astrotastic:

Richard Dawkins

scinerds:

Two More Elements Added to The Periodic Table

You can now greet by name two new residents of the period table of elements: Flerovium and Livermorium.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry officially approved names for the elements — which sit at slot 114 and 116, respectively — on 31 May. They have until now gone by the temporary monikers ununquadium and ununhexium.

(via kaleidoscopicmind)

ikenbot:

8 Modern Astronomy Mysteries Scientists Still Can’t Explain

Image: This artist’s impression shows galaxies at a time less than a billion years after the Big Bang, when the universe was still partially filled with hydrogen fog that absorbed ultraviolet light. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

The vastness of space and the puzzling nature of the cosmic objects that occupy it provides no shortage of material for astronomers to ponder.

To round up some of the most enduring mysteries in the field of astronomy, the journal Science enlisted help from science writers and members of the Board of Reviewing Editors to choose eight puzzling questions being asked by leading astronomers today.

Continue to List..

(via scinerds)

ikenbot:

Sagittarius Triplet

Image Credit & Copyright: Martin Pugh

These three bright nebulae are often featured in telescopic tours of the constellation Sagittarius and the crowded starfields of the central Milky Way.

In fact, 18th century cosmic tourist Charles Messier cataloged two of them; M8, the large nebula left of center, and colorful M20 on the right. The third, NGC 6559, is above M8, separated from the larger nebula by a dark dust lane. All three are stellar nurseries about five thousand light-years or so distant.

The expansive M8, over a hundred light-years across, is also known as the Lagoon Nebula. M20’s popular moniker is the Trifid. Glowing hydrogen gas creates the dominant red color of the emission nebulae, with contrasting blue hues, most striking in the Trifid, due to dust reflected starlight. This broad skyscape also includes one of Messier’s open star clusters, M21, just above and right of the Trifid.

(via scinerds)

the-star-stuff:

Up Close With Enceladus’ Magnificent and Strange Plumes

The cold, tiny moon in the far reaches of the solar system is an unlikely location for liquid water. Yet scientists have not only discovered that Enceladus contains water, it actually shoots magnificent plumes of it out into space.

These plumes and their origin remain a major mystery for researchers studying the moon and its environment. 

NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

uraniaproject:

Stellar archaeology traces Milky Way’s history

This illustration shows the Milky Way Galaxy’s inner and outer halos. A halo is a spherical cloud of stars surrounding a galaxy. Astronomers have proposed that the Milky Way’s halo is composed of two populations of stars. The age of the stars in the inner halo, according to measurements by the Paranal Observatory, is 11.5 billion years old. The measurements suggest the inner-halo stars are younger than the outer-halo population, some of which could be 13.5 billion years old. 

Credit: NASA/ESA/A. Feild (STScI)

shychemist:

ulaulaman:

Element 114 is Named Flerovium and Element 116 is Named Livermorium

IUPAC has officially approved the name flerovium, with symbol Fl, for the element of atomic number 114 and the name livermorium, with symbol Lv, for the element of atomic number 116. Priority for the discovery of these elements was assigned, in accordance with the agreed criteria, to the collaboration between the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna, Russia) and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore, California, USA). The collaborating team has proposed the names flerovium and livermorium which have now been formally approved by IUPAC.
(continue)

IUPAC has officially approved the name flerovium, with symbol Fl, for the element of atomic number 114 and the name livermorium, with symbol Lv, for the element of atomic number 116.  Priority for the discovery of these elements was assigned, in accordance with the agreed criteria, to the collaboration between the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna, Russia) and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore, California, USA).  The collaborating team has proposed the names flerovium and livermorium which have now been formally approved by IUPAC.

 For the element with atomic number 114 the discoverers proposed the name flerovium and the symbol Fl.  This proposal lies within tradition and will honor the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions where superheavy elements are synthesised.  Georgiy N. Flerov (1913 – 1990) – was a renowned physicist, author of the discovery of the spontaneous fission of uranium (1940, with Konstantin A. Petrzhak), pioneer in heavy-ion physics, and founder in the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (1957).  It is an especially appropriate choice because, since 1991 this laboratory in which the element was synthesized, has borne his name.  Professor G.N. Flerov is known also for his fundamental work in various fields of physics that resulted in the discovery of new phenomena in properties and interactions of the atomic nuclei; these have played a key role in the establishment and development of many areas of further research.

 For the element with atomic number 116 the name proposed is livermorium with the symbol Lv.  This is again in line with tradition and honors the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (1952).  A group of researchers of this Laboratory with the heavy element research group of the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions took part in the work carried out in Dubna on the synthesis of superheavy elements including element 116.  Over the years scientists at Livermore have been involved in many areas of nuclear science: the investigation of fission properties of the heaviest elements, including the discovery of bimodal fission, and the study of prompt gamma-rays emitted from fission fragments following fission, the investigation of isomers and isomeric levels in many nuclei and the investigation of the chemical properties of the heaviest elements.

The Recommendations will be published in the July issue of the IUPAC journalPure and Applied Chemistry which is available online at Pure Appl. Chem., 2012, Vol. 84, No. 7 (doi:  10.1351/PAC-REC-11-12-03).  Priority of claims to the discovery of the elements of atomic numbers 114 and 116 was determined by a Joint Working Party of independent experts drawn from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP).  The group’s report was published in July 2011, Pure and Appl. Chem., 2011, Vol. 83, No. 7, pp 1485-1498 (doi:  10.1351/PAC-REP-10-05-01).  A new Joint Working Party, appointed by the Presidents of IUPAC and IUPAP has begun work to assign priority for the discovery of elements 113, 115, 117, 118 and heavier elements, for which claims may be submitted.

IUPAC was formed in 1919 by chemists from industry and academia.  For more than 90 years, the Union has succeeded in fostering worldwide communications in the chemical sciences and in uniting academic, industrial and public sector chemistry in a common language.  IUPAC is recognized as the world authority on chemical nomenclature, terminology, standardized methods for measurement, atomic weights and many other critically evaluated data.  More information about IUPAC and its activities is available at www.iupac.org.

For questions, contact Dr. Terrence Renner, Executive Director, at

secretariat@iupac.org.

thescienceofreality:

ikenbot:

yes, I accept

(Source: those-two-atheists)

skeptv:

LIVE- Astronomy Cast Google on Air!

Wednesday, 2pm – 3pm [Central Time]

Take a facts-based journey through the cosmos with Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela Gay as they explore not only what we know, but how we know it.

To watch live: Click over to our Hangouts page. It will automatically reload to play shows as they launch.

captainrenner:

RENNER SPELLED BACKWARDS IS STILL RENNER

(Source: lydiamartined, via johncoveredinjam)