Science, Space, & Robotics - Page 118

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is the most powerful observatory ever built and was recently launched on December 25, 2021.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is slated to be the successor to the famous Hubble Space Telescope. The Hubble Space Telescope currently orbits the Earth, but the JWST has a much further destination planned out. NASA and accompanying space agencies have sent the JWST to a special place in the solar system known as the second Lagrange point (L2). This point in space is 930,000 miles away from Earth in the opposite direction of the Sun and has been selected due to balanced gravity in the area.

Gravity from the Sun and Earth is balanced in the five Lagrange points, which means the observatory will stay in a fixed position while using a very small amount of energy. Once Webb reaches this location, it will be locked into orbit with Earth. NASA recently stated that Webb has completed just over 91% of its journey to L2 and is currently 23 days into a 29-day trip. NASA expects the observatory to arrive at L2 on January 23.

The new research comes from Leiden University, which received a grant from the Netherlands Trade Union Convention (FNV).

Following a series of behavioral experiments simulating three different forms of social security, the researchers concluded that basic income would not necessarily mean that people would work less. The researchers also found indications that individuals with a basic income are more likely to find a job that is better suited to them.

A new study on the satellites' impact has been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Astronomers are concerned about the effect that SpaceX's Starlink satellite constellation could have on their scientific observations as the constellation grows in size. Currently standing at almost 1,800 satellites orbiting at an altitude of roughly 550 kilometers (341 miles), SpaceX plans to expand the constellation to 10,000 satellites by 2027.

A team of researchers analyzed archival images taken by the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), operating out of Caltech's Palomar Observatory, which scans the entirety of the night sky every two days, cataloging changes. In images taken between November 2019 and September 2021, researchers identified 5,301 satellite streaks. They are most apparent during twilight observations taken at dawn or dusk, the most critical time in finding near-Earth asteroids.

The rare 555.55-carat black diamond is dubbed "The Enigma" and is believed to have originated in outer space.

The auction house Sotheby's Dubai will be auctioning off the 55-faceted diamond in London in February. It expects the diamond will be sold for at least 5 million British pounds ($6.8 million), and they intend to accept cryptocurrency as a possible payment.

Black diamonds are also known as carbonado and are found naturally only in Brazil and Central Africa. Their origin is unknown, and six different hypotheses have been proposed, two of which refer to cosmic origins. They may have formed inside a giant star that then became a supernova, flinging the material toward Earth. They may also have come from asteroids, either directly or due to a collision with another interstellar object.

The projection comes as part of the Third UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA3) submitted to the UK Parliament.

The CCRA3 is required by the Climate Change Act 2008 and is partly based on an independent Technical Report produced by a team of over 600 researchers, led by the University of Exeter and Met Office. The Technical Report concludes that global warming increases risks to the UK's natural environment, human health, communities, infrastructure, businesses, security, migration, and supply chains.

The work is headed by the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), with a new paper describing its goals, next steps, and current achievements being published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences.

After launching in November 2018, the EBP is moving from its initial pilot projects to full-scale production sequencing. The goal of the EBP is to catalog complete DNA sequences for all 1.8 million named plant, animal, fungi species, and single-celled eukaryotes.

The project networks other efforts to sequence the DNA of life on Earth from other nations worldwide, such as the California Conservation Genome Project (U.S.), Darwin Tree of Life Project (Great Britain and Ireland), the Vertebrate Genome Project, and the 10,000 Bird Genomes Project. With the Earth forecasted to lose half of its biodiversity by the end of the century if nothing is done to stop climate change, the project serves to archive life on Earth as we know it and help protect our ecosystems and help prevent biodiversity loss.

On January 15, an underwater volcano several miles off the coast of Tonga erupted, causing the islands to be blanked in toxic volcanic ash.

An underwater volcano located 40 miles north of the capital of Tonga erupted, causing a massive plume of toxic smoke to be shot up into the atmosphere, reaching an altitude of 12 miles. The eruption immediately spawned a four-foot tsunami that hit the capital of Tonga. Additionally, the eruption knocked out most means of communications with the outside world as an underwater cable has been severed, which may take a week to restore.

Australia and New Zealand have sent surveillance flights over to Tonga to assess the damage, and reports indicate that there isn't mass causalities but significant damage to houses and resorts. On top of the physical damage from the tsunami, volcanic ash is blanketing the region and contaminating drinking water. Most residents aren't aware that the ash is toxic, which poses as a major health concern for many, said Tonga's deputy head of mission in Australia, Curtis Tu'ihalangingie.

A team of researchers detected radio signals coming from the center of the Milky Way, and then they mysteriously disappeared.

