sun in a very elongated elliptical orbit at a distance of 100 or more than 1000 astronomical units.
Our best guesses for Planet Nine are based on the unusual orbits of many Kuiper belt objects that Batygin and Brown suggest are being affected gravitational forces this mysterious planet.
Of course, the only convincing evidence of the existence of a "shy planet" would be its direct detection in telescopes, and not based on the unusual behavior of some objects in the Kuiper belt. However, this task seems extremely difficult, since such cold and far-away objects (and this is what the planet is, according to scientists) emit very little light and heat. Nevertheless, several astronomers, including Brown, are currently attempting to find Planet Nine and believe it will be possible to find it within the next few years.
Carbon dioxide stones
With the growth of the global volume of carbon dioxide emissions, the risk of catastrophic climate change also grows, so scientists are seriously concerned about finding effective methods to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere. The concept of "storing carbon dioxide" has been around for quite some time, but in 2016 it got quite impressive development when scientists from the University of Southampton dissolved carbon dioxide in water and sealed it in an underground well in Iceland. Carbon dioxide stored there for two years reacted with basalt rock and eventually acquired a solid crystalline form that can be stored in this state for hundreds and even thousands of years.
Despite the very impressive result and burning headlines like "scientists turned CO2 into stones", there are still questions that need to be answered. First, the possibility of using this method is in direct proportion to the place where carbon dioxide can crystallize into a solid form. In other words, the storage site should have similar geological and geochemical features to Icelandic. Secondly, the scale. Running an experiment in a laboratory and then burying a small amount of CO2 is not exactly the same thing as having to store billions of tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions. The task will be very difficult. Reducing the level of emissions themselves will still be more effective.
Longest-lived vertebrate
In the end, it may turn out that we learn the secret of longevity not from large world scientific centers, but from the Greenland shark. According to a study published this year in the journal Science, this amazing deep-sea vertebrate can live for over 400 years. Radiocarbon analysis of 28 female Greenland sharks have shown that these animals are the longest-living vertebrates on our planet. The oldest representatives are from 272 to 512 years old.
So what is the secret of the Greenland shark's incredible longevity? Scientists do not know for sure yet, but guess that, most likely, this is due to the fact that this vertebrate has an extremely slow metabolic process, which leads to slow growth and puberty. Extreme cold temperatures appear to be another weapon in the fight against aging in these sharks. environment... Nobody wants to spend a couple of years at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean and then come back with a report on how it went?
The science
Astronomers have discovered new smallplanet at the edge of the solar system and claim that another larger planet is lurking even further.
In another study, a team of scientists found asteroid with its own ring systemsimilar to the rings of Saturn.
Dwarf planets
The new dwarf planet has so far been named 2012 VP113, and its solar orbit is far beyond the known edge of the solar system.
Its distant position indicates gravitational influence of another larger planet, which is possibly 10 times larger than Earth and which has yet to be discovered.
Three photographs of the open dwarf planet 2012 VP113 taken 2 hours apart on November 5, 2012.
Previously it was thought that there is only one small planet in this remote part of the solar system. Sedna.
Sedna's orbit is at a distance that is 76 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun, and the closest 2012 VP113's orbit is 80 times the distance from the Earth to the Sunor is 12 billion kilometers.
Orbit of Sedna and the dwarf planet 2012 VP113. The orbits of the giant planets are also shown in purple. The Kuiper Belt is indicated by blue dots.
Researchers used a DECam camera in the Andes of Chile to discover the 2012 VP113. With the help of the Magellan telescope, they established its orbit and obtained information about its surface.
Oort Cloud
The dwarf planet Sedna.
The diameter of the new planet is 450 km, compared to 1000 km at Sedna. It may be part of the Oort Cloud - an area that exists outside the Kuiper Belt - a belt of icy asteroids that orbit even further than the planet Neptune.
Scientists intend to continue searching for distant objects in the Oort Cloud, as they have a lot to tell about how the solar system was formed and developed.
They also believe that the size of some of them may be bigger than Mars or Earthbut since they are so far away, they are difficult to detect with existing technology.
New asteroid in 2014
Another team of researchers found an icy asteroid surrounded by a double ring system, similar to the rings of Saturn. Only three planets: Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus have rings.
