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The Sun Oracle deal is dragging on with no end in sight. Oracle is sticking to its guns, while the EU is not letting go of its objections. The software giant has now asked EU regulators for a hearing set for December 10 to argue its case for buying Sun, according to Reuters citing people close to the matter. This co... |
26 November 2009
05:51 GMT |
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For many years, scientists have observed elusive formations on the surface of the Sun, but have attributed them to being mere optical illusions, caused by the constant motion of the star's atmosphere. Just recently, the twin STEREO spacecraft managed to demonstrate that this was, in fact, not the case, and that ... |
26 November 2009
03:01 GMT |
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In spite of being right under our noses, the Sun is still very little understood. While its physical and chemical traits have been established some time ago, there is still confusion about the underlying mechanisms that trigger the formation of events such as solar storms. Predicting them is of vital importance for o... |
24 November 2009
11:22 GMT |
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Last month, a NASA spacecraft and its accompanying spent rocket stage slammed into the surface of the Moon's south pole, in the Cabeus crater. A few weeks later, as everyone was teeming with anticipation, the much-awaited announcement finally came – water existed on the Earth's satellite. Spectrograph... |
20 November 2009
05:27 GMT |
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Researchers proposed a long time ago that atmospheric pressure might be one of the key factors determining the habitability of Earth-like planets. Over geological timescales, of millions to billions of years, variations in this pressure may be what determines a planet's ability to foster primitive life. A new st... |
17 November 2009
03:22 GMT |
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The Sun is notorious for its 11-year cycle, but also for the fact that it has sunspots on its surface that allow astronomers to analyze its “health” and, more importantly, predict space weather. But in years such as this one, when the solar minimum is in full effect, and very few sunspots are available, e... |
12 November 2009
05:16 GMT |
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Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, in Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany, working together with investigators from Spain and the United States, have recently released the early results of a new study on the Sun. Gathered by the SUNRISE balloon-borne telescope, the new images of the star's ... |
12 November 2009
04:44 GMT |
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Our Sun is not by far the only star out there that is capable of hosting planetary systems around their surface. There are at least a couple of hundred stars out there that have exoplanets around them. At least 400 of them have been identified until now, and chances are that thousands more exist. But astronomers have... |
12 November 2009
02:40 GMT |
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In spite of the fact that our Sun allowed for, well, us to exist, astronomers have only recently come to the conclusion that Sun-like stars must be what we should be analyzing, when looking for alien life on other planets. One of the reasons why stars such as our own weren't considered the norm is the fact that ... |
5 November 2009
09:40 GMT |
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Gamma-ray bursts (GRB) are among the most peculiar phenomena in the Universe. Their sources are not very well known, although some evidence exists of possible origins. Since they were first discovered, some 50 years ago, they have sparked excitement in the scientific community, and have made astronomers believe that ... |
4 November 2009
21:51 GMT |
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The tension between the EU and Oracle may be mounting, as the Competition Commission is getting ready to release a formal statement of objection to the deal. This is usually the first step towards blocking a deal, but it serves more as a warning rather than a real threat. Oracle has refused to make any concession reg... |
4 November 2009
08:57 GMT |
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Using scientific measurements collected by the Hinode satellite, experts at the University College London (UCL), in the United Kingdom, have recently determined that the main triggers for solar winds in our Sun must be the very strong magnetic fields. While the winds have been known as a phenomenon for a long time, t... |
3 November 2009
16:51 GMT |
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Another programming juggernaut has reached its end of service life (EOSL), marking the end of an era when it comes to Java programming and Sun's rise to success. Built as a premier platform for rapidly developing and deploying secure, portable applications, Java 5 or J2SE 5.0 has been for a long time at the pinn... |
3 November 2009
09:59 GMT |
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At first glance, it may be hard to believe that our Sun goes through a cycle of minimum and maximums every 11 years. In any day of the year, looking at the star in the skies reveals the same ball of light, with no discernible variations in its brightness. However, astrophysicists know that we are not able to observe ... |
28 October 2009
06:42 GMT |
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The NASA MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) probe has just recently performed its third flyby of Mercury, and it is currently heading on a course that will allow it to be captured in the planet's orbit in early 2011. As it passed close to the planet after one of its third ap... |
27 October 2009
19:31 GMT |
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The huge ball of fire that gives us our daily heat and allows for life to form on the planet is the last place in the solar system where someone would expect to find rain, yet a form of it does indeed occur. Now, astronomers believe that this may help explain why the temperature in the corona, the outer atmospheric l... |
22 October 2009
20:41 GMT |
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Sun is going from bad to worse as it waits for the acquisition go-ahead from the European Union's competition regulators. The company has been losing customers and the potential revenue for months now and it's only getting worse, leading to it having to lay off some 3,000 employees, roughly 10 percent of it... |
