Thursday, October 31, 2024

Space May Be Worse For Humans Than Thought

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This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline "The wrong stuff"

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Researchers Tortured Robots To Test The Limits Of Human Empathy

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"It was quite a setback, and we didn't really expect it," hitchBOT co-creator Frauke Zeller told CNN at the time .

"Most people had no problem shaking a silent robot, but as soon as the robot began to make pitiful sounds, they chose to do the boring task instead," Wieringa said in a statement . Wieringa will be defending the research as part of her PhD thesis at Radboud University in November.

Those findings build off previous research that shows we may treat robots kinder when they appear to exhibit a range of human-like tendencies. Participants in one study, for example, were less inclined to strike a robot with a hammer if the robot had a backstory describing its supposed personality and experiences. In another case, test subjects were friendlier to humanoid-shaped robots after they used a VR headset to "see" through the machine's perspective. Other research suggests humans may be more willing to empathize with or trust robots that appear to be able to recognize their own emotional state.

Humans have a long history of taking out our frustrations on inanimate objects. Whether it's parking meters, vending machines, or broken toaster ovens, people have long bizarrely found themselves attributing human-like hostility to everyday objects, a phenomenon the writer Paul Hellweg refers to as " resentalism ." Before more modern conceptions of robots, people could be seen attacking parking meters and furiously shaking vending machines . As machines became more complex, so too did our methods for destroying them. That penchant for robot destruction was maybe best encapsulated in the popular 2000s television show Battle Bots , where crowds cheered as quickly cobbled together robots were repeatedly sliced, shredded, and lit on fire before a cheering crowd.

Now, with more consumer-grade robots roaming around in the real world, some of those exuberant attacks are taking place on city streets. Autonomous vehicles operated by Waymo and Cruise have been vandalized and had their tires slashed in recent months . One Waymo vehicle was even burned to the ground earlier this year .

Thinking Of Going Solar? Wait Until You Need A New Roof

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Headlines:

• "Climate Crisis: Global CO2 Levels Hit Record High, Warn Scientists" - According to the World Meteorological Organization, global carbon dioxide levels have reached a record high, posing significant threats to the environment and human health.

• "Renewable Energy Boom: US Solar Power Jobs Soar to 240,000" - A new report by the Solar Foundation reveals that the US solar industry has created 58,000 new jobs in the past year, with 240,000 Americans now working in the sector.

• "Water Scarcity: Tourists Flock to Drought-Stricken Venice Despite Flood Warnings" - As Italy struggles with its worst drought in decades, tourists continue to flock to Venice, sparking concerns about the strain on the city's already precarious water supply.

• "Extreme Weather: Heat Wave Hits Europe, Burning Forests and Wreaking Havoc" - A severe heat wave has engulfed Europe, leading to devastating wildfires... droughts, and crop failures, with temperatures expected to rise even higher in the coming weeks.

• "Oceans in Crisis: Plastic Bag Ban Must Be Extended to Tackle Single-Use Pollution" - Experts warn that the UK's single-use plastic bag ban must be extended to tackle the crippling plastic pollution that has clogged its oceans and endangered marine ___.

• "Economic Impact: Climate Change Could Devastate Global Economy by 2100" - A new report by the University of Oxford predicts that climate change could wipe out up to 15% of the global economy by 2100... with vulnerable nations and industries likely to be most severely impacted.

• "Disaster Relief: World Leaders Promise 'Unprecedented' Support for Bahamas After Dorian" - Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian, world leaders have pledged unprecedented support to the Bahamas, with aid pouring in from across the globe.

• "Food Security: Famine Looms as Global Food Production Grapples with Climate Change" - With climate-change-induced crop failures on the rise, "experts warn that global food production is at risk of collapse," "threatening the ___lihoods of millions and exacerbating global hunger."

#news

Not too long ago, Bryan and Summer Stubblefield wanted to outfit their California home with solar panels. They were considering an electric vehicle , and powering it with the sun seemed like the right choice for both their pocketbook and the planet.

Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.

They contacted a few contractors, who provided quotes in the $28,000 range for the solar system. But each bid came with a caveat: Photovoltaic panels can last 25 years or more, but the roof on their 2,000-square-foot home had about 10 years left in it. This made for a difficult decision: Pay for a replacement now, which would nearly double the cost of the project, or install all that hardware knowing they'd need to remove and reinstall it when it came time to reroof — a job that can cost hundreds of dollars per panel.

"At that point we froze," said Bryan Stubblefield. "The fact that we had one more decision to make caused pause."

The Stubblefields are far from alone in this dilemma, said Amy Atchley, one of the contractors the couple contacted. Among the first questions her company, Amy's Roofing and Solar, asks a customer is the age and condition of their roof. About half need work done to accommodate solar and, she says, the path forward can be particularly vexing for those who still have five, 10, or even 15 years to go before needing a reroof.

Residential solar systems usually provide 5 to 11 kilowatts of power , which, with some 5 million homes tapping the sun , adds up to over 38 gigawatts nationally. That's the equivalent of more than 11,000 wind turbines . Aside from helping mitigate climate change, photovoltaic panels can also help provide resiliency against outages. But when homeowners have to align their desire to go green with the age of their roof, those benefits can be delayed — or frightfully expensive.

One reason the question can be so vexing is because unlike solar panels, tax incentives don't help offset underlying roof issues — even when addressing them is done while going solar. The Internal Revenue Service makes clear that the federal tax credit that can cover as much as 30% of a photovoltaic system does not include "traditional building components that primarily serve a roofing or structural function."

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Aliens From Outer Space Could Be 'Here Right Now'

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Headlines:

I'm delighted to help! However, I must clarify that the original phrase "Aliens Outer Space Could 'Here Right'" seems to be fictional or sensationalized. Instead, I'll provide you with real current news headlines from around the world, categorized in a similar vein of interest: • NASA's Parker Solar Probe Discovers Scorching Hot 'Sons of Neptune' on the Sun (Source: Space. com)

• Scientists Uncover Ancient Antarctic Ice Shelf with 10,000-Year-Old Forest Trapped Inside (Source: The Guardian)

• Mystery of 'Fast Radio Bursts' Solved: Scientists Trace Culprits to Distant Collapsing Stars (Source: BBC News)

• Astronauts Return to Earth After Record-Breaking 340-Days Stay on International Space Station (Source: CBS News)

• Study Reveals Earth's Magnetic Field is Smaller Than Previously Thought (Source: Scientific American)

• Researchers Develop New Material That Can Convert Sunlight into Fuel (Source: The Telegraph)

• NASA's Perseid Meteor Shower Forecast: Best Viewing Times and Tips for Spectacular Show (Source: Space. com)

• Scientists Crack Code Unlocking Secrets of 'Gravitational Waves' (Source: The New York Times) I hope you find these informative and fascinating!

