'Spectacular' Asteroid Blazes Over Siberia Just Hours After It Was Detected

Reference: Found here

Headlines:

Here are 10 recent news headlines from around the world, similar in style to the original: • **Mysterious Monsoon Waves Observed Over Indian Ocean**

• **Record-Breaking Wildfires Ravage Australian Coast**

• **Comet Z. Harpaz Set to Pass Close to Earth, Causing Commuter Chaos**

• **Severe Storms Batter Southeast Asia, Displacing Thousands**

• **New Species of Ancient Human Discovered in Peru's Amazon Rainforest**

• ** asteroids approaching Earth may not pose threat: NASA in rare correction**

• **NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover Discovers Evidence of Ancient Lake Ecosystem**

• **Norway's Midges Spread Tens of Thousands of Kilometers in Summer Fever**

• **Growing Tropical Cyclone Brings Widespread Damage to Southeast Asia**

• **Tensor satellites gather spectacular images of Ill-Enclosed Glacier Fields** These headlines reflect the diversity and dynamism of global news... covering a range of weather events, "scientific breakthroughs.".. and natural wonders.

#news

A small asteroid lit up the skies over northern Siberia Wednesday (Dec. 4) after burning up in Earth's atmosphere in a "spectacular" (yet harmless) fireball.

Astronomers spotted the space rock , measuring 28 inches (70 centimeters) in diameter, in the early hours on Wednesday local time, just hours before the space rock entered the atmosphere .

"Thanks to observations from astronomers around the world, our alert system was able to predict this impact to within +/- 10 seconds," the European Space Agency (ESA) wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

C0WEPC5, as the asteroid has been temporarily named, entered Earth's atmosphere at 1:15 a.m. local time on Dec. 4 over Russia's remote Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia, in northeastern Siberia. Local officials were placed on alert, the Sakha emergencies ministry noted, but no damage was reported during the event.

Related: Tiny asteroid detected hours before hitting Earth to become 4th 'imminent impactor' of 2024

Footage of the fireball was shared by the Sakha Republic Ministry Of Internal Affairs on Telegram. The footage was from colleagues at the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Olekminsky District and city residents.

The first asteroid to be detected and tracked in this way was a 13-foot-wide (4-meter-wide) space rock called 2008 TC3, which broke up above Sudan in October 2008. But the system didn't detect another one until January 2014, when California's Mount Lemmon observatory noticed meteoroid 2014 AA several hours before it streaked through our skies. However, since then, our ability to find these impactors has greatly improved and space agencies are now detecting several imminent impactors every year.

While asteroids like C0WEPC5 pose no threat to the planet, having these detection systems in place gives astronomers the opportunity to identify and deflect larger and more dangerous objects on a collision course with Earth.

AI Will Convert Space Telecoms From Science Fiction To Reality

Reference: See here

We all know that artificial intelligence is transforming every industry. One industry which is nascent today, but will be critical to us all in the future, and which could hardly exist without AI, is space telecoms - or Non-Terrestrial Networks, as participants prefer to call it. At a conference on NTNs in Riyadh last month, industry leaders discussed how to ensure its potential benefits are realised, including global connectivity, better understanding of our planet, and progress towards a multiplanetary future.

One reason why NTNs are so important is that they will bring true connectivity to the whole planet. Delegates at the second "Connecting the World from the Skies" international forum in Riyadh last month, a conference co-hosted by the International Telecommunication Union and Saudi Arabia's Communications, Space ⁘ Technology Commission, heard that in the last two years, the number of people with no reliable internet access fell from 2.7 billion to 2.6 billion. A hundred million more people connected is a very good thing, but clearly there is still a long way to go.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty forbids sovereign claims over extra-terrestrial territories, which makes the commercial exploitation of space a tricky business. But the extraction of resources is a grey area, and Xavier Lobao Pujolar, head of the future projects division at the European Space Agency says that with initiatives like the Artemis Accords, leaders are preparing for a future in which the supply of rare earths and other valuable materials can no longer be monopolized, or controlled by a handful of countries.

There is a lot of talk these days about how re-usable rockets will allow us to establish colonies on Mars. This is sometimes criticised as a waste of resources that could better be deployed taking care of people back here on earth. But the logic of making humanity multi-planetary is powerful. The Earth is vulnerable to man-made damage, and also to threats from outside, like asteroid impacts. We literally have all our eggs in one basket, and that is a risky position. For humanity to become multi-planetary, we need NTNs.

