Kushner's 'impact team' mocked as 'Slim Suit Crowd' and a 'frat
Kushner, who is both a White House senior adviser and President Donald Trump's son-in-law, has reportedly assembled "dozens" of private sector go-getters to be dispersed through federal agencies in an effort to streamline public health response efforts.
His self-described "impact squad" has been mocked by FEMA veterans as the "Slim Suit Crowd," a reference to their fish-out-of-water vibe from those in the agency more accustomed to sporting khakis or maybe a windbreaker, according to The Times.
Former Navy Admiral Says UFO Analyses 'Inconclusive' | Military.com
SARASOTA -- America's former Chief of Naval Operations stated on Thursday that the unidentified flying objects that appeared to have outperformed Navy fighter pilots on videos recorded in 2004 and 2015 remain a mystery.
"I've seen the videos and, at least in my time, most of the assessments were inconclusive as to what it was," said retired Admiral Gary Roughead, following a speaking engagement in Sarasota. "But the whole issue of defense against autonomous vehicles is one that the department is taking pretty darned seriously."
A senior government official described the Kushner team's coronavirus response efforts as a "frat party" that desce… https://t.co/G2DBqjk4x9kylegriffin1 (from Manhattan, NY)Fri Apr 03 14:30:00 +0000 2020
I STAND WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP & JARED KUSHNER #JaredKushnerisanidiot is fake news He has helped President… https://t.co/Rxe20y1szIw_terrence (from United States)Fri Apr 03 22:30:15 +0000 2020
In middle of a pandemic, it's remarkable that the Trump team has time to alter language on a government Web site so… https://t.co/na9Lh7uatTgregpmiller (from Washington, D.C.)Fri Apr 03 17:54:43 +0000 2020
Hosted by Durham resident Toby Ball, the podcast begins on a September night in 1961 when the Hills encountered something they could not explain. It goes on to explore the psychology of skepticism and belief using the Hills’ experience as a case study.
Ball is a panelist on the true crime review podcast "Crime Writers On," and author of "The City Trilogy," a noir crime series. The concept of why some people are such strong believers in UFOs and aliens, while others remain steadfast skeptics, intrigued him.
I'm talking with Kentuckians about the issues that matter most to them in my new podcast, On Duty with Amy McGrath.… https://t.co/rv0DmtnRckAmyMcGrathKY (from Georgetown, KY)Fri Apr 03 18:25:42 +0000 2020
A new podcast, just in time for the weekend. In this episode, we check in with Neil Druckmann for a @Naughty_Dog u… https://t.co/wHof7b4BTEPlayStation (from California)Sat Apr 04 01:45:01 +0000 2020
The Conversation reports that an international team of researchers demonstrated that it is possible to produce hydrogen and oxygen from water using a semiconductor material and sunlight (or light from any star) in zero gravity. These findings, which are published in Nature Communications , are a step toward long-term space travel with storable, renewable energy.
While water may be a relatively heavy supply for space travel, it’s a reasonable option because it provides a two-for-one, with hydrogen for fuel and oxygen for astronauts to breathe. Plus, it can be recycled, making sustainable space travel possible. As a bonus, launching a space vehicle loaded with water is safer than the potentially explosive alternative of rocket fuel and oxygen.
How NASA is preparing to launch humans to space as coronavirus pandemic worsens - The Verge
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen in the US, NASA is still moving forward with many of its upcoming missions, including some launches that will send humans to the International Space Station in the near future. As of now, NASA does not foresee any changes being made to these missions, and there are already procedures in place to guarantee astronauts do not bring any illnesses with them into space.
NASA has its own internal "response framework" for how it plans to deal with the pandemic . It lists four different stages for the agency, which each detail the amount of people who will work from home, the level of access to NASA facilities, and how much travel will be allowed. Right now, two NASA centers — Ames Research Center and Marshall Space Flight Center — are on Stage 3, which makes telework mandatory and only allows "mission-essential" personnel on site at facilities.
