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Chemistry - Astronomy / Space Science - 10.02.2023 
On the trail of the origin of life
A team of scientists from Austria and France has discovered a new abiotic pathway for the formation of peptide chains from amino acids - an important chemical step in the origin of life. The current study provides strong evidence that this crucial step for the emergence of life can indeed take place even in the very inhospitable conditions of space.
Astronomy / Space Science - 23.12.2021 
Wandering celestial bodies provide a glimpse into the formation of stars and planets
With observations of one of the closest star-forming regions to the sun a team of international astronomers discovered the largest population of free-floating planets. These celestial bodies do not revolve around a star and are very hard to find due to their very low brightness. The large number of planets now detected provides information about the formation process of stars and planets and important information for future research.
Astronomy / Space Science - 17.08.2021 
How special are we?
Nearby star-forming region yields clues to the formation of our solar system A region of active star formation in the constellation Ophiuchus gives astronomers new insights into the conditions in which our solar system was born, showing how it may have become enriched with short-lived radioactive elements.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 10.03.2021 
How a ladybug warps space-time
Vienna quantum physicists measure the smallest gravitational force yet Researchers at the University of Vienna and the Austrian Academy of Sciences, led by Markus Aspelmeyer have succeeded in measuring the gravitational field of a gold sphere, just 2 mm in diameter, using a highly sensitive pendulum - and thus the smallest gravitational force.
Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 19.02.2021 
Life of a pure Martian design
Experimental microbially assisted chemolithotrophy provides an opportunity to trace the putative bioalteration processes of the Martian crust. A study on the Noachian Martian breccia Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 composed of ancient (ca. Gyr old) crustal materials from Mars, led by ERC grantee Tetyana Milojevic from the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Vienna, now delivered a unique prototype of microbial life experimentally designed on a real Martian material.
Astronomy / Space Science - Materials Science - 27.11.2020 
Laboratory experiments could unravel the mystery of the Mars moon Phobos
What causes the weathering of the Mars moon Phobos? Results from TU Wien give new insights, soon a spacecraft will retrieve soil samples. Of course, there is no weather in our sense of the word in space - nevertheless, soil can also "weather" in the vacuum of space if it is constantly bombarded by high-energy particles, such as those emitted by the sun.
Astronomy / Space Science - 15.10.2020 
Star Clusters are only the tip of the iceberg
A panoramic view of the nearby Alpha Persei star cluster and its corona. The member stars in the corona are invisible. These are only revealed thanks to the combination of precise measurements with the ESA Gaia satellite and innovative machine learning tools (© Stefan Meingast, made with Gaia Sky) A telescopic view of the star cluster NGC 2516.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 22.09.2020 
Gravity causes homogeneity of the universe
"During its expansion, the universe evolved towards its present state, which is homogeneous and isotropic on large scales. This is inferred, among other things, from the measurement of the so-called background radiation as nicely seen in the full sky image of the WMAP data.
Astronomy / Space Science - 14.04.2020 
Beacon in space
By Medienservice Satellite images from the BRITE mission with the participation of researchers from TU Graz and the Universities of Innsbruck and Vienna document for the first time the complete development of a nova - from eruption to maximum brightness and burn out. The publication has now appeared in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 10.04.2020 
Beacon in space
BRITE Constellation observes complete nova eruption for the first time Satellite images from the BRITE mission with the participation of researchers* from Graz University of Technology and the Universities of Innsbruck and Vienna document for the first time the complete development of a nova - from eruption to maximum brightness and burn out.
Astronomy / Space Science - Computer Science - 07.01.2020 
The giant in our stars
Interconnected stellar nurseries form the largest gaseous structure ever observed in the Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers of the University of Vienna and Harvard University have discovered a monolithic, wave-shaped gaseous structure - the largest ever seen in our galaxy - made up of interconnected stellar nurseries.
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 02.10.2019 
Quantum Vacuum: Less than Zero Energy
Is it possible to borrow energy from an empty space? And if yes, do we have to give it back? Energy values smaller than zero are allowed - at least within certain limits. Energy is a quantity that must always be positive - at least that's what our intuition tells us. If every single particle is removed from a certain volume until there is nothing left that could possibly carry energy, then a limit has been reached.
Astronomy / Space Science - Life Sciences - 04.09.2019 
Searching for the Origin of Life across the Universe
Researchers from European countries discuss life in the Universe at the University of Vienna Astrobiology is a young, rapidly developing branch of science that seeks to address the question of whether life exists, or has existed, elsewhere in the Universe. It is by nature an interdisciplinary science that explores the origins of life, the conditions, and processes that support or challenge life, the influence of different environmental conditions on preservation and detection of biosignatures of past and present life.
