About Us
Founded in 1944, the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science develops philanthropic support for the Weizmann Institute in Israel, and advances its mission of science for the future of humanity.
https://weizmann-usa.org/blog/what-do-your-bones-wedding-bands-and-atomic-bombs-have-in-common/
Nov 13, 2017... Jets and Debris from a Neutron Star Collision. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab. This animation captures phenomena observed over the course of nine days following the neutron star merger known as GW170817. They include gravitational waves (pale arcs); a near-light-speed jet that produced gamma rays (magenta); expanding debris from a “kilonova” that produced ultraviolet (violet), optical, and infrared (blue-white to red) emissions; and, once the jet directed toward us expanded into our view from Earth, X-rays (blue).
https://weizmann-usa.org/blog/seeing-titan-a-most-earthlike-moon-in-a-new-light/
Aug 01, 2018...
Titan-ic accomplishment. It took scientists 13 years to create these six new images of Titan, which incorporate layers of data from various angles of approach and light. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ University of Nantes/University of Arizona
Last September 15, the Cassini-Huygens craft went obediently to its death, burning up in Saturn’s atmosphere. Its 20-year mission was more successful than scientists had hoped, and they will spend many years studying its data about the mysterious planet and its many, equally mysterious moons – such as Titan.
https://weizmann-usa.org/blog/meet-steve-the-purple-atmospheric-phenomenon/
Jul 06, 2018...
Hello, My Name Is Steve, a purple ribbon of hot ionized gas, manifests farther south than most auroras. Photo courtesy Vanexus Photography
The universe is big. While that’s a ridiculously oversized understatement, such vastness means that there’s much to see and learn – and scientists can’t be everywhere. Enter citizen scientists: knowledgeable amateurs who contribute to research by looking for new phenomena, species, etc.
https://weizmann-usa.org/blog/science-hope/
Jan 18, 2018...
Even if you feel that things might be a little bleak right now, the start of any new year is a time to be optimistic. And the best, most realistic place to look for hope is science.
After all, science is universal and unifying and knows no boundaries. In every corner of the world, scientists of every stripe are taking on today’s problems. Tomorrow’s, too. Here are just a few rays of sunshine that gave us hope:
May 22, 2008... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—Thursday, May 22, 2008—An ordinary observation with NASA's Swift research satellite recently led to the first real-time sighting of a star in the process of exploding. Astronomers have surveyed thousands of these supernova explosions in the past, but their observations have always begun some time after the main event is underway. The information gained from catching a supernova at the very onset is already being hailed as the "Rosetta Stone" of star explosion, and it is helping scientists to form a detailed picture of the processes involved.
Jun 19, 2019...
The planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Solar System, is seen in an undated artist's impression. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Twelve light years away from Earth is Teegarden’s Star, a star roughly twice as big and twice as old as our Sun.
Now, an international team of scientists, which included Israeli scientists from the Weizmann Institute, say that this red sun has two planets nearby which could possibly contain life. Claiming that both planets “are potentially habitable,” Dr. Ignasi Ribas from the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia told the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics that eventually we will see “if they are actually habitable and, perhaps, even inhabited,” National Geographic reported.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/a-day-in-the-life-of-saturn-revealed/
Mar 26, 2015...
Saturn. (photo credit:TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY)
Israeli scientists have solved the longtime puzzle of when the sun rises on the planet Saturn.
Planetary sciences experts at Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot published a paper on the matter in the prestigious journal Nature on Wednesday night.
To the layman, it would seem that the length of the day on a planet can be obtained from a clear and unmistakable physical measurement. But it turns out that for Saturn, the situation is different. Even today, in 2015, scientists lack the certain and final information on how long a day is.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/nasa-to-help-israeli-firm-launch-first-moon-mission/
Oct 03, 2018...
Opher Doron, general manager of Israel Aerospace Industries' space division, speaks beside the SpaceIL lunar module, in a special “clean room” where the space craft is being developed, during a press tour of their facility near Tel Aviv, Israel, July 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Ilan Ben Zion)
The Israel Space Agency said Wednesday that NASA had signed a deal with the SpaceIL group to help it launch a unmanned rocket at the moon in the coming months, in Israel’s first-ever moonshot.
Feb 05, 2017... An innovative protective suit against cosmic rays developed by Israeli startup StemRad is set to head for outer space. The Israel Space Agency and the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Space today signed an agreement with the German Aerospace Center for launching the Israeli company’s innovative suit as part of the next trial flight of NASA's Orion satellite. The company’s suit is designed for the first manned flight by Orion to Mars planned by NASA.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/searching-for-dark-matter/
Sep 23, 2014...
Dr. Ran Budnik
Dark matter is one of the most striking unsolved mysteries in physics today. Scientists have yet to detect it directly, but almost all measurements of the motion of galaxies, the evolution of the universe, and the behavior of matter in the known universe have led scientists to believe that there must be a tremendous amount of mass in the universe that is not made of conventional matter.
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