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Hot climate could shut down plate tectonics 11 May 2008 at 9:00pm (Rice University) A new study of possible links between climate and geophysics finds that a much hotter climate could shut down the Earth's plate tectonics. While human-induced climate change couldn't generate the needed heat, volcanic activity or changes in the sun's luminosity could. The research, which is available online in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, may help explain why Venus swelters beneath a thick blanket of heat-trapping carbon dioxide. Read more... Texting costs are 'out of this world' 11 May 2008 at 9:00pm (University of Leicester) University of Leicester space scientist says texting is at least four times more expensive than receiving scientific data from space. Read more... A molecular thermometer for the distant universe 11 May 2008 at 9:00pm (ESO) For the first time, astronomers have detected in the ultraviolet the carbon monoxide molecule in a galaxy located almost 11 billion light-years away, a feat that had remained elusive for 25 years. This detection allows them to obtain the most precise measurement of the cosmic temperature at such a remote epoch. Read more... Scientists endure Arctic for last campaign prior to CryoSat-2 launch 8 May 2008 at 9:00pm (European Space Agency) An international group of scientists has swapped their comfortable offices for one of the most inhospitable environments on the planet to carry out a challenging field campaign that is seen as the key to ensuring the data delivered by ESA's ice mission CryoSat will be as accurate as possible. Read more... The Antennae Galaxies move closer 8 May 2008 at 9:00pm (ESA/Hubble Information Centre) New research on the Antennae Galaxies using the Advanced Camera for Surveys onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows that this benchmark pair of interacting galaxies is in fact much closer than previously thought -- 45 million light-years instead of 65 million light-years. Read more... NCAR installs 76-teraflop supercomputer for critical research on climate chan... 7 May 2008 at 9:00pm (National Center for Atmospheric Research/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) Computer analyses of global climate have consistently overstated warming in Antarctica, new research concludes. The study can help scientists improve computer models and determine if Earth's southernmost continent will warm significantly this century, a major research question because of Antarctica's potential impact on global sea-level rise. Read more... Joint ESA/NASA team wins international award 7 May 2008 at 9:00pm (European Space Agency) The Ulysses mission operations team has won an international award in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the success and scientific productivity of the joint ESA/NASA observatory mission, now orbiting the poles of the Sun. Read more... Chilean volcano captured blasting ash 7 May 2008 at 9:00pm (European Space Agency) Chile's Chaiten Volcano is shown spewing ash and smoke (centre left of image) into the air for hundreds of km over Argentina's Patagonia Plateau in this Envisat image acquired on May 5, 2008. Read more... Iron 'snow' helps maintain Mercury's magnetic field, scientists say 6 May 2008 at 9:00pm (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) New scientific evidence suggests that deep inside the planet Mercury, iron "snow" forms and falls toward the center of the planet, much like snowflakes form in Earth's atmosphere and fall to the ground. The movement of this iron snow could be responsible for Mercury's mysterious magnetic field. Read more... Record-setting laser may aid searches for Earthlike planets 6 May 2008 at 9:00pm (National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)) Scientists at the University of Konstanz in Germany and the National Institute of Standards and Technology have demonstrated an ultrafast laser that offers a record combination of high speed, short pulses and high average power and that could boost the sensitivity of astronomical tools searching for other Earthlike planets as much as 100 fold. Read more...

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