The width of the rings around the 250-kilometer asteroid Chariklo is 7 and 3 kilometers respectively, and the distance between them is 8 km. They were discovered by telescopes from seven locations in South America, including the European Southern Observatory in Chile.
Scientists cannot explain the presence of rings on the asteroid. They may be composed of rocks and ice particles formed by a collision with an asteroid in the past.
Perhaps the asteroid is in a similar evolutionary stageas Earth early periodafter a Mars-sized object collided with it and formed a ring of debris that merged into the moon.
Over the past 10 years, many amazing discoveries and achievements have occurred in the world of science. Surely many of you who read our site have heard about most of the points presented in today's list. However, their importance is so high that it would be a crime to fail to recall them even briefly. They need to be remembered at least for the next decade, until new, even more amazing scientific achievements are made on the basis of these discoveries.
Stem cell reprogramming
Stem cells are amazing. They perform the same cellular functions as the rest of the cells of your body, but, unlike the latter, they have one amazing property - if necessary, they are able to change and acquire the function of absolutely any cells. This means that stem cells can be converted, for example, into erythrocytes (red blood cells) if your body lacks the latter. Or white blood cells (leukocytes). Or muscle cells. Or neurocytes. Or ... in general, you get the idea - in almost all types of cells.
Despite the fact that the general public has known about stem cells since 1981 (although they were discovered much earlier, at the beginning of the 20th century), until 2006 science had no idea that any cells of a living organism could be reprogrammed and transformed into stem cells. Moreover, the method of such transformation turned out to be relatively simple. The first person to figure out this possibility was the Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka, who transformed skin cells into stem cells by adding four specific genes to them. Within two to three weeks from the moment when the skin cells turned into stem cells, they could be further transformed into any other type of cells in our body. For regenerative medicine, as you understand, this discovery is one of the most important in recent historyas this sphere now has an almost limitless source of cells needed to heal the damage your body has suffered.
The largest black hole discovered
"Blot" in the center - our solar system
In 2009, a group of astronomers decided to find out the mass of the black hole S5 0014 + 81, which at that time was just discovered. Imagine their surprise when scientists learned that its mass is 10,000 times the mass of the supermassive black hole located in the center of our Milky way, which actually made it the largest currently known black hole in the known universe.
This ultramassive black hole has a mass of 40 billion suns (that is, if you take the mass of the sun and multiply it by 40 billion, you get the mass of a black hole). No less interesting is the fact that this black hole, according to scientists, was formed during the earliest period in the history of the Universe - just 1.6 billion years after the Big Bang. The discovery of this black hole contributed to the understanding that holes of this size and mass can increase these rates incredibly quickly.
Memory manipulation
It already sounds like a seed to some Nolan's "Beginning", but in 2014 scientists Steve Ramirez and Xu Liu manipulated the memory of a laboratory mouse, replacing negative memories with positive ones and vice versa. The researchers implanted special light-sensitive proteins into the mouse's brain and, as you might have guessed, simply shone it into the eyes.
As a result of the experiment, positive memories were completely replaced with negative ones, which were firmly entrenched in her brain. This discovery opens the door to new treatments for those who suffer from PTSD or are unable to cope with the emotions of the loss of loved ones. In the near future, this discovery promises to lead to even more surprising results.
A computer chip that mimics the work of the human brain
A few years ago, this was considered as something fantastic, but in 2014, IBM introduced the world to a computer chip that works on the principle of the human brain. With 5.4 billion transistors and using 10,000 times less electricity to operate than conventional computer chips, SyNAPSE is able to simulate your brain's synapse. 256 synapses, to be precise. They can be programmed to perform any computational task, which can make them extremely useful for use in supercomputers and various kinds of distributed sensors.
Thanks to its unique architecture, the SyNAPSE chip's performance goes beyond the performance that we are used to evaluating in conventional computers. It only comes into operation when necessary, which allows significant energy savings and maintains operating temperatures. This revolutionary technology can truly change the entire computer industry over time.
