Unique results from the Aerosol Collector and Pyrolyser (ACP) and the Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) have given scientists their first in situ chemical data on Titan’s atmosphere, including aerosols, chemical composition and isotopes.
Two of Titan’s key unknowns are the origin of the molecular nitrogen and methane in the atmosphere, and the mechanisms by which methane is maintained in the face of rapid destruction by photochemistry (chemical processes that are
The Surface Science Package (SSP) revealed that Huygens could have hit and cracked an ice ‘pebble’ on landing, and then it slumped into a sandy surface possibly dampened by liquid methane. Had the tide on Titan just gone out?
The SSP comprised nine independent sensors, chosen to cover the wide range of properties that be encountered, from liquids or very soft material to solid, hard ice. Some were designed primarily for landing on a solid surface and others for a liquid landing,
The high-resolution images taken in Titan’s atmosphere by the Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer (DISR) were spectacular, but not the only surprises obtained during descent. Both DISR and the Doppler Wind Experiment data have given Huygens scientists much to think about.
The irreversible conversion of methane into other hydrocarbons in Titan’s stratosphere implies a surface or subsurface ’reservoir’ of methane. Although the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini orbiter has no
Strong turbulence in the upper atmosphere, a second ionospheric layer and possible lightning were among the surprises found by the Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument (HASI) during the descent to Titan’s surface.
HASI provided measurements from an altitude of 1400 km down to the surface of the physical characteristics of the atmosphere and surface, such as temperature and density profiles, electrical conductivity, and surface structure. The Huygens SSP made measurements just
After a seven-year journey on board the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini spacecraft, ESA’s Huygens probe was released on 25 December 2004. It reached the upper layer of Titan’s atmosphere on 14 January 2005 and landed on the surface after a parachute descent of 2 hours and 28 minutes.
Clear images of the surface were obtained below 40 km altitude – revealing an extraordinary world, resembling Earth in many respects, especially in meteorology, geomorphology and fluvial activity. The images
Substantial quantities of liquid water must have been stably present in the early history of Mars. The findings of OMEGA, on board ESA’s Mars Express, have implications on the climatic history of the planet and the question of its ’habitability’ at some point in its history.
These conclusions were drawn thanks to data on Martian surface minerals obtained by OMEGA (Observatoire pour la Mineralogy, l’Eau, les Glaces et l’Activité), the visible and infrared map
For the first time in the history of planetary exploration, the MARSIS radar on board ESA’s Mars Express has provided direct information about the deep subsurface of Mars.
First data include buried impact craters, probing of layered deposits at the north pole and hints of the presence of deep underground water-ice. The subsurface of Mars has been so far unexplored territory. Only glimpses of the Martian depths could be deduced through analysis of impact crater and valley wa
One of the most important stages in the drug discovery process is the ability to determine binding sites on proteins for potential ligands.
When attempting to find the correct pose of a protein-ligand complex, there are an infinite number of possible solutions. The position, geometry and conformation of a ligand are all continuous variables – this leads to the “Docking Problem”. To explore all possible docking modes, an enormous amount of calculation must be done – the complexity,
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is the peer-reviewed journal of international reference in the field of nutrition. In its latest issue, of November, it published an article which demonstrated that non-fat milk products can reduce the risk of hypertension by 50%, while nevertheless there is no appreciable connection between that disease and the consumption of whole milk.
The research was carried out by a team of researchers from the University of Navarra and Álvaro Alonso, curre
Children aged 10 and 11 are sexually mature, and neither they nor society are suitably prepared for the implications of that.
This is the message of Professors Mark Hanson and Peter Gluckman, whose review of the evolution of puberty is published online this week in Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Hanson and Gluckman, who respectively head the Centre for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) at the University of Southampton, and the Liggins Instit
“June too soon, July stand by, August come it must, September remember, October all over” says a Caribbean rhyme where hurricanes are so common that generations of islanders have passed-along the poem.
Drawing upon the practical experience of these islanders and the latest academic thinking, Emma Tompkins and colleagues from the UK’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia have written a guidebook to help the islands of the UK Overseas Territo
Everybody complains about high energy prices. And yet it’s so easy to save electricity – simply by switching off electrical appliances completely, rather than leaving them ’idling’ in standby mode. The Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI has been investigating possible ways of raising consumers’ awareness of the energy they waste by leaving appliances switched on.
In a single year, the electrical equipment in German households and offi
A new book by Francis Green, Professor of Economics at the University of Kent, is about to have a major impact on how we perceive the quality of work and working life.
Titled Demanding Work: The Paradox of Job Quality in the Affluent Economy (Princeton University Press), Professor Green’s book uses information drawn from high-quality social surveys and administrative data to present a unique and authoritative account of changing job quality in contemporary society.
In his
Pekka Sääskilahti, MSc (Econ.), will defend his doctoral thesis entitled ”Essays on the Economics of Networks and Social Relations” at the Helsinki School of Economics on December 7, 2005. The public defence will start at 12 o’clock in the Stora Enso Hall of the Chydenia building (address: Runeberginkatu 22-24, Helsinki). The opponent is Professor Robin Mason, PhD, (University of Southampton) and the custos is Professor Pekka Ilmakunnas, PhD, (Helsinki School of Economics).
Modern soci
HARPS Instrument Finds Neptune-Mass Exoplanet Around Small Star
A team of French and Swiss astronomers [1] have discovered one of the lightest exoplanets ever found using the HARPS instrument [2] on ESO’s 3.6-m telescope at La Silla (Chile). The new planet orbits a star belonging to the class of red dwarfs. As these stars are very common, this discovery proves crucial in the census of other planetary systems.
“Our finding possibly means that planets are rather frequen
This week, Montreal (Canada) has witnessed the opening of the biggest meeting on climate change since the Kyoto Conference in 1997. The United Nations (UN) Climate Change conference in Montreal follows the entry into force of the Kyoto protocol earlier this year. Over 8000 participants from industrialised countries and developing nations will try to define the technical means to achieve the emission targets for 2012 and beyond.
The science behind climate change: a summary by GreenFacts
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