I Am Pleased To Announce A NEW RELEASE To My Space Opera Series. It Is Now Available On Amazon In Ebook

Merry Christmas! I spent time with my dear and sweet Kim. Let's go #furtherthanbefore with our #pathwaytothestars where get to explore solutions to worldwide issues, directing malcontent toward a refocus of their energies to #longevity and other sciences of #physics #biotechnology and #neuroscience through entertainment that takes us on a #scifi #fantasy journey with #strongfemaleleads #strongmalerolemodels and a beautiful #spaceopera with plenty of #politicalsciencefiction in the mix. (at Gene Leahy Mall) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrUuZFvgda1/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=s26phhseo3jb

30 years after the detection of SN1987A neutrinos

On February 23, 1987, just before 30 years from today, the neutrinos emitted from the supernova explosion SN1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud, approximately 160,000 light-years away, reached the earth. Kamiokande, the predecessor detector of Super-Kamiokande, detected the 11 emitted neutrinos. Worldwide, it was the first instance of the detection of the emitted neutrinos from the supernova burst, and it served a big step toward resolving the supernova explosion system. In 2002, Dr. Masatoshi Koshiba, a Special University Professor Emeriuts of the University of Tokyo, was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics for this achievement.

Before the explosion of supernova SN1987A (right) and after the explosion (left) Anglo-Australian Observatory/David Malin

Kamiokande, the pioneer of neutrino research

Kamiokande detector was a cylindrical water tank (16 m in diameter and height) with 1000 of the world’s largest photomultiplier tubes inside it, and it was laid 1000 m underground in Kamioka-town, Yoshiki-gun, (currently Hida-city) Gifu Prefecture, Japan. (Currently the site of Kamiokande is used for KamLAND experiment.) Kamiokande was devised by Prof. Koshiba who started the observation in 1983. Originally, it was constructed for detecting the proton decay phenomenon, but it was modified for the solar neutirno observation. By the end of 1986, the detector modification was completed and the observation began.

Inside of Kamiokande detector

Overview of Kamiokande detector

Prof. Koshiba working in the tank

Prof. Kajita and Prof. Nakahata (then PhD students) tuning up the data aquision system in the mine

The day of detection of the supernova neutrinos

On February 25, 1987, two days after the observation of supernova SN1987A through naked eyes, a fax was sent from Pennsylvania University to the University of Tokyo to inform them about the supernova explosion. Soon after receiving the fax, Prof. Yoji Totsuka asked the researcher in Kamioka to send the magnetic tapes that recorded the Kamiokande data. (At that time, the information network was not developed, so the data was delivered physically).

The fax sent from Pennsylvania University to inform about the supernova explosion.

On February 27, when the magnetic tapes arrived at the laboratory in Tokyo, Prof. Masayuki Nakahata (currently the spokesperson of Super-Kamiokande experiment), who was then a PhD student immediately started the analysis. On the morning of February 28, while Prof. Nakahata printed out the analysis plot between the detection time and number of photo-sensors that detect the light, Ms. Keiko Hirata, a Master’s student found a peak, obviously different from the noise in the distribution. It was the exact trace to detect the neutrinos from SN1987A. (A two minutes blank period due to a regular system maintenance is recorded in the plot, at a few minutes before the explosion. If the explosion occurred during this period, Kamiokande could not have detected the SN1987A neutrinos.) After a detailed analysis, it was clear that Kamiokande detected 11 neutrinos for 13 seconds after 16:35:35 on February 23, 1987.

THe magnetic tape recorded SN1987A data

The printout of Kamiokande data and the envelope which stores the printout in. “Keep carefully Y.T.” written by Prof. Youji Totsuka.

The printout of the data. Horizontal axis shows time (from right to left and one line as 10 seconds) and the vertical axis shows the number of hit photo-sensors of each event (approximately proportional to the energy of the event). The obvious peak is the signal of neutrinos from SN1987A. The blank period due to the detector maintainance was recorded a few minutes before the signal.

When Prof. Nakahata finished the analysis and reported to Prof. Koshiba on the morning of March 2, Prof. Koshiba instructed him to investigate the entire data for the presence of similar signals. Under a gag rule, researchers analyzed the 43 days data of Kamiokande on March 2 to March 6, and obtained conclusive evidence that the occurrence of the peak was only from the signal of the supernova SN1987A; further, they published these findings as an article. Here are the the signatures of researchers who wrote the article.

The subsequent development of neutrino research

The Kamiokande’s detection of the supernova neutrinos became a trigger to recognize the importance of neutrino research, and the construction of Super-Kamiokande, whose volume is about 20 times larger than that of Kamiokande, was approved. Super-Kamiokande started observation from 1996 and discovered the neutrino oscillation in 1998. In 2015, Prof. Takaaki Kajita was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for this achievement. SN1987A made a worldwide breakthrough in neutrino research, including the K2K experiment, T2K experiment and KamLAND experiment.

If a supernova explosion in our galaxy occurs now, Super-Kamiokande will detect approximately 8,000 neutrinos, almost 1000 times greater than those detected 30 years ago. Further, it is expected that the detailed mechanism of supernova explosion will be revealed and we will understand the stars or our universe in depth. In our galaxy, the supernova explosion is expected to occur once in every 30-50 years. It may occur at this very moment. The neutrinos from the supernova will be detected in mere 10 seconds. Super-Kamiokande continues the observation and will not miss any explosion moment.