One step closer to robot dominance
In the same 2014, 1,024 tiny robots "kilobots" were tasked with uniting in the shape of a star. Without any additional instructions, the robots independently and together began to complete the task. Slowly, hesitantly, colliding with each other several times, but they nevertheless completed the task assigned to them. If one of the robots got stuck or "lost", not knowing how to become, neighboring robots came to the rescue, which helped the "lost" to navigate.
What is the achievement? Everything is very simple. Now imagine that the same robots, only a thousand times smaller, are introduced into your circulatory system and unite to fight some serious disease that has lodged in your body. Larger robots, also uniting, are sent on some kind of search and rescue operation, and even larger ones are used for fantastically fast construction of new buildings. Here, of course, you can recall some scenario for a summer blockbuster, but why push it?
Dark matter confirmation
According to scientists, this mysterious matter may contain answers that explain many as yet unexplained astronomical phenomena. Here's one of them as an example: let's say, before us is a galaxy with the mass of thousands of planets. If we compare the actual mass of these planets and the mass of the entire galaxy, the numbers will not converge. Why? Because the answer goes much deeper than simply calculating the mass of matter that we can see. There is also matter that we are not able to see. It is precisely called "dark matter".
In 2009, several American laboratories announced the detection of dark matter using sensors submerged in an iron mine to a depth of about 1 kilometer. Scientists were able to determine the presence of two particles, whose characteristics correspond to the previously proposed description of dark matter. There are many rechecks to be done, but all indications are that these particles are actually particles of dark matter. This may be one of the most amazing and significant discoveries in physics over the past century.
Is there life on Mars?
Maybe. In 2015, NASA published photographs of the Martian mountains with dark stripes at their feet (photo above). They appear and disappear depending on the season. The fact is that these stripes are irrefutable proof of the presence of liquid water on Mars. Scientists cannot say with absolute certainty whether the planet had such features in the past, but the presence of water on the planet now opens up many prospects.
For example, the availability of water on the planet can be of great help when humanity finally assembles a manned mission to Mars (sometime after 2024, according to the most optimistic forecasts). Astronauts in this case will have to carry much less resources with them, since everything they need is already available on the Martian surface.
Reusable rockets
Private aerospace company SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, was able, after several attempts, to soft-land a spent rocket onto a remotely controlled floating barge in the ocean.
Everything went so smoothly that the landing of spent rockets for SpaceX is now considered a routine task. In addition, this allows the company to save billions of dollars in missile production, since now they can be simply sorted out, refueled and reused (and more than once, in theory), instead of just sinking somewhere in Pacific... Thanks to these rockets, mankind has become at once several steps closer to manned flights to Mars.
Gravitational waves
Gravitational waves are ripples of space and time moving at the speed of light. They were predicted by Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity, according to which mass is capable of bending space and time. Gravitational waves can be created by black holes, and they were discovered in 2016 with the help of high-tech equipment of the laser interferometric gravitational-wave observatory, or simply LIGO, thereby confirming Einstein's century-old theory.
This is indeed a very important discovery for astronomy, since it proves much of Einstein's general theory of relativity and allows, with the help of instruments such as LIGO, to determine and track events of huge cosmic scales in the future.
TRAPPIST system
TRAPPIST-1 is a star system located approximately 39 light years from our solar system. What makes it special? Little, if you do not take into account its star, which has 12 times less mass compared to our Sun, as well as at least 7 planets orbiting around it and located in the so-called Goldilocks zone, where life could potentially exist.
Around this discovery, as expected, there is now heated debate. It even comes to statements that the system may not be suitable for life at all and its planets look more like unsightly traveling space boulders than our future interplanetary resorts. Nevertheless, the system deserves absolutely all the attention that is now riveted on it. First, it is not so far from us - just some 39 light years from the solar system. On the scale of space - around the corner. Secondly, it has three earth-like planets in the habitable zone and are, perhaps, the best targets for the search for extraterrestrial life today. Thirdly, on all seven planets there may be liquid water - the key to life. But the likelihood of having this is highest on three planets that are closer to the star. Fourthly, if there really is life there, then we can confirm this without even sending a space expedition there. Telescopes like JWST, which is set to launch next year, will help address this issue.
In January 2016, scientists announced that there may be another planet in the solar system. Many astronomers are looking for it, research so far leads to ambiguous conclusions. Nevertheless, the discoverers of Planet X are confident of its existence. talks about the latest results of work in this direction.