21 October 2009
07:09 GMT |
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Oracle's Sun acquisition is raising even more concerns, this time about the future of MySQL, the open-source database system. As the EC investigation of the proposed acquisition lingers, MySQL is bleeding customers while its creator is asking Oracle to sell off the unit to a third party with no conflicting inter... |
20 October 2009
09:13 GMT |
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Keeping in touch with landers, rovers and orbiters on the Red Planet is not as easy as it may seem. From time to time, the connection goes down for weeks, as the Sun moves in between the two planets, making any sort of radio communications impossible. When this is not the case, the star can still scramble or alter th... |
17 October 2009
06:11 GMT |
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Oracle's rhetoric about its commitment to Sun's hardware business just went up a couple of notches as CEO Larry Ellison went all guns blazing against IBM at this year's Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco. The timing of this new-found enthusiasm for hardware may be questionable but the software giant is ... |
12 October 2009
05:43 GMT |
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For the first time in more than a year, the Sun's face is again spotted. Two new features have been identified on its surface, and astronomers say that this may be an indicator of the fact that the solar cycle is intensifying. Though it should theoretically be near the peak of the current cycle, the star has bee... |
25 September 2009
08:32 GMT |
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Every year, hoards of hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies migrate from Canada to Mexico, across the continental US, in a 4,000-mile journey led entirely by the Sun. Scientists have wondered for a long time how come the small insects can navigate sophisticatedly enough to follow the path of the star non-stop, ... |
25 September 2009
05:53 GMT |
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It's widely known that the Sun functions on an 11-year cycle, varying periods of intense activity and relative stagnation. The human eye is not attuned to observing the differences – when looking at the noon sky, the star looks the same way it always has. We see visible light fairly proficient, but cannot ... |
23 September 2009
06:53 GMT |
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Oracle made a $7.4 billion bid to buy Sun Microsystems in spring but the deal hasn't exactly gone smoothly since. It managed to get Sun's shareholders’ approval and pass the US' DOJ inquiry but it is still undergoing an antitrust investigation in the EU, which is expected to drag on until next ye... |
22 September 2009
10:14 GMT |
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Established astronomical knowledge had it until recently that the number of sunspots on the surface of the Sun was a clear indicator of the intensity of solar winds, and therefore of the dangers that were in store for the Earth. Solar winds are known to be extremely disruptive towards our electrical systems. They can... |
21 September 2009
10:00 GMT |
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According to a new report, released by a collaboration of scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and the University of Michigan, it may be that sunspot activities are not enough to gage the intensity of solar actions, despite already-established knowledge. As an argument to prove their p... |
17 September 2009
10:45 GMT |
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In October 2007, as sky-watchers tracked the comet 17P/Holmes, they noticed that the celestial body increased considerably in brightness, by about a million times within a single day. This unusual occurrence prompted astronomers to start monitoring the body. Researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles ... |
16 September 2009
02:33 GMT |
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Experts at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) have recently uncovered a previously unknown mode of energy transfer in the planet's upper atmosphere, between solar winds and the Earth's magnetosphere shield. According to the team, the find may have vast implications in the field of designing ... |
11 September 2009
18:41 GMT |
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Oracle is facing three more months of scrutiny from European regulators over its intent to buy software and hardware manufacturer Sun Micrsystems. But, while the approval for the deal lingers, Sun hardware sales tank as customers are unsure what Oracle has planned for the division, with many fearing it will be sold o... |
11 September 2009
05:37 GMT |
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The Sun – Oracle merger makes another victim. One of Sun's veterans, Dean Nelson, has left his job with Sun to join eBay as the senior director of global data center strategy, architecture, and operations, citing job “uncertainty.” This move comes after eBay's Data Center Chief Operator, O... |
9 September 2009
03:00 GMT |
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Oracle's Sun acquisition, believed to be a mostly done deal, has hit a snag most analysts didn't expect. After getting the approval of Sun's shareholders and passing the scrutiny of the US Department of Justice, the deal may be delayed several months, as the European Union's Competition Commission... |
3 September 2009
08:41 GMT |
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Scientists from the University of Missouri have recently announced that they've created the most precise measurements to date of the curvature of space caused by the Sun's gravity in our solar system. The research was conducted using the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Very Long Baseline Array (VLB... |
2 September 2009
05:45 GMT |
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As the Oracle acquisition deal draws closer to completion, Sun Microsystems posts one of its worst quarters yet with a net loss of $147 million, or 20 cents per share, an appalling result after last year's $88 million in profits coming in at 11 cents per share. Despite the very poor results, they could have been... |
31 August 2009
11:32 GMT |
