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Will an asteroid ever hit Earth? Answered by a NASA scientist

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Aug 27, 2021 5:06 AM CDT

Most people that are aware of asteroids understand that if a large one was to ever line up with Earth, it could be a catastrophe.

Will an asteroid ever hit Earth? Answered by a NASA scientist

NASA has published a new video to its YouTube channel as a part of its "We Asked a NASA scientists" series where a NASA scientist was asked if an asteroid will ever hit Earth. A NASA asteroid expert, Dr. Kelly Fast, explained that many asteroids have hit Earth over the course of its history and that asteroids will continue to do so potentially millions of years into the future.

Fast explains that dust, meteorites, and asteroids hit Earth all the time and cause what we commonly refer to as "shooting stars" in the night sky. These shooting stars are dust, meteorites, and asteroids burning up in Earth's atmosphere as the planet's gravity pulls them in. As for large asteroids that pose a threat to the surface of the planet, NASA says there are currently no known impact threats.

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Continue reading: Will an asteroid ever hit Earth? Answered by a NASA scientist (full post)

Here's where NASA's next search for alien life will be

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Aug 27, 2021 4:32 AM CDT

NASA has its eyes set on a specific type of planet for its next search for extraterrestrial life out the deep dark cosmos.

Here's where NASA's next search for alien life will be

In a new video posted on the Bloomberg Quicktake YouTube channel, NASA scientists outline the reasons why the space agency is looking towards planets or moons that contain liquid water for signs of extraterrestrial life. NASA experts believe that if there is life outside of Earth, these moons or planets that are hosting liquid water beneath their icy crust are the best chance of finding it. Why do NASA believe this?

Researchers on Earth have found life in the strangest of places, and one of these places was the bottom of the ocean near hydrothermal vents. Life was found near these vents, and not just simple life forms either - a high diversity of life was found. This discovery changed human understanding of where life can exist, thus suggesting that other objects in our solar system that have extreme conditions similar to Earth's extreme conditions may also be able to support life.

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Continue reading: Here's where NASA's next search for alien life will be (full post)

Apollo 11 moon landing gets wicked twist in trailer for 'Humankind'

Jak Connor | Gaming | Aug 27, 2021 4:03 AM CDT

The Apollo 11 moon landing is one of the greatest achievements humans have ever made, but what if there was a wicked twist after Neil Armstrong put his first foot on the moon?

Apollo 11 moon landing gets wicked twist in trailer for 'Humankind'

The launch trailer for "Humankind" shows off this awesome twist as it depicts Neil Armstrong setting down on the moon and walking towards the flag-planting location. Upon reaching the location, he notices a footprint on the moon's surface, only to see another astronaut standing in front of him, but it's an astronaut from Brazil.

The two astronauts duke it out on the moon for the honor of being the first country to plant the flag, only to realize they aren't alone in this quest as astronauts from competing countries proceed to run down a moon hill to join in on the fight for 1st place. The launch trailer for a strategy game called "Humankind" developed by Amplitude Studios, where players will have the opportunity to take their civilizations through the ages of human existence and eventually even reach the moon.

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Continue reading: Apollo 11 moon landing gets wicked twist in trailer for 'Humankind' (full post)

NFT sales go bonkers, nearly a billion dollars of NFTs sold this month

Jak Connor | Cryptocurrency & Mining | Aug 27, 2021 3:32 AM CDT

The sale of non-fungible tokens seems to be skyrocketing as a sales tracking portal has reported that total sales for this month are closing in on previously set records.

NFT sales go bonkers, nearly a billion dollars of NFTs sold this month

According to the non-fungible token (NFT) tracking portal called Nonfungible, over the past 30 days, there has been $896 million worth of NFT sales. Projections expect that $896 million will reach $900 million by the end of August, setting a new record for the emerging industry. It should be noted that the previous best month for NFT sales occurred in May, when $255 million in NFTs were sold.

So, why are NFT sales up so much this month? Cointelegraph attributes the increase in NFT sales to the CrytoPunks and Axie Infinity. CryptoSlam reported that $397 million in CryptoPunk sales happened this August and that the average sale price for CryptoPunk digital artwork is $214,000, with the most expensive one selling for $11.5 million during a Sotheby auction in June. For more information on this story, check out this link here.