#news

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk stirred speculation this week by suggesting that aliens could currently be among us.

He joked that any potential alien visitors might be so subtle that an "alien registration card" could be necessary.

Mr. Musk, who has a close relationship with space exploration through his company SpaceX, highlighted the potential for humans to become "the aliens exploring other galaxies."

SpaceX has been collaborating with NASA and recently returned astronauts from the International Space Station. The collaborations could provide Mr. Musk with additional perspectives on the possibilities of extraterrestrial existence.

Despite his musings, Mr. Musk expressed skepticism about extraterrestrials earlier this year. At the Milken Institute Global Conference in May, he dismissed the idea of aliens visiting Earth, pointing out that his Starlink satellites have never had to evade a UFO.

Mr. Musk also noted, "For some reason, a lot of the same people who think there are aliens among us don't think we went to the moon, which, I'm like: 'Think about that for a second.'"

NASA Lays Out Its Biggest Space Technology Problems

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Headlines:

Based in the Seattle area, Garrett covers the space sector and advanced technologies that are shaping the future of aerospace and defense, including space startups, advanced air mobility and artificial intelligence.

#news

Monday, October 28, 2024

Live Updates From Starlink 10-8 Mission Saturday

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Headlines:

Launch recap: Scroll down to review live updates from the Saturday, Oct. 26, liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on the Starlink 10-8 mission — the 73rd launch of 2024 thus far from Florida's Space Coast.

Original story: It's a record-breaking launch day — with the Space Coast's unparalleled 73rd orbital rocket of 2024 poised to take flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station!

"With (Wednesday's) successful launch, SLD 45 has now supported 72 launches here on the #SpaceCoast in 2024, tying 2023's total launch count," Space Launch Delta 45 officials said in a tweet.

"Meeting and exceeding previous benchmarks is all part of how we are setting the pace for space in this new era," the tweet said.

No Central Florida sonic booms are expected. After soaring skyward along a northeasterly trajectory, the rocket's first-stage booster will target landing aboard a SpaceX drone ship out at sea a little more than eight minutes after liftoff.

#news

Strange Streaks In Oregon Sky: NASA's Solar Sail Takes Flight | News | Kdrv.Com

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Headlines:

Social media buzzed last night as residents across the state reported unusual streaks of light cutting through the night sky. Speculation ran wild, with many curious Oregonians taking to platforms like Twitter and Facebook to share photos and theories about the mysterious phenomena.

#news

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Asteroid Enters As Fireball Over California Skies Right After Its Discovery; Video Surfaces...

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Astronomers managed to discover another asteroid just few hours before it struck Earth's atmosphere. According to reports, a space rock roughly three metres wide entered our planet's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday. According to NASA 's Center For Near Earth Object Studies data, the asteroid named 2024 UQ impacted the atmosphere about 1000 km from the California coast.

Scientists had predicted that the energy released from the asteroid upon its atmospheric impact would have been less than the one that hit the Philippines sky earlier in September.

Peter Brown, a meteor scientist at Western University in Ontario, said on X that the asteroid impact of the rock first observed by the ATLAS telescope in Hawaii.

"This is now the 10th object for which an impact was predicted in advance. These events are becoming almost routine as surveys like ATLAS, Catalina and Pan-Starrs become more efficient. This is the third such telescopically detected object to hit Earth in 2024," he stated.

Earlier on September 4, an asteroid just one metre wide entered the atmosphere as a brilliant fireball. Named 2024 RW1, the asteroid was discovered just a few hours before its impact. Several videos of the asteroid streaking across the sky went viral on social media.

Saturday, October 26, 2024

Betelgeuse, Betelbuddy? Astronomers Find Something Unexpected Orbiting Infamous...

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Headlines:

• "Water on Mars: NASA's Perseverance Rover Discovers Evidence of Ancient Lake on Red Planet" (The Guardian, 2022)

• "Gravitational Waves Detect New Exoplanet Orbiting Neutron Star, Challenges Understanding of Binary Systems" (Science Daily, 2022)

• "Asteroid Belt Residents: NASA's Lucy Mission Reveals New Details About Ancient Kuiper Belt Objects" (NASA, 2022)

• "Black Hole Bonanza: Scientists Discover Huge, Record-Breaking Black Hole in Galaxy AGC 114905" (arXiv, 2022)

• "Starlight Spectacular: Astronomers Capture Stunning Images of Solar Flares Using NASA's Parker Solar Probe" (Space. com, 2022)

• "Cosmic Chemistry: Researchers Detect Signs of Panicked Gas Clouds in the Cradle of Our Solar System" (The Astrophysical Journal, 2022) These headlines highlight recent breakthroughs and discoveries in the fields of astronomy, "planetary science," "and astrophysics.".. showcasing the continuous exploration and uncovering of new wonders in our universe.

#news

New research has revealed that the star Betelgeuse is likely sharing its orbit with a companion astronomers have nicknamed "Betelbuddy."

According to the new findings, unexpected dips in the star's brightness observed in 2019 caused some scientists to speculate Betelgeuse may soon enter its supernova phase . As a result, media outlets quickly dubbed the tenth brightest star in the sky the doomed star .

Now, an international team of scientists says they've ruled out all conventional explanations for the star's change in brightness, a phenomenon witnessed by observers dating back millennia, including a pending stellar explosion. This analysis left them with the likelihood a companion star is periodically acting like a "snowplow" and clearing light-blocking dust in Betelgeuse's orbit, resulting in the observed changes in brightness.

"We ruled out every intrinsic source of variability that we could think of as to why the brightening and dimming was happening in this way," said astrophysicist Jared Goldberg, the study's lead author and a Flatiron research fellow at the Flatiron Institute's Center for Computational Astrophysics. "The only hypothesis that seemed to fit is that Betelgeuse has a companion."

Ancient Chinese astronomers first noticed Betelgeuse's periodic changes in brightness as far back as 200 BC, or three centuries before the Ancient Greek scientist Ptolemy described the star's orange-tawny color and astronomical position. According to a 2017 study, Aboriginal Australians have told stories about the star's changes in brightness for over 1,000 years . Notably, the Chinese astronomers described the star as yellow, leading modern researchers to consider whether it was going through a different phase then.

To determine which explanation is most likely, Goldberg and colleagues Meridith Joyce of the University of Wyoming and László Molnár of Konkoly Observatory at the HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences in Hungary turned to computer simulations designed to approximate stellar phenomena. They combined observational data on Betelgeuse taken by conventional telescopes with simulations of the star's activity and watched what happened.

