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Everything Space
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Written by Everything Science
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Mar 22, 2005 at 09:53 PM |
ESO's Telescopes Uncover Super Star Cluster in the Milky Way
 | | ESO PR Photo 09a/05 is a composite image of the super star cluster "Westerlund 1" from 2.2-m MPG/ESO Wide-Field Imager observations. The image covers a 5 x 5 arcmin sky region. The foreground stars appear blue, while the hot massive members of the cluster look orange, and the cool massive ones come out red |
Super star clusters are groups of hundreds of thousands of very young stars packed into an unbelievably small volume. They represent the most extreme environments in which stars and planets can form.
Until now, super star clusters were only known to exist very far away, mostly in pairs or groups of interacting galaxies. Now, however, a team of European astronomers have used ESO's telescopes to uncover such a monster object within our own Galaxy, the Milky Way, almost, but not quite, in our own backyard!
The newly found massive structure is hidden behind a large cloud of dust and gas and this is why it took so long to unveil its true nature. It is known as "Westerlund 1" and is a thousand times closer than any other super star cluster known so far. It is close enough that astronomers may now probe its structure in some detail.
Westerlund 1 contains hundreds of very massive stars, some shining with a brilliance of almost one million suns and some two-thousand times larger than the Sun (as large as the orbit of Saturn)! Indeed, if the Sun were located at the heart of this remarkable cluster, our sky would be full of hundreds of stars as bright as the full Moon. Westerlund 1 is a most unique natural laboratory for the study of extreme stellar physics, helping astronomers to find out how the most massive stars in our Galaxy live and die.
From their observations, the astronomers conclude that this extreme cluster most probably contains no less than 100,000 times the mass of the Sun, and all of its stars are located within a region less than 6 light-years across. Westerlund 1 thus appears to be the most massive compact young cluster yet identified in the Milky Way Galaxy.
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Everything Earth Science
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Written by Everything Science
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Mar 22, 2005 at 09:41 PM |
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For transport in the European Union (EU) the main potential barriers to sustainable socio-economic development are traffic congestion, environmental impacts, and economic costs. With accession, future enlargement and economic growth the stage is set for such problems to increase. But what can be done?
 European researchers have engaged in a raft of pioneering projects that bring the latest developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to support traffic and transport management in inland navigation, including interfaces to other modes of transport.
Providing such support through harmonised ICT-based information services is called RIS and is explained, along with the political context, in the latest brochure ‘River Information Services: As policy implementation flows from research’, published by the EXTR@Web project.
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Everything Archaeology
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Written by Everything Science
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Mar 14, 2005 at 07:06 PM |
Original X-rays of Tutankhamen’s body, taken by scientists at the University of Liverpool, could throw new light on the mystery of the young King’s death.
Robert Connolly, Senior Lecturer in Physical Anthropology from the University’s Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Biology, is working with the Egyptian authorities to analyse recent findings from a CT scan of the mummy and has been asked to comment on suggestions by scientists that Tutankhamen died as a result of an infection following an injury to the femur bone.
Mr Connolly has re-analysed the original X-rays of the leg taken by Professor Ronald Harrison in 1968 and has found no evidence, such as the involvement of soft tissue, to suggest that the fracture in the femur bone became infected.
Mr Connolly adds: “It’s possible Tutankhamen’s leg injury could have been sustained in an accident. There are remarkable similarities between his ribcage injuries and those of a British mummy - St Bees Man in Cumbria - who sustained fatal damage to his chest in a jousting accident. It is therefore highly possible that the King could have died as a result of a chariot or sporting accident, or even at war.
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Everything Space
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Written by Everything Science
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Mar 14, 2005 at 06:39 PM |
ORANGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2005--Aviation Technologies International (ATI) is pleased to announce the development of a high-performance, pressurized, cabin-class, 6/7-seat executive piston-twin aircraft. This next-generation executive aircraft (code named RT-700) sets a new standard in performance, luxury, safety, quiet and comfortable cabin environment.
 | | RT-700: Next-Generation Advanced Technology High-Performance Executive Piston-Twin (Photo: Business Wire) |
Highlights of RT-700: The next-generation piston-twin. - High cruise speed and large cabin size in its class.
- Low hourly operating costs in its class.
- Luxury amenities such as in-cabin baggage access (front and rear), refreshment and entertainment center, and a belted toilet. These luxury amenities are generally available only in multi-million-dollar high-end turbo-props and jets.
- Whisper-quiet, pressurized, air-conditioned cabin.
- Advanced technology, integrated flat-panel avionics.
- Single-level Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) controlled, liquid-cooled engines.
- Executive club seating with folding tables and room to stretch out.
- Built-in, wide air-stairs for ease of entry and exit.
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