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Two New Space Discoveries Have Rocked the Science World — Each Will Be a Game Changer

The news: Two hot discoveries are rocking the way astronomers, physicists, and space scientists view the universe — and they're truly something.

The first is intense: Scientist John Bradley from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California took a microscopic look at the interplanetary dust particles lurking at the edge of Earth's stratosphere. He found minuscule bits of water hidden in the <25 micrometre flakes of dust, which are already half the width of a single human hair. New Scientist explains:

"The dust is mostly made of silicates, which contains oxygen. As it travels through space, it encounters the solar wind. This stream of charged particles including high-energy hydrogen ions is ejected from the sun's atmosphere. When the two collide, hydrogen and oxygen combine to make water."

Scientists have also previously found carbon and organic compounds in star dust.

According to researcher Hope Ishii, who was involved in the study: "The implications are potentially huge. It is a particularly thrilling possibility that this influx of dust on the surfaces of solar system bodies has acted as a continuous rainfall of little reaction vessels containing both the water and organics needed for the eventual origin of life."

The same dust is expected to be found across other solar systems as well.

In other words, the ingredients for life are likely spread throughout the universe, making it that much more possible humanity is not alone.

And in another stunning discovery: cosmologists from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg might have just viewed dark matter for the first time, as pictured above.

As BBC News explains:

"The cosmic web suggested by the standard model is mainly made up of mysterious 'dark matter.' Invisible in itself, dark matter still exerts gravitational forces on visible light and ordinary matter nearby.

"...  Cosmology theory predicts that galaxies are embedded in a cosmic web of "stuff", most of which is dark matter. Astronomers obtained the first direct images of a part of this network, by exploiting the fact that a luminous object called a quasar can act as a natural "cosmic flashlight."

Why is this so important? Their research adds significant credence to the standard model of cosmology, which predicts that as the universe expands and grows, it forms clusters and nodes under the influence of gravity, like a gigantic universe-spanning web. Invisible dark matter still forces gravitational influence on visible light and normal matter nearby.

According to the scientists, glowing hydrogen lit up by the quasar being studied traced out an "underlying filament" of dark matter attracted to it by gravity.

"We now have very precise measurements of the amount of ordinary matter and dark matter in the Universe," said Prof. Alexandre Refregier of the ETH Zurich, who did not contribute to the study.

"We can only observe a fraction of the ordinary matter, so the question is what form the remainder takes. These results may imply that a lot of it is in the form detected here."

Hell yeah, Science. Illuminating the universe since 1500 B.C.

If you were ever worried that you won't live to see the really cool stuff science discovers, rest easy. It's happening around you every day.

It’s a truism that the ocean depths will remain Earth’s last great wilderness, and judging by the recent find of a new species of 'skeleton shrimp' there’s still a lot of eye-popping discoveries yet to be made.

Named Liropus minusculus due to their small size, these tiny crustaceans (above) were identified by a research team from the University of Seville and were found living in a reef cave offshore from California’s Catalina Island. The female of the species is on the left and the male on the right, with their descriptions first published 8 October in the journal Zootaxa.

They belong to a family of animals known as Caprellidae, and although the creatures are most commonly identified as ‘ghost shrimps’ or ‘skeleton shrimps’ (a moniker given in recognition of the tiny crustaceans slender, translucent bodies) they are not in fact shrimps, but a type of crustacean known as amphipods.

José Manuel Guerra-García, the lead author of the paper describing Liropus minusculus, first realized that the 'shrimp' constituted an undiscovered species after seeing specimens in a museum in 2010. The find is remarkable as it constitutes the first example of the Liropus genus found in the northeast Pacific Ocean.

Although their claws look fearsome (technically these are gnathopods, described by the Encyclopedia Brittanica as claws “used to grasp females during copulation”) these are tiny creatures just a couple of millimetres in length. Guerra-García has suggested that L. minusculus might in fact be the smallest example of its genus.