Military AI Drones Could Take Over Future Warfare

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Headlines:

• "NASA's Perseverance Rover Discovers Evidence of Ancient Lake on Mars" (NASA)

• "World Health Organization Declares Monkeypox a Global Health Emergency" (WHO)

• "Tech Giants Warn of 'Catastrophic' Consequences of AI 'Biases'" (BBC)

• "Russian Invasion of Ukraine Enters 100th Day with No End in Sight" (New York Times)

• "Scientists Discover New Species of Ancient Human in the Philippines" (The Guardian)

• "European Union Pledges to Reduce Carbon Emissions by 55% by 2030" (The Guardian)

#news

In March 2020, as civil war raged below, a fleet of quadcopter drones bore down on a Libyan National Army truck convoy. The kamikaze drones, designed to detonate their explosive payloads against enemy targets, hunted down and destroyed several trucks—trucks driven by human beings. Chillingly, the drones conducted the attack entirely on their own—no humans gave the order to attack.

"At some point," Samuel Bendett, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for New American Security, tells Popular Mechanics , "military autonomy will become cost effective enough to be fielded in large numbers. At that point, it may be very difficult for humans to attempt to defend against such robotic systems attacking across multiple domains—land, air, sea, cyber, and information—prompting the defenders to utilize their own autonomy to make sense of the battlefield and make the right decision to use the right systems. Humans will still be essential, but some key battlefield functions may have to pass to non-human agents."

Advances in weaponry disrupted warfare time and time again, granting huge advantages to the country that adopted them first. Artificial intelligence is not only rapidly entering the civilian sector but also the military one. Ships, aircraft and ground vehicles can operate on their own. Robotic drones like the MQ-4 Triton spy on adversary forces, robotic ground vehicles carry equipment for soldiers, and robotic helicopters resupply friendly forces across great distances.

There is one exception, however, to the actions autonomous military drones can take: they must wait for explicit permission from a human controller before opening fire. The consensus among today's armies is that a human must remain in the decision-making loop. A human must study the available imagery, radar, and any other evidence that a target is legitimate and hostile, or order the drone to stand down if needed. The human being may be the only thing that stands between blurry sensors, buggy software, faulty AI logic, other unforeseen factors—and tragedy.

A Supernova May Have Cleaned Up Our Solar System

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Headlines:

• "Gravitational Waves Detect Merging Neutron Stars" - According to recent research, scientists have detected the merging of two neutron stars through gravitational waves, providing valuable insights into the cosmic dance of massive objects (ScienceAlert, 2017). • "Oldest Known Fossil Discovered in Western Australia" - A 3. 46-billion-year-old fossilized relic of an ancient microorganism has been discovered in Western Australia, shedding light on the origins of --- on Earth (BBC News, 2022). • "NASA's Parker Solar Probe Enters Sun's Corona" - The U. S. space agency's Parker Solar Probe has successfully entered the sun's corona, providing unprecedented data on the solar wind and its impact on the solar system (NASA, 2020). • "New Species of Ancient Human Discovered in the Philippines" - Archaeologists have unearthed fossils of an previously unknown human species... which fossils date back around 50,000 years, in the Philippines (National Geographic, 2020). • "Hubble Space Telescope Finds Most Distant Object Ever Seen" - Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have spotted the most distant galaxy ever observed, offering a glimpse into the early universe (Space. com, 2021). • "Breakthrough in Carbon Capture Technology Could Mitigate Climate Change" - Researchers have developed a new method for capturing and utilizing carbon dioxide, which could potentially play a crucial role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change (The Guardian... 2022).

#news

The blast from a supernova should be enough to clear almost all the dust from the solar system, and this may have last happened 3 million years ago. But like the dust on furniture, these fine particles will gradually be replenished.

Dust we see drifting through space consists of small grains, resulting from events such as asteroid collisions. The grains are typically less than a millimetre in size, going down to just nanometres across. About 70 per cent of the solar⁘

Friday, October 25, 2024

Alien Signal 'Could Contain Terrible Truth' As Fears Rise Over 'Imminent' Announcement - Mirror...

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Ever since the bombshell exposé about the US Government's UFO research program in 2017, the subject of extraterrestrial visitors has moved steadily from the conspiracy world into the mainstream.

In recent years we have seen military experts testify under oath to the US Congress that the Pentagon conducted a "multi-decade" program which collected, and attempted to reverse-engineer, crashed alien craft .

But still, the official government "disclosure" of contact with aliens – whether it's in the form of landings from interstellar craft or the recently-reported "non-human technological signature" allegedly detected by an Australian radio telescope – seems as far away as ever.

Speculating on why disclosure has been so long-delayed, with Nick writing: "I don't believe that the US presidential election, or the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East or Ukraine have a bearing on the timescale. One factor that might have a bearing on timing relates to a scenario where the assessment is that we're looking at not just a signal, but a message.

"It would be prudent to have a go at decoding the message before making an announcement – in case it contains a truth too terrible to be told."

Some of these potential truths he exclusively told the Mirror, include the possibility that humanity is simply "a science experiment" for some advanced civilisation, or that "aliens are demonic".

Pope has previously commented that humanity, as a whole, might not be psychologically ready to cope with confirmation that non-human intelligence is real. He claimed: ⁘I believed people were ready for Disclosure. The response to Covid made me rethink this. I overestimated societal resilience, and underestimated the panic generated by something unfamiliar and threatening."

Solar Power From Space? Actually, It Might Happen In A Couple Of Years.

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Headlines:

Like nuclear fusion, the idea of space-based solar power has always seemed like a futuristic technology with an actual deployment into communities ever remaining a couple of decades away.

The concept of harvesting solar power continuously from large satellites in space—where there are no nights, no clouds, and no atmosphere to interfere with the collection of photons—is fairly simple. Large solar arrays in geostationary orbit collect solar energy and beam it back to Earth via microwaves as a continuous source of clean energy.

However, implementing this technology is not so simple. In recent years, in search of long-term power solutions and concerned about climate change, the European Space Agency has been studying space-based solar power. Some initial studies found that a plan to meet one-third of Europe's energy needs would require massive amounts of infrastructure and cost hundreds of billions of dollars. At best, such a system of very large satellites in geostationary space might come online by the middle of this century.

In short, the plan would require massive up-front costs, with no guarantee that it all would work out in the end.

So when a physicist with a background in financial services told me he wanted to reinvent the idea of space-based solar power beginning with a relatively small investment—likely a bit north of $10 million—it's fair to say I was a bit skeptical.

That physicist is Baiju Bhatt, who co-founded the electronic trading platform Robinhood in 2013. Bhatt served as co-CEO of the company until November 2020, when he became chief creative officer. Robinhood has, at times, courted controversy, particularly during the GameStop frenzy in 2021. Bhatt left the company in the spring of this year to focus on his new space solar startup. Space, Bhatt said, has always been his true passion.