Source

Nine facts about neutrinos

Images: Kamioka Observatory,

Great post! #NASA #solarpower #solarsystem #spaceexploration

NASA sending solar power generator developed at Ben-Gurion U to space station

A new solar power generator prototype developed by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and research teams in the United States, will be deployed on the first 2020 NASA flight launch to the International Space Station.

According to research published in Optics Express, the compact, microconcentrator photovoltaic system could provide unprecedented watt per kilogram of power critical to lowering costs for private space flight.

As the total costs of a launch are decreasing, solar power systems now represent a larger fraction than ever of total system cost. Optical concentration can improve the efficiency and reduce photovoltaic power costs, but has traditionally been too bulky, massive and unreliable for space use.

Together with U.S. colleagues, Prof. (Emer.) Jeffrey Gordon of the BGU Alexandre Yersin Department of Solar Energy and Environmental Physics, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, developed this first-generation prototype (1.7 mm wide) that is slightly thicker than a sheet of paper (.10 mm) and slightly larger than a U.S. quarter.

“These results lay the groundwork for future space microconcentrator photovoltaic systems and establish a realistic path to exceed 350 w/kg specific power at more than 33% power conversion efficiency by scaling down to even smaller microcells,” the researchers say. “These could serve as a drop-in replacement for existing space solar cells at a substantially lower cost.”

A second generation of more efficient solar cells now being fabricated at the U.S. Naval Research Labs is only 0.17 mm per side, 1.0 mm thick and will increase specific power even further. If successful, future arrays will be planned for private space initiatives, as well as space agencies pursuing new missions that require high power for electric propulsion and deep space missions, including to Jupiter and Saturn.

Jupiter and Saturn appear to the naked eye as a single star, dubbed the "Christmas Star," last seen 800 years ago. Viewed from my deck. 🤩 #christmasstar #jupitersaturnconjunction https://www.instagram.com/p/CJFbSF2rMPv/?igshid=tz61xuv73023

Just a tune, courtesy of Balligomingo, Garrett Schwartz, Vic Levak, and Beverly Staunton that I've enjoyed for a while.

Further Than Before: Pathway to the Stars, Parts 1 & 2

Further Than Before: Pathway to the Stars, Parts 1 & 2

As the author of both novels, Part 1 and its sequel, of course, I am proud of this. That said, it is a work in progress, or a living-published-document since I am an amateur indie writer and the learning curve can be steep at times. The story is great, the plot is great, the characters are magnificent, but my concern is how others might view the flow. Since I wrote this, care about it, etc., I…

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As I write and as I share, my main three priorities in a more converged manner are 1. Biology, 2. Neurology, and 3. Physics, as I have described in this meme.

A new Chandra image shows the location of several elements produced by the explosion of a massive star.

Cassiopeia A is a well-known supernova remnant located about 11,000 light years from Earth.

Supernova remnants and the elements they produce are very hot — millions of degrees — and glow strongly in X-ray light.

Chandra’s sharp X-ray vision allows scientists to determine both the amount and location of these crucial elements objects like Cas A produce.

Where do most of the elements essential for life on Earth come from? The answer: inside the furnaces of stars and the explosions that mark the end of some stars’ lives.Astronomers have long studied exploded stars and their remains — known as “supernova remnants” — to better understand exactly how stars produce and then disseminate many of the elements observed on Earth, and in the cosmos at large.Due to its unique evolutionary status, Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is one of the most intensely studied of these supernova remnants. A new image from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory shows the location of different elements in the remains of the explosion: silicon (red), sulfur (yellow), calcium (green) and iron (purple). Each of these elements produces X-rays within narrow energy ranges, allowing maps of their location to be created. The blast wave from the explosion is seen as the blue outer ring.

X-ray telescopes such as Chandra are important to study supernova remnants and the elements they produce because these events generate extremely high temperatures — millions of degrees — even thousands of years after the explosion. This means that many supernova remnants, including Cas A, glow most strongly at X-ray wavelengths that are undetectable with other types of telescopes.Chandra’s sharp X-ray vision allows astronomers to gather detailed information about the elements that objects like Cas A produce. For example, they are not only able to identify many of the elements that are present, but how much of each are being expelled into interstellar space.

Much more reading/info/video:  http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2017/casa_life/

I'm very much looking forward to this. ☺

Two Webb instruments well suited for detecting exoplanet atmospheres

The best way to study the atmospheres of distant worlds with the James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in late 2018, will combine two of its infrared instruments, according to a team of astronomers.

“We wanted to know which combination of observing modes (of Webb) gets you the maximum information content for the minimum cost,” says Natasha Batalha, graduate student in astronomy and astrophysics and astrobiology, Penn State, and lead scientist on this project.

“Information content is the total amount of information we can get from a planet’s atmospheric spectrum, from temperature and composition of the gas - like water and carbon dioxide - to atmospheric pressures.”

Batalha and Michael Line, assistant professor, School of Earth and Space Science, Arizona State University, developed a mathematical model to predict the quantity of information that different Webb instruments could extract about an exoplanet’s atmosphere.

Their model predicts that using a combination of two infrared instruments - the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) and the G395 mode on the Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) - will provide the highest information content about an exoplanet’s atmosphere.

Read more ~ SpaceDaily

Image: Inspecting JWST’s primary mirror.     Credit: NASA–C. Gunn

A nice little summary of stars that passed nearby, or that may yet pass by, and their affects on our solar system...

http://futurismnews.tumblr.com/