Science, Space, Health & Robotics News - Page 153

All the latest Science, Space, Health & Robotics news with plenty of coverage on space launches, discoveries, rockets & plenty more - Page 153.

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Sun erupts 19 solar flares in a day, hits Earth cause radio blackout

Jak Connor | Apr 21, 2022 2:03 AM CDT

Sun has been on a rampage with activity lately, releasing a succession of solar flares and coronal mass ejections.

Sun erupts 19 solar flares in a day, hits Earth cause radio blackout

On April 20, officials confirmed that in a 24-hour period, an active sunspot group flared 19 times, with six of those flares being M-class (moderate) explosions followed by a very powerful X2.2 (strong) class flare. These flares came from a region just beyond the southwest limb of the Sun, "likely former Region 2992," according to the National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Notably, the large flare of the barrage that was released came from a sunspot located on the edge of the Sun, meaning that Earth didn't experience the full force of the blast. Officials at the US Air Force confirmed that the flare caused a Type II solar radio burst. NOAA reported that it impacted large portions of the sunlit side of the Earth; southeast Asia and Australia. Throughout this time, radio operators would have noticed a loss of connection at frequencies below 30 MHz for about an hour.

Continue reading: Sun erupts 19 solar flares in a day, hits Earth cause radio blackout (full post)

US government documents confirm research into worm holes, anti-gravity

Jak Connor | Apr 21, 2022 1:31 AM CDT

A four-year-old Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was fulfilled by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), providing nearly 1,600 pages of unclassified documents to Motherboard.

US government documents confirm research into worm holes, anti-gravity

These 1,600 pages of documents contain various scientific research papers, old contracts, presentations, briefings between individuals about certain programs, and memos. Additionally, Vice reports that the documents contain information on what the Advanced Aerospace Weapons System Application Program (AAWSAP), an arm of the DIA, was researching.

The AAWSAP and the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), another arm of the DIA, as explained by a DIA spokesperson, "[AATIP] was the name of the overall program. [AAWSAP] was the name of the contract that DIA awarded for the production of technical reports under AATIP." According to the documents, the focus was put on invisibility cloaking, traversable wormholes, antigravity, negative energy, gravity communications, and nuking the moon to create a tunnel from one side to the other.

Continue reading: US government documents confirm research into worm holes, anti-gravity (full post)

NASA chief says ISS is working fine despite Russia's 'slaughter'

Jak Connor | Apr 21, 2022 12:32 AM CDT

Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, the tensions between the United States and the Kremlin have increased, but apparently, it hasn't affected the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA chief says ISS is working fine despite Russia's 'slaughter'

Despite the strange and aggressive threats from Russia's space agency "Roscosmos" head Dmitry Rogozin, who threatened to crash the ISS into the US, NASA has been very firm that a working relationship has been maintained between Russian cosmonauts and NASA astronauts that are currently aboard the ISS. Recently, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said that the "working relationship" is enduring despite "all the slaughter we're seeing daily".

Since Russia's invasion began, NASA and other prominent space agencies from around the world have separated themselves from Roscosmos, with NASA publicly stating it's maintaining a stance of diplomatic negotiations with Russia. Futurism reports that the recent comments from Nelson are the first time the NASA administrator has publicly condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Continue reading: NASA chief says ISS is working fine despite Russia's 'slaughter' (full post)

NASA rover films potato-shaped solar eclipse from the surface of Mars

Jak Connor | Apr 21, 2022 12:03 AM CDT

A potato-shaped solar eclipse has been captured by NASA's Perseverance rover, providing data to planetary scientists looking to understand the gravitation relationship between Mars' moons and its interior.

NASA rover films potato-shaped solar eclipse from the surface of Mars

Perseverance's Mastcam-z camera was used to capture the solar eclipse on April 2, which lasted for just over 40 seconds. The new footage breaks records for being the most zoomed-in, highest frame-rate observation of a Phobos solar eclipse, according to NASA. Furthermore, the new observation will add to the 18-year-old pile of Phobos solar eclipses that were first recorded by NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers.

With this data, researchers are able to learn more about how the moon's tidal force impacts the interior of Mars, crust, and mantle. Notably, Phobos is a doomed moon as it's expected to eventually crash into the surface of Mars in around 10+ million years. NASA writes on its website that observations such as the one recently acquired by Perseverance allow NASA scientists to understand better Phobos' "death spiral", which will lead to a more accurate prediction of its doomed timeline.

Continue reading: NASA rover films potato-shaped solar eclipse from the surface of Mars (full post)

Satellites for Google Maps are revealing Russia's military assets

Adam Hunt | Apr 20, 2022 5:25 AM CDT

A Twitter account with the handle @ArmedForcesUkr shared images of Russian military establishments taken from Google Maps on April 18th, 2022.

Satellites for Google Maps are revealing Russia's military assets

The account suggested that the publicly visible content meant that Google had sided with Ukraine against Russia, with a message translating to "now everyone can see a variety of Russian launchers, intercontinental ballistic missile mines, command posts and secret landfills with a resolution of about 0.5 meters per pixel." A spokesperson from Google told The Verge that the information had been in the public domain since before the conflict in Ukraine began. Google has already taken a stance concerning Russia by pausing ad sales in the country, cutting off Google Pay access, and banning Russian state media from advertising on YouTube.