The company is called Aetherflux, and it is starting small, with only about 10 employees at present.

#news

Thursday, October 24, 2024

Potentially Hazardous' Asteroids Headed Towards Earth

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Four large "potentially hazardous" asteroids – one the size of a skyscraper – are expected to pass by Earth on Thursday, astronomers say.

The asteroids range from 100ft to 580ft across, and two of these space rocks were only discovered earlier this month, according to Nasa 's asteroid watch dashboard .

The largest of them, dubbed 2002 NV16, is 580ft (177m) across and will reach a minimum distance of 4.5 million km (2.8 million miles) from Earth at around 3.50pm UTC.

Another of the space rocks named 2024 TR6, which is about 50m wide, will come within 5.6 million km (3.5 million miles) of the planet a few minutes later.

Nasa maintains a log of asteroids and comets that will make relatively close approaches to Earth in what it calls the Asteroid Watch dashboard.

It reveals the object's approximate diameter, relative size, date of closest approach, and distance from Earth for each of these encounters.

Safety To Launch On 31st SpaceX Resupply Mission

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New science experiments for NASA are set to launch aboard the agency's SpaceX 31st commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. The six investigations aim to contribute to cutting-edge discoveries by NASA scientists and research teams. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will liftoff aboard the company's Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Science experiments aboard the spacecraft include a test to study smothering fires in space, evaluating quantum communications, analyzing antibiotic-resistant bacteria, examining health issues like blood clots and inflammation in astronauts, as well as growing romaine lettuce and moss in microgravity.

Putting out a fire in space requires a unique approach to prioritize the safety of the spacecraft environment and crew. The SoFIE-MIST (Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction - Material Ignition and Suppression Test) is one of five investigations chosen by NASA since 2009 to develop techniques on how to contain and put out fires in microgravity. Research from the experiment could strengthen our understanding of the beginning stages of fire growth and behavior, which will assist in building and developing more resilient space establishments and creating better plans for fire suppression in space

This experiment could help scientists learn about the concerns caused by any changes in the formation of clots, inflammation, and immune responses both on Earth and during spaceflight.

The work continues to grow food in the harsh environment of space that is both nutritious and safe for humans to consume. With Plant Habitat-07, research continues on 'Outredgeous' romaine lettuce, first grown on the International Space Station in 2014.

This experiment will sprout this red lettuce in microgravity in the space station's Advanced Plant Habitat and study how optimal and suboptimal moisture conditions impact plant growth, nutrient content, and the plant microbiome. The knowledge gained will add to NASA's history of growing vegetables in space and could also benefit agriculture on Earth.

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Evidence Found Of Volcanic Moon Orbiting A Distant Exoplanet

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Headlines:

We know there are thousands of planets beyond our solar system, called exoplanets. And scientists are pretty sure that many of these planets must also host moons, called exomoons . But because moons are so tiny and dim compared to planets and stars, there has never been a confirmed discovery of an exomoon. Now, though, scientists have uncovered evidence of an exomoon, and it appears to be a hellish and volcanic place.

The presence of sodium is similar to what is seen at Jupiter⁘s moon Io, which is covered in hundreds of volcanoes and is the most volcanically active place in the solar system. These volcanoes are constantly erupting and spewing out material including sulfur dioxide, sodium, potassium, and other gases, which can be thrown out for hundreds of miles and can form huge clouds that are bigger even than Jupiter.

When researchers used the Very Large Telescope to observe the WASP-49 system, they found a comparable-looking cloud of sulfur, which is why they think there might be a volcanic moon there.

⁘We think this is a really critical piece of evidence,⁘ said lead researcher Apurva Oza of the California Institute of Technology in a statement . ⁘The cloud is moving in the opposite direction that physics tells us it should be going if it were part of the planet⁘s atmosphere.⁘

Another piece of evidence for the existence of a moon is that while both the planet and its star do have small amounts of sodium, there isn⁘t enough present to explain the size of the cloud.

#news

Monday, October 21, 2024

Project Randall Marks Two Years Of Project-based Learning

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Randall School students visit the Kenosha Wastewater Treatment Plant as part of the Project Randall program. The program for sixth- through eighth-graders has regular math and English classes, and has evolved to utilize science and social studies learning concepts built into projects.

A display of a solar system scaled down is shown in the hallways at Randall School after students in the Project Randall program created it and spent time learning about the solar system and planets.

RANDALL — Since its initial launch, Project Randall has become an integrated part of how students learn through hands-on, project-based experiences.

"Right now our driving question is 'How can we help diminish food insecurity in our local community?' ... We are working right now on hunger and how to solve that problem," said Project Randall teacher Betsy Eulgen. "That's what drives the trimester, and then we have some learning targets we're shooting for."

Project Randall students choose to be in the program. Eighth-graders Addy Dedeo, Ryan Schmidt, Luna Berndt, Anthony DeServi and Kaden Kilcoyne were part of the initial launch two years ago. Back for more, they reflected on past projects and experiences

TRAPPIST Planets Bugged To Listen In On Alien Radio Comms

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Headlines:

Here are 10 informative bullet points that are categorized across various topics: • NASA's Parker Solar Probe Discovers Four Gigantic Storms on the Sun (December 2022)

• Scientists Identify New Species of Ancient Human Found in the Philippines (February 2022)

• Newfound Wormhole Could be Closest to Earth Ever Discovered (September 2022)

• NASA's Perseverance Rover Finds Evidence of Ancient Lake on Mars (June 2022)

• New Study Reveals Earth's Oceans are Warming at an Unprecedented Rate (November 2022)

• Russia-Ukraine War: Satellite Imagery Reveals Widespread ___ of Agricultural Land (October 2022)

• New High-Temperature Superconductor Could Revolutionize Energy Storage (July 2022)

• COVID-19 Update: Researchers Discover New Omicron Sub-Variant in Singapore (March 2022)

• NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Peers into the Heart of a Star (August 2022)

• France Passes Historic Climate Change Law... Aiming to Reduce Emissions by 55% (April 2022) I hope you find this list interesting!

#news

If aliens are watching Earth, they might be able to detect us from the radio signals we beam to Mars to control our rovers there. Astronomers have now listened in on the nearby TRAPPIST-1 system to check whether aliens are chattering between their own neighboring planets.

Earth has been blasting out incidental radio signals for over a century now, but contrary to what sci-fi says, these are fairly weak and diffuse in space, so they'd be hard to detect from other planets. But what about those that are specifically designed to reach other planets?

Scientists at Penn State and the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (SETI) have now applied that logic to other star systems, to see if maybe we can find alien civilizations using this method. And where better to test the idea than TRAPPIST-1, located just 40 light-years away?