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Continue reading: NFT sales go bonkers, nearly a billion dollars of NFTs sold this month (full post)

Internet makes fun of replica rocket that took Jeff Bezos to space

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Aug 27, 2021 3:04 AM CDT

The internet rarely takes matters seriously, and whenever there is an opportunity to poke fun at a subject, it seems that opportunity is taken.

Internet makes fun of replica rocket that took Jeff Bezos to space

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin New Shepard rocket is seemingly facing the firing squad of the internet as individuals are making jokes about the miniature New Shepard rocket that is available for purchase. On July 20, Jeff Bezos briefly went to space aboard the New Shepard rocket. Now, Estes Industries partnered with Blue Origin has revealed a near-perfect replica of the New Shepard rocket that Bezos traveled in, and it's available for purchase for $69.

The replica rocket is flyable and can even reach 400 feet in altitude when its launched using model rocket engines. In the above launch video for the model rocket, the YouTube comment section is taking aim at the design of the rocket as well as the price. Individuals said, "My sister has one of them in her drawer", "Does it come a 12 mini-fig lawyers to sue NASA with?", and "It also comes with a vibrating mode that simulates the ignition and launch even in a wet and rainy day."

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Continue reading: Internet makes fun of replica rocket that took Jeff Bezos to space (full post)

Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos invited Russia's big launch

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Aug 27, 2021 2:36 AM CDT

Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and Jeff Bezos have been invited by Russia's space agency to join them at the launch of Soyuz MS-19.

Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos invited Russia's big launch

Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin invited the three space entrepreneurs to the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the launch of one of the space agency's most anticipated missions, Soyuz MS-19. Rogozin invited Musk, Branson, and Bezos on Russia's Channel One, while also revealing the mission will include a director, an actress, and a filmmaker that will shoot a movie aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Rogozin backed up his invitation on Twitter, saying, "On October 5, a new expedition will leave for the International Space Station. We are planning to send a cinematographic group of the leading television channel as part of it. If you succeed, I would be glad to see you on October 5 in the cradle of world cosmonautics - at the Baikonur cosmodrome." The movie that will be shot over a week aboard the ISS is titled "Vyzov", which translates to "Challenge".

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Continue reading: Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos invited Russia's big launch (full post)

AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX: 64C/128T teased once again

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | Aug 26, 2021 10:16 PM CDT

AMD is preparing to unleash even more ripped Ryzen Threadripper PRO processors with the new flagship Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX processor.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX: 64C/128T teased once again

AMD's new flagship Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX chip rocks out with 64 cores and 128 threads on offer -- but not only the flagship CPU was teased, but also the new Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5945WX with 12 cores and 24 threads.

The new Zen 3-powered thread-ripping beasts were found by @Benchleaks, which noted both the new Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX and 5945WX processors. The new codename "Chagall" processors are powered by the Zen 3 architecture, which will offer up to 64 cores and 128 threads with up to 280W TDP on the way.

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Continue reading: AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX: 64C/128T teased once again (full post)

EVGA X570S DARK motherboard teased, and boy does it look delicious

Anthony Garreffa | Motherboards | Aug 26, 2021 9:03 PM CDT

EVGA has been doing a drip-drip-drip method of unveiling and teasing its new -- and first-ever AMD motherboard, the upcoming EVGA X570S DARK motherboard.

EVGA X570S DARK motherboard teased, and boy does it look delicious

The new EVGA X570S DARK motherboard was recently teased by Vince "Kingpin" Lucido, teasing the absolutely beautiful motherboard in all its OC glory. It features the upgraded X570S chipset, with EVGA passively cooling it on the motherboard -- there's also 2 x DIMM slots, EVGA's infamous (and also awesome) angled power connectors, and on-board reset and power buttons.

There are 2 x PCIe 4.0 x16 slots here, so you can throw in any graphics card you want -- or two, or you could use the second PCIe 4.0 slot for a high-end NVMe RAID card. There's a single M.2 NVMe slot on the EVGA X570S DARK motherboard, which is attached to the high-speed PCIe 4.0 interface.

