Astronomers have detected gamma rays from a nova, dispelling the idea that these explosions are not powerful enough to produce high-energy radiation. The newly detected explosion is equivalent to about 1,000 times the energy of the sun.
Researchers analyzed nearly 20 terabytes of data to identify major oil and gas sedimentary basins, mineral-rich regions, and hydrologic resources for agriculture. The findings could prove invaluable to Afghanistan's economic redevelopment and contribute to suppressing terrorist activity.
Researchers have developed a generic means for depositing many nanocomposites on multiple surfaces with nanoscale precision using atomic force microscopy probes. The technique simplifies nanocomposite deposition and enables the direct writing of highly complex structures, including rows of nanoparticles less than 10 nm wide.
The Sea Node system successfully completed the Trident Warrior 2009 exercise, showcasing its ability to improve situational awareness and reduce operator workload. The system provides collaborative applications for geo-locating coastal radars and enhances existing AN/SSX-1 Electronic Support systems.
The experiment aims to understand the durability of advanced materials and electronics when exposed to vacuum, solar radiation, atomic oxygen, and extreme temperatures. The results will provide insights into increasing the performance and useful life of next-generation satellites and launch systems.
The TacSat-4 spacecraft has completed environmental and performance testing, awaiting launch. The mission provides near global coverage of Ultra High Frequency (UHF) channels for communications, data exfiltration, and Blue Force Tracking.
The Naval Research Laboratory's Ion Tiger has achieved a 26-hour flight duration, exceeding its previous record of 23 hours and 17 minutes. The fuel cell system provides reliable, quiet operation and extremely high efficiency, paving the way for tactical flights and extended flight times.
Navy scientists have successfully tested high expansion foam as a fire suppression system, finding it effective in fighting fires in obstructed spaces. The Navy is also developing alternative firefighting agents, including propelled extinguishing agent technology (PEAT), to replace halon systems and provide weight-saving options for fu...
The Ion Tiger fuel cell unmanned air vehicle has achieved an unprecedented 23-hour flight duration, making it a significant milestone in electric UAV technology. The aircraft's 550-Watt fuel cell system provides 7 times the energy of equivalent batteries, enabling long-endurance missions with reduced noise and signature.
The NRL's Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence has won two top awards at the IJCAI conference for its videos on transfer learning and gesture recognition. The winning videos showcase the lab's cutting-edge research in AI and robotics, with applications to naval missions.
The NRL's XFC UAS has successfully demonstrated a flight endurance milestone of over six hours, paving the way for long-endurance Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The fuel cell-powered system greatly extends payload capacity and endurance compared to traditional battery-powered UAS.
The NRL's Large Area Telescope has made significant discoveries about cosmic rays and high-energy particles. The telescope detected an excess of electrons striking its surface, leading scientists to suggest that a nearby pulsar could be the source sending these particles towards Earth.
Scientists have developed non-blinking semiconductor nanocrystals, overcoming a long-standing challenge in their applications. The discovery enables the use of nanocrystals in devices like low-threshold lasers and solar cells, as well as biological imaging and tracking.
The Herschel Space Observatory, launched by the European Space Agency, hosts a 3.5 meter diameter telescope and observes conditions in galaxy mergers and planetary system formation. NRL scientists will study these phenomena using the observatory's instruments.
The NRL's SoloHI instrument will provide revolutionary measurements to pinpoint solar storms, offering a pristine view of the solar wind plasma. The Solar Orbiter mission aims to understand how the sun varies and its impact on planetary systems.
The Naval Research Laboratory has successfully demonstrated a hydrogen-powered fuel cell design for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which can travel farther and carry heavier payloads than earlier battery-powered designs. The Ion Tiger UAV achieves stealthy characteristics, reducing noise, low heat signature, and zero emissions.
NRL researchers have developed a forceful new method to detect proteins with unparalleled sensitivity and simplicity. The approach can identify as few as 35 attomolar concentrations in under 10 minutes, making it ideal for medical diagnostics, food testing, and national security.
Researchers at NRL propose a new paradigm for high-temperature superconductivity in iron-based materials, where string magnetism plays a crucial role. Theoretical models suggest that Fe ions are always magnetic but the observable moment is strongly reduced due to antiferromagnetic domains.
NRL researchers join a team to develop a telescope on the Moon for studying an era of the young Universe, during the first 500 million years after the Big Bang. The project aims to detect signals from hydrogen atoms in the Dark Ages, providing insights into the formation and evolution of the modern Universe.
Scientists at NRL's Materials Science and Technology Division successfully controlled the spin population of individual quantum shell states in self-assembled InAs quantum dots. This breakthrough enables new spintronics applications, as the electron's spin is used to store and process information.
The NRL's Rampant Lion II survey built on the success of Rampant Lion I, completing a geophysical and remote sensing survey of Afghanistan. The upgraded sensor suite collected nearly 30 Tbytes of raw data, advancing airborne remote sensing techniques and supporting the warfighter and economic infrastructure development.
The NRL's P-3 aircraft and Air Force Reserve WC-130J conducted meteorological research on tropical cyclones in the Western Pacific from August to September. The project aims to increase predictability of tropical cyclones and gather data to validate satellite-based techniques for intensity estimation.
