http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/sun/ News about the Sun. Science articles on Sunspots and the Sun's Corona; evidence the Sun has a companion star; images from the far side of the Sun and more. en-us Mon, 12 May 2008 09:05:01 EDT Mon, 12 May 2008 09:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/sun/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502100033.htm The Earth's atmosphere is a gigantic prism that disperses sunlight. In the most ideal atmospheric conditions, such as those found regularly above Cerro Paranal, this will lead to the appearance of so-called green and blue flashes at sunset. The phenomenon is so popular on the site that it is now the tradition for the Paranal staff to gather daily on the telescope platform to observe the sunset and its possible green flash before starting their long night of observations. Mon, 05 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502100033.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502094224.htm NASA has a new plan to send a spacecraft closer to the sun than any probe has ever gone. The ambitious Solar Probe mission will study the streams of charged particles the sun hurls into space from a vantage point within the sun's corona -- its outer atmosphere -- where the processes that heat the corona and produce solar wind occur. At closest approach Solar Probe would zip past the sun at 125 miles per second, protected by a carbon-composite heat shield that must withstand up to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit and survive blasts of radiation and energized dust at levels not experienced by any previous spacecraft. Sun, 04 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502094224.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430134305.htm Astronomers appear to have solved a long-standing mystery about the cause of anomalies in Jupiter's gossamer rings. A faint extension of the outermost ring beyond the orbit of Jupiter's moon Thebe, and other observed deviations from an accepted model of ring formation, result from the interplay of shadow and sunlight on dust particles that make up the rings. Thu, 01 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430134305.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428081732.htm Chondritic meteorites have a similar chemical composition to the sun and are therefore reliable witnesses as to what the solar nebula, from which the planets formed, was composed of. This can be used to deduce what the Earth consists of chemically. However, researchers have now discovered that strictly speaking this fundamental geological assumption is not true. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428081732.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420123319.htm Behold the full moon. Ancient craters and frozen lava seas lie motionless under an airless sky of profound quiet. It's a serene, slow-motion world where even a human footprint may last millions of years. Nothing ever seems to happen there, right? Wrong. Scientists have realized that something happens every month when the moon gets a lashing from Earth's magnetic tail. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420123319.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080418090439.htm Data from the ESA/NASA spacecraft SOHO shows clearly that powerful starquakes ripple around the Sun in the wake of mighty solar flares that explode above its surface. The observations give solar physicists new insight into a long-running solar mystery and may even provide a way of studying other stars. Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080418090439.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415162612.htm A new electric solar wind sail is almost ready for implementation. Electric sail propulsion might have a large impact on space research and space travel throughout the solar system. The electric solar wind sail uses the solar wind as its thrust source and therefore needs no fuel or propellant. The solar wind is a continuous plasma stream emanating from the Sun. Changes in the properties of the solar wind cause auroral brightening and magnetic storms, among other things. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415162612.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402200155.htm Astronomers have discovered that solar flares - explosions in the atmosphere of the sun - get much hotter when they stay "focused". Solar flares are caused by the sudden release of magnetic energy. The largest can release as much energy as a billion one-megaton nuclear bombs. Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402200155.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401161120.htm One of the most dynamic events in the interaction between the Sun and the Earth is a 'substorm', an explosive reshaping of the Earth's outer magnetic field. To better understand substorms, scientists are studying them from space using the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) satellites launched by NASA in 2007 and from the ground using a network of all-sky cameras. Sat, 05 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401161120.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401154506.htm A medical X-ray technique has been adapted to produce the first detailed map of the structure of the Sun's outermost layer, the corona, created from direct observations. Tomography, a technique with multiple medical applications including CAT scans, uses a series of images taken from many different angles to reconstruct a 3-dimensional map of a patient's body. Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401154506.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402154252.htm Images from the twin STEREO spacecraft show, for the first time, a solar tsunami blasting its way through the Sun's lower atmosphere. Solar tsunamis are launched by huge explosions near the Sun's atmosphere, called coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Although solar tsunamis share much in common with tsunamis on Earth, the solar version can travel at over a million kilometers per hour. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402154252.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402163003.htm Astronomers have known for decades that the Sun has a very dynamic atmosphere. Huge fountains of hot gas erupt in the atmosphere, or corona, every few minutes, traveling at tens of thousands of km per hour and reaching great heights. Now a team of scientists have used the Hinode spacecraft to find the origin and driver of these fountains - immense magnetic structures that thread through the solar atmosphere. