[RidaChat]

Hayabusa2 may have just snagged bits of asteroid Ryugu’s insides
The Japanese spacecraft returns to Earth in 2020 with the first subsurface space rock sample
BY LISA GROSSMAN 10:38AM, JULY 11, 2019


The Hayabusa2 spacecraft has made its second and final attempt to grab a pinch of dust from asteroid Ryugu. At about 9:06 p.m. EDT on July 10, the Japanese spacecraft briefly touched down near an artificial crater it had previously blasted into the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid’s surface. If the dust grab went well, it’s the first spacecraft to ever collect a sample from an asteroid’s insides.

"We've collected a part of the solar system's history," said project manager Yuichi Tsuda, of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, at a July 11 press conference.

Hayabusa2 first successfully touched down on Ryugu’s surface on February 22, after months of experiments on Earth to make sure the spacecraft’s sample collection technique would work on the asteroid’s surprisingly rocky surface (SN Online: 2/22/19). The strategy involves firing a tantalum bullet at close range into the surface to kick up surface dust and then catching some of that dust in a long, flared horn (SN: 1/19/19, p. 20).

In April, the spacecraft dropped a two-kilogram copper cylinder from about 500 meters above the asteroid to blast an artificial crater about 10 meters wide and 2 meters deep into its surface (SN Online: 4/26/19), in preparation for the second sample retrieval. Its goal: To stir up buried material that hasn’t seen sunlight for up to billions of years.

“Touchdown is a high risk operation,” the team wrote on its website July 8 in preparation for the second sample retrieval. “Just because we have succeeded in the past does not mean we can easily do so again.”

The Japanese space agency decided to aim Hayabusa2 at an area about 20 meters north of the crater’s center, where it looks like dark material from inside the crater landed. After hours of descending toward the asteroid’s surface, Hayabusa2 briefly tapped the targeted spot and fired the bullet, creating a spray of pebbles. The spacecraft immediately started to rise again. At 9:51 p.m. EDT, mission control received word that the spacecraft was safe.

Marks the spot
Hayabusa2 touched down inside the circle marked on this terrain map of asteroid Ryugu. Scientists think dirt excavated from a nearby artificial crater (dotted line) landed there, allowing Hayabusa2 to take a sample of subsurface material. The white dot (arrow) indicates a target marker that Hayabusa2 dropped before the touchdown to help it navigate to the touchdown area.


JAXA
“The state of the spacecraft is normal and the touchdown sequence was performed as scheduled,” the team tweeted. “Project Manager Tsuda has declared that the 2nd touchdown was a success!”

Hayabusa2 will leave Ryugu in November or December, and is expected to arrive back at Earth in 2020. That’s when the team will confirm that the spacecraft successfully collected the dust. Studying material from the asteroid’s surface and subsurface will let scientists tease out details of the asteroid’s history and the early history of the solar system (SN: 4/13/19, p. 11).

[James Farr]

Parallel evolution has recently become intriguing to many geneticists. Many examples of genes transferred from unrelated species can occur in plants, and now mammals. Findings are found in molecular taxonomic studies in wildflowers and mammals.the use of biogenomics in taxonomy has opened doors to the study of evolution.The discoveries have been compared to the finding of jumping genes in the late1970's.Research is occurring with crop species finding more heat resistant strains through interbreeding rather than bioengineering.

[Cerys Martin]

Health & Medicine. Drug-resistant microbes kill about 35,000 people in the U.S. per year. By Aimee Cunningham November 13, 2019. Space. NASA gave Ultima Thule a new official name. Animals. A tooth fossil shows Gigantopithecus' close ties to modern orangutans. Earth. Plastics outnumber baby fish 7-to-1 in some coastal

[Antony44]