Google blurs certain imagery in its Maps service, notably number plates and faces, to protect individual privacy. This blurring practice does extend to some military establishments, for example, the French Air Force base BA 705. However, the infamous Area 51 and other military bases are not blurred, as Google maintains its policy is to keep as much in the public domain as possible.

Continue reading: Satellites for Google Maps are revealing Russia's military assets (full post)

This 'Hobbit-like' human ancestor may still be alive and hidden away

Adam Hunt | Apr 20, 2022 5:04 AM CDT

The humanoid species known as Homo floresiensis is believed by retired ethnobiologist Gregory Forth to be still alive.

This 'Hobbit-like' human ancestor may still be alive and hidden away

Remains of the species were first found on the Indonesian island of Flores by the late anthropologist Mire Morwood in 2004. The bones found came from the Pleistocene era, the most recent geological epoch, which ended about 11,700 years ago and began about 2,580,000 years ago.

The species was believed to be extinct and at the time of its discovery was dubbed "the Hobbit" due to its diminutive stature. According to Forth, a local tribe called the Lio has encountered a small creature that he believes may be a member of the H. floresiensis species, which he describes in his upcoming book Between Ape and Human.

Continue reading: This 'Hobbit-like' human ancestor may still be alive and hidden away (full post)

NASA is celebrating Hubble's 32nd birthday with this spectacular shot

Adam Hunt | Apr 20, 2022 4:01 AM CDT

The Discovery space shuttle launched the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) into orbit on April 25th, 1990.

NASA is celebrating Hubble's 32nd birthday with this spectacular shot

The image released by NASA to celebrate Hubble's 32nd birthday features The Hickson Compact Group 40, a collection of five closely gathered galaxies. Three of the galaxies are spiral-shaped, one is elliptical, and one is lenticular, meaning lens-like. They are close enough together to fit within a region of space that spans less than twice the diameter of the Milky Way's stellar disk.

Other close groupings of galaxies can be found deep within large galaxy clusters elsewhere in the universe, but The Hickson Compact Group 40 is one of the most densely clustered. It is also unusual because it is relatively isolated, in the direction of the largest modern constellation, called Hydra.

Continue reading: NASA is celebrating Hubble's 32nd birthday with this spectacular shot (full post)

Famous physicist drops warning on NASA shooting Earth info into space

Jak Connor | Apr 20, 2022 2:03 AM CDT

A group of NASA-led researchers have proposed beaming information on the Earth and the human race into space, in search of any extraterrestrial life that may respond.

Famous physicist drops warning on NASA shooting Earth info into space

The project is called "Beacon in the Galaxy" (BITG) and includes researchers operating the ETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array in California and China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) to send out sensitive information regarding Earth's position in the solar system, images of humans, Earth's biology, information about DNA structure, physics and more.

The project has already been opposed by researchers from the United Kingdom's Oxford University, who warned that the dangers of sending out such a message are not yet fully understood, and that the downside of shooting up such a flare could be far larger than the upside. The warning from the Oxford researchers has now been echoed by famous theoretical physicist Michio Kau, who spoke on "Jesse Watters Primetime," where he said that it's a "horrible idea".

Continue reading: Famous physicist drops warning on NASA shooting Earth info into space (full post)

US vows to stop satellite killer testing, Russian official fires back

Jak Connor | Apr 20, 2022 1:36 AM CDT

The US has committed to ending anti-satellite weapon testing in an effort to stop the spreading of space debris in low-Earth orbit.

US vows to stop satellite killer testing, Russian official fires back

The announcement came from Vice President Kamala Harris, that said the US is ending all practice of anti-satellite missile tests, which is a military demonstration that involves a missile being launched at a satellite. So far, four countries, US, China, Russia, and India, have conducted these tests on their own satellites, with the most recent being Russia in November 2021.

Russia's anti-satellite missile test created thousands of new space debris that caused astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to prepare for shrapnel impact in shelter. Harris said that space debris could destroy satellites that support the weather forecast, GPS driving directions, and "even your favorite television station."

Continue reading: US vows to stop satellite killer testing, Russian official fires back (full post)

Top scientists announce NASA probing Uranus is a top priority

Jak Connor | Apr 20, 2022 1:04 AM CDT

The new survey was published by the renowned US National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine and details the most sought-after questions in science by top scientists in their respective fields.

Top scientists announce NASA probing Uranus is a top priority

The survey was published by the National Academies Press and details many scientific wishlist prospects that the researchers consider being a "top priority". One of them is the collection and retrieval of Mars rocks, and another is sending an interplanetary probe to Uranus to inspect the planet more closely and gather a deeper understanding of its history, current state, and future.

The scientists behind the survey have called upon NASA to take up the task and send a Uranus Orbiter and Probe. The orbiter would be similar to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that is designed to study the geology and climate of the Red Planet. The requested probe would plummet into the atmosphere of Uranus. The researchers expect that this level of a mission to Uranus should launch sometime in 2030 if engineers begin the development process in 2023.

Continue reading: Top scientists announce NASA probing Uranus is a top priority (full post)