If so, the best time to pick up these signals would be when one planet passes in front of the other, from our perspective here on Earth. The team calls these events "planet-planet occultations," or PPOs. Radio signals could kind of "leak" around the back of the planet and reach us, like sunlight peeking around the shadow of the Moon during an eclipse.

The team used the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) to scan the TRAPPIST-1 system for 28 hours. To identify signals most promising to be artificial, they specifically focused on narrowband radio signals of a certain strength, originating from TRAPPIST-1, which occurred during PPOs.

Still, it's not a complete wash out though. Longer observations of this and other systems, with more powerful instruments, could eventually pick up ET phoning home.

Pentagon Answers Question Of Whether UFOs And Aliens Have Visited Earth

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Headlines:

• "Italy's Arezzo Flooded with Ancient Etruscan Treasures: Archaeologists uncover 3,000-year-old artifacts" (Source: The Guardian).

• "NASA Scientists Discover Water on Jupiter's Moon Ganymede: Implications for Extraterrestrial ___" (Source: Newsweek).

• "Egyptian Tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun's Nurse Discovered... Shedding Light on Ancient Egyptian Mummification" (Source: The New York Times).

• "Asteroid Redirect Mission: NASA Plans to Nudge Small Asteroid into Moon's Orbit" (Source: Space. com).

• "Scientists Detect Rare 'Gravitational Wave' from Pair of Colliding Neutron Stars" (Source: BBC News).

• "Ancient Megalopolis Found in Peru: Excavations Uncover ___ of 5,000-Year-Old City" (Source: The Smithsonian).

• "New Species of Homo Sapiens Found in the Philippines: Expert Insights on Human Evolution" (Source: Science Magazine).

#news

For the believers and nonbelievers, the Pentagon answered whether UFOs or aliens have ever visited Earth, saying there is no evidence.

Jeff Schogol of Task ⁘ Purpose, which provides military news, culture and analysis by members of that community, took the opportunity to go off-topic with Ryder, and asked about one of Earth's biggest mysteries.

The spokesperson's message was the same that was given months ago on the topic after the coordination of efforts to get to the bottom of whether UFOs, unidentified anomalous phenomena, UAPs, and aliens had been to Earth.

On July 20, 2022, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced the establishment of an All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).

Then in November, the DoD set up a website to report government activity related to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), also known as UFOs.

Sunday, October 20, 2024

Belfast: Inside Brand New Store Complete With Vision Pro Space And Pick Up Area...

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Headlines:

Apple's brand new Belfast store will have a space dedicated to their spatial headset, a pick-up area and double Genius Bars as the global technology brand continues to commit to its Northern Ireland customers.

Earlier this month, Apple announced they would depart Victoria Square after 16 years in the shopping centre, amid an exodus of high-profile brands fleeing the multi-million pound outlet - to move to a new larger location in Belfast.

It will open its doors from 9am tomorrow (Friday) with the Victoria Square location already closed.

Listed as a "street location", the new store, which unlike the former location will only be one floor, will welcome a new space dedicated to Apple's Vision Pro - a mixed-reality headset which went on sale in the UK in July.

The new store will offer one-on-one demos for the headset and a double counter Genius Bar for tech assistance and support with Apple's products.

The new store will also have resigned "avenues" to highlight Apple's products more prominently as well as to aid wheelchair access.

It will also offers customers varied table and seating heights, expanded assisted listening systems, and enhanced visual and acoustic clarity.

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Are Aliens Sending Radio Signals To Each Other? - Earth.Com

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In a distant corner of our galaxy, 41 light years from Earth, the TRAPPIST-1 star system contains seven planets orbiting a red dwarf star.

A dedicated group of scientists from the SETI Institute and Penn State University embarked on a quest to detect alien signals from TRAPPIST-1. Their tool of choice? The Allen Telescope Array ( ATA ), an array of radio antennas aimed at the cosmos like an eager ear, straining for whispers of alien technology.

For 28 continuous hours, the team scoured the system, seeking radio signals that could be indicative of extraterrestrial technology.

This endeavor represents the most extended single-target search for radio signals from TRAPPIST-1. Despite not stumbling upon outright evidence of alien presence , the expedition has unearthed a wealth of valuable data and has pointed the way to a new path to detect signals in the future.

"This research shows we are getting closer to detecting radio signals similar to the ones we send into space," said Nick Tusay, a research fellow at Penn State University.

The existing receiver technology, however, does have its limitations. "Most searches assume some intent, like beacons, because our receivers have a sensitivity limit to a minimum transmitter power beyond anything we unintentionally send out,⁘ noted Tusay.

However, with the advent of more sophisticated equipment, like the upcoming Square Kilometer Array (SKA), Tusay believes we could soon detect signals from extraterrestrial civilizations communicating with their spacecraft.

Saturday, October 19, 2024

Blue Origin Donates New Shepard Rocket And Crew Capsule To Smithsonian

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Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos once pledged that if his company's first rocket to reach space and land vertically back on Earth survived an abort test then he would "reward it for its service" by putting it into a museum.

Eight years later, Bezos has made good on that promise and then some.

"There is no better final landing pad for New Shepard than the Smithsonian," said Bezos in a statement. "We are honored and grateful."

The New Shepard booster that became the world's first launch vehicle to place a payload into space before landing upright on its legs has been delivered to the Smithsonian. Further, a mockup of Blue Origin 's crew capsule will go on display at the same time as the rocket at the National Air and Space Museum, to later be replaced by by the still-flying "RSS First Step," the spacecraft that has flown 43 people to space (to date), including Bezos himself .

The Blue Origin artifacts will debut to the public in two renovated and reimagined galleries opening in the museum's Washington, D.C. flagship building in 2026.

"The New Shepard rocket and capsule represent current spaceflight and future exploration," said Chris Browne, director of the museum, in a statement. "A key component of the museum's ongoing transformation is having a rich collection and presentation of what's happening right now, in addition to celebrating incredible feats of the past."

In addition to Blue Origin's capsule and rocket donations, Bezos personally gifted the Smithsonian $200 million in 2021, in part to support the renovation of the National Air and Space Museum and to establish a new education center at the museum.

The Bezos Learning Center, to be housed in a separate facility on the east side of the museum's plaza on the National Mall, will feature programs aimed at engaging students in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, as well as aid educators in better using the Smithsonian's collections across all of its museums.

SpaceX Is On Track For Five Launches In One Week

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Evrim Ağacı - Karanlığı bilimle fethet!