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Continue reading: EVGA X570S DARK motherboard teased, and boy does it look delicious (full post)

Fallout 76's future looks uncertain as project lead steps down

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 26, 2021 4:34 PM CDT

Fallout 76 project lead Jeff Gardiner has left Bethesda Game Studios, and fans wonder where the game will go from here.

Fallout 76's future looks uncertain as project lead steps down

Today Bethesda's underdog Fallout live game lost one of its key leaders as Jeff Gardiner departed from the studio. Gardiner had a 15-year run with Bethesda Game Studios and worked on a number of the company's highest profile games including Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, and Fallout 4 before punctuating his time at BGS with with Fallout 76.

"My time at BGS has come to an end. It has been an amazing ride, from producing the Designers on Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Skyrim to Lead Producer of Fallout 4, and finally Project Lead of Fallout 76. I will miss my co-workers and want to thank the amazing fans. Stay tuned," Gardiner announced on Twitter.

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Continue reading: Fallout 76's future looks uncertain as project lead steps down (full post)

Halo Infinite's PC spec requirements are a little crazy

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 26, 2021 2:04 PM CDT

Halo Infinite's PC spec requirements just got updated on Steam and they're actually pretty steep.

Halo Infinite's PC spec requirements are a little crazy

343i is going all out with Halo Infinite's PC version, complete with 4K 60FPS gaming, FOV sliders, ultra-wide support, and a ton of user settings and tweaks. These optimizations apparently come at a cost and Halo Infinite will have somewhat tough recommended specs on PC.

According to the newly revised Steam spec requirements, the developers want you to have a Radeon RX 5700 XT or an NVIDIA RTX 2070 GPU--both are pretty tough calls given the GPU shortages--alongside an AMD R7 3700X or Intel i7-9700K CPU. There's no spec target outlined but we're guessing the minimum specs are for 1080p (at least we hope so) and the recommended target 1440p and above.

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Continue reading: Halo Infinite's PC spec requirements are a little crazy (full post)

Destiny 2's The Witch Queen expansion is the beginning of the end

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 26, 2021 10:31 AM CDT

Destiny 2's huge new Witch Queen expansion is the beginning of the end of an epic seven-year saga of lore and conflict.

Destiny 2's The Witch Queen expansion is the beginning of the end

The Witch Queen is an epoch shift for Destiny 2. The expansion fundamentally changes the live game with a bunch of new features like weapon crafting, a new glaive weapon archetype, and seasonal subclass tweaks. The mindbending Savathun expansion also sets up the beginning of the end of the game's current storyline.

During its big showcase event, Bungie confirmed the Light vs Dark saga would end with the new Final Shape expansion. The current cadence is The Witch Queen (2022), Lightfall (2023), and The Final Shape (2024?).

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Continue reading: Destiny 2's The Witch Queen expansion is the beginning of the end (full post)

If aliens exist they could thriving on these 'super- Earths' planets

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Aug 26, 2021 6:06 AM CDT

Humans are constantly searching for other forms of life out in the cosmos, and most of the areas we are searching the hardest are on Earth-like.

If aliens exist they could thriving on these 'super- Earths' planets

It makes sense to search the cosmos for planets that are similar to Earth as that is the only planet we know of to host life. However, the universe is extremely diverse in the types of planets that it has produced, which means life could be elsewhere, but we just haven't checked. A new study by researchers from the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge in England has honed in on one type of planet, "hycean" planets, or "super-Earths."

These planets are around 2.5 times larger than Earth, have hydrogen-rich atmospheres, and are mostly covered in large oceans of liquid water, which researchers believe could contain microbial life much as we see here on Earth. On Earth, we have observed microbial life surviving in extreme environments such as miles beneath the Earth's crust and deep within oceans. This form of life has been categorized as "extremophiles".

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Continue reading: If aliens exist they could thriving on these 'super- Earths' planets (full post)

Wormholes are possible, but to build one we need a specific ingredient

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Aug 26, 2021 5:34 AM CDT

Are wormholes real, and is it possible for humans to construct one to travel through spacetime? Theoretically, yes, but we are missing a specific ingredient.