Christopher Wanjek's Spacefarers is an optimistic treatise on commercial endeavors that seek to increase the number of people in space by employing more efficient and cheaper launch vehicles and systems. "The market is there; the technology is almost there," he writes.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket company urging worker travel: Report - Business Insider
Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, is pressuring employees to travel across the country to help launch a space tourism rocket, despite the coronavirus pandemic.
One manager reportedly said at a recent team meeting that employees who didn't comply could face "employment repercussions."
"I would say that you should ask yourself, as an individual, are you acting as a toxin in the organization, fanning discontent, or are you really trying to help our senior leaders make better decisions?" one member of senior leadership, Jeff Ashby, reportedly said during the meeting.
A peek at utopian space dreams behind the Iron Curtain
"This is the perfect time for books," Alexandra Sankova tells me from her apartment in Moscow. Like many of us, Sankova is sheltering in place in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus, which also makes it the perfect time to fantasize about getting off the planet.
Sankova is a co-founder of the Moscow Design Museum who has dedicated her recent career to collecting and cataloguing the distinctive design of the Soviet era. Her book Soviet Space Graphics , published April 1 by Phaidon, collects imagery from popular magazines that promoted space exploration and technology behind the Iron Curtain.
SpaceX Starship's cabin interior fixes a big issue with space travel
SpaceX's Starship could offer a very comfortable trip for 100 people, the company's new user guide suggests. One insider that has seen previous versions of the plans also claimed Tuesday the cabins are "roomier" than expected. The proposals, which may also feature "large common areas," could offer a marked improvement over the utilitarian quarters of the Space Shuttle and other predecessors.
The guide , released this week, offers an insight into the company's plans for the stainless steel rocket currently under construction at its Boca Chica facility in Texas. Designed to replace existing rockets like the Falcon 9 while also powering ambitious missions like a city on Mars, the Starship could help power a new era in spaceflight.
Alfred Worden: Astronaut and first man to walk in deep space | The Independent
"Now I know why I'm here," Worden later said of his mission. "Not for a closer look at the moon, but to look back at our home, the Earth."
Worden was joined for Apollo 15 by David Scott, spacecraft commander, and James Irwin, who piloted the lunar module. In a mission that marked a new focus on science for the Apollo program, his colleagues spent 67 hours on the lunar surface, collecting rocks and soil samples and using a four-wheeled "moon buggy" for the first time.
Radiation poses major obstacle to future deep-space astronauts bound for Mars | Space
Mars seems to be on everybody's mind in the space industry. There are already several robotic missions to the Red Planet underway, and companies and space agencies are already working to one day send humans there.
But a crewed mission would present many more challenges. One of these obstacles is radiation, and so researchers are working to find a way to protect a crew against the dangerous radiation of deep space.
Humans evolved underneath the protective blanket that is the Earth's atmosphere and magnetosphere . Our bodies are not like the robots we shoot into the far reaches of the solar system. We are made of organic matter that needs to be shielded from harmful radiation.
On Mars, deep-water diversity has stood the test of time, meteorites show | Space
The water buried deep within Mars likely came from at least two very different sources long ago, a new study suggests.
"These two different sources of water in Mars' interior might be telling us something about the kinds of objects that were available to coalesce into the inner, rocky planets," Jessica Barnes, an assistant professor of planetary sciences in the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, said in a statement .
"This context is also important for understanding the past habitability and astrobiology of Mars," Barnes added.
NASA's Mars rover Perseverance rover has a hidden message for the Red Planet | Space
NASA's Perseverance rover will explore Mars for all of humanity, which a coded message aboard the robot makes clear.
The car-size Perseverance, which is scheduled to launch to the Red Planet this July, carries a special commemorative plate that holds small silicon chips bearing the names of more than 10.9 million people who participated in NASA's "Send Your Name to Mars" campaign.
That plate also features a diagram of Earth, Mars and the sun, whose rays are not nearly as random as they look. Indeed, the sunbeams on this plate actually spell out "Explore as One" in Morse code, mission team members revealed via Twitter on Monday (March 30).