We Are Fast Approaching The Sun's 'Battle Zone' — And It Could Be Even Worse Than...

More details: Found here

Headlines:

Here are eight current news headlines from around the world, categorized but not exactly matching the original phrasing: * "WHO Warns of Global Surge in Dengue Fever Cases, Amid Concerns of Worsening Epidemic" (Health)

* "New Study Reveals Alarming Rise in Global Biodiversity ___, Threatening Ecosystems Worldwide" (Environment)

* "Taliban militants Launch Attacks on Afghan Stefan and Turkmen Borderposts, Heightening Regional Tensions" (International)

* "Outbreak of Water Scarcity Hits South Africa, Putting City's 2 Million Residents at Risk" (Science)

* "Fears Grow Over Collapse of Libya's weakened Infrastructure, Highlighting Regional Instability" (Business)

* "Riots Erupt in Iran Amid Protests Over Energy Prices and Economic Crisis" (Middle East)

* "Climate Change Impacts Push Vulnerable Ecosystems to The Brink of Collapse... Experts Warn United Nations" (Science)

* "Armed Clashes Between Rebel Forces and Syrian Government Forces Intensify in Eastern Countryside" (Middle East)

#news

Solar maximum has only just officially begun. But now, some scientists are warning that the sun's activity won't actually peak until after this explosive phase is over and we enter the solar "battle zone."

Solar maximum is the period of the sun's roughly 11-year solar cycle, or sunspot cycle, when the number of visible dark patches on the sun peaks. During this time, powerful solar flares explode from the solar surface and hurl clouds of charged particles at Earth, triggering intense geomagnetic storms that paint vibrant auroras across the night sky. Halfway through this period, the sun's magnetic field completely flips, leading to an eventual reduction in sunspots and solar activity until we reach "solar minimum" and the next solar cycle begins.

But on Nov. 15, Lynker Space, a new space weather prediction and solution company that formed earlier this year, released a blog post explaining that a newly realized phase of the solar cycle, known as the battle zone, will likely begin in the next year or two, as solar maximum ends.

What Do Socially Intelligent Robots Mean For The Future Of Crime?

Read more: Found here

Monday morning started with an early sprint from Baker St to Marylebone train station in London, passing close to 221b Baker St, the fabled home of Sherlock Holmes. However, Holmes was not on my mind, but rather his nemesis, Professor James Moriarty. I was on my way to a seminar on the future of crime (especially as it concerned robots and social robots) organized by the excellent team at UCL's Dawes Centre for Future Crime .

The rumour is that Conan Doyle based the character of Moriarty on George Boole, Professor of Maths at University College Cork from 1849 until 1864 (disappointingly his former home on Grenville Place is in a state of dereliction). Boole, one of the great mathematicians, created Boolean algebra which laid the foundations for computer language and is this the structure around which scientists use machines to mimic and 'improve' on human behaviour. To that end, Moriarty and the idea of the 'future of crime' should be of all the more interest to us in an AI driven world.

In this context, the issue at stake at the Dawe's Centre seminar was whether socially intelligent robots can create new forms of crime, that are not yet covered by legal frameworks and for which countermeasures have not been conceived.

However, in cases where the robot acts intelligently and autonomously, the law is not clear and frameworks on AI offer only meagre guidance. Robert Harris' book 'The Fear Index' is a good illustration of what might occur when an intelligence 'bot' takes over a critical infrastructure, and the use of AI on the battlefield is chilling in its ruthlessness.

Heavy duty robots also permit the exploration, surveillance and protection of faraway places (the deep sea, space and remote parts of the earth) though at the same time they permit mischief by various actors such as attacks on critical marine infrastructure.

It may well be that, as in the case of driverless cars, socially intelligent robots are less dangerous than humans, though the notion itself of criminal robots is cause for concern. For the time being, many of the impetuses to the 'future of crime' are human factors. Some of them relate to changes in wealth – such as the rise of powerful oligarchs, and a rich ultra-high net worth class of people who on one hand are targets for crime and on the other hand have the means to dominate others and push their own visions of what society should look like. We may see more of this type of behaviour in coming years.