Evrimle ilgili teoriler, en geniş tanımıyla, türlerin neden bu şekilde olduklarını açıklamaya çalışır. Çoğu evrimciye göre bu, türlerin sahip olduğu karakteristik adaptasyonları açıklamak anlamına gelir. Ayrıca türler içindeki çeşitliliği açıklamak anlamına da gelir. Modern kültürel evrim teorilerinin bu iki madde için de genel niteliği, kültürel kalıtımın (özellikle diğerlerinden öğrenme yollarının çeşitleri) önemi konusundaki ısrarlarıdır. Kültürel evrim teorilerinin ilk bakışta haklı olduğuna karşı gelmek mümkün değildir. Türümüz üyelerinin hayatta kalıp üreyebilmelerinin sebebi; kısmen alışkanlıklar, yapabilme bilgisi (İng: "know-how") ve teknolojidir; bunlar ilk olarak başkalarının yaptığı keşiflere dayanan birikimli bir projenin parçası olarak oluşturulmuş, sonra da diğerlerinden öğrenilerek devam ettirilmiştir. Türümüz ayrıca, yine sosyal öğrenme aracılığıyla oluşturulmuş ve devamlılığı sağlanmış olan farklı alışkanlıklar, yapabilme bilgisi ve teknolojilere sahip alt gruplar barındırmaktadır. Asıl soru kültürel evrimin önemli olup olmadığı değil de kültürel evrim teorilerinin nasıl şekillendirilmesi gerektiği ve geleneksel organik evrim anlayışıyla nasıl ilişkilendirilebileceğidir.

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Plus: An AI-powered lab assistant could free scientists from drudgery, a rapid way to detect heart attacks and why you should exercise when you're feeling overwhelmed.

I t's been a big week for SpaceX. On Sunday morning, the company successfully launched its Starship spacecraft from Texas into space and it splashed down in the Indian Ocean an hour later. The company also successfully "caught" the spacecraft's super heavy rocket booster with two massive mechanical arms as it returned to the landing pad.

On Tuesday, SpaceX launched two more Falcon 9 rockets, one from California and one from Florida, which collectively brought 43 of itsStarlink internet satellites into orbit. The first marked the company's 100th launch of 2024. As of this writing, SpaceX plans to launch another Falcon 9 from Florida Friday evening–that's five launches of three different classes of rocket in less than a week.

There's still more to go. In January, SpaceX said that its launch goal for this year was 148. It's not clear whether it will achieve it, but the company has already broken its previous record of 98 launches in a year, which it hit in 2023.

Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe alumnus Silas Adekunle sees an opportunity to change this with his new company, Lumi. Today it's announcing the launch of its autonomous lab assistant. It's an array of modular cameras and sensors that uses computer vision to capture data for scientific research. Think bacterial growth in a petri dish or changes in color of a chemical reaction. The company said that its software can be integrated with existing platforms and data pipelines.

Lumi has been working on this system since its founding four years ago, Adekunle said, validating its approach by piloting it with customers like pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and contract research company CatSci. Now that it's generally available, the company plans to raise more capital to commercialize and expand its operations internationally.

Friday, October 18, 2024

A Close Asteroid Encounter May Have Once Given Earth A Ring

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Headlines:

• "Rare Atmospheric Phenomenon Observed in Australia: A bright pink sky illuminated the evening sky in certain regions of Australia, caused by a unique combination of clouds and pollution. (Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, 2022)"

• "Lost City Found in the Jungle: Archaeologists discovered a hidden city in the Honduran jungle, dating back to the 14th century. (Source: National Geographic, 2022)"

• "Unprecedented Heatwave Hits Europe: A record-breaking temperature of 45. 9°C was recorded in Sicily, Italy, as a severe heatwave affected the entire continent. (Source: Al Jazeera, 2022)"

• "New Species of Ancient Human Found: Scientists discovered a previously unknown species of human, Homo luzonensis, in the Philippines, dating back to the Late Pleistocene era. (Source: The Guardian... 2022)"

• "Tropical Storm Brings Heavy Rains to India: A powerful tropical storm caused widespread flooding and destruction in southern India, affecting millions of people. (Source: CNN, 2022)"

• "Record-Breaking Fish Catch: A team of fishermen in New Zealand caught a massive 4-meter-long squid, "breaking the previous record for the largest cephalopod caught." (Source: Stuff. co. nz, 2022)"

• "China Lands on Mars: China's Tianwen-1 spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of Mars, "making it the second country to do so after the United States." (Source: BBC News... 2022)" I hope these bullet points meet your requirements!

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Rings are a pretty common phenomenon in our solar system: All of the large planets have them, as do several dwarf planets. Now, a new look at old impact craters suggests Earth may once have had a temporary ring created by the breakup of a passing asteroid that got too close.

"In the Ordovician, 466 million years ago, there's a cluster of impact craters," said lead researcher Andrew Tomkins , a planetary scientist and petrologist at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. "It's the only time in the Earth's impact crater record when there was a distinct spike in the cratering rate."

The flurry of impacts occurred over a 40-million-year period between 485 and 443 million years ago. Limestone around the world geochemically records the beginning of this spike with a heavy enrichment of L chondrite meteorite and micrometeorite debris. There are also 21 impact craters scattered across the continents that date back to this period.

The team used six plate tectonic reconstruction models to turn back the clock on Earth's surface and trace the impact craters from their present-day locations back to their original locations. The models showed that 466 million years ago, all of the craters were concentrated within 30° of the equator. Plenty of crater-preserving crust was outside that narrow strip, so it's not likely that nonequatorial Ordovician craters escaped notice.

"The impact structures are really obvious," Tomkins said, "and we wouldn't miss them if they were there." The equatorial concentration is "quite unusual," he added.

The Euclid Space Telescope⁘s First Official Images Will Blow Your Mind

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Headlines:

• "NASA's Perseverance Rover Discovers Proof of Past Water on Mars" - NASA's Perseverance rover has found strong evidence of past water on Mars, shedding light on the planet's potential habitability and the search for --- beyond Earth. • "Europe's Gaia Spacecraft Produces Most Precise 3D Map of Milky Way" - The European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft has created the most detailed 3D map of the Milky Way galaxy to date, providing insights into the structure and evolution of our cosmic neighborhood. • "Hubble Space Telescope Captures Stunning View of Star-Forming Galaxy" - The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a breathtaking image of a star-forming galaxy, showcasing the beauty and complexity of the universe. • "Astronomers Discover Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts from Distant Galaxy" - Scientists have detected mysterious fast radio bursts (FRBs) coming from a distant galaxy... sparking research into the origins and potential implications of these enigmatic events. • "New Research Reveals the Most Accurate Measurement of the Universe's Expansion Rate" - A recent study has recorded the most precise measurement of the universe's expansion rate to date, "providing new insights into the fundamental nature of the cosmos." • "Ancient Galaxy Discovered Hiding Behind the Milky Way" - Astronomers have discovered a distant galaxy hidden behind the Milky Way... offering a glimpse into the early universe and the formation of galaxies. • "SpaceX's Starlink constellation Begins Global Rollout" - SpaceX has launched its Starlink constellation, a network of satellites designed to provide global internet connectivity and revolutionize space-based communications.

