Supermassive black holes in galaxy centres can grow by the accretion of gas, liberating energy that might regulate star formation on galaxy-wide scales. The nature of the gaseous fuel reservoirs that power black hole growth is nevertheless largely unconstrained by observations, and is instead routinely simplified as a smooth, spherical inflow of very hot gas. Recent theory and simulations instead predict that accretion can...
Tag Archives: Cold
Continuous probing of cold complex molecules with infrared frequency comb spectroscopy
For more than half a century, high-resolution infrared spectroscopy has played a crucial role in probing molecular structure and dynamics. Such studies have so far been largely restricted to relatively small and simple systems, because at room temperature even molecules of modest size already occupy many millions of rotational/vibrational states, yielding highly congested spectra that are difficult to assign. Targeting more complex molecules requires...
Continuous probing of cold complex molecules with infrared frequency comb spectroscopy
For more than half a century, high-resolution infrared spectroscopy has played a crucial role in probing molecular structure and dynamics. Such studies have so far been largely restricted to relatively small and simple systems, because at room temperature even molecules of modest size already occupy many millions of rotational/vibrational states, yielding highly congested spectra that are difficult to assign. Targeting more complex molecules requires...
The search for exoplanets goes cold as Kepler enters emergency mode
The Kepler spacecraft is in trouble again. (credit: NASA)
Something's gone wrong aboard the planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft. On Friday evening, mission manager Charlie Sobeck announced that Kepler had entered "emergency mode." This is the lowest functioning operation mode and, critically, consumes the most fuel.
The last time NASA contacted Kepler, on April 4th, the spacecraft was in...
GeekWire Deals: Put your files on ice with this lifetime subscription to Zoolz Cold Storage
It’s good to back up your data, but most files on your computer aren’t necessarily always needed. A copy of your taxes from 2004, your collection of high school papers and the source code for that game you were designing for Windows 95 probably don’t need to be sitting on your hard drive any more. But who knows when...