NASA uses new detection technique to seek comet “crumbs”April 18, 2017 - 13:15 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - It's relatively trivial to spot comets, but spotting the dust they leave behind? That's no mean feat -- it's like tracking grains of fast-moving sand on a cosmic-scale beach. NASA, however, might just have a way of mapping that dust. It's developing a technique that would use the movement of the ESA's LISA Pathfinder probe to detect the minuscule "crumbs" left by comets and asteroids. The trick involves tracking the tiny thruster bursts Pathfinder uses to compensate for dust stream impacts. When you measure the direction and strength of those bursts, you can get a good sense of the dust's impact location, size and trajectory, Engadget said. This is just a proof of concept study, and NASA would have to get the go-ahead to use it. The dream is to use it with a dedicated gravitational wave observatory that's still in development. However, the possibilities are already very apparent. This could lead to a comprehensive map of the inner Solar System's dust, with clouds traced back to individual space rocks. That, in turn, could help understand how planets form and predict the likelihood of impacts that could prove deadly to future spacecraft, Engadget said. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Armenia, Turkey discuss restoration of historic bridge The meeting took place on May 17 in Ashgabat on the sidelines of an international conference of ministers of culture. India wants Armenia’s proposals on use of Chabahar port India is expecting proposals from Armenia regarding the use of Chabahar port in Iran, Indian ambassador says. EU welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan “progress” The EU has welcomed “progress” made in the framework of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation process. Belarus opposition leader slams Lukashenko for Karabakh trip Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has harshly criticized the visit of Lukashenko to Karabakh. |