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 22.08.2019 
Quantum gravity’s tangled time
The theories of quantum mechanics and gravity are notorious for being incompatible, despite the efforts of scores of physicists over the past fifty years. However, recently an international team of researchers led by physicists from the University of Vienna, the Austrian Academy of Sciences as well as the University of Queensland (AUS) and the Stevens Institute of Technology (USA) have combined the key elements of the two theories describing the flow of time and discovered that temporal order between events can exhibit genuine quantum features.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 24.04.2019 
Rapid destruction of Earth-like atmospheres by young stars
Researchers show young stars rapidly destroy Earth-like Nitrogen dominated atmospheres The discoveries of thousands of planets orbiting stars outside our solar system has made questions about the potential for life to form on these planets fundamentally important in modern science. Fundamentally important for the habitability of a planet is whether or not it can hold onto an atmosphere, which requires that the atmosphere is not completely lost early in the lifetime of the planet.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 08.10.2018 
String Theory: Is Dark Energy even Allowed?
A new conjecture causes excitement in the string theory community. Timm Wrase of the Vienna University of Technology has now published much-discussed results on recent new developments. In string theory, a paradigm shift could be imminent. In June, a team of string theorists from Harvard and Caltech published a conjecture which sounded revolutionary: String theory is said to be fundamentally incompatible with our current understanding of "dark energy" - but only with "dark energy" can we explain the accelerated expansion of our current universe.
Astronomy / Space Science - 05.10.2018 
The threat of Centaurs for the Earth
Astrophysicists calculate the impact probability and crater size of impacts due to minor bodies The astrophysicists Mattia Galiazzo and Rudolf Dvorak from the University of Vienna, in collaboration with Elizabeth A. Silber (Brown University, USA) investigated the long-term path development of Centaurs (solar system minor bodies which originally have orbits between Jupiter and Neptune).
Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 31.08.2018 
What’s ’up’ in space?
The International Astronomical Union has agreed on a new reference frame for directions in space. TU Wien played an important role in developing this new frame. In future, when spacecrafts are sent to other planets or when the rotation of planet Earth is studied, a new reference frame will be used. On 30 August, at the General Meeting of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Vienna, the new international celestial reference frame ICRF3 was adopted, allowing for more precise directional specifications in space.
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 24.07.2018 
No sign of Symmetrons
A high-precision experiment led by TU Wien has set its sights on pinpointing the so-far hypothetical "symmetron fields" using the PF2 ultra-cold neutron source at the Institut Laue-Langevin in France. For the existence of symmetrons could provide an explanation for the mysterious dark energy. One thing is certain: there's something out there we don't yet know.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 12.06.2018 
The True Power of the Solar Wind
Electrically charged particles from the sun strike moons and planets with great force. The consequences of these impacts can now be explained by scientists from TU Wien. The planets and moons of our solar system are continuously being bombarded by particles hurled away from the sun. On Earth this has hardly any effect, apart from the fascinating northern lights, because the dense atmosphere and the magnetic field of the Earth protect us from these solar wind particles.
Astronomy/Space Science
Results 1 - 20 of 42.
A team of scientists from Austria and France has discovered a new abiotic pathway for the formation of peptide chains from amino acids - an important chemical step in the origin of life. The current study provides strong evidence that this crucial step for the emergence of life can indeed take place even in the very inhospitable conditions of space.
With observations of one of the closest star-forming regions to the sun a team of international astronomers discovered the largest population of free-floating planets. These celestial bodies do not revolve around a star and are very hard to find due to their very low brightness. The large number of planets now detected provides information about the formation process of stars and planets and important information for future research.
Nearby star-forming region yields clues to the formation of our solar system A region of active star formation in the constellation Ophiuchus gives astronomers new insights into the conditions in which our solar system was born, showing how it may have become enriched with short-lived radioactive elements.
Vienna quantum physicists measure the smallest gravitational force yet Researchers at the University of Vienna and the Austrian Academy of Sciences, led by Markus Aspelmeyer have succeeded in measuring the gravitational field of a gold sphere, just 2 mm in diameter, using a highly sensitive pendulum - and thus the smallest gravitational force.
Experimental microbially assisted chemolithotrophy provides an opportunity to trace the putative bioalteration processes of the Martian crust. A study on the Noachian Martian breccia Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 composed of ancient (ca. Gyr old) crustal materials from Mars, led by ERC grantee Tetyana Milojevic from the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Vienna, now delivered a unique prototype of microbial life experimentally designed on a real Martian material.
