Current Press Releases - September 2007
Archive
28 September 2007 - ESA
A new milestone in the GMES Space Component Programme successfully achieved
Yesterday the European Space Agency's Member States participating in the GMES Programme approved the transition to Phase-2 of Segment 1 of the GMES Space Component Programme.
28 September 2007 - ESO
A Grand Vision for European Astronomy
Today, and for the first time, astronomers share their global Science Vision for European Astronomy in the next two decades. This two-year long effort by the ASTRONET network of funding agencies, sponsored by the European Commission and coordinated by INSU-CNRS, underscores Europe's ascension to world leadership in astronomy and its will to maintain that position. It will be followed in just over a year by a prioritised roadmap for the observational facilities needed to implement the Vision. Implementation of these plans will ensure that Europe fully contributes to Mankind's ever deeper understanding of the wonders of our Universe.
24 September 2007 - ESA
Fluid theory confirmed by Foton space experiment
In scientific research, there is great satisfaction when theoretical work is eventually supported by experimentation. Such was the case this week for a team of Italian and US scientists when they received preliminary confirmation of a 10-year-old theory from a fluid science experiment that is currently orbiting the Earth on the Foton-M3 spacecraft.
18 September 2007 - ESO
A Warm South Pole? Yes, on Neptune!
An international team of astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope has discovered that the south pole of Neptune is much hotter than the rest of the planet. This is consistent with the fact that it is late southern summer and this region has been in sunlight for about 40 years.
15 September 2007 - EMBL
A molecule that protects from neuronal disorders
Many neuronal disorders, including epilepsy, schizophrenia and lissencephaly - a form of mental retardation -, result from abnormal migration of nerve cells during the development of the brain. Researchers from the Mouse Biology Unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL] in Italy, have now discovered that a protein that helps organising the cells' skeleton is crucial for preventing such defects.
14 September 2007 - ESA
Lift-off for Foton microgravity mission
An unmanned Foton spacecraft, carrying a payload of more than 40 ESA experiments, was successfully launched earlier today. The Soyuz-U launcher lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 13:00 CEST (11:00 GMT).
14 September 2007 - ESO
Galaxy 'Hunting' Made Easy
Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope have discovered in a single pass about a dozen otherwise invisible galaxies halfway across the Universe. The discovery, based on a technique that exploits a first-class instrument, represents a major breakthrough in the field of galaxy 'hunting'.
4 September 2007 - ESA
'Heart' of Herschel to be presented to media
By the end of 2007, the assembly of the ESA's Herschel far-infrared space observatory - the latest mission to study the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies - will be completed. ESA and Astrium are jointly inviting the media to a press conference in Friedrichshafen, Germany, on 19 September 2007, to hear about this revolutionary spacecraft, its scientific objectives, and to view the very heart of its hardware.
3 September 2007 - ESO
Stellar Firework in a Whirlwind
Stars do not like to be alone. Indeed, most stars are members of a binary system, in which two stars circle around each other in an apparently never-ending cosmic ballet. But sometimes, things can go wrong. When the dancing stars are too close to each other, one of them can start devouring its partner. If the vampire star is a white dwarf - a burned-out star that was once like our Sun - this greed can lead to a cosmic catastrophe: the white dwarf explodes as a Type Ia supernova.
3 September 2007 - ESO
Professor Tim de Zeeuw Takes Up Duty as New ESO Director General
On 1 September, Tim de Zeeuw became the new ESO Director General, succeeding Catherine Cesarsky. In his first day in office, he kindly agreed to answer a few questions.