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Astronomers have known for centuries that the Sun operates in 11-year cycles, periods of intense or less intense activity, in which variable amounts of radiations, solar flares and sunspots are produced. Now, physicists also know that these variations only change the amount of energy that our planet receives by as li... |
28 August 2009
02:32 GMT |
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British researchers have recently announced the creation of a new method of putting a time line on the most significant events that took place within our Solar System, relying on measuring concentrations of aluminum isotopes found in meteorites, comets, and other such bodies. In a new paper, published in the respecte... |
25 August 2009
04:33 GMT |
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Presumably, we all know by now very well that we must use sunscreen whenever we go out in the summer, both because sun damage is why our skin looks older and because it helps reduce the risk of developing skin cancer. However, there are other ways to stay protected as well, other than slathering sunscreen on our body... |
24 August 2009
15:21 GMT |
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The Oracle-Sun deal made another big step toward being finalized after the US Department of Justice has announced it is approving the deal and that all of the anti-trust concerns have been settled. Oracle announced its intentions to buy Sun Microsystems several months ago for $7.4 billion. The deal has passed a few h... |
21 August 2009
04:01 GMT |
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In our own solar system, assessing the differences between planets and stars is a fairly easy procedure. We look at the Sun, and then at Jupiter or Saturn (the largest planets), and the difference is immediately obvious. But things are not as simple in the Universe. Astronomers have discovered over the years exoplane... |
17 August 2009
21:01 GMT |
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Astronomers and planetary scientists have for a long time known that various types of stars are very important in determining a planet or moon's chances of ever harboring life. The age of the star is also an immensely-important factor, mostly because young stars generate massive amounts of harmful radiations, wh... |
11 August 2009
09:16 GMT |
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Oracle is moving ahead with its acquisition of IT company Sun Microsystems but it may hit a few snags along the way. Rumors have popped up that the EU is concerned about anti-trust issues concerning the merger and is investigating if the deal could drive up prices in the market and limit competition. The Wall Stree... |
8 August 2009
06:24 GMT |
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The fact that the Sun will not last forever is now clear to the entire scientific community, and indeed most of the world. We know that it appeared about 4.57 billion years ago, and that, in about five billion years or so it will begin to swell into a red giant. This will happen because it doesn't have enough ma... |
3 August 2009
11:06 GMT |
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According to a new scientific study by experts at the Cardiff University, it may be that comets contain vast oceans of liquid water in their cores in the first million years of their existence. Additionally, the watery environment and the vast amounts of organic material already discovered in such a formation that cr... |
1 August 2009
05:01 GMT |
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A picture of the International Space Station (ISS) and the docked space shuttle Endeavor passing in front of the Sun was recently made available by photographer Thierry Legault, Wired reports. Known for his amazing skills at surprising moments such as this one, the artist uses special solar filters that allow him to ... |
28 July 2009
03:39 GMT |
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In a new research paper, appearing in the latest issue of the journal Meteoritic & Planetary Science, a team of experts from the Monash University, led by Dr. Maria Lugaro, proposes a new explanation for why the chemical composition of the early solar system looks the way it does in geological records. The scientists... |
20 July 2009
20:01 GMT |
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Auroras are, arguably, some of the most beautiful manifestations that can be seen on the night sky, if you live at high latitudes, near the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. Caused by high-energy particles slamming into the planet's magnetosphere, these phenomena originate on the surface of the Sun, where emissions ... |
20 July 2009
02:51 GMT |
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Everyone's feeling the economic downturn and, while some have fared better than others, even the big companies are turning to new ways of generating more revenue. Oracle, one of the leading database and enterprise software manufacturers in the world, has increased the price of some of its products by a full 40 p... |
18 July 2009
07:22 GMT |
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Almost three months since it was first announced, Sun Microsystems shareholders approved the deal with Oracle. In April Oracle announced it would acquire the tech company for about $7.4 billion, buying common stock at $9.50 per share, leading to much debate about the future of some of Sun's products and technolo... |
17 July 2009
07:26 GMT |
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Ever since the early stages of human life on Earth, people have wanted to know more about all the things near them. But the years have passed, and soon the Earth was not enough, so they began to push the limits and look for the skies, in search of other planets. This is how the space age began. Since then, some peopl... |
16 July 2009
12:11 GMT |
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Health experts never cease to warn sun-lovers of the many dangers inherent in too much exposure, even when protected by sun lotions and sunscreens. Tanning, both on the beach and with tanning beds, is the number one cause for developing skin cancer, we have been told so far. Not so much, says a new study, coming to s... |
13 July 2009
13:41 GMT |
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Over the past year, astronomers have been concerned with the decreased levels of activity recorded by our Sun, which, if past cycles are any indicator, should be teeming with activity at this time. Very few sunspots and solar flares appeared earlier this year, but the scientific community sighed in relief over the 4t... |
7 July 2009
02:23 GMT |
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