Space station MAXI-mizing our understanding of the universe

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Look up at the night sky ... do you see it? The stars of the cosmos bursting in magnificent explosions of death and rebirth! No? Well, then maybe you are not looking through the "eyes" of the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) investigation, mounted on the exterior of the International Space Station Kibo module.

MAXI, along with other sky watching instruments, such as Swift, collect data that help researchers discover, study and understand the physics behind the powerful lifecycle of our universe. MAXI was key in two recent publications sharing results that make strides in advancing astrophysics.

Using this collection of instruments, researchers look at snapshots of a celestial dance that took place long ago. These explosive moments and their aftermath happened millions and even billions of years ago, but were only visible recently due to their distance from Earth. The events have something to teach about our past and our future, as we have our own star to be mindful ofthe sun.

MAXI is operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and has open access to the space environment. This allows the investigation's sensors to perform an entire sky scan once every orbit of the space station around Earththere are 16 orbits per day. The information from the sky scans downlink to a data center at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), a Japanese research institution where the MAXI team disseminates data to scientists around the globe for study.

The first paper focuses on an event MAXI discovered on Nov. 11, 2011, when it captured X-ray data from the ignition of a nova. This explosion occurred in the binary system of a white dwarf and a Be star. The results from the study of this event were published in December in The Astrophysical Journal article titled "Extraordinary Luminous Soft X-Ray Transient MAXI J0158-744 as an Ignition of a Nova on a Very Massive O-Ne White Dwarf." This data shares with the world the sighting of an especially bright X-ray emission, named MAXI J0158-744, which provides evidence of the explosion of the star.

These findings help us understand how the sun will evolve when it becomes a white dwarf 5 billion years from now. They also help researchers learn about the origins of the universe.

"Some novae may be progenitors of type Ia supernovae, which are used as standard candles to measure the distance scalethus expansionof the universe and used in research that was awarded the 2011 Nobel prize in physics," said lead author Mikio Morii, Ph.D., RIKEN. "MAXI J0158-744 offers an extreme case of a nova, and it is therefore very useful for understanding the physics in nova explosions."

A white dwarf is a star that has lost the ability to sustain nuclear fusionmeaning it no longer powers itself. The bigger the white dwarf, the greater the gravitational force and pressure, making it a more-likely candidate to go nova. The white dwarf's gravity allows it to "borrow" mass from nearby sources, such as other stars like the Be star seen in MAXI J0158-744. This mass addition can act like fuel, igniting a thermonuclear explosion and creating an outburst astronomers call a nova.

"The association of a Be star in a nova is very rare. In fact, MAXI J1058-744 is the first of this kind known so far, and there are only a few known binary systems consisting of a white dwarf and a Be star, and no nova has been seen from them," said Morii. "We believe that the large luminosity is related to the fact that the white dwarf is small and heavy, meaning that the surface gravity is strong. Because of the strong gravity, only a small amount of accreted matter from the companion is required to make it sufficiently dense and hot to ignite a thermonuclear runaway. Since the accumulated matter is sufficiently small, the hot fireball was directly visible."

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Space station MAXI-mizing our understanding of the universe

Red heads do it best! Jessica Chastain and Amy Adams wow at Critics’ Choice Movie Awards

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Amy Adams and Jessica Chastain looked stunning as they arrived on the red carpet [WENN/SPLASH]

The actresses both wowed fans as they graced the red carpet at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards last night in two show-stopping gowns.

While many of the famous attendees opted for the usual pallet of black, grey and white, Jessica and Amy brought a splash of colour to the 19th annual awards ceremony in fuchsia pink and aqua green.

Amy - who won the title of Best Actress at the event - oozed confidence as she posed up a storm in her Rouland Mouret floor-sweeper, which she accessorised with a black belt tied around her waist.

Amy stole the show in a fuschia pink floor-sweeper which showed off her slender figure [WENN]

The star won Best Actress for her role in America Hustle [WENN]

The off-the-shoulder gown showed off her slender figure while complimenting her alabaster complexion a treat.

And proving that simplicity is often the key when it comes to dressing for the red carpet, opted for some simple Neil Lane jewellery and a classic pair of Christian Louboutin shoes.

Meanwhile last year's Golden Globe winner Jessica Chastain looked effortlessly chic in a Nina Ricci frock, which featured a stunning trail and neckline full of ruffles.

