Science Llama

Five-dimensional (5-D) crystallography is a specific form of the TRX technique where, in addition to space and time, temperature is a variable as well. It allows complete characterization of all features of a chemical reaction, including the structure of its intermediate compounds, as well as the reaction kinetics, and barriers of activation between the intermediates. It provides an essential and direct link between the structural changes and energy changes in the chemical reaction.

Some more info, if you find this as awesome as I do.

Pregnant Cat X-Ray Looks like there is 4 or 5 kittens in there!

Portable X-Ray Generator -- Tricorder almost here! An engineering team at the University of Missouri have recently invented a compact source of x-rays and other forms of radiation. The device is about the size of a cell phone (and the x-ray source the size of a stick of gum) and could be used for inexpensive portable x-ray scanners for doctors, dentists or in airports helping both security and to reduce excess radiation exposure to patients. Generally, x-ray generators are larger and require vast amounts of electricity, in the case of this invention the hand-held device creates 100,000 volts of electricity from only 10 volts of input using piezoelectric crystals made of lithium niobate. This is awesome and they say they could have a prototype in three years!

The Birth of Violent Supernovae What you are seeing here is a rendering of a mock supernovae simulated by a supercomputer. The different colors are assigned to different entropy values as it measures the collapse of the core. Stars hundreds of times the size of our sun collapse to create supernovae and astronomers have used X-Ray detectors to identify the dying breaths of these massive stars. Astronomers measured excess x-rays coming from collapsing massive stars which signaled the presence of a 'supernova shockwave' exiting the star at first.

These are also known as gamma-ray bursts but it is surprising to find x-rays within the first instances of these bursts and because of this it could lead to telescopes - like the one on board the Swift Satellite - having an early warning system. Instead of telescopes focusing towards a burst a few hours to days after the event, now telescopes could potentially use this system to be able to focus towards the dying stars much faster. Read more

Image Source

Million Degree Gas Cloud Surrounds Milky Way Helps Explain Missing Matter In The Local Universe

According to NASA's X-ray observatory Chandra, there is a cloud of hot gas surrounding the Milky Way galaxy as well as our satellite galaxies the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.

The image above is an artist's illustration of the gas cloud and the size of this halo is about 300,000 light years across, perhaps even larger, and the mass is comparable to all of the stars in our galaxy.

Scientists figured this out by looking at x-ray sources from distances further than 100 million light years away and observing that some of the x-rays were absorbed by oxygen ions in the vicinity of our galaxy. The temperature of this gas cloud surrounding us was around 2.5 million kelvin or ~4.5 million Fahrenheit.

This observation can help understand the mission baryon question as it explains where the other half of the regular matter (i.e., protons and neutrons) is in the universe. As seen in the image above, when measuring with x-rays some of them get absorbed along the way and can be visible as dips in the recorded spectrum.

Via Chandra X-Ray Observatory

Curiosity health inspection going smoothly.

The tests were making sure that the robotic arm, the close up camera (MAHLI) and the X-Ray spectrometer (APXS) worked properly before examining martian rock samples. Once the testing is complete, should be sometime today, the rover will drive and find a rock to examine.

The APXS has been tested by taking atmospheric readings and it should be able to get high resolution readings even at high noon, which will be the hottest time of day which effects the spectrograph.

The close up camera has taken some photos already as well, seen above, and is also helping with seeing the robotics arms ability to complete tasks.

Everyone on the research team seems excited to examine a martian rock within the next few weeks, but you can't really blame them, I would love to be able to shoot X-rays and lasers from a robot on another planet.

*Update 9-14-12 Video of David Oh Updating on the Rover http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQiB2Nkj6ng&list=ECE8C83FF0367EEF8C&index=1&feature=plpp_video  Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20120912.html

Photo Gallery: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/gallery-indexEvents.html