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Most Distant Explosion in Universe Detected; Smashes Previous Record
09/12/2005

Most Distant Explosion in Universe Detected; Smashes Previous Record

Robert Tindol

Scientists using the NASA Swift satellite and several ground-based telescopes, including Palomar Observatory's robotic 60-inch telescope, have detected the most distant explosion yet, a gamma-ray burst from the edge of the visible universe.

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Work Continues on the Solar System's Three Recently Discovered Objects
09/08/2005

Work Continues on the Solar System's Three Recently Discovered Objects

Robert Tindol

When planetary scientists announced on July 29 that they had discovered a new planet larger than Pluto, the news overshadowed the two other objects the group had also found. But all three objects are odd additions to the solar system, and as such could revolutionize our understanding of how our part of the celestial neighborhood evolved.

Caltech Scientists Create Tiny Photon Clock
08/01/2005

Caltech Scientists Create Tiny Photon Clock

Robert Tindol

In a new development that could be useful for future electronic devices, applied physicists at the California Institute of Technology have created a tiny disk that vibrates steadily like a tuning fork while it is pumped with light. This is the first micro-mechanical device that has been operated at a steady frequency by the action of photons alone.

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Planetary Scientists Discover Tenth Planet
07/29/2005

Planetary Scientists Discover Tenth Planet

A planet larger than Pluto has been discovered in the outlying regions of the solar system with the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory, California Institute of Technology planetary scientist Mike Brown announced today.
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KamLAND Detector Provides New Way to Study Heat from Radioactive Materials Within Earth
07/27/2005

KamLAND Detector Provides New Way to Study Heat from Radioactive Materials Within Earth

Robert Tindol
Much of the heat within our planet is caused by the radioactive decay of the elements uranium and thorium. Now, an international team of particle physicists using a special detector in Japan has demonstrated a novel method of measuring that radioactive heat.
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Deep Impact: During and After Impact
07/21/2005

Deep Impact: During and After Impact

Astronomers using the Palomar Observatory's 200-inch Hale Telescope have been amazed by comet Tempel 1's behavior during and after its collision with the Deep Impact space probe.

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Researchers devise plasma experiment that shows how astrophysical jets are formed
06/28/2005

Researchers devise plasma experiment that shows how astrophysical jets are formed

Applied physicists at the California Institute of Technology have devised a plasma experiment that shows how huge long, thin jets of material shoot out from exotic astrophysical objects such as young stars, black holes, and galactic nuclei.
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Andromeda Galaxy Three Times Bigger in Diameter Than Previously Thought
05/30/2005

Andromeda Galaxy Three Times Bigger in Diameter Than Previously Thought

Robert Tindol

Scott Chapman, from the California Institute of Technology, and Rodrigo Ibata, from the Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg in France, have led a team of astronomers in a project to map out the detailed motions of stars in the outskirts of the Andromeda galaxy. Their recent observations with the Keck telescopes show that the tenuous sprinkle of stars extending outward from the galaxy are actually part of the main disk itself.

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Research on Sumatran Earthquakes Uncovers New Mysteries about Workings of Earth
05/19/2005

Research on Sumatran Earthquakes Uncovers New Mysteries about Workings of Earth

Robert Tindol
The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of December 26 was an unmitigated human disaster. But three new papers by an international group of experts show that the huge data return could help scientists better understand extremely large earthquakes and the disastrous tsunamis that can be associated with them.
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Four from Caltech Named to National Academy of Sciences
05/03/2005

Four from Caltech Named to National Academy of Sciences

Robert Tindol

Three members at the California Institute of Technology faculty and one former faculty who is now a visiting associate are among the 72 new members and 18 foreign associates being named to the National Academy of Sciences today. The election was announced during the 142nd annual meeting of the Academy in Washington, D.C.

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