Science, Space, & Robotics - Page 165

Researchers have been able to link an oxygen event 250 million years ago to Earth's largest extinction event.

The largest extinction in Earth's history, where 96% of the planet's marine life and 70% of the land animals died, has been linked to an oxygen event. The largest extinction event to ever happen on Earth marked the ending of the Permian period 250 million years ago, and now according to a new study published in Nature Geoscience by researchers from Florida State University (FSU), a sudden rise and then a drop in the ocean's oxygen levels coincided with the mass extinction event.

Sean Newby, the lead author on the study and FSU graduate research assistant, said, "There's previous work that's been done that shows the environment becoming less oxygenated leading into the extinction event, but it has been hypothesized as a gradual change. We were surprised to see this really rapid oxygenation event coinciding with the start of the extinction and then a return to reducing conditions."

Last week the Russian module Nauka arrived at the International Space Station, but after it docked with the floating laboratory, it knocked it off normal orbit path.

When Nauka arrived at the ISS, it began the docking process, but its thrusters continued to fire after it had docked, which resulted in the entire station being pushed off course. Initially, NASA said that the incident caused the ISS to be pushed "45 degrees out of attitude" and that the crew was completely safe.

However, Zebulon Scoville, the Nasa flight director who was leading mission control during the incident, told The New York Times that the space station actually "spun one-and-a-half revolutions - about 540 degrees - before coming to a stop upside down". Scoville added that the ISS then did a forward flip to get itself back into its original orientation. On top of that, Scoville said that he was forced into declaring his very first "spacecraft emergency" due to the incident.

A new interactive tool has been published online that allows you to see where your house would be when dinosaurs walked the Earth millions of years ago.

The tool has been created by California paleontologist Ian Webster who spoke to CNN and said that the map shows "that our environment is dynamic and can change". For those that don't know, the seven continents that we know of today weren't always separated as they are now. Around 240 million years ago, all of the continents were together and formed one large landmass called Pangea.

As time went on, Pangea broke apart to form the continents we know today. According to Webster, "The history of Earth is longer than we can conceive, and the current arrangement of plate tectonics and continents is an accident of time. It will be very different in the future, and Earth may outlast us all." The interactive map Webster created allows users to enter their home addresses to see where their location would be up to 750 million years ago. Check out the tool here.

A landmass that once connected Britain to the continent of Europe has been pieced together by a team of archaeologists.

The landmass that was swallowed by a tsunami more than 8,200 years ago is called Doggerland, and now a team of archaeologists inspecting the area along the Dutch coastline has gathered enough data to piece together what Doggerland looked it.

According to a report from The Guardian, more than 200 objects from Doggerland were discovered by archaeologists, and those objects included things such as a deer bone that had an arrowhead embedded in it, fossils, mammoth molars, and a skull fragment from a young Neanderthal.

Astronomers find peculiar-looking things in the cosmos all the time, even to the point where a collection of the most strange wonders of the cosmos is compiled into a book for viewing pleasure.

The Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies is a catalog by Halton Arp, and it's comprised of a collection of all of the strangest galaxies found. The Atlas was assembled in the early 1960s, and since then, astronomers have been finding more and more of these weird and wonderful galaxies. Our window to the universe, or more commonly named the Hubble Space Telescope, has been snapping images of these galaxies for the past 31 years.

Above is an image that was taken by Hubble, and it's of the galaxy Arp 195. As you can see, the galaxy is all warped and distorted, but why? Arp 195 is caught, literally, in a cosmic game of gravitational tug-of-war. Arp 195 isn't a single galaxy - it's actually a trio of galaxies all slowly colliding with each other. This slow collision and the gravity from each of the galaxies is causing what would be normal-looking spiral galaxies to become distorted.

A national park in Alaska has posted a very cool video of a "flying saucer" hovering above the water in a picturesque landscape.

The video was posted to the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Facebook page, and if you are already jumping to conclusions about it beings aliens or extraterrestrial origin, you would be wrong as this "sighting" can be easily explained. The Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Facebook page post explains that what is caught on video here is called Fata Morgana, an optical illusion that is seen within a narrow band on Earth's horizon.