UFO Sighting Over Texas? Video Shows Mysterious Flying Object

Read more: Found here

A TikTok user shared a video of a mysterious rotating object hovering in the sky off North Alamo Street in Downtown San Antonio. While it appeared metallic or white in the video, the TikTok poster, Justin Delgado, says it nearly blended in with the darkest part of the sky.

When the video was shared on Reddit, several commenters noted they've been seeing mysterious objects in the sky more frequently as of late. Some said reports or quickly cropping up in New Mexico, Arizona and across the globe while other say they've seen suspicious activity in Texas.

"I seen it all the way from Lacoste," Reddit user Historical_Wish_7627 commented. "I've been seeing lots of weird stuff in the sky lately."

Another Reddit poster who lives in a rural area outside San Antonio reported seeing what looked like a satellite moving across the sky one night that faded into the night sky. The same poster says they saw a pair of mysterious lights, which they say wasn't a helicopter or airplane, hovering over the Alamo City.

Others were quick to quips on the speculation of aliens visiting San Antonio. In reference to a recent video of a mattress flying down a highway in the city, having dislodged off the back of a fast-moving pickup truck, Reddit users joked the mattress had made it into airspace.

"That was abuela's chancla after whooping you so hard it was sent into orbit," Reddit user Chiken_97 wrote.

Navigating Disruption In 2025: Space-Inspired AI And Cybersecurity Strategies For Boards

Reference: See here

Headlines:

Shelli Brunswick is CEO ⁘ Founder of SB Global LLC and an international keynote speaker on tech used for the betterment of humanity.

In 2025, disruption is not just a possibility—it's a certainty. A survey of corporate board directors revealed that 62% view managing disruption as more crucial than ever. Yet only 19% feel confident their management teams are prepared to handle it. In his recently published book Disrupt with Impact: Achieve Business Success in an Unpredictable World , Roger Spitz highlights that traditional strategies are no longer sufficient for addressing complex challenges.

The space industry offers a model for boards preparing for 2025, demonstrating how pioneering approaches in AI and cybersecurity drive resilience and innovation in high-stakes environments. From autonomous, AI-powered spacecraft to sophisticated cybersecurity measures protecting critical assets, space organizations showcase how technology can become a strategic advantage.

Integrating responsible AI practices and fortifying cybersecurity frameworks will be key for boardrooms focused on the future. By drawing inspiration from the space sector and industry best practices, boards can turn disruption into a pathway for growth, guiding their organizations toward resilience and success in the coming year.

AI is set to redefine how organizations operate, especially in data-driven environments like space exploration. Space agencies depend on AI to drive faster, more accurate decisions, manage autonomous spacecraft, analyze vast datasets and adapt to unpredictable conditions—all critical for high-stakes missions. The space sector's use of AI is a testament to its potential to revolutionize industries, offering a model for how organizations can leverage AI to enhance operations and inform strategy.

Despite AI's potential, many boards remain hesitant. According to a Deloitte study , nearly 50% of boardrooms haven't prioritized AI, even though its influence on business strategy is undeniable. Effective AI governance demands proactive board engagement, strategic foresight and ethical awareness. Boards must emphasize AI, integrating it into discussions on risk, opportunity and organizational ambition.

#news

China's Humanoid Robots Begin The Transition From Hype To Practicality

More details: Visit website

Most Chinese hardware companies lack the expertise to effectively apply large models, highlighting a gap in spatial intelligence needed for humanoid robots.

Ni Tao is IE's columnist, giving exclusive insight into China's technology and engineering ecosystem. His Inside China column explores the issues that shape discussions and understanding about Chinese innovation, providing fresh perspectives not found elsewhere.

On October 30, Boston Dynamics  released a video showing its Atlas robot, now fully electric, taking a significant leap.

This time, the robot did not wow audiences with its signature parkour moves but by performing practical tasks in a factory setting.

In the video, Atlas autonomously moved engine covers between supplier containers in a factory. This seemingly simple task of picking up and placing objects sent ripples of wonder and unease throughout the global humanoid robotics community, especially in China.

Once powered by hydraulics, Atlas symbolized engineering ambition and the benchmark many humanoid roboticists aspired to surpass.

However, as the industry shifts towards electrification, Atlas' legend no longer commands the same level of admiration it once did. Instead, it became a target of ridicule—a flashy but expensive showpiece with little real-world commercial value.

But when Boston Dynamics deployed its reinvented Atlas to demonstrate its ability to perform practical tasks, it was clear that the company was repositioning itself—no longer focusing on parkour stunts but instead moving toward industrial applications.