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402163003.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402155139.htm Scientists have found the source of the stream of particles that make up the solar wind. The solar wind consists of electrically charged particles that flow out from the Sun in all directions. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402155139.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401095218.htm An international team of astronomers called "SuperWASP" has found 10 new "extra solar" planets, planets that orbit stars other than our sun. The team used a system of robotic cameras that yield a great deal of information about these other worlds, some of which are quite exotic. The flood of new discoveries from SuperWASP will revolutionize understanding of how planets form. Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401095218.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401112356.htm Preparations for launching NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Telescope satellite are underway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The twin solar panels have been attached. The panels will provide electrical power for GLAST after its launch into earth orbit. Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401112356.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080326123135.htm Astrophysicists have a new window into the formation of planets. Astronomers have imaged a structure within the disk of material coalescing from the gas and dust cloud surrounding a well-studied star, AB Aurigae. Within that structure, it appears that an object is forming, either a small body currently accreting dust or a brown dwarf (a body intermediate between stars and planets) between 5 and 37 times the mass of Jupiter. Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080326123135.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150022.htm Using visible and infrared data collected from telescopes on Hawaii's Mauna Kea, astronomers have identified three asteroids that appear to be among our solar system's oldest objects. Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150022.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080319140319.htm A study of meteorites suggests that Mars, the Earth and the Moon share a common composition from 'growing up' in a unique planetary nursery in the inner solar system. The finding could lead to a rethink of how the inner solar system formed. Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080319140319.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080313185726.htm The Vanguard I satellite celebrates its 50th birthday this year. Its launch on March 17, 1958 from Cape Canaveral, Fla., culminated the efforts of America's first official space satellite program begun in September 1955. The first solar-powered satellite, Vanguard I has the distinction of being the oldest artificial satellite orbiting the earth. Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080313185726.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317124002.htm Among luminous spots on Jupiter akin to Earth's Northern lights, scientists have observed a new type of spot. Generally, Jupiter's auroral spots result from waves generated by the giant planet's moon Io. The new discovery upsets previous models of how Jovian auroral spots form, and may have implications for our understanding of distant exoplanets which orbit other stars than the Sun. Tue, 18 Mar 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317124002.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312142357.htm In a find that sheds light on how Earth-like planets may form, astronomers say they have found the first evidence of small, sandy particles orbiting a newborn star system at about the same distance as the Earth orbits the sun. The researchers confirmed the find with light reflected from the sand itself, which is about 2,400 light years from Earth in a two-star system called KH-15D. Sun, 16 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312142357.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306161746.htm What are the signs of spring? They are as familiar as a blooming daffodil, a songbird at dawn, a surprising shaft of warmth from the afternoon sun. And, oh yes, don't forget the aurora borealis. Spring is aurora season. For reasons not fully understood by scientists, the weeks around the vernal equinox are prone to Northern Lights. Canadians walking their dogs after dinner, Scandinavians popping out to the sauna, Alaskan Huskies on the Iditarod trail -- all they have to do is look up and behold, green curtains of light dancing across the night sky. Spring has arrived! This is a bit of a puzzle. Auroras are caused by solar activity, but the sun doesn't know what season it is on Earth. So how could one season yield more auroras than another? Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306161746.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306183137.htm Astrophysicists are having a heated debate over the wave structure of the Sun's corona -- a debate which may one day influence solar weather forecasting and the theory behind fusion reactors. Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306183137.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080307095219.htm On 12th June, a space-bound advertisement will be broadcast from a 500MHz Ultra High Frequency Radar from the EISCAT Space Centre in Svalbard, which lies in the Arctic Ocean about midway between northern Norway and the North Pole. The transmission is being directed at a solar system just 42 light years away from Earth with planets that orbit its star '47 Ursae Majoris' (UMa). 47 UMa is located in the Great Bear Constellation (also known as "The Plough") - easily identifiable to even the most amateur stargazer. It is very similar to our Sun and is believed to host a habitable zone that could potentially harbour small terrestrial planets and support life as we know it. Sun, 09 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080307095219.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306160209.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found evidence of material orbiting Rhea, Saturn's second largest moon. This is the first time rings may have been found around a moon. A broad debris disk and at least one ring appear to have been detected by a suite of six instruments on Cassini specifically designed to study the atmospheres and particles around Saturn and its moons. Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306160209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080305105128.htm Using two ESA spacecraft, planetary scientists are watching the atmospheres of Mars and Venus being stripped away into space. The simultaneous observations by Mars Express and Venus Express give scientists the data they need to investigate the evolution of the two planets' atmospheres. Despite the differences in size and distance from the Sun, Mars and Venus are surprisingly similar. Both planets have beams of electrically charged particles flowing out of their atmospheres. The particles are being accelerated away by interactions with the solar wind, a constant stream of electrically charged particles released by the Sun. Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080305105128.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080228143538.htm Interstellar space may be strewn with tiny whiskers of carbon, dimming the light of far-away objects. This discovery may have implications for the "dark energy" hypothesis, proposed a decade ago in part to explain the unexpected dimness of certain stellar explosions called Type 1a supernovae. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080228143538.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080225133649.htm Astronomers have discovered that the sun-like star tau Bootis flipped its magnetic field from north to south sometime during the last year. It has been known for many years that the Sun's magnetic field changes its direction every 11 years, but this is the first time that such a change has been observed in another star. Magnetic field reversals on the sun are closely linked to the varying number of sunspots seen on the sun's surface. Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080225133649.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080221084148.htm Venus Express has revealed a planet of extraordinarily changeable and extremely large-scale weather. Bright hazes appear in a matter of days, reaching from the south pole to the low southern latitudes and disappearing just as quickly. Such 'global weather', unlike anything on Earth, has given scientists a new mystery to solve. The cloud-covered world of Venus is all but a featureless, unchangeable globe at visible wavelengths of light. Switch to the ultraviolet and it reveals a truly dynamic nature. Transient dark and bright markings stripe the planet, indicating regions where solar ultraviolet radiation is absorbed or reflected, respectively. Tue, 26 Feb 2008 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080221084148.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080223130020.htm Astronomers predict that the Earth will be swallowed up by the Sun in about 7.6 billion years unless the Earth's orbit can be altered. Previous calculations had suggested that the Earth would escape ultimate destruction, although be battered and burnt to a cinder. But this did not take into account the effect of the drag caused by the outer atmosphere of the dying Sun. Sun, 24 Feb 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080223130020.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080222112324.htm An enormous plume of dust and water spurts violently into space from the south pole of Enceladus, Saturn's sixth-largest moon. This raging eruption has intrigued scientists ever since the Cassini spacecraft provided dramatic images of the phenomenon. Now a physicist has revealed why the dust particles in the plume emerge more slowly than the water vapour escaping from the moon's icy crust. Enceladus orbits in Saturn's outermost "E" ring. It is one of only three outer solar system bodies that produce active eruptions of dust and water vapour. Moreover, aside from the Earth, Mars, and Jupiter's moon Europa, it is one of the only places in the solar system for which astronomers have direct evidence of the presence of water. Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080222112324.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080216114853.htm Space scientists report on new discoveries about gamma ray bursts obtained from the Swift satellite and coordinated observations from a global network of ground based telescopes. Gamma-ray bursts are short-lived events, lasting between a few milliseconds to a few minutes. The brightest of them emit more energy in a few seconds than our Sun will emit in its whole 10 billion year lifetime. Gamma ray bursts are occurring several times daily somewhere in the universe, fortunately at huge distances from our solar system. These fleeting explosions are precursors to the births of black holes. Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080216114853.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080217102133.htm Astronomers have discovered that terrestrial planets might form around many, if not most, of the nearby sun-like stars in the disk of our galaxy. At least one in five nearby solar-mass stars may form terrestrial worlds. These new results suggest that worlds with potential for life might be more common than thought. Mon, 18 Feb 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080217102133.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080213111050.htm European scientists have developed the most accurate method yet for predicting the doses of radiation that astronauts will receive aboard the orbiting European laboratory module, Columbus, recently attached to the ISS. Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080213111050.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080214144532.htm Astronomers have discovered two planets that resemble smaller versions of Jupiter and Saturn in a solar system nearly 5,000 light years away. The find suggests that our galaxy hosts many planetary systems like our own. The newly-discovered planets appear to be gaseous planets like Jupiter and Saturn -- only about 80 percent as big -- and they orbit a star about half the size of the sun. The star is dim and cold compared to ours, issuing only five percent as much light. Still, the new solar system appears to be a smaller analog of our own. The larger planet is about as massive compared to its star as Jupiter is to ours. The smaller planet shares a similar mass ratio with Saturn. Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080214144532.