Wormholes are possible, but to build one we need a specific ingredient

Joao Rosa, a physicist at Aveiro University in Portugal, spoke to Live Science and said that she is attempting to "build" a virtual wormhole, but there are few problems that are needed to be overcome first. A wormhole is a theoretical passage between two points in space, however, with our current understanding of physics, wormholes are located beyond the event horizon of a black hole, and if an individual passed the event horizon, they would never be able to leave due to the extreme gravitational pull.

Additionally, the tunnel between the two points in space would likely collapse due to how unstable it is. In order to create a wormhole that doesn't trap the traveler, Rosa is proposing a form of matter that has negative energy or negative mass. The only problem is that researchers haven't yet observed negative mass in the observable universe, however at the quantum level, physicists have observed negative energy, but the observations have been limited to the microscopic scales.

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Continue reading: Wormholes are possible, but to build one we need a specific ingredient (full post)

Man finds 2,000 year old body that didn't decompose

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Aug 26, 2021 5:03 AM CDT

In the 1980's a man stumbled across what he believed to be a leather football while he was working an operation to collect peat, or soil.

Man finds 2,000 year old body that didn't decompose

Andy Moul was working his operation in Wilmslow in Cheshire England when he came across a decapitated head of what was later believed to be a woman that was murdered in the area 20 years prior. However, carbon dating of the head found that it was over 1,600 years old. In the same location Mould later found toe tails that eventuated into the discovery of a leg that was later carbon dated to around 2,000 years old.

What was strange about the head and body part was how well preserved they were, as the head still had skin, hair and an eyeball still intact. How were these bodies parts so well-preserved? It has to do with the soils contents, as the bog where they were found contains acids that are extremely good at preserving bodies. An example of this is the famous Lindow man that was discovered in the peat bog near Manchester, England, who was found still wearing a hat on his chin, and had whiskers on his chin.

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Continue reading: Man finds 2,000 year old body that didn't decompose (full post)

We just detected a mysterious exoplanet that has no known 'equivalent'

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Aug 26, 2021 4:36 AM CDT

An exoplanet satellite hunter has stumbled across an unexpected exoplanet that is being described as not having an equivalent.

We just detected a mysterious exoplanet that has no known 'equivalent'

The exoplanet satellite hunter named the CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS), a space telescope from the European Space Agency, which is designed to determine the size of extrasolar planets. The space telescope spotted the mysterious planet when it passed in front of its star, a common way researchers discover celestial objects.

The study has recently been published in the journal Nature Astronomy and details that the star Nu2 Lupi, which is located only 50 light-years from Earth. First author on the study, Laetitia Delrez, and a researcher at the University of Liege said, "Transiting systems such as Nu2 Lupi are of great importance in our understanding of how planets form and evolve, because we can compare several planets around the same bright star in detail."

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Continue reading: We just detected a mysterious exoplanet that has no known 'equivalent' (full post)

NASA says Moon landing in 2024 may happen after all, despite delays

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Aug 26, 2021 4:05 AM CDT

NASA recently said that it was facing delays for its Artemis program that would land humans back on the moon by 2024, but the space agency's administrator is remaining optimistic about the timeline.

NASA says Moon landing in 2024 may happen after all, despite delays

Despite the delays caused by the legal matters between Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin, Elon Musk's SpaceX, and NASA, NASA's Administrator Bill Nelson has said that the space agency isn't going to back down from the initial time frame. NASA is facing delays not only with the lunar dispute between SpaceX and Blue Origin but also with the astronaut spacesuits which the space agency said won't be ready in time.

Nelson spoke on August 24 at the Space Symposium and said, "Our human landing system demo award has been held up by delays and by litigation. The spacesuits, which, for the first time, were built by our commercial partners, have been technically challenging. And COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruptions in the supply chain. But remember back to what [President John F.] Kennedy said. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

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Continue reading: NASA says Moon landing in 2024 may happen after all, despite delays (full post)

China moves to build spacecraft that is miles in length

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Aug 26, 2021 3:38 AM CDT

China has big plans for space, and according to recent reports, the country is moving to build a very large spacecraft while in orbit.

