Science on the Ground Gives Clues to Planetary Formation

Astronomy is a science that is always associated with the sky, and rightly so.  But since the beginning of modern science there have been discoveries made on Earth that teach us about the formation and evolution of the Universe.  As telescopes become more powerful and allow us to look deeper into space, the technology to simulate outer-space conditions here on Earth has grown significantly.  In Albuquerque, New Mexico, a powerful tool called the Z machine generates quick high-energy pulses of electricity, which can be used to generate X-rays and Gamma rays to be used in experiments. Outside of astronomy, the...