New View of Primordial Universe Confirms Sudden "Inflation" after Big Bang
The Planck space telescope's picture of the cosmic microwave background sheds fresh light on the first instants following the birth of the universe and suggests that it's about 80 million years older than previously thought
By Mark Peplow and Nature magazine
The Planck space telescope has delivered the most detailed picture yet of the cosmic microwave background, the residual glow of the Big Bang.
Scientists unveiling the results from the €600 million European Space Agency (ESA) probe said that they shed fresh light on the first instants of our Universe’s birth. They also peg the age of the Universe at 13.81 billion years — slightly older than previously estimated.
“For cosmologists, this map is a goldmine of information,” says George Efstathiou, director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmology at the University of Cambridge, UK, one of Planck’s lead researchers.
More on: http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...after-big-bang
Landslides detected from afar
Seismic fingerprints reveal that rock avalanches have occurred
By Erin Wayman
A computer and a comfortable chair may be all that’s necessary to investigate catastrophic landslides in the farthest reaches of the world. Researchers have developed a way to remotely detect the events using energy unleashed by landslides, just as geologists identify earthquakes using waves of energy.
The technique provides a three-dimensional look at a landslide’s trajectory down a slope. As a result, it may help scientists unravel the complicated physics governing these natural disasters, the researchers ...
More on: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/gene...cted_from_afar