Solar Farm With More Than 3K Panels Proposed For Landfill Near New London Park

More details: Found here

Headlines:

Dec. 4—NEW LONDON — The city and a renewable energy developer are proposing to construct a 991-kilowatt solar panel array on a 4.25-acre section of capped landfill surrounded by the sprawling Bates Woods property.

The plan, which will be discussed at a Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing on Thursday, calls for building a series of ground-mounted racking systems holding 3,032 solar panels. The panels would be positioned on a portion of former ash and bulky waste landfill land used for about 30 years before it closed in 1991.

The proposed building site at 0 Chester Street is located within an open-space district, though a site development plan application notes state zoning regulations permit ⁘public utility installations⁘ as an accessory use in such districts.

⁘The proposed array will directly connect to the public electric grid, providing for a productive re-use of this underutilized city property and a new source of clean and renewable energy,⁘ the project application states.

The arrays will feed into a public grid connection point at the corner of Colman Street and Ashcraft Road.

A memo from the Michelle Johnson Scovish, the city's planning and zoning official, notes the proposed project, described as a ⁘small scale solar field,⁘ would be constructed in a section of Bates Woods Park that is not ⁘accessible to the general public.⁘

The Inland Wetlands and Conservation Commission on Oct. 10 approved the installation of several utility poles at the proposed building site to support the work.

#news

NASA Finds A Hidden Planet In The Kepler-51 System - Earth.Com

Source: See here

Headlines:

An extraordinary planetary system, Kepler-51, continues to intrigue astronomers with its unique characteristics. Researchers at Penn State and Osaka Universities have discovered a fourth planet in this system.

The Kepler-51 system was already known for its three ultra-low-density ⁘super-puff⁘ planets, but this latest finding adds another layer of complexity.

The team identified the fourth planet, Kepler-51e, after observing unexpected transit timing variations (TTVs) in the system. This discovery challenges existing planetary formation theories and opens up new questions about the dynamics and evolution of this peculiar system.

Super-puff planets are distinctly characterized by their incredibly low mass and density. They are roughly the size of Saturn but only a few times the mass of Earth, making them as light and fluffy as cotton candy .

The super-puffs in the Kepler-51 system are believed to have tiny cores and vast atmospheres of hydrogen and helium.

They are a cosmic enigma that has astronomers questioning how they formed and how their atmospheres survive the intense radiation from their star. The discovery of a fourth planet adds more intrigue to these questions.

The research team, led by Jessica Libby-Roberts, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds at Penn State , ventured to study Kepler-51d using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope .

However, the planet decided to steal the show by passing in front of its star two hours earlier than anticipated ⁘ an event that nearly caught the researchers off guard.

The transit of a planet, when it passes in front of its star as observed from Earth, can reveal a wealth of information. The duration and magnitude of the star's dip in brightness help astronomers to deduce the planet's size and other properties.

#news

SpaceX Launches Saturday Starlink Midnight Mission

Read more: Found here

With commoditization and access to space decreasing in cost, entire categories of products and services will arise "that we can't even imagine yet that are going to become household names," Space Florida's Ron Lau predicts .

One such nascent category includes space traffic management, removal of orbital debris , and security of satellites, Lau — the agency's senior vice president of corporate development and capital programs — said in a video released Wednesday on social media.

"Another area that is emerging is really in advanced space manufacturing . So it could be kind of 3D or additive printing. It's materials — there are a lot of innovative materials that are now being developed. And also, robotics and automation to enable this manufacturing in space," Lau said.

One low-Earth-orbit brand — SpaceX's Starlink internet constellation — grew by another two dozen satellites with a 12 a.m. EST Saturday Falcon 9 rocket liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

After ascending from Launch Complex 40 along a southeasterly trajectory, the Falcon 9's first-stage booster touched down aboard the SpaceX drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean roughly eight minutes after liftoff, wrapping up its sixth flight.

The Starlink 6-65 midnight mission lifted off on the heels of  SpaceX's landmark Tuesday night Starlink launch , which represented the company's 400th successful Falcon 9 mission and 375th overall booster landing.

Over on the West Coast, SpaceX crews also launched a Falcon 9 at 3:10 a.m. EST from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. That NROL-126 mission sent up five National Reconnaissance Office satellites and 20 Starlink satellites.