China moves to build spacecraft that is miles in length

A proposal from the National Natural Science Foundation of China states that an analysis should be conducted on the mechanics and logistics of constructing an "ultra-large spacecraft spanning kilometers" - a miles-long spacecraft. The proposal states that spacecraft will be constructed in orbit and will require multiple launches to piece together modules.

The outline by the National Natural Science Foundation of China states that the team behind the project will face many tough challenges as costs of the project need to meet China's budget and that construction needs to be timely as the modules orbiting the planet in space will need to be kept under control, so they don't drift or start spinning. With this in mind, China plans on creating spacecraft with as few launches as possible.

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Continue reading: China moves to build spacecraft that is miles in length (full post)

Here's the most distant object astronomers have detected in space

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Aug 26, 2021 3:03 AM CDT

Have astronomers found the most distant object in space? Well, astronomers have located what they believe to be the most distant object detected so far.

Here's the most distant object astronomers have detected in space

The universe is 13.77 billion years old, and rewinding time back to the moment the universe began, you would see a massive explosion scientists refer to as the Big Bang. From that event is us, and all of the glorious stars and galaxies we are observing today. One galaxy in particular astronomers have come across is GN-z11 and the reason for its importance as it is believed to be the most distant object we have ever found - 13.4 billion light-years from Earth.

What about stars? Astronomers from the University of California-Berkeley believe they have honed in on a very distant star that could take the crown for the most distant star ever discovered. The star is titled MACS J1149 Lensed Star 1, or Icarus, located 9 billion light-years from Earth. Observing these planets and galaxies is quite literally looking back in time, and we have barely scratched the surface of what is to be found in the observable universe.

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Continue reading: Here's the most distant object astronomers have detected in space (full post)

Hacker steals $610 million of Ethereum, but then does the unexpected

Jak Connor | Cryptocurrency & Mining | Aug 26, 2021 2:31 AM CDT

A hacker has done the unthinkable after stealing $610 million worth of the cryptocurrency named Ethereum.

Hacker steals $610 million of Ethereum, but then does the unexpected

As pointed out by Engadget, this very well could be the strangest cryptocurrency heist that has happened so far, as the hacker going by the name Mr. White Hat hacked the cryptocurrency exchange platform Poly Network, stealing $610 million worth of Ethereum. What is strange about this hack is that Mr. White Hate has now returned every single dollar of the $610 million, saying that they're "ready to surrender".

The company has said that it has successfully recovered all of the lost funds, after the hacker infiltrated the network and seized $200 million in an account that requires a password from the hacker and Poly Network. Now, the hacker has said that they were attempting to contribute to the security of Poly Network, or perhaps the $610 million was difficult to convert to fiat currency, and they feared being caught by authorities.

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Continue reading: Hacker steals $610 million of Ethereum, but then does the unexpected (full post)

AMD Radeon Adrenalin 2020 21.8.2 drivers have been released

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Aug 25, 2021 11:58 PM CDT

AMD's new Radeon Adrenalin 2020 21.8.2 drivers are here, weighing at around 464MB and offering performance improvements when running Myst on the Radeon RX 6800 XT.

AMD Radeon Adrenalin 2020 21.8.2 drivers have been released

If you're running Myst on the Radeon RX 6800 XT at 4K Medium with ray tracing enabled, then you will be enjoying up to 6% more performance with the new Radeon Adrenalin 2020 21.8.2 drivers. Not only that, but the new Radeon drivers also provide support for Aliens: Fireteam Elite.

There's a bunch of fixed issues here too, including F1 2021 in Split Screen mode, playing Control using DX12 with corrupt light rays on graphics cards like the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT. There are still some known issues that AMD is aware of, with a "black screen issue that may be experienced" playing Myst or Kingshunt on the Radeon RX 6800 XT -- a workaround, for now, is disabling the Performance Metrics Overlay or Radeon Image Sharpening in Radeon Software.

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Continue reading: AMD Radeon Adrenalin 2020 21.8.2 drivers have been released (full post)

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