Scientists suspect life must have existed on Mars, so they are constantly looking for ways to detect it. For their latest experiment, they used the streams in Dorset as a model, given their similarities to the Martian landscape. The St. Oswald Bay’s streams contained fatty acid traces, which is generally regarded as a sign of life. This means the same traces might be present on Mars as well, showing that the planet might have hosted life.

The Dorset streams were a great model for the Martian study

St. Oswald’s Bay contains most of the acidic streams in Dorset. This environment contains an interesting combination of rocks that served as a great model for the scientists. Among these rocks, there is a particular mineral called goethite, that easily turns into hematite. As you might already know, hematite is the rock that makes the Martian surface red.

Therefore, looking at the properties of these Dorset streams should highlight some valuable information on Mars. Life might be quite difficult to exist in the minerals even if they are present on Earth. Therefore, finding such traces here on our planet could mean life was also possible on Mars.

Researchers might really make some valuable discoveries on Mars

Fortunately, the hematite in Dorset contained traces of fatty acids, and this is an indicative of life. Then, through a study, researchers applied all these findings on their knowledge on planet Mars. At first, they calculated the concentration of acidic rocks on Mars and, then, assumed they contain as many fatty acids as those on Earth.

Judging from these measurements, researchers concluded that Mars rocks could have contained several thousands of metric tons of such acids. In other words, this is the equivalent of 12,000 pools of Olympic size. Also, researchers have even better news than that.

Whenever they looked for organic matter on Mars, they used equipment based on heat. The bad thing was that heat could destroy any kind of traces left by once-existing life. However, these minerals can resist heat, so the Dorset findings might really bring some valuable evidence about life on Mars.

The study was published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

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Black holes must be interfering quite a lot with each other by colliding at huge speeds. However, our equipment is not able to detect whatever sound that follows the impact. Fortunately, researchers found a new technique that detects the signals released by colliding black holes. This technique picks them up from the static noise that LIGO-Virgo is constantly recording.

Colliding black holes produce gravitational ripples

Of course, there is no actual sound coming from space that human ears can capture. However, scientists discovered how to convert the signal of two colliding black holes into sound. The discovery took place in 2015 and, since then, they managed to convert six gravitational wave signals that resulted from impacts.

However, such collisions actually occur more often, and picking up every signal is quite difficult. Two colliding black holes release such gravitational wave signals that disturb the space-time fabric. Through this disturbance, they produce ripples that we’ve been able to detect only 100 years after Einstein developed his theory of relativity.

Researchers found out how to spot distant colliding black holes

Therefore, the system of detection isn’t so refined to detect all colliding black holes and their ripples. LIGO-Virgo is the collaboration that picks up these ‘sounds’. However, those faraway collisions cannot produce sounds. On the scale of the detectors, they appear as hums that was hard to detect.

After countless efforts, they finally found a way to tell these hums apart from all the other background static noise the detectors pick up. The method consists of an algorithm that measures all the background data and finds unusual signals they later turn to noises.

Researchers also made sure this system is flawless. They simulated two colliding black holes, and also added some extra background noises and glitches. The detector successfully told apart the sound of the impact from the other disturbances. They also developed a study on the matter that is soon to be published, but can be found online.

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NASA continues to be the author of some pretty impressive stuff. However, the most notorious deed of the space agency was placing a man on the moon. The history will not forget the day all households gathered around TVs to watch the first small step for a man yet a giant achievement for humankind. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that all assets connected to that event became charged with priceless importance. Therefore, the Neil Armstrong Museum has just lost an invaluable piece in the original gold replica of Apollo 11.

The Gold Replica of the Lunar Excursion Module Channels a Story of Community Spirit of the Past

On Friday, authorities responded to an alarm coming from Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio. When they discovered the issue, they found that the case that kept the solid gold replica of Apollo 11 was empty. The 5-inch-tall moon lander was among the few valuables in the whole museum that were missing.

The lost piece of treasure has an uplifting story behind it which makes it more than an item of decoration. Back in 1969, the French newspaper Le Figaro created a campaign by appealing to its readers. The proposal suggested them to make a contribution for a unique tribute to NASA astronauts. The result of this fundraising was three reproductions of the Lunar Excursion Module.

It was French jeweler Cartier that manufactured the unique pieces. Therefore, each member of the lunar mission, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong, received their own 5-inch-tall solid gold replica upon their arrival on Earth.

Another secret of the statuettes constitutes of a microfilm attached to its base. On these films, there are featured all the names of donors who contributed to this project. Even those who spared even 10 francs for astronauts’ tribute appeared on the material.

The FBI and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation are currently collaborating for this ongoing investigation. There were no details revealed regarding the suspect or possible footages with the thief in action.

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