Astronomers and Konstantin Batygin from the California Institute of Technology (USA) on the possible detection of Planet X beyond Pluto's orbit. The ninth planet of the solar system, if it exists, is about 10 times heavier than the Earth, and in its properties resembles Neptune - a gas giant, the most distant of the known planets orbiting our star.
According to the authors' estimates, the orbital period of Planet X around the Sun is 15 thousand years, its orbit is strongly elongated and tilted relative to the plane of the Earth's orbit. The maximum distance from the Sun of Planet X is estimated at 600-1200 astronomical units, which brings its orbit outside the Kuiper belt, in which Pluto is located. The origin of Planet X is unknown, but Brown and Batygin believe that this space object 4.5 billion years ago was knocked out of the protoplanetary disk near the Sun.
Astronomers discovered this planet theoretically, analyzing the gravitational disturbance exerted by it on other celestial bodies in the Kuiper belt - the trajectories of six large trans-Neptunian objects (that is, located beyond the orbit of Neptune) were combined into one cluster (with similar arguments of perihelion, longitude of the ascending node and inclination). Brown and Batygin initially estimated the probability of error in their calculations at 0.007 percent.
Where exactly Planet X is located - it is not known which part celestial sphere telescopes should be tracked - not clear. The celestial body is located so far from the Sun that it is extremely difficult to notice its radiation by modern means. And the evidence for the existence of Planet X, based on its gravitational influence on celestial bodies in the Kuiper belt, is only indirect.
Video: caltech / YouTube
In June 2017, astronomers from Canada, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Slovakia, the United States and France search results for Planet X using the OSSOS catalog of trans-Neptunian objects (Outer Solar System Origins Survey). The orbital elements of eight trans-Neptunian objects were studied, the motion of which should be influenced by Planet X - the objects would be grouped in a certain way (clustered) according to their inclinations. Among the eight objects, four were considered for the first time, all of them at a distance of more than 250 astronomical units from the Sun. It turned out that the parameters of one object, 2015 GT50, do not fit into the clustering, which cast doubt on the existence of Planet X.
However, the discoverers of Planet X believe that the 2015 GT50 does not contradict their calculations. As Batygin noted, numerical modeling of the dynamics of the Solar System, including Planet X, shows that beyond the semi-major axis of 250 astronomical units, there should be two clusters of celestial bodies, whose orbits are aligned by Planet X: one is stable, the second is metastable. Although the 2015 GT50 object is not included in any of these clusters, it is still reproduced by simulations.
Batygin believes that there may be several such objects. Probably, the position of the minor semiaxis of Planet X is associated with them. The astronomer emphasizes that since the publication of data on Planet X, not six, but 13 trans-Neptunian objects indicate its existence, of which 10 celestial bodies belong to a stable cluster.
While some astronomers question Planet X, others are finding new evidence to support it. Spanish scientists Carlos and Raul de la Fuente Marcos studied the parameters of the orbits of comets and asteroids in the Kuiper belt. The detected object motion anomalies (correlations between the longitude of the ascending node and the inclination) are easily explained, according to the authors, by the presence of a massive body in the Solar System, the semi-major axis of which is 300-400 astronomical units.
Moreover, in the solar system there may be not nine, but ten planets. Recently, astronomers from the University of Arizona (USA) the existence of another celestial body in the Kuiper belt, the size and mass close to Mars. Calculations show that the hypothetical tenth planet is at a distance of 50 astronomical units from the star, and its orbit is inclined to the ecliptic plane by eight degrees. The celestial body is disturbing the known objects from the Kuiper belt and, most likely, in ancient times was closer to the Sun. Experts note that the observed effects are not explained by the influence of Planet X, located much further than the "second Mars".
Currently, there are about two thousand known trans-Neptunian objects. With the introduction of new observatories, in particular LSST (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope) and JWST (James Webb Space Telescope), scientists plan to bring the number of known objects in the Kuiper belt and beyond to 40,000. This will allow not only to determine the exact parameters of the trajectories of trans-Neptunian objects and, as a result, to indirectly prove (or disprove) the existence of Planet X and the "second Mars", but also to directly detect them.