The Chinese astrophysicist discovered the fastest rotating star of the Milky Way. The fastest rotating star in the Milky Way belongs to the spectral class O6.5 - these are the hot blue stars ESA / Hubble. The star LAMOST J040643.69 + 542347.8 is located in the outer arm of the Milky Way at a distance of about 30 thousand light years from the Sun, and its upper layers rotate at a record high speed - about 540 kilometers per second, which is 100 kilometers per second faster than the previous record holder HD 191423. On the results of spectroscopic observations that allow or to make this conclusion, writes astrophysicist Gangway Li in a reprint on Axis.org. Stars rotate around their axis from the moment of birth - as the gas cloud collapses into the protester, the angular momentum is conserved, which leads to rapid rotation. Gradually, this rotation slows down as a result of the interaction of the magnetic field of a star with a stellar wind, blowing away the mass. For example, a point on the equator of the Sun moves at a speed of just over two kilometers per second. However, there are stars that spin extremely fast - the fastest currently known VFTS 285 and VFTS 102 in the Large Magellanic Cloud rotate at a speed of about 610 kilometers per second. In our Galaxy, until recently, the rotation speed record belonged to HD 191423 - 435 kilometers per second. The actual rotation speed of these stars can be even greater - because we can only measure speed in projection onto the line of sight. It is not easy to make a single star spin quickly - usually  stars are in binary systems and owe high speed to their companions with whom they actively exchange matter. They can be the source of such an interesting phenomenon as long gamma's bursts. In addition, rapid rotation dramatically affects the circulation of matter inside the star. It mixes - hydrogen is transferred to the core, and the products of the  cycle - to the surface, which increases the star's lifespan and luminosity. Gangway Li calls the discovery of the fastest rotating star in the Galaxy a lucky coincidence - it was made in the process of searching for class O stars with the LAMOST spectroscopic telescope - these are hot blue stars - with emission lines of hydrogen. The spectral class LAMOST J040643.69 + 542347.8 was defined as O6.5. Unusually wide lines in the spectrum indicated a fast rotation of the star: the fact is that from the edge of a star approaching us, all lines of the spectrum shift to the blue part of the spectrum, from the moving away to the red part, and as a result of addition, the spectral lines become wider the faster they rotate star. To reliably measure the rotation speed, the author used the absorption line of ionized helium He II λ4542 - it forms deep inside the photosphere and stellar wind does not affect it anymore. It turned out that the rotation speed of the upper layers of the star in projection onto the line of sight is approximately 540 kilometers per second, which is 100 kilometers per second faster than the HD 191423 discovered in 2001. The spectrum lines of the star that rotates are wider. Rice University Some spectral lines simultaneously showed radiation and absorption: against the background of a wide emission line, a narrow absorption dip was observed. This is because the radiation and absorption of light quanta in the vicinity of the same line belong to different parts of the star. A wide emission line comes from the equatorial region with fast rotation, and a narrow absorption line from the polar regions, where gravity due to proximity to the center is stronger, density is higher, and rotation is slower than at the equator. It also turned out that LAMOST J040643.69 + 542347.8 also moves abnormally fast relative to the interstellar medium. Such stars are called runaway - and by the way, the previous record holder for rotation speed HD 191423 also refers to this type. Moreover, the fastest rotating stars known today - VFTS 285 and VFTS 102 in the Large Magellanic Cloud - are also fleeing. The magnitude LAMOST J040643.69 + 542347.8 is 13.9. This allows its further spectroscopic observations to be carried out in high resolution - LAMOST, with all its huge focal plane, has a low spectral resolution. Of particular interest, according to the author, would be to know the composition of the star's surface and compare it with HD 191423, where oversaturation with nitrogen and helium and a lack of carbon and oxygen were recorded.

[Slickscientist]

Hi Everybody,
I have found an article from the daily express detailing how particle physicists at CERN have observed the rare decay of the Higgs boson particle into two muons. I don't understand this very much, but I am sure all of you will.
THIS IS THE LINK: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1345368/cern-breakthrough-god-particle-decay-higgs-boson-muon-lhc.
Enjoy,
Slickscientist

[sallywaltersx]

This is a really great thread!
 
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[TonyFarbor]

General Covid-19 statistics
The whole world
All cases of the disease
48.7 million

Recovered
32.2 million

Lethal outcome
1.23 million
take care of yourself and try to stay at home

[catcher]

It is fascinating that Earth goes by with its business of geological activity and does not mind humans at all. They have their mechanisms we can only watch and admire.

[Ellasuartini]

The articles I read are interesting, and the food dishes are tasty, but can we really be healthy if we make or consume them on a regular basis

[GaryMason]

Hi Everybody,
I have found an article from the daily express detailing how particle physicists at CERN have observed the rare decay of the Higgs boson particle into two muons. I don't understand this very much, but I am sure all of you will.
THIS IS THE LINK: newbielink:https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1345368/cern-breakthrough-god-particle-decay-higgs-boson-muon-lhc [nonactive].
Enjoy,
Slickscientist

Holla, I've checked the link and thanks for such an interesting article! Now, what didn't you understand there?