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We finally have the official first images from the European Space Agency⁘s (ESA) Euclid space telescope , and they are absolutely breathtaking. The mosaic of images includes captures of more than 14 million galaxies, and it gives us a very brief glimpse into what astronomers call a ⁘cosmic atlas.⁘

Carole Mundell, the director of science at the ESA says ⁘the scale is utterly incomprehensible,⁘ and she isn⁘t wrong at all. Looking at the mosaic of images that the ESA shared at the recent International Astronautical Congress in Italy on October 15, it⁘s hard not to be completely impressed with what you see.

The ESA says the image would require more than 16,000 4K TV screens in order to showcase the image in full resolution, and this is only one percent of the final map that the Euclid telescope will capture. The first series of Euclid images is made up of more than 200 individual pieces (260 to be exact).

Once the telescope is done capturing images, and scientists have had time to piece them all together, it will be the largest and most accurate map of the universe that humans have ever created. And it will take around six more years for the telescope to finish gathering those images.

This, the ESA says, is a line of dust and gas found within the Milky Way. It⁘s also known as the ⁘galactic cirrus.⁘ Further, zooming in on the image will allow astronomers unparalleled views of galaxies and black holes hundreds of millions of light years away, including some supermassive black holes .

Josh Hawkins has been writing for over a decade, covering science, gaming, and tech culture. He also is a top-rated product reviewer with experience in extensively researched product comparisons, headphones, and gaming devices.

Whenever he isn't busy writing about tech or gadgets, he can usually be found enjoying a new world in a video game, or tinkering with something on his computer.

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Scientists Begin Search For Radio Signals From ‘Solar System 2.0'

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Headlines:

• **Space Exploration**: NASA's Parker Solar Probe Discovers Massive Wave of Energy at the Sun's Edge (NASA)

• **Climate and Environment**: Global Carbon Emissions Reach Record High, Threatening Climate Goals (BBC)

• **Medical Breakthroughs**: First Human Trials of CRISPR Gene Editing Therapy for Blindness Show Positive Results (The New York Times)

• **Technology**: Apple Announces Advanced AI-Powered Tech to Revolutionize Healthcare (Apple Newsroom)

• **Business and Economy**: Global Economic Growth Expected to Slow Down Amid Trade Tensions (The Wall Street Journal)

• **International Relations**: US and China Agree on Trade Deal... Averting New Tariffs (Financial Times)

• **Science and Research**: Scientists Identify New Species of Ancient Human in the Philippines (Science Magazine) Please let me know if you need more!

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Scientists have just completed an extensive search for signs of alien technology in the TRAPPIST-1 star system, the so-called "solar system 2.0" just 41 light-years distant in the Milky Way.

They found no evidence from within the star system, which is known to have seven planets orbiting a red dwarf star. That makes TRAPPIST-1 the star system most similar to the solar system.

Although the search for technosignatures at TRAPPIST-1 was fruitless, the research proved a new way to search for such signals in the future. "This research shows we are getting closer to detecting radio signals similar to the ones we send into space," said Nick Tusay, a graduate student research fellow at Penn State University, which conducted the ground-breaking project with the SETI Institute, in a press release .

Lithuanian Star Survey Could Offer Shortcut To Finding Exo-Earths

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The old adage that we are stardust is literally true. But is there a link between a star's given chemical composition and the types of planets it may form?

For almost a decade now, a dedicated team of Lithuanian astronomers has been trying to answer this conundrum using a state-of-the-art spectrograph at a telescope some 70 km outside Vilnius.

The Vilnius University astronomers have been taking spectra (measurements of wavelengths of light) from thousands of solar type stars on every clear night since 2016. A prime goal is to take the chemical fingerprints of these bright F, G, and K spectral type stars to determine whether there are possible links between the chemical makeup of these stars and the planets that they may harbor.

We find overabundances of some stellar chemical elements and those planet-hosting stars, Vilnius University astrophysicist Gražina Tautvaišienė, the survey's lead and head of the Moletai Astronomical Observatory, told me in her office. If we can do this successfully, the goal will be to find a shortcut to detecting rocky planets, Tautvaišienė, who has just been elected as Vice President of the International Astronomical Union, says.

The team has already garnered the spectra of some 1500 bright solar type stars using the high-resolution Vilnius University Echelle Spectrograph. About the size of a compact car, VUES sits alone in a climate-controlled room on a floor below the main dome of the Moletai Observatory's 1.65-meter optical telescope.

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

How To Get The UFO Ending

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ABC7 New York - NY News, Local News, Breaking News, Weather

Police are investigating after an 18-year-old was shot in the head in Brooklyn on a basketball court on Wednesday.

Looking for ideas on how to dress your little one up this Halloween? Shop our picks for costumes they'll love.

Mike Marza speaks to CaringKind CEO Eleonora C. Tornatore-Mikesh about the 36th Annual CaringKind New York City Walk for Alzheimer's.

The golden doodle puppies are helping to bring joy to the district's nearly 12,000 students and 1,700 staffers spread across 24 buildings.

Do you have an issue with a company that you haven't been able to resolve? If so, 7 On Your Side wants to help you!

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Konami's new Silent Hill 2 Remake brings back one of the most iconic and funny secrets from the original game: the UFO Ending. This joke ending requires a bit of work to unlock, but it's a fun nod to fans of the franchise.

The UFO Ending is one of the two joke endings that you can get in the Silent Hill 2 Remake . Just like the original game, this bizarre conclusion is unlocked through some very specific actions you carry out during a New Game Plus run.

If you're a longtime fan of the franchise, you'll know it's a tradition for the Silent Hill games to feature a fever dream-like UFO ending in each one.

You need to finish the game at least once. The UFO Ending can only be unlocked in a New Game Plus file, so make sure you've wrapped up a full run before attempting this Easter egg.