Ten Tips From 'Mars' for Quarantined Earthlings | Time
We signed up for that. The people on earth currently sheltering in place did not sign up for this. Yet here we are: on a critical mission that will directly affect the future of humankind. To give our new, shared mission a boost, here are some things I learned about surviving and thriving—and, not incidentally, staying sane—that can be of value to all of us now.
2. Exercise : Build time to exercise into your day, every single day. Classes online are surging. On simulated Mars (or sMars for short), we had individual and group workouts. Call a friend and exercise together online or follow a video. After a year of not feeling the wind, rain, or sun on my skin, walking outside or opening a window still feels like a gift. If permitted, go outside, keeping at a safe distance from others, and enjoy being on Earth.
got the news that we entered the global @billboard social 50 chart today. thank you for placing us there. we did th… https://t.co/G93Bhc65pBBenAndBenMusic (from Philippines)Sat Apr 04 09:05:27 +0000 2020
"Kasi pag may ganyan positive gesture para sa kababayan, sa kapwa, parang nagbibigay 'yan ng lakas," the supervisor… https://t.co/scsgq4OiAJgmanews (from Philippines)Fri Apr 03 13:50:00 +0000 2020
When I land on Mars, it will be thanks to the perseverance of my team, which is doing its best to deliver me to the… https://t.co/V0Xxh6bUW5NASAPersevere (from Cape Canaveral, Florida)Fri Apr 03 20:36:55 +0000 2020
The Engineered Heart Tissue experiment helps us understand how heart tissue functions in space. Love getting my han… https://t.co/UulijQWoqnAstro_Jessica (from Houston, TX)Fri Apr 03 18:46:45 +0000 2020
When stars die, they either form neutron stars or incredibly dense stellar-mass black holes . Extremely low mass, miniature black holes , which astronomers believe came into existence around the time the universe formed, are largely theoretical.
And then there are intermediate-mass black holes . Astronomers have long been hot on the trail of this curious cosmic oddball, but so far, the evidence has been thin.
In 2006, researchers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Space Agency’s X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission spotted an peculiar X-ray flare they eventually dubbed 3XMM J215022.4−055108. The strange X-ray signature, which they believed to be a black hole ripping a star to shreds, wasn't emanating from the center of a galaxy.
Astronomers spot ancient effects from a supermassive black hole's jets | Space
Astronomers have gleaned their first insight to what the jets blasting off of supermassive black holes may have done to surrounding gas in the young universe.
Scientists are curious about this interaction around a black hole because they believe the phenomenon may slow star formation in the region. And while astronomers have studied such interactions in nearby areas of the universe, they have struggled to do so at great distances. Those distances allow them to see into the past, since the longer light has to travel to reach Earth, the earlier in the universe it illuminates.
Astronomers May Have Found a 'Missing Link' Black Hole Because It Ate a Star
Black holes are mysterious at the best of times. Because they emit no light, we can't see them, and we have to measure their properties based on the effect they have on the stuff around them - whether it's orbiting objects , or stuff they're actually accreting, a process that generates a great deal of heat and light .
But intermediate-mass black holes up the mystery ante. Because while we've found really titchy stellar-mass black holes (up to 100 times the mass of the Sun) and really chonky supermassive black holes (over 100,000 times the mass of the Sun, although they can get much bigger ), the weight class in between has proven extremely elusive.
Scientists Think They've Found a New Type of Star-Destroying Black Hole - VICE
Scientists have detected supermassive black holes that are millions or billions as massive as the Sun, as well as black holes that are only five to 30 times as massive as the Sun. But there's another class of object that has proved trickier to spot—intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), which have masses equal to hundreds or thousands of Suns but have never been clearly identified by scientists.
Now, scientists led by Dacheng Lin, an astrophysicist at the University of New Hampshire, have identified "smoking-gun evidence" of an IMBH, making it the strongest evidence of these rare objects yet, according to a study published on Tuesday in The Astrophysical Research Letters.