What causes the weathering of the Mars moon Phobos? Results from TU Wien give new insights, soon a spacecraft will retrieve soil samples. Of course, there is no weather in our sense of the word in space - nevertheless, soil can also "weather" in the vacuum of space if it is constantly bombarded by high-energy particles, such as those emitted by the sun.
A panoramic view of the nearby Alpha Persei star cluster and its corona. The member stars in the corona are invisible. These are only revealed thanks to the combination of precise measurements with the ESA Gaia satellite and innovative machine learning tools (© Stefan Meingast, made with Gaia Sky) A telescopic view of the star cluster NGC 2516.
"During its expansion, the universe evolved towards its present state, which is homogeneous and isotropic on large scales. This is inferred, among other things, from the measurement of the so-called background radiation as nicely seen in the full sky image of the WMAP data.
By Medienservice Satellite images from the BRITE mission with the participation of researchers from TU Graz and the Universities of Innsbruck and Vienna document for the first time the complete development of a nova - from eruption to maximum brightness and burn out. The publication has now appeared in the journal Nature Astronomy.
BRITE Constellation observes complete nova eruption for the first time Satellite images from the BRITE mission with the participation of researchers* from Graz University of Technology and the Universities of Innsbruck and Vienna document for the first time the complete development of a nova - from eruption to maximum brightness and burn out.
Interconnected stellar nurseries form the largest gaseous structure ever observed in the Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers of the University of Vienna and Harvard University have discovered a monolithic, wave-shaped gaseous structure - the largest ever seen in our galaxy - made up of interconnected stellar nurseries.
Is it possible to borrow energy from an empty space? And if yes, do we have to give it back? Energy values smaller than zero are allowed - at least within certain limits. Energy is a quantity that must always be positive - at least that's what our intuition tells us. If every single particle is removed from a certain volume until there is nothing left that could possibly carry energy, then a limit has been reached.
Researchers from European countries discuss life in the Universe at the University of Vienna Astrobiology is a young, rapidly developing branch of science that seeks to address the question of whether life exists, or has existed, elsewhere in the Universe. It is by nature an interdisciplinary science that explores the origins of life, the conditions, and processes that support or challenge life, the influence of different environmental conditions on preservation and detection of biosignatures of past and present life.
The theories of quantum mechanics and gravity are notorious for being incompatible, despite the efforts of scores of physicists over the past fifty years. However, recently an international team of researchers led by physicists from the University of Vienna, the Austrian Academy of Sciences as well as the University of Queensland (AUS) and the Stevens Institute of Technology (USA) have combined the key elements of the two theories describing the flow of time and discovered that temporal order between events can exhibit genuine quantum features.
Researchers show young stars rapidly destroy Earth-like Nitrogen dominated atmospheres The discoveries of thousands of planets orbiting stars outside our solar system has made questions about the potential for life to form on these planets fundamentally important in modern science. Fundamentally important for the habitability of a planet is whether or not it can hold onto an atmosphere, which requires that the atmosphere is not completely lost early in the lifetime of the planet.
A new conjecture causes excitement in the string theory community. Timm Wrase of the Vienna University of Technology has now published much-discussed results on recent new developments. In string theory, a paradigm shift could be imminent. In June, a team of string theorists from Harvard and Caltech published a conjecture which sounded revolutionary: String theory is said to be fundamentally incompatible with our current understanding of "dark energy" - but only with "dark energy" can we explain the accelerated expansion of our current universe.
Astrophysicists calculate the impact probability and crater size of impacts due to minor bodies The astrophysicists Mattia Galiazzo and Rudolf Dvorak from the University of Vienna, in collaboration with Elizabeth A. Silber (Brown University, USA) investigated the long-term path development of Centaurs (solar system minor bodies which originally have orbits between Jupiter and Neptune).
The International Astronomical Union has agreed on a new reference frame for directions in space. TU Wien played an important role in developing this new frame. In future, when spacecrafts are sent to other planets or when the rotation of planet Earth is studied, a new reference frame will be used. On 30 August, at the General Meeting of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Vienna, the new international celestial reference frame ICRF3 was adopted, allowing for more precise directional specifications in space.
A high-precision experiment led by TU Wien has set its sights on pinpointing the so-far hypothetical "symmetron fields" using the PF2 ultra-cold neutron source at the Institut Laue-Langevin in France. For the existence of symmetrons could provide an explanation for the mysterious dark energy. One thing is certain: there's something out there we don't yet know.
Electrically charged particles from the sun strike moons and planets with great force. The consequences of these impacts can now be explained by scientists from TU Wien. The planets and moons of our solar system are continuously being bombarded by particles hurled away from the sun. On Earth this has hardly any effect, apart from the fascinating northern lights, because the dense atmosphere and the magnetic field of the Earth protect us from these solar wind particles.