Like the similarly proportioned praying mantis, many species of Caprellidae are patient predators, lying in wait for long periods of time before snatching and eating creatures even smaller than themselves.

Their angular bodies and pale colouring also help, allowing them to blend in among the seaweed and vegetation on the sea floor. Although they are occasionally found in the ocean’s deeper climes their preferred habitat is the intertidal and subtidal zone.

Should the U.S. launch a Mideast attack, the Islamist Hezbollah has threatened, its “23,000 … martyrdom-seeking forces” are prepared to fight back by attacking Saudi Arabia and western oil interests in the region.

Sheikh Wathiq al-Battat, the secretary-general of the Shi’ite Hezbollah in Iraq, has warned that his Jaysh al-Mukhtar army will target oil installations and ports in predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia if the U.S. attacks Syria or, by implication, should there be an attack on Iran, as U.S. President Barack Obama has threatened to do.

Al-Battat, whose al-Mukhtar army is an offshoot of the Lebanese Hezbollah, said that he would target Saudi Arabia’s oil installations in the Saudi Arabia’s Shi’a-controlled eastern province and at selected ports, including the ports of Abqaiq, Juaymah and Ras Tanura, one of the largest in the world, according to sources.

The attacks in Saudi Arabia also would include oil and natural gas pipelines, power lines and communication towers.

The attacks, al-Battat said, would be aimed at harming the West’s economy by stopping the flow of crude oil to western countries.

“We will cut the West’s economic artery in Saudi Arabia by attacking Saudi ports and oil installations,” al-Battat told the Iranian news agency, Farsnews.

He also said that Syria will be the beginning of the end of Saudi Arabia, since the Saudi monarchy is “the main party which has encouraged and masterminded war plans against Syria.”

In that regard, al-Battat pointed to Saudi support for Islamist militant foreign fighters from various Central Asian, Middle East and North African countries, ostensibly under the direction of the former Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan.

Al-Battat’s warning also comes following a reported secret meeting that took place in early August between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Bandar in Moscow.

At the meeting, which the Russian Embassy in Washington wouldn’t deny to WND had occurred, even though it was supposed to be secret, Bandar said he controlled the switch of the foreign fighters not only Syria, but also the Islamist militants fighting in predominantly Muslim provinces in southern Russia.

The Saudi prince also said that he could guarantee the protection of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, against attacks from the Islamist militants.

Sochi is located near the provinces that the Islamist militants want to separate from Russia and turn into a Caucasus Emirates.

Bandar reportedly admitted that the North Caucasus militants had moved into Syria in cooperation with the Saudis.

“We use them in the face of the Syrian regime, and we can guarantee that they won’t have any role or influence in the political future of Syria,” Bandar told Putin.

“We know that you have been supporting these terrorist Chechen groups for more than a decade,” an irate Putin told Bandar.

If Putin would switch his support for Syria and Iran, Bandar promised Putin a major oil deal including the prospect that Russia and Saudi Arabia basically would control world oil pricing.

Putin reportedly was livid over the meeting, and subsequent reports, although unconfirmed, said that if the U.S. attacked Syria, Russia would attack Saudi Arabia.

Al-Battat’s warning comes as the U.S. and Russia are in the midst of negotiations to get Syria to turn over its chemical weapons to international inspection.

At the same time, the Obama administration said the military option remains on the table in using U.S. military force to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons capability.

Critics of the administration have stated that the lack of military action now will only embolden other countries with chemical and biological weapons to use them without fear of military reprisal.

Critics also believe it will signal to Iran that there will be no consequence beyond sanctions over its continued nuclear development program.

The U.S., Israel and other western countries believe Tehran’s nuclear enrichment program is meant to develop nuclear weapons, although the Iranians have vehemently denied the charge.