The ASKAP radio telescope located in Australia performed a survey that included 2 million objects, and each of the objects was being classified by a computer and researchers. One object, in particular, wasn't able to be classified by the computer or researchers and became an immediate object of interest as, throughout 2020, the object emitted six radio signals over the course of nine months. The researchers hadn't seen anything like this before.

Scientists attempted to locate the object that was causing the radio signals in infrared, visible, and X-ray wavelengths but were unable to spot anything. Additionally, the object stopped emitting signals for months on end, and then researchers re-detected it around a year after it was first discovered. While the signals aren't officially classified as anything yet, researchers are using the placeholder name "galactic center radio transients" (GCRTs).

Researchers have discovered that Earth's core may be cooling much faster than previously anticipated after performing interesting tests on bridgmanite.

A team of scientists from Carnegie and ETH Zurich decided to perform an experiment on bridgmanite, a miner that is found in large quantities at the boundary between Earth's outer core and its lower mantle. The researchers used a diamond anvil cell and combined it with bridgmanite samples. The diamond anvil cell was then placed in front of a laser to simulate the high pressure and temperature found at the boundary region and then observed the cooling process with an optical absorption system.

The results from the experiment indicated that bridgmanite was much better at conducting heat than previously thought, in fact, it was 1.5 times better. Due to higher heat conductivity, a higher rate of cooling takes place, which means that Earth's core will cool down faster than what was previously estimated. Additionally, once bridgmanite cools, it turns into a mineral dubbed post-perovskite, which as Interesting Engineering reports, "conducts heat at an even faster rate".

Researchers have penned a new study that details an analysis of carbon isotopes in sediment samples taken by NASA's Curiosity rover located in the Gale Crater, Mars.

Curiosity has spent the last nine years roaming the surface of the Gale Crater, and along the way, it has taken samples of rock that have then been analyzed by its instruments. The data from that analysis is then relayed back to researchers on Earth for interpretation. According to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analysis on carbon isotopes has uncovered three possible origins for the carbon.

Researchers note that all three of the possible origins of the carbon are "unconventional", and are "unlike processes common on Earth." The researchers explained that carbon has two stable isotopes, carbon 12 and carbon 13. By examining how many of each are in a sample, the researchers can determine, to at least some degree, the specifics of the carbon's origin despite the age of the sample.

Mount Vesuvius is one of the most dangerous volcanoes on Earth, and now an incredible bird-eye view of the volcano has been captured with a NASA satellite.

NASA's Landsat 8 satellite has been used to capture a phenomenal image of one of the few active volcanoes located on Europe's mainland. NASA's Earth Observatory blog post explains that Mount Vesuvius is a "composite stratavolcano" that is comprised of "pyroclastic flows, lava flows and debris". These volcanic debris have accumulated over thousands of years to form the iconic volcanic cone we can see in the above image.

The blog post notes that more than 3 millions people live in Naples, a city in Italy and around 800,000 people live on the slopes of the volcano, making it "one of the most dangerous volcanoes on the planet". Vesuvius has had eight major eruptions in the last 17,000 years and the most famous would have to be an eruption that occurred in A.D 79 when the volcano wiped out the roman city of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The most recent eruption occurred on March 17, 1944 and the volcano destroyed the village of San Sebastiano, Italy.

A powerful underwater volcano located about 40 miles south of Tonga has erupted, spawning a tsunami that has now impacted the mainland.

The eruption happened on January 15 and was captured on film from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) GOES-West Earth-observing satellite. The footage showcases a large mushroom cloud of toxic ash erupting from the ocean and climbing as high as 12 miles in altitude. The eruption caused a sonic boom and a 4-foot tsunami to hit Tonga's capital of Nuku'alofa.

Tongan Olympian, Pita Taufatofua, has announced a GoFundMe page dedicated to providing relief for all Tongans affected by the tsunami. According to the description on the GoFundMe page, the eruption has "devastated Tonga," and that all communications with the island have been cut off.

On January 15, an underwater volcano located in Tonga erupted, and the violent explosion was captured from a satellite in space.

The video posted by Space.com was captured by the GOES West Earth-observing satellite that's currently operated by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The above video showcases an extremely large explosion occurring, followed by a plume of smoke floating up into the atmosphere to an altitude of 12 miles.

The Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption immediately spawned a four-foot tsunami that hit Tonga's capital of Nuku'alofa that's located around 40 miles south of the volcano. Additionally, tsunami warnings and evacuation orders were issued for neighboring countries. The Associated Press has reported that there have been no injuries following the eruption, but added that Tonga's internet access was interrupted following the explosion.

NASA has its eyes on space and is constantly looking for anything that may pose as a threat to our little blue planet.

The space agency recently confirmed via an entry in its Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) that an asteroid dubbed 7482 (1994 PC1) will be making its closest approach with Earth on January 18, 2022. The space rock is estimated to be around 3,400 feet wide and will safely zoom past Earth at 47,000 mph and at a distance of five times the distance between the Earth and the moon (1.2 million miles).