Looking ahead on the Space Coast launch calendar, another 4½-hour Starlink window will open early Wednesday morning, a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory shows. Hours: 3:29-8 a.m.

For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit  floridatoday.com/space .

Rocket Lab (RKLB) Spotlight: A New Challenger To SpaceX? - Securities.Io

Source: See here

Headlines:

Since the last landing on the Moon by Apollo 17 in 1972, men have not ventured into space further than near-Earth orbit. This can also be considered the date at which space technology started a long era of stagnation.

Many factors have driven this relative regression after the spectacular progress of the USA-Soviet space race.

Another reason was the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, leading to an even less competitive landscape for space exploration.

Lastly, another less often admitted reason is the growing bureaucracy of NASA and other space agencies. Without the hurry of a rival, space travel became a very routine and less ambitious endeavor. NASA became risk-averse and never really looked to replace the retired space shuttle. Contractors like Boeing would still provide rocket engines and launches but without much of a drive to push for new capacities or take any significant risks.

This was until 2002, when a relatively unknown tech entrepreneur named Elon Musk would create SpaceX. In more than 2 decades, the company has reignited interest in space exploration, demonstrated reusable rockets were possible, and radically cut costs to reach orbit.

This not only had the effect of bringing the fresh air of private enterprise and competition into the space sector. It also demonstrated to investors that it was actually possible, and that space was a perfectly valid new segment of "tech" ventures.

#news

Asteroid Bigger Than The Empire State Building Will Come Close Next Week

Read more: Visit website

An asteroid as wide as the Empire State Building is tall will fly by Earth on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, precisely 11 years after its discovery. For such a large object to come close to Earth is rated as a once-per-year event, but it won't pose any threat.

A 1,500-foot (450-meter) asteroid will pass closest to Earth at 5:27 UTC — 00:27 a.m. EST — on Wednesday, coming within 1.4 million miles (2.2 million kilometers) of the planet — about 5.7 times farther than the moon. The moon is, on average, 238,855 miles/384,400 kilometers from Earth.

Any object that comes within 4.6 million miles of Earth and is larger than 492 feet — capable of causing significant regional damage in the event of impact — is referred to as a "potentially hazardous object" by NASA.

The asteroid, called 2020 XR, was discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System 2 telescope in Hawaii on Dec. 4, 2020. The Pan-STARRS Project is designed to detect Near-Earth Objects that could threaten Earth.

Discovered on Jun. 19, 2004, Apophis is a stony, S-type asteroid that orbits the sun every 324 days and approaches Earth every decade. Initially feared to potentially collide with Earth in 2029, 2036, or 2068 with a 2.7% chance, further radar observations in 2021 confirmed that it would not impact Earth during those dates. It's named after the Egyptian demon of chaos, Apophis.

U Of A Can Help U.S. Prepare For Battles In Space

Reference: Visit website

The New University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella talks to community at press event. Caleb Simmons, director of Arizona Online and a member of the presidential search advisory committee, also talks to press about the new president and the search process. Video by Ellie Wolfe / Arizona⁘

Battles in the future will be fought in space — not at the speed of missiles, but at the speed of light, says the University of Arizona's new senior vice president for research and innovation, adding that the UA can help the U.S. prepare.

The UA has "unique strengths" in space science, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, machine learning, photonics and microelectronics, where solutions to the world's current challenges lie, Tomás Díaz de la Rubia told the Arizona Board of Regents at its Nov. 21 meeting.

Collaborating with the U.S. Defense Department and Arizona's military installations for national security purposes is "a key imperative" for the UA, Díaz de la Rubia said. "I believe strongly that state universities in this country have an imperative and a duty to help solve the great challenges we face in this very dangerous world we live in today," he said.

"We live in a dangerous neighborhood, there's no question about it. And to support our freedoms, our liberties that we so dearly care about, we need all of us to contribute to the solutions that are going to keep us safe and secure from our adversaries," said Díaz de la Rubia, who was brought to UA by new President Suresh Garimella and began his role on Nov. 11.

He spoke as ABOR discussed an initiative underlying the board's commitment to "strengthening the long-standing partnership between Arizona's public universities and defense agencies, advancing both state and national security priorities."

"To be able to develop those new technologies, to translate those new technologies, that will help our soldiers, our sailors, our airmen, our Marines, our coasts and our guardians is really truly an imperative for us," Díaz de la Rubia said.