Found new area volcanic in the moon

In this "hot spot" is a radioactive thorium concentration is between two old and large craters  Belkovich and Compton

The discovery will force change some ideas about the history of the Moon (Foto: Especial Science Daily )

 

Wednesday July 27, 2011 Redacción | El Universal00:17

Scientists have detected a volcanic province created by a silicic magma upwelling of the Moon, by analyzing images captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft.
The researchers noted in an interview with Science Daily, this "new hot spot" in the face farthest from the moon gives new clues about the history of the Earth satellite.
In this "hot spot" is a radioactive thorium concentration is between two old and large craters, Compton and Belkovich, which was detected by a gamma-ray spectrometer in 1998. This "anomaly" as it was called then, looks like a "bull's eye" when the data from the spectrometer are placed on a map, with the highest density of thorium in its center.
Recent observations with the LRO cameras allowed scientists to distinguish volcanic features in the center of that eye. Thanks to 3D terrain models, has been, moreover, is a very rare silicic volcanism.
The center of the "bull's eye", then, is a small volcanic complex, 25 to 35 kilometers, which is 162 and 214 kilometers away from the craters of Compton and Belkovich respectively.
The discovery will force change some ideas about the history of the Moon, according to Bradley Jolliff, University of Washington.
"This relatively recent volcanic activity reminds us of thermal and volcanic evolution of the moon," said Jolliff, who co-authored the article in Nature Geoscience.
The story providedUntil now it was thought that lunar volcanism is very different from Earth because the satellite was a body that was quenched in 100 million years after they fell off the Earth, 4 thousand 500 million years. It happened when a body like Mars collided with our planet. The cooling prevented there developed plate tectonics that there is in the crust.
As you lose temperature, light mineral (as feldspar) crystallized and led to the Rocky Mountains of the Moon, and the most dense (rich in magnesium and iron) sank, forming the upper lunar mantle. Made between 3 000 and 4000 years, the basaltic lavas surfaced over a long period of volcanism, but it is a mystery the unequal distribution of these flood basalts on the satellite. In fact, long the lunar territory has been divided into only two categories: hard seas and the light of the mountains.
However, this simple picture began to change in 2000 when the team of Jolliff  identified a region withother distinct geological history, called "Procellarum KREEP '(PKT). Would be the place where this 'hot spot' with a lot of thorium and other radioactive elements like potassium and uranium.
"As the magma cools, elements such as thorium is not crystallized and formed pockets intercalated between the crust and mantle. This concentration of elements with hot under the PKT could be responsible for the intensive volcanism different," said the scientist.
Thus, although most of the volcanism was basaltic another more rare was the face of the moon with silica-rich lavas. These deposits are called "hot spots", because that is seen in the spectrometer and its composition has been confirmed by the LRO.

Know astronomical events of the week

 

The weekend will begin with a new moon phase (Foto: Especial NASA )

 

Saturday July 30, 2011 Andrés Eloy Martínez | El Universal00:11

Saturday July 30Today the new moon occurs at 1:40 pm (central Mexico time) as the Moon crosses the imaginary line between Earth and the Sun is the second new moon this month.
Sunday July 31This is a good time of year to escape the city lights and look to the sky. Late at night, a milky broadband and arches high above our heads from north to south. The band is the Milky Way, the silent glow of millions of stars in the disk of our Milky Way galaxy.

Monday August 1August 1 is the date of an ancient British festival of Lammas. It is a day of Fourth Crusade, which means it falls halfway between a solstice and an equinox. Lammas was a day to celebrate the harvest. The priests blessed the bread made from the first grain.
August is the eighth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar is 31 days. It was given this name in honor of the Roman emperor Augustus Octavian Augustus Octavius​​). In the ancient Roman calendar, the year began in March and was named the sixth month Sextilis but in the year 24 BC, Augustus decided to give his name and since then Sextilis called Augustus.
Tuesday August 2Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, rises shortly after midnight and is high in the southeast early. It looks like a bright star. It shines more than all the real stars, and is in a relatively empty region of sky, so it stands out.
Wednesday August 3The planet Saturn is easily visible tonight above the moon. It looks like a bright golden star. The star Spica in Virgo is far to the left of Saturn.
Thursday August 4Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, is just above the crescent Moon tonight. The planet Saturn is on your right and looks almost as bright as Spica.
Friday August 5The crescent moon is aligned with Spica and Saturn in the evening.