BusinessInsider reports that the 1994 PC1 is around half a mile wide, which is around the size of the Empire State Building in New York. Due to its size and its "close" approach with Earth, NASA is tracking the whereabouts of the space rock and has recently announced that you can join in on the tracking as well by heading over to the NASA Eyes website. Additionally, the space agency explains that asteroid 1994 PC1 is "very well known and has been studied for decades by planetary our defense experts".

Human DNA contains the genetic code for what makes up a human, and now it's being used to create an "easy-to-use" antenna.

The team of chemists behind the world's smallest antenna comes from the University of Montreal, and according to the researchers, the nanoantenna will be used to assist scientists in identifying new drugs. The nanoantenna will do this by monitoring the motions of proteins and observing the structural changes that take place over a period of time.

The researchers explain that this "device" is outfitted with a five-nanometer-long antenna that has fluorescent molecules located at the end. The fluorescent molecules aren't just for show, as study author Scott Harroun explained that the nanoantenna signals a change in the structure of a protein by changing the color of light that it's emitting.

A new study details the discovery of water vapor being present in the atmosphere of a planet that's a little bigger than Neptune.

The study comes from a team of astronomers at the University of Kansas, and according to the researchers, the exoplanet that has become of high interest to researchers is a gas giant called TOI-674 b. This exoplanet is believed to be 1.3 times the size of Neptune and has a close orbit with its host star. Due to the planet's orbit being so close to its star, completing a full circle of the star in just two days, researchers don't believe the planet is harboring any life.

However, researchers believe that analyzing the chemical makeup of an exoplanet's atmosphere can assist astronomers and fellow researchers in figuring out how planets form and how distant planets compare to planets located closer to home. Notably, this isn't the first time that water vapor has been detected in the atmosphere of another planet, as NASA's Hubble Space Telescope discovered water vapor on a faraway planet called K2-18b in 2019.

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos may have a new competitor when it comes to who holds the crown for the world's richest individual.

Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, the co-founder and CEO of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance has just jumped some places on the world's wealthiest individuals list. According to a report from Bloomberg, Zhao's latest net worth valuation is $96 billion, which places him under some prominent figures such as Oracle founder Larry Ellison at $109 billion and Steve Ballmer, LA Clippers owner, and former Microsoft CEO, at $112 billion.

Notably, Bloomberg writes that Zhao's $96 billion net worth is likely far higher as the valuation didn't include the earnings or Zhao's current cryptocurrency holdings. Binance gave a statement to Bloomberg that explained that due to the constantly changing dynamic in the cryptocurrency space, it's difficult to give an accurate estimation. Anyone involved in the cryptocurrency space understands this volatility that Binance is mentioning.

Reports out of China indicate that the nation is looking towards creating its own base on the moon that will rival plans set out by the United States.

A new report from the South China Morning Post states that the nation is moving towards building its own "artificial moon" that will simulate a low-gravity environment. According to the report, the artificial moon will be built in just a few months and will be used by researchers to test out any equipment or tools that may perform differently in a low-gravity environment.

Notably, the artificial moon will measure in at just 60 centimeters in diameter, and while that is very small compared to the actual moon, it will still provide researchers and engineers a suitable testing environment. The artificial moon and the low gravity on it are slated to be created by placing the moon in a vacuum chamber that simulates space. The gravity will be simulated with a strong magnetic field.

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is responsible for the new map.

DESI was installed on the Mayall telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in the Sonoran Desert and aims to achieve a better understanding of dark energy, the force hypothesized to drive the universe's expansion. Using a two-dimensional map of the universe released in January 2021, the DESI team prepared DESI to conduct its three-dimensional survey of the universe.

DESI's survey has created a map that contains over 7.5 million galaxies, far exceeding the approximately 930,000 galaxies comprising the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from 2008. DESI will expand this map, and the team expects the survey to be completed by 2026 after observing an estimated 35 million galaxies.

The World Economic Forum has released The Global Risks Report 2022 , with one of its seven chapters dedicated to space, entitled "Crowding and Competition in Space."

The report cites concerns such as Kessler Syndrome, which could arise from ever-increasing satellite numbers in orbit around Earth. The situation could get dramatically worse a lot sooner as military or defense-oriented presence increases. Another potential issue is how the governments and private companies may violate the United Nations' Outer Space Treaty, as some are concerned the Artemis Accords will.

The report also addresses the lack of effective governance tools for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), the governing body for space-based activity, to manage the evolving reality of space affairs. It states the pressing need for an authority that governs satellite launches and servicing and can control space traffic, enforcing various aspects of space travel.