As a consequence, Obama on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” said that the U.S. still is prepared to act militarily to halt Iran’s nuclear program. This latest threat comes despite efforts to pursue a diplomatic solution over Syria instead of a military strike over its alleged use of chemical weapons on Aug. 21 that killed a reported 1,429 Syrians, including some 400 children, by one count.

The foreign-backed Syrian opposition forces accused the Syrian government of launching that chemical attack. Damascus, however, has vehemently denied the accusation, saying the attack was carried out by the militants inside their controlled area on the outskirts of Damascus as a false flag operation – an attack designed to push the U.S. and the West to take military action.

“I think what the Iranians understand is that the nuclear issue is a far larger issue for us than the chemical weapons issue, that the threat against Israel that a nuclear Iran poses is much closer to our core interests,” Obama said. “My suspicion is that the Iranians recognize they shouldn’t draw a lesson that we haven’t struck Syria to think we won’t strike Iran.”

If the U.S. were to launch a military strike against Syria or, by implication, Iran, al-Battat said that he would unleash his group of “23,000 fully trained and equipped martyrdom-seeking forces, who can blow up the U.S. interests in Iraq and the Persian Gulf at any time if the U.S. commits such a stupid act.”

Al-Battat has close links to Iran and claims to be “ideologically bound to the authority of the fiqh,” or a backer of the Iranian regime, which is guided by the Qur’an and Shari’ah law.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/political-news/osborne-in-warning-over-snp-plans-for-oil-fund.22056247

ALEX Salmond's hope of ­establishing a Norwegian-style oil fund in an independent Scotland would result in £12.5 billion of spending cuts or tax rises, George Osborne has warned.

The Chancellor, launching the Treasury's fifth analysis paper on independence, also rubbished the First Minister's assertion that there was £1.5 trillion worth of revenues still in the North Sea, noting how the Office for National Statistics valued it at £120bn.

Speaking to the Offshore Europe oil and gas conference in Aberdeen, the Chancellor argued Britain's integrated economic union worked well for Scotland.

The SNP hit back, saying the UK Government's mismanagement of the oil and gas industry showed it could not be trusted.

John Swinney, the Scottish Finance Secretary, claimed the Treasury paper actually showed "there is no doubt Scotland can not only afford to be an independent country but has the means to thrive" after independence.

Stressing how oil and gas ­revenues were the most volatile that existed, Mr Osborne in his speech warned the SNP on overstating its case for independence on black gold.

He said: "To suggest that ­spending can be increased, tax bills cut, an oil fund established, household energy bills kept down and investment in renewables increased simply doesn't add up."

The analysis paper points out that, if oil revenues are excluded, then public spending in Scotland since the start of devolution in 1999 was around 10% higher, £1200 per person, than the UK average.

Had Scotland received its ­population share of spending over this period, the paper states, then it would have received £74bn less, or £6bn a year.

But it then notes that if oil ­revenues are included, Scotland's contribution to UK tax revenues increases substantially, with Scotland's fiscal balance being "very similar" to that of the UK as a whole and, while Scottish spending would still be 10% higher, its revenues to the Exchequer would be 10% higher too.

The paper's central attack is on creating a Norwegian-style oil fund in an independent Scotland, which the SNP has long championed. The Scottish Government has said it plans to establish one "when fiscal conditions allow".

Since 1990, Norway has invested profits from its oil industry into coffers for the nation's future when its budget has been in surplus. It contains £475bn - 40% bigger than the value of the Norwegian economy - making it the world's largest sovereign wealth fund.

The Treasury paper stresses how setting one up post-independence might not be straightforward, noting how production was due to decline and projected returns might be over-optimistic.

The analysis points out if an independent Scotland wanted to set up a Norwegian-style oil fund, then in 2016/17 it would need to find £8.4bn to balance its books, implying 13% spending cuts or 18% tax rises.

If Scotland received its geographic share of oil revenues on independence, £4.1bn, putting it into the new fund, then this would mean the fiscal consolidation would rise to £12.5bn with spending cuts of 19% or tax rises of 27%.