To Image a Black Hole Again, Scientists May Need to Put a Telescope on the Moon | Smart
Last year, for the first time, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project imaged a black hole , resembling an orb of darkness shrouded by a fiery, eye-of-Sauron-like halo.
The image, though groundbreaking, was imperfect, featuring a hazy, out-of-focus ring of light and gas that escaped the black hole’s immense gravitational pull. Understanding this ring, which sits just outside the black hole’s border, or event horizon, is key to sussing out the nature of the massive object it encircles.
Scientists spot 'missing link' black hole with help from Hubble, United States News & Top Stories
Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope and two X-ray observatories, the researchers determined that this black hole is more than 50,000 times the mass of our Sun and located 740 million light years from Earth in a dwarf galaxy, one containing far fewer stars than our Milky Way. Black holes are extraordinarily dense objects possessing gravitational pulls so powerful that not even light can escape.
This is one of the few "intermediate-mass" black holes ever identified, being far smaller than the supermassive black holes that reside at the centre of large galaxies, but far larger than so-called stellar-mass black holes formed by the collapse of massive individual stars.
Blackhole of financial support threatens to 'decimate' generation of entrepreneurs
Hundreds of thousands of new start-ups could go bust due to gaps in the Government's rescue package for the self-employed, academics have warned.
Researchers and professors from Manchester Metropolitan University and the Enterprise Research Centre said the loophole threatens to decimate a whole generation of new entrepreneurs.
Separate research by think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) put the figure far higher at almost 2.2 million.
Hubble's best evidence yet for 'missing link' of black holes may solve 14-year-old space mystery… https://t.co/39uER0WXPmSPACEdotcom (from NYC)Thu Apr 02 13:45:06 +0000 2020
The Hubble Space Telescope has discovered the culprit of a star's destruction: an elusive intermediate-mass black h… https://t.co/wuJC0SOmJmroyalsociety (from London, UK)Wed Apr 01 11:22:00 +0000 2020
New data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope provided the strongest evidence yet for mid-sized black holes in… https://t.co/UTmlTMVspPHUBBLE_space (from space)Tue Mar 31 17:00:41 +0000 2020
In-orbit telescopes could help us image black holes like never before. https://t.co/jXsIbMVpudPopSci (from New York)Sat Mar 28 03:00:46 +0000 2020
NASA’s plans focus on three key elements that would enable sustained presence and research work on the Moon’s surface, including:
A lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) that would be used by crew to get around on the Moon. Essentially, this is a rover but that is piloted instead of being robotic. This wouldn’t have an enclosed cockpit, so astronauts would be wearing full protective extra-vehicular activity (EVA) spacesuits while using it for short trips.
Moon Stokes Stubborn and Snarky Moods by Holiday Mathis – Boston Herald
If you find yourself caught in a loop of thought with questionable productive potential, you certainly won’t be alone. Blame the snarky journey of this stubborn Taurus moon and know that what’s needed right now isn’t to investigate or get to the bottom of anything. What’s needed is to interrupt the pattern so you can exit the spiral.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Those who only do what they want to do are limited indeed. Most of the good stuff comes from doing what’s right, helpful, challenging, interesting, gutsy… Your wise instinct to push yourself will kick in.
April's Super 'Pink' Moon Will Be the Brightest Full Moon of 2020 | Smart News |
Avid stargazers and newcomers to the nighttime hobby can look forward to a lunar event next month: A super “pink” moon will rise into the night sky on April 7th, the brightest supermoon of 2020.
A supermoon occurs when a full moon happens on the same night the moon reaches perigee, or the closest point to Earth in its orbit. (Apogee is its furthest point from Earth in its orbit.) In April, the full moon peaks at 10:35 EDT. Though the moon is called a “pink” moon, its color won’t be any different than normal. It will be golden orange when low in the sky, and brighten to white as it rises.
