ARTICLES
Stimulus Material for depth studies, courtesy of Macquarie University (continued)
Asteroid hit and run
The asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter preserves the processes of planetary formation, frozen in time. Vesta,
the second largest object in the belt, provides an outstanding opportunity for scientists to investigate the origin
and formation of planets.
In a paper just published in the journal Nature Geoscience, Dr. Yi-Jen Lai of the Macquarie University Planetary
Research Centre and Macquarie GeoAnalytical, together with colleagues, proposes a new evolutionary history for
Vesta, which involves a giant impact. Read more here.
Syllabus Links: Stage 4 Earth and Space
Starburst shows the way home
Macquarie University researcher Stuart Ryder is part of an international team of astronomers who have made a
long-awaited breakthrough, pinpointing the exact origin of a powerful transient phenomenon, known as a fast
radio burst, or FRB.
Astronomers first identified FRBs in 2007, and since then 85 have been detected. Now, thanks to Dr Ryder and his
colleagues, their exact nature has become a little clearer. Read more here.
Syllabus Links: Stage 4 Earth and Space
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 68 NO 4