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080211133105.htm People across the western hemisphere may be surprised to see a rust-coloured Moon in the sky on 21 February. Early that morning (the evening of the 20 February for observers in North and South America) will be this year's first and only total eclipse of the Moon. In a total lunar eclipse, the Earth, Sun and Moon are almost exactly in line and the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. The Moon is full, moves into the shadow of the Earth and dims dramatically but usually remains visible, lit by sunlight that passes through the Earth's atmosphere. Stronger atmospheric scattering of blue light means that the light that reaches the lunar surface is predominantly red in colour so observers on Earth see a Moon that may be brick-coloured, rusty, blood red or sometimes dark grey, depending on terrestrial conditions. Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080211133105.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080201093149.htm The recent flyby of Mercury by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has given scientists an entirely new look at a planet once thought to have characteristics similar to those of Earth's moon. Researchers are amazed by the wealth of images and data that show a unique world with a diversity of geological processes and a very different magnetosphere from the one discovered and sampled more than 30 years ago. Sat, 02 Feb 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080201093149.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125230056.htm ESA's Cluster mission has, for the first time, observed the extent of the region that triggers magnetic reconnection, and it is much larger than previously thought. This gives future space missions a much better chance of studying it. Space is filled with plasma (a gas composed of ions and electrons, globally neutral) and is threaded by magnetic fields. These magnetic fields store energy which can be released explosively, in a process called magnetic reconnection. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125230056.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080130140130.htm The planet Mercury's magnetic field appears to be strong enough to fend off the harsh solar wind from most of its surface, according to new data from NASA's Messenger spacecraft. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080130140130.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080124161617.htm Contrary to expectations for a small icy body, much of the comet dust returned by the Stardust mission formed very close to the young sun and was altered from the solar system's early materials. Surprisingly, the Wild 2 comet sample better resembles a meteorite from the asteroid belt rather than an ancient, unaltered comet. Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080124161617.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080123182720.htm The Ulysses spacecraft today is making a rare flyby of the sun's north pole. Unlike any other spacecraft, Ulysses is able to sample winds at the sun's poles, which are difficult to study from Earth. Ulysses has flown over the sun's poles three times before, in 1994-95, 2000-01 and 2007. Last week, solar physicists announced the first indications of a new solar cycle. Visiting the pole at this time may lead to new insights about solar activity. Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080123182720.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080118101918.htm The European Space Agency signaled the start of a busy period for the planet Mercury, when it signed the contract for industrial development to start for the BepiColombo mission Jan. 18, 2008. BepiColombo, a mission to make the most comprehensive study of Mercury ever, is due for launch in August 2013. Sun, 20 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080118101918.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080111204625.htm What superficially resembles a giant moth floating in space is giving astronomers new insight into the formation and evolution of planetary systems. This is not your typical flying insect. It has a wingspan of about 22 billion miles. The wing-like structure is actually a dust disk encircling the nearby, young star HD 61005, dubbed "The Moth." Its shape is produced by starlight scattering off dust. Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080111204625.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080110144809.htm NASA will point a power-packed space instrument at some of the last unexplored terrain in the inner solar system when the MESSENGER spacecraft whips within 125 miles of Mercury's surface Jan. 14 at a mind-boggling 141,000 miles per hour. Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080110144809.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080103153222.htm Four years ago, NASA's Stardust spacecraft chased down a comet and collected grains of dust blowing off its nucleus. When the spacecraft Comet Wild-2 returned, comet dust was shipped to scientists all over the world, including University of Minnesota physics professor Bob Pepin. After testing helium and neon trapped in the dust specks, Pepin and his colleagues report that while the comet formed in the icy fringes of the solar system, the dust appears to have been born close to the infant sun. Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080103153222.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080103182851.htm Samples of the material picked up during the NASA Stardust mission indicate that parts of the comet Wild 2 actually formed in an area close to the sun. Analysis suggests that some of the Stardust grains match a special type of carbonaceous material found in meterorites; hence both must have spent time in the same gas reservoir, which was close to the sun. Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080103182851.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080107143109.htm A new 11-year cycle of heightened solar activity, bringing with it increased risks for power grids, critical military, civilian and airline communications, GPS signals and even cell phones and ATM transactions, has shown signs it was on its way, when the cycle's first sunspot recently appeared in the sun's northern hemisphere. Tue, 08 Jan 2008 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080107143109.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220133446.htm The space-borne telescope, COROT (Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits), has just completed its first year in orbit. The observatory has brought in surprises after over 300 days of scientific observations. Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220133446.htm