Know astronomical events of the week

 

Admire the full moon on Thursday July 14 (Foto: Archivo El Universal )

 

Saturday July 9, 2011 Andrés Eloy Martínez | El Universal00:02

Saturday July 9The star Deneb in Cygnus, Vega in Lyra, and Altair in Aquila, which form the Summer Triangle can be observed to the east.
Sunday July 10With binoculars you can see the red and blue dots that make up Delta Lyrae, a prominent double star in the constellation Lyra, the harp.
Although the stars appear to be near each other, they are actually separated by more than 100 light years away.

Monday July 11Antares, the guiding light of the constellation Scorpio, is slightly below the Moon tonight. Many of his sister stars are superior to his right, including three that outline the flat head of the scorpion.
Tuesday July 12Mars and the star Aldebaran are in good view in the morning at first light. Are aligned parallel to the horizon, separated by less than the width of your fist seen at arm's length. Mars is on the left and Aldebaran, brightest, right.

Wednesday July 13The constellation Sagitta, the arrow intersects the Milky Way. It is one of the smallest of the 88 constellations that exist. After dark look in the east, between Deneb and Altair, two of the stars of the Summer Triangle.

Thursday July 14The "dog days" have arrived. They are named after the Dog Star or Sirius. The brightest star in the night sky, is immersed in the glow of the sun in this time of year.
Therefore, the ancient sky watchers called dog days this time in honor of the star when at its first and only appearance before dawn morning. On this day also happen full moon phase at 1:04 central time hours in Mexico.
Friday July 15The elusive planet Mercury is located very low to the west shortly after sunset the Sun

 

Large Telescope detects galaxies in distant universe

The telescope is located atop the Sierra Negra volcano in Puebla, picked up a galaxy at a distance of 12 million light years

The Large Millimeter Telescope is located on top of Tliltépetl in the state of Puebla (Foto: INAOE )

Friday June 17, 2011 Notimex | El Universal21:00

PUEBLA .- The Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) has reached an important milestone in the history of the project, June 1, 2011, when the observations were made to three millimeters in "Detector redshift." This was reported by the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE).
The LMT is a bi-national project led by INAOE in Mexico and the University of Massachusetts in the U.S., publicly funded by the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) in Mexico and the National Science Foundation in the United States.
The telescope is located at the top of Tliltépetl or Sierra Negra volcano in the state of Puebla, four thousand 581 meters above sea level and is unique in its kind in the world.
Detector redshift is an spectrometer capable of measuring molecular emission to great distances in the Universe, which the LMT has begun to make observations at wavelengths of telescope design.
The parabolic antenna is designed with a collecting area of ​​50 meters in diameter, of which 32 are operational at this time, and captures radiation in the range of 350 to 75 GHz, which corresponds to wavelengths of 0.85 to four millimeters.
Messier 82 (M82), the first observed object is a galaxy of relatively nearby starburst type, located at a distance of 12 million light years.
These galaxies experience intense outbreaks of star formation, in the case of M82 are induced by the gravitational interaction with the companion galaxy M81.
The cold gas injected into the central regions of the galaxy by the interaction causes a large supply of energy as infrared and millimeter radiation, exciting the interstellar medium of M82 and favors the molecular emission lines shown in the figure.
The LMT has been detected in only half an hour a large collection of emission lines of organic molecules, some of which do not occur naturally on Earth.
Alfonso Serrano Pérez-Groves, project principal investigator, said "without doubt, is the starting point of what will be years and years of fruitful research for Mexico and other nations'.
He noted that "not only provide views of the distant galaxies in the Universe, but also allow us to make a detailed study of the conditions that existed after the Big Bang."
Following these first observations, the LMT has received signals from distant objects, including carbon monoxide detection in galaxies SMM J2135-0102, known as the Tab and MM18423 +5938, whose light is emitted when the universe was only 21 and 12% respectively of its current age.
The light from these galaxies is amplified by gravitational lensing nearby and are curious systems that will study dark matter in the universe.
The scientific director of LMT, David H. Hughes added that "this is a clear demonstration that the requirements scientists with which designed the LMT are realistic, and although the LMT is not yet fully optimized, already allow important research on the early universe."
The final alignment of the primary mirror of the LMT began in December 2010 and was completed in April, allowing the first tests of the entire system with millimeter-wave receivers, said Peter Schloerb, LMT researcher at the University of Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, Alberto Carramiñana Alonso, director of the INAOE, pointed to "a great effort to bring this project forward and to sustain future, we need continued support both human and financial resources."
He emphasized that "we are confident that we will have the support of government, industry and academia."
Scientists from all over the world are waiting to see the putting into operation of the telescope, which the national scientific community will have preferential access.