Keeping her hair in a chic updo and simply adding a splash of red lipstick, the Zero Dark Thirty actress certainly let her dress do all the talking, opting to go without jewellery.

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Red heads do it best! Jessica Chastain and Amy Adams wow at Critics' Choice Movie Awards

NASA JPL Scientist Reflects On Last Big Quake In Los Angeles

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Image Caption: The magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake on Jan. 17, 1994, killed dozens, injured thousands and caused widespread damage throughout Greater Los Angeles. It was the costliest earthquake in U.S. history, and ranks as the fifth costliest disaster in U.S. history. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Twenty years ago this week, in the predawn darkness of Jan. 17, 1994, at five seconds before 4:31 a.m. PST, the ground ruptured violently on a blind thrust fault (a crack in Earths crust that does not reach the surface) about 11 miles (18 kilometers) beneath Reseda, in Californias San Fernando Valley about 20 miles (31 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The resulting magnitude 6.7 earthquake, known as the Northridge earthquake, became the first large quake to strike directly under an urban area in the United States since the 1933 magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Long Beach, Calif.

The initial fault rupture lasted just 8 seconds, but for many of the millions of Southern Californians and people as far away as Las Vegas, Northern California, Utah and Baja California, it felt like an eternity. In fact, the quakes seismic waves were amplified and reverberated through the regions complex mix of faults, sediments and mountains, so the shaking lasted as long as 30 seconds in some areas. At its peak a few miles from the epicenter, the ground shook at 1.8 times the force of gravity strong enough to throw objects of any size into the air.

By the time the dust settled, dozens of people had been killed, many thousands injured and tens of thousands left homeless (estimates of each vary). The region suffered approximately $49 billion in property damage and economic losses the most expensive natural disaster in the United States until Hurricane Katrina. Had it not been for the early hour of the quake and the fact that it happened on the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, the death and injury toll would likely have been significantly higher.

We asked geophysicist Andrea Donnellan of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., to reflect on the Northridge earthquake, what weve learned about earthquakes since then, our state of preparedness for the next big one and what lies ahead for earthquake studies at NASA.

Q: What progress have we made in understanding earthquakes in the 20 years since Northridge?

We understand that earthquakes do not generally repeat on fault segments over time, but instead are part of a much more complex system of interacting fault segments. We are now better able to model these fault systems with improved computer programs. Additionally, better data systems have given scientists a much more detailed understanding of the entire earthquake cycle, including how strain accumulates before earthquakes, is released during and after earthquakes, and how stress is transferred between earthquake fault segments. Our measurements of crustal deformation also aid in earthquake damage assessment and response following large earthquakes.

Q: Are we more or less prepared for a large quake in the Los Angeles area than we were 20 years ago?

As a whole, we are better prepared for earthquakes in Los Angeles today due to retrofitting and improved building codes. Californias periodic ShakeOut and Golden Guardian exercises serve as effective simulations for responding to real earthquake emergencies. We have not had a damaging earthquake in a long time, however, and it is easy for people to become complacent following a long period of quiescence.

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NASA JPL Scientist Reflects On Last Big Quake In Los Angeles

NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Renamed in Honor of Neil Armstrong

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President Barack Obama has signed HR 667, the congressional resolution that redesignates NASA's Hugh L. Dryden Flight Research Center as the Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center, into law. The resolution also names Dryden's Western Aeronautical Test Range as the Hugh L. Dryden Aeronautical Test Range.

Both Hugh Dryden and Neil Armstrong are aerospace pioneers whose contributions are historic to NASA and the nation as a whole. NASA is developing a timeline to implement the name change. Neil A. Armstrong was born Aug. 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio. He earned an aeronautical engineering degree from Purdue University and a master's in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California. He was a naval aviator from 1949 to 1952. During the Korean War he flew 78 combat missions. In 1955 he joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), NASA's predecessor, as a research pilot at Lewis Laboratory in Cleveland. Armstrong later transferred to NACA's High Speed Flight Research Station at Edwards AFB, Calif., later named NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center.

As a research project test pilot over the course of seven years at the center from 1955 through 1962, he was in the forefront of the development of many high-speed aircraft. This photograph shows Neil Armstrong next to the X-15 rocket-powered aircraft after a research flight. He was one of only 12 pilots to fly the hypersonic X-15 as well as the first of 12 men to later walk on the moon. In all, he flew more than 200 different types of aircraft.