Researchers used computer modeling and experimentation to investigate how cracks grow at low speeds in silicon, finding rearrangements of atoms associated with ductile materials can occur near the crack tip. This instability can lead to macroscopic changes in the path of the crack, leaving behind ridges on the crack surface.
SHIMMER successfully observed Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs) during the northern season of 2008, measuring diurnal variation with a single peak per day. The observation is unique among satellites that have studied PMCs and has important implications for inferring long-term trends from historical space-based observations.
A team of scientists has discovered a new population of colliding galaxy clusters that were previously undetected at shorter wavelengths. The discovery confirms theoretical predictions about particle acceleration through turbulent waves generated by violent collisions.
The Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) and Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System (RAIDS) are integrated for launch on the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle in September 2009. The payload will provide characterization of the coastal environment and global remote sensing of the Earth's thermosphere and ionosphere.
The Naval Research Laboratory will design a lunar telescope, the Dark Ages Lunar Interferometer (DALI), to study the last unexplored epoch in the Universe's history. The telescope aims to detect signals from hydrogen atoms in the Dark Ages, which can provide insights into the first stars, galaxies, and modern Universe.
Researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory have successfully produced carbon nanotubes in high yields using commercially available aromatic containing resins. The method enables the production of MWNTs in moldable solid forms, films, and fibers with varying amounts of nanotubes and amorphous carbon.
The SECCHI team has obtained images of large waves of solar material sweeping past Earth, confirming the existence of previously known point measurements. The waves are associated with high-density regions that rotate with the Sun and are believed to form as high-speed wind from coronal holes runs into low-speed wind.
Scientists at NRL generate and detect a pure spin current in silicon, allowing control over the spin orientation. This enables the development of devices that rely on electron spin rather than charge, promising higher performance with reduced power consumption.
Researchers at NRL and universities developed a new optical technique to control electron spins in quantum dot ensembles, enabling coherent manipulation of all spin frequencies. This breakthrough aims to create novel quantum computing devices using solid-state technology.
Scientists at NRL capture first images of a comet colliding with a solar hurricane, revealing the detachment of the comet's tail due to coronal mass ejection. The event is triggered by magnetic reconnection, releasing energy and detaching the plasma tail.
Researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have successfully injected spin-polarized electrons from a ferromagnetic metal contact into silicon, producing a large electron spin polarization. This achievement is crucial for developing devices that rely on electron spin rather than electron charge, known as semiconductor spintronics.
Researchers directly derived air-sea momentum exchange from ocean current observations under Hurricane Ivan, confirming the trend that momentum transfer decreases at high wind speeds. The findings improve storm surge modeling and have significant implications for ocean circulation and numerical model accuracy.
SHIMMER is the first satellite-based instrument using spatial heterodyne spectroscopy to image the Earth's atmosphere and track altitude profiles of the hydroxyl radical. CITRIS will detect scintillation and refraction in the ionosphere, providing global maps of ionospheric densities and irregularities to improve navigation systems.
Researchers discovered that magnetotaxis, a phenomenon where bacteria align like tiny swimming compass needles, helps them detect lower oxygen concentrations more efficiently. This subtle advantage allows the bacteria to thrive in environments with limited oxygen, making their magnetic properties beneficial in nature.
Researchers precisely measured the mass of a millisecond pulsar, PSR J1909-3744, using precise pulse arrival time measurements and disentangled the Shapiro delay effect from Roemer delay. The result reveals the white dwarf companion's mass to be 1.44 times that of the sun with an uncertainty of 0.02 solar masses.
Scientists discover an unusual X-ray tunnel large enough to fit the entire Milky Way galaxy inside a galaxy cluster. The tunnel is filled with old particles likely originating from past black hole outbursts, shedding light on the complex battle between the inward flow of hot gas and outward radio jets.
Researchers detected 'milky seas' in the northwest Indian Ocean using satellite data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. The glowing waters were found to last at least three nights and span an area roughly the size of Connecticut, with boundaries matching surface ship reports.
During NRL's Slope to Shelf Energetics and Exchange Dynamics field experiment, six current profiler moorings deployed on the continental shelf directly measured large waves up to 27.7 meters high during Hurricane Ivan. The measurements provide valuable data for assessing potential impacts of energetic storm waves on offshore structures.
Researchers discover 'doping' mechanism in semiconductor nanocrystals, enabling controlled incorporation of impurities. The findings overturn a common belief that nanocrystals are intrinsically difficult to dope due to self-purification.
A NASA-led NRL study found that space shuttle exhaust can form Antarctic polar mesospheric clouds, contributing to a remarkable 10-20% of clouds observed during one summer season. The discovery challenges the interpretation of PMC trends in terms of global climate change.
Researchers detected five powerful bursts from the Galactic center using the VLA radio telescope, with each burst lasting about 10 minutes and occurring every 77 minutes. The source's coherent emission properties suggest it could be an unknown mode of activity or a new class of objects.
Scientists found that space shuttle exhaust can transport water vapor to the Arctic mesosphere, forming noctilucent clouds. The study used data from a launch vehicle instrument and confirmed the plume trajectory with ground-based observations.