Physics and Astronomy News Archive: August 2011

Image: A Planet Made Of Diamond Discovered

A Planet Made Of Diamond Discovered

Source: Swinburne   Posted: 8/31/11

A once-massive star that’s been transformed into a small planet made of diamond: that’s what astronomers think they’ve found in our Milky Way.
Image: Cassini Closes in on Saturn's Tumbling Moon Hyperion

Cassini Closes in on Saturn's Tumbling Moon Hyperion

Source: NASA/JPL   Posted: 8/29/11

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured new views of Saturn's oddly shaped moon Hyperion during its encounter with this cratered body on Thursday, Aug. 25.
Image: Movies of electrons

Movies of electrons

Source: MIT   Posted: 8/20/11

Lasers that emit pulses lasting a quintillionth of a second could characterize the behavior of individual electrons during chemical reactions.
Image: Physicists ‘Entangle’ Two Atoms Using Microwaves for the First Time

Physicists ‘Entangle’ Two Atoms Using Microwaves for the First Time

Source: NIST   Posted: 8/15/11

Physicists have for the first time linked the quantum properties of two separated ions (electrically charged atoms) by manipulating them with microwaves instead of the usual laser beams.
Image: NASA Mars Rover Arrives at New Site on Martian Surface

NASA Mars Rover Arrives at New Site on Martian Surface

Source: JPL/NASA   Posted: 8/12/11

After a journey of almost three years, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reached the Red Planet's Endeavour crater to study rocks never seen before.
Image: Escaping gravity's clutches: the black hole breakout

Escaping gravity's clutches: the black hole breakout

Source: York UK   Posted: 8/12/11

New research may suggest that information can after all escape the gravitational pull of the black hole.
Image: Exotic Quantum crystal discovered

Exotic Quantum crystal discovered

Source: Kiel DE   Posted: 8/12/11

University of Kiel researchers discover novel state of crystal matter.