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NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Renamed in Honor of Neil Armstrong

NASA tracks soggy System 94S over Western Australia

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1 hour ago by Rob Gutro The MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured this image that showed System 94S still holding together inland as it moves west into Western Australia on Jan. 17 at 01:35 UTC. Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response

NASA's Terra satellite saw the System 94S, a tropical low, still holding together as it continued moving inland from the Northern Territory into Western Australia today, January 17.

The tropical low pressure system known as System 94S took a more southern route than previously expected and moved into Western Australia today, January 17. System 94S is now expected to continue moving in a southerly direction according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology or ABM.

The MODIS or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image that showed System 94S still holding together inland as it continued west on Jan. 17 at 01:35 UTC/Jan. 16 at 8:35 p.m. EST. The low continued to show good organization

The ABM of Western Australia issued flood warnings and watches on Jan. 17 Eastern Time/U.S. (12:18 a.m. local time, January 18) as System 94S moves through, dropping heavy rainfall. There are flood warnings in effect for the Interior District and the Ord River Catchment. The ABM reported that rainfall totals exceeded 50 mm at Sturt Creek in the Interior Region. ABM has predicted rainfall totals between 50mm to 100mm (approx. 2 to 4 inches) with isolated rainfall totals exceeding 150mm (6 inches).

Explore further: NASA satellite imagery shows some punch left in System 94S

The tropical low pressure area known as System 94S still has some punch in it as the low-level center of circulation continues to track over Western Australia and the Northern Territory. NASA's Aqua satellite ...

The low pressure area designated as System 94S has been trying to organize off the northern coast of Australia's Northern Territory for a couple of days. NASA's TRMM satellite passed overhead on January 14 ...

Tropical low pressure area System 94S continues to soak Australia's Northern Territory near Darwin. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured an image that showed the areas being affected by the developing ...

The low pressure area previously known as System 90S has continued organizing and consolidating and infrared data from NASA's Aqua satellite helped confirm its strengthening into Cyclone Alessia in the Southern ...

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NASA tracks soggy System 94S over Western Australia

Bioinformatics Market (By Sector – Molecular Medicine, Agriculture, Research & Forensic) Worth $7.5 Billion by 2017 …

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(PRWEB) January 17, 2014

The "Bioinformatics Market By Sector (Molecular Medicine, Agriculture, Research & Forensic), Segment (Sequencing Platforms, Knowledge Management Tools & Data Analysis Services) & Application (Genomics, Proteomics & Drug Design) Global Forecasts to 2017" analyzes and studies the major market drivers, restraints, and opportunities in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World.

Browse 120 market data tables with 22 figures spread through 364 pages and in-depth TOC on Bioinformatics Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/bioinformatics-39.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

Inquiry before buying at http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=1255.

This report studies the global bioinformatics market over the forecast period 2012-2017.

The global bioinformatics market was valued at $2.9 billion in 2012 and is poised to reach $7.5 billion by 2017 at a CAGR of 20.9%. Bioinformatics technologies are used in various pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors to support their growth. Major sectors that use bioinformatics tools and services are medicine, agriculture, environment, animal, forensic, academics and others (home land security & defense, law-enforcement groups, bio-weapon creation, and evolutionary biotechnology). The medical sector accounted for the lions share of the bioinformatics market, owing to the increasing use of bioinformatics in the drug discovery and development process.

Product and services in the bioinformatics market comprise of platforms, knowledge management tools, and services. The bioinformatics platforms market is the fastest-growing segment, as they play a crucial role in quick and easy analysis and manipulation of large amounts of data obtained from NGS projects.

Applications of bioinformatics in life sciences research include genomics, proteomics, chemoinformatics, molecular phylogenetics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, and others (glycomics, cytomics, physiomics and interactomics). Genomics commands the largest share of the bioinformatics application market.

The decreasing cost of DNA sequencing, increasing funding from government and private organizations, and technical advancements in bioinformatics tools and platforms are propelling the market. Dearth of a common data format for integration of data, lack of well-defined standards, and shortage of skilled bioinformatics professionals are major hurdles to growth of the market. It is expected that the market will offer growth opportunities for bioinformatics solutions manufacturers with the introduction and adoption of upcoming technologies such as nanopore sequencing and cloud computing.

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Bioinformatics Market (By Sector - Molecular Medicine, Agriculture, Research & Forensic) Worth $7.5 Billion by 2017 ...