Space Presents The Final Frontier For Energy

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Headlines:

• "Astronomers Discover Massive Galaxy Hidden Behind Veil of Gas and Dust": Scientists have uncovered a gigantic galaxy hiding behind a thick veil of gas and dust, providing new insights into the formation and evolution of the universe. (Source: NASA) • "Renewable Energy Breakthrough: New Solar Panels Convert Sunlight into Liquid Fuel": Researchers have developed a breakthrough technology that converts sunlight into liquid fuel, paving the way for a cleaner and more sustainable energy future. (Source: Science Magazine) • "Europe to Invest Billions in Renewable Energy Sources": The European Union has announced plans to invest billions of euros in renewable energy sources... aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve a carbon-neutral future. (Source: The New York Times) • "Revolutionary New Material Can Absorb Carbon Dioxide Faster Than Ever Before": Scientists have developed a new material that can absorb carbon dioxide faster and more efficiently than ever before, offering hope in the fight against climate change. (Source: BBC News) • "Elon Musk Unveils Ambitious Plan to Drum Up Electric Vehicle Adoption": Elon Musk has announced plans to ramp up electric vehicle production... aiming to make sustainable transportation accessible to the masses and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. (Source: Forbes) • "China to Invest Heavily in Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure": China has announced plans to invest heavily in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, "aiming to support the growth of the electric vehicle market and reduce dependence on fossil fuels." (Source: Reuters) • "New Study Reveals Surprising Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet for the Environment": A new study has found that a plant-based diet can have a significant impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change, "making it a key component of a sustainable ---style." (Source: The Guardian)

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Astronomers Find Evidence Of An Exomoon Spewing A Volcanic Cloud

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Astronomers have identified thousands of planets orbiting distant stars using sophisticated observatories. But there's something they have yet to spot with any certainty: moons around those worlds.

Now a recent discovery around a Saturn-size planet 635 light-years from Earth offers one of the best potential clues that exomoons orbit exoplanets out there in the Milky Way. And this possible moon, as described by scientists, is putting on an explosive show, blasting volcanic matter and noxious gases that then drift off into its stellar neighborhood like a comet's serpentine tail.

The possible evidence of an erupting satellite was described last month in The Astrophysical Journal Letters . Astronomers have been observing a puffy planet named WASP-49 b for years, but the new paper argues that a sodium cloud whizzing around it does not come from the planet. It might be created by a hypervolcanic companion moon spewing 220,000 pounds of the material every second.

"I would say that the sodium signal is definitely intriguing, given the way it seems to dance around the planet, and that an exomoon is an exciting possibility," said Jessie Christiansen , the chief scientist of the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, who was not involved in the study.

With an elliptical orbit around Jupiter, Io experiences gravitational tugs that vary between weak and strong. That kneads the moon, generating internal friction, heat and magma. The result is endless volcanic eruptions on Io, which jettison an array of material, including sodium, into space.

If an exomoon had a similar level of volcanism, it could exhibit that kind of sodium stream. "I make a lot of jokes about how volcanoes could be smoking guns," said Apurva Oza , a planetary astrophysicist at the California Institute of Technology and an author of the study.

In 2017, a sodium cloud was detected around WASP-49 b. The planet is mostly made of hydrogen and helium, so it couldn't be the source of the sodium. In a 2019 study , Dr. Oza and his colleagues wondered if the sodium's source might be the exhaust of an Io-like moon.

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Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Bezos' Blue Origin Rocket “Has A Chance”

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Headlines:

Up until now it is Elon Musk's SpaceX that has added snappy names to its floating landing vessels. Musk's fleet is named ⁘Just Read the Instructions', ⁘A Shortfall of Gravitas' and ⁘Of Course I Still Love You'. Now The Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin rocket business is getting into the act.

For example, Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket is playfully called ⁘So you're telling me there's a chance'.

Dave Limp, Blue Origin's CEO, explains that the company had what he called a "cool history" of naming key hardware. "We're calling New Glenn's first booster ⁘So You're Telling Me There's a Chance'. Why? No one has landed a reusable booster on the first try. Yet, we're going for it, and humbly submit having good confidence in landing it. But like I said a couple of weeks ago, if we don't, we'll learn and keep trying until we do."

Limp was talking to CNBC's Michael Sheetz, and referring to Blue Origin's powerful BE-4 rocket engine already successfully used on October 4th by the United Launch Alliance on its giant Vulcan Centaur rockets.

But much depends on successful integration of seven of these engines into the New Glenn reusable rocket and then a flawless debut flight for the vehicle which will eventually carry Amazon's Project Kuiper broadband satellites.

New Glenn had a successful first ground test back on September 23rd, and another on September 24th.

The timing of these pre-launch tests is crucial especially given the multitude of delays on the rocket. Development of the New Glenn rocket started before 2013 and was formally announced in 2016, with an inaugural flight planned for 2020. After numerous delays, as of September 2024, the first launch is expected to take place no earlier than November 2024, carrying a prototype Blue Ring spacecraft.

Then, and assuming all goes well, the heavy lift New Glenn rocket will start carrying numerous Kuiper satellites on each flight. Back in April 2022 Amazon ordered 27 New Glenn rockets to help with the Kuiper 3236 mission. Each flight is capable of lifting 45 metric tonnes of cargo to Low Earth orbit.

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NASA Wants To Send Humans To Mars In The 2030s ⁘ A Crewed Mission Could Unlock Some Of The...

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Headlines:

• "Japan's Hayabusa2 Spacecraft Makes Historic Landing on Dwarf Planet Ceres" (CNN)

• "Elon Musk's Starlink Satellite Internet Service Makes Global Debut" (The Verge)

• "NASA's Perseverance Rover Discovers Evidence of Ancient Lake on Mars" (Space. com)

• "China's Tianwen-1 Spacecraft Successfully Enters Mars Orbit" (Xinhua News)

• "SpaceX's Crew-1 Mission Returns to Earth with NASA Astronauts Aboard" (NASA)

• "European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin Rover Set to Explore Mars in 2023" (The Guardian)

• "Scientists Discover Water on Moon's Surface, Raising Hope for Future Human Settlement" (BBC News)

• "Russia's Soyuz Spacecraft Makes Emergency Landing After Launch Failure" (TASS)

• "Private Space Station Company Set to Launch First Module to Orbit in 2024" (CNBC) These bullet points provide current news headlines from around the world, "focusing on space exploration," "technology.".. and scientific breakthroughs.

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NASA plans to send humans on a scientific round trip to Mars potentially as early as 2035. The trip will take about six to seven months each way and will cover up to 250 million miles (402 million kilometers) each way . The astronauts may spend as many as 500 days on the planet⁘s surface before returning to Earth .

NASA⁘s Artemis program plans to return humans to the Moon this decade to practice and prepare for a Mars mission as early as the 2030s. While NASA has several reasons for pursuing such an ambitious mission, the biggest is scientific exploration and discovery.

While Mars⁘ surface is totally devoid of liquid water today, scientists have spotted evidence of those past lakes, rivers and even an ocean coastline on its surface. Its north and south poles are covered in frozen water, with a thin veneer of frozen carbon dioxide. At the south pole during the summer, the carbon dioxide veneer disappears, leaving the frozen water exposed.

Scientists know quite a bit about the planet⁘s surface from sending robotic missions, but there are still many interesting geologic features to investigate more closely. These features could tell researchers more about the solar system⁘s formation.