Full moon: Pink supermoon in April will be biggest, brightest of 2020
Here's something to look forward to next week: The biggest, brightest supermoon of 2020 will be appearing in the night sky Tuesday, April 7.
"Watch for the biggest full moon of the year to shine all night long as it beams in the east after sunset April 7, climbs highest up for the night around midnight, and sets in the west around sunrise April 8," EarthSky's Bruce McClure said.
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Of the three supermoons this year, April's supermoon will come closest to our planet – and thus appear the largest. April's supermoon is the second of three to take place in in a row, following March's super worm moon and preceding May's super flower moon, due to take place on May 7, Newsweek said .
April sky guide: A 'super pink Moon' and a cosmic ladder of planets - Science - ABC News
Spending time outside is much harder now, but if you have a backyard or a balcony you may be able to catch this month's 'super pink Moon' as well as a beautiful cosmic ladder.
In the northern hemisphere, the April full Moon is named after the first flower of spring — pink moss or phlox.
Also known as the sprouting grass Moon, fish Moon, hare Moon, egg Moon and paschal Moon, this year it falls on 8 April .
Each month, at the point when the Moon is fully lit up it is exactly opposite — or at syzygy — with the Sun.
Aries New Moon Pre-Roll by Holiday Mathis – Boston Herald
ARIES (March 21-April 19). The muses will favor you with practical solutions. You’ll be inspired, not to paint a picture or sing a song but to find the most elegant solution to an everyday problem.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). When you love your own camaraderie, you’re never at a loss for good company. People will want to be near you today, which fortunately shouldn’t interfere with cherished solo time.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Empathy is at the heart of all you do today, and behind the things you don’t do. You’ll ignore the mistakes of others and overlook their shortcomings in order to praise strengths.
NASA Moon Program and Hubble Telescope Successor Face COVID-19 Delays - Scientific American
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine was almost giddy when he unveiled the White House’s budget request in February. The Trump administration wanted to boost NASA’s annual spending by 12 percent for the fiscal year beginning on October 1, bringing it to $25.2 billion—a level not seen since the 1960s–1970s-era Apollo program. Most of the bump would go toward fast-tracking a project to return astronauts to the lunar surface in 2024.
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The SLS, which was being prepared for a test firing at the Stennis Space Center this summer, was an early casualty of coronavirus quarantines. NASA was already not going to meet the November 2020 date for the system’s debut launch as part of the Artemis I mission to send an uncrewed Orion capsule on a trial run around the moon. Before COVID-19 hit the U.S. and escalated to a pandemic, the agency had been planning to reschedule the first flight of the SLS to mid- to late 2021.
Western Slope Skies - The Moon Illusion | KVNF Public Radio
Whether motivated by romance or astronomy, you have probably watched a moonrise. If so, you likely noticed how it looms large against the horizon; yet later, it appears much smaller.
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Listen Listening...
/ 3:25
Episode aired Friday, April 3rd and Wednesday, April 8th, 2020
In fact, the Moon's optical diameter remains nearly constant throughout the night, as demonstrated by time-lapse photography. This Moon Illusion (which also similarly occurs with the rising Sun) is well documented, yet it defies conclusive explanation.
Hazy mystery above the clouds @NASAJuno peeks at Jupiter's tumultuous northern region during a close approach on F… https://t.co/EwBhserVeFNASAJPL (from Pasadena, Calif.)Thu Apr 02 23:08:00 +0000 2020
NASA details how it plans to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon https://t.co/axZAXE2pB4 by… https://t.co/oZ2WHRsQz0TechCrunch (from San Francisco, CA)Fri Apr 03 14:27:22 +0000 2020
NASA Asteroid Tracker: 151-Foot NEO Currently Headed For Earth
NASA is currently monitoring a building-sized asteroid that's expected to approach Earth tomorrow. If this asteroid ends up colliding with the planet, it could trigger a powerful explosion in the atmosphere.
NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) identified the approaching asteroid as 2020 FK3 . According to CNEOS, this asteroid has an estimated diameter of about 151 feet, making it almost as big as the Chicago Water Tower.
Based on the data collected by CNEOS, 2020 FK3 is currently moving across space toward Earth at an average speed of almost 22,000 miles per hour.
Mountain-size asteroid will appear as a slow-moving star next month - CNET
But 1998 OR2 is still quite a biggun -- the biggest asteroid expected to fly by our planet in 2020, actually -- which means it may be visible next month to even amateur astronomers.
And if you miss it altogether, the small-town-size rock will make an even closer (but still totally safe) fly-by in 2079. And other big space rocks will come close enough for observations in 2024 and 2027. In 2029, the mega-asteroid Apophis (which is actually a little smaller than 1998 OR2) will make a close pass that was once cause for concern.
NASA Image Seems To Show Alien Structure On Asteroid | iHeartRadio
However, the paper also points out that "skeptics and NASA would say the object and other similar findings are just the effects of pareidolia - a psychological phenomenon when the brain tricks the eyes into seeing familiar objects or shapes in patterns or textures such as a rock surface."
#OTD in 2000, the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft captured this rotation movie of the asteroid Eros. NEAR, the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous, was the first spacecraft mission specifically designed to study an asteroid: https://t.co/DQCSMzVsct pic.twitter.com/2YaMCldgST
NASA confirms 'potentially hazardous' skyscraper-sized asteroid to fly past Earth this month
If a global pandemic wasn't enough, we now have to deal with a new threat. NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), which detects and predicts the trajectories of near-Earth space objects (NEOs) like asteroids, has confirmed that a gargantuan asteroid will fly past Earth this month.
NASA's advanced asteroid tracking system has found a skyscraper-sized asteroid that is expected to cross Earth's orbital path this month. Considering the data collected by the agency, the sheer size and the speed at which the asteroid is travelling is enough to cause a catastrophic event on the planet in the case of a collision but will be no real threat to our planet.
Publisher: International Business Times, Singapore Edition
Giant 'potentially hazardous' asteroid will fly safely by Earth in April | Space
A large and "potentially hazardous" asteroid is poised to fly by Earth next month, but don't worry — it poses no threat to Earth.
Asteroid (52768) 1998 OR2 will make a close approach to Earth on April 29. The hefty space rock has an estimated diameter of 1.1 to 2.5 miles (1.8 to 4.1 kilometers), or about the width of the isle of Manhattan.
Video: Big asteroid 1998 OR2 will safely fly by (imagery + orbit animation) Related: Potentially dangerous asteroids (images)
Fireball EXPLODES over English Channel in 'amazing' display | Science | News |
One person from England submitted a report to the IMO describing the sighting as "amazing", adding that it produced colours of orange, yellow, red and brown.
Another from the Netherlands said: "I was inside at the moment and saw the ball moving along the curtain from top to bottom. Moved very fast from NW towards N. Certainly not an airplane!"
Asteroids and meteors produce a bright explosion of fire when they hit the atmosphere as it is the first time the space rock has ever met resistance.
NASA, devasa bir asteroidin rekor bir hızla Dünya'ya yaklaÅŸtığını ve gelecek hafta yörüngeye gireceÄŸini açıkladı. S… https://t.co/CfQzQdmvmrabdullahciftcib (from Stratejist/Siyaset/Bilim/21.yy)Wed Apr 01 13:32:32 +0000 2020
#Ciencia En los próximos dÃas, se podrá ver el cometa ATLAS, descubierto por el "Asteroid Terrestrial Impact Last A… https://t.co/kW3yTjxeJFtcsnoticias (from El Salvador)Thu Apr 02 10:00:00 +0000 2020
Asteroid close approaches happen sometimes, but just how "close" is a close approach? Do this #NASAatHome activity… https://t.co/CXsKEexhmFAsteroidWatch (from Pasadena, California)Tue Mar 31 15:16:48 +0000 2020
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