The Facebook page explains, "Islands in glacier bay turn to UFOs or the flying Dutchman with a little imagination and a pinch of cool science! When air of different densities meet, the air in Earth's atmosphere acts as a refracting lens, creating the mirage effect we see. Cool, calm air often forms at the water's surface- then, if warm dense air pushes down on the cool air at the surface, a lens is created. This phenomenon occurred on a warm day (70F+) in Glacier Bay, but is not exclusive to summer months."

A massive meteor is slated to pass dangerously close to Earth this month, and according to researchers, you will be able to spot it if you have the right equipment.

The asteroid is named 2016 AJ193, and according to reports, it's estimated to be just under a mile in diameter and is traveling at a ridiculous 58,538 miles per hour. NASA has dubbed the asteroid "possibly dangerous". However, EarthSky has said that the asteroid won't impact Earth. 2016 AJ193 was identified back in 2016 by astronomers using the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System at the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii.

2016 AJ193 barely completes one orbit of the sun every six years, and according to NatureWorldNews, the asteroid won't pass by Earth for another 65 years. If you are interested in checking out the asteroid for yourself, you will need an amateur-level telescope and be stationed outside on August 23 around 11:10 a.m. If you are interested in reading more about this asteroid, check out this link here.

Researchers have found a fundamental link between the Moon, Earth's rotation speed, and global oxygen levels.

A new study published in Nature Geoscience has explored a connection between the Moon, Earth's day/night cycle, and the amount of oxygen that is being produced globally. Researchers connected the Moon's gravitational impact on Earth, which is causing the planet to slow down, to the rate of microbes use photosynthesis to produce oxygen.

Due to the days of Earth growing longer, around 1.8 milliseconds every century, these microbes were experiencing more sunlight overall and thus producing more oxygen. Based on fossil records, researchers know that Earth days were half an hour shorter 70 million years ago and only 18 hours in total 1.4 billion years ago. Since the Moon is slowly moving away from Earth, the days will grow much longer with enough time, resulting in these cyanobacteria microorganisms having a larger window to photosynthesize and produce oxygen.

A new paper published in Nature Communications has explored the amount of energy Earth has absorbed from the sun and emitted into space.

The entire planets climate depends on many factors, but the main is the sun and how much energy it emits towards Earth. Earth also emits energy back out into space and this process of absorbing energy from the sun, and how much energy Earth is putting back out into space, has been measured by Princeton University researchers in an effort to explore the planet's future climate.

The researchers found that carbon dioxide emissions, methane and other greenhouse gases linked to human activities are responsible for the atmosphere containing too much heat, which leads the planet to absorbing infrared radiation that would have otherwise been released out into space. This atmospheric oven results in changes in cloud cover, sea ice melting and other environmental impacts.

Tesla and Neoen fired up their Victorian Big Battery at Geelong last Friday... but the Tesla Megapack battery caught fire during the test, and took 4 entire days to extinguish.

The fire itself started quickly after the test started, with fire crews attending and containing the blaze at first... but they weren't able to completely extinguish it, so there's no way of knowing what started it. The fire itself was contained to just two battery packs, and while the fire was contained there would be sparks that would re-ignite the blaze... for multiple days.

Tesla has of course not responded, with French renewable energy company Neoen responding to media requests. Louis de Sambucy, managing director of Neoen Australia said: "As previously advised, there were no injuries, the site was disconnected from the grid and there has been no impact to electricity supply. Investigation preparations are under way and physical inspections will commence once the CFA have completed their procedures".

A new study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters explored the star labeled as LP 40-365, a unique fast-moving star.

So, what is LP 40-365, and why is it moving towards the edge of the Milky Way galaxy at such speeds? The fast-moving star is actually shrapnel from a larger star exploding in a supernova. JJ Hermes, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of astronomy, said, "This star is moving so fast that it's almost certainly leaving the galaxy...[it's] moving almost two million miles an hour."

The researchers behind the paper say that observing LP 40-365 gives astronomers more knowledge on stars that have undergone a similar fate. The fast-moving star is described as "star shrapnel", and it's primarily comprised of metals, and while being some of the fastest stars ever detected, they are also some of the most metal-rich stars ever observed. For more information on this story, check out this link here.

Blue Origin issued an official protest against NASA's decision to award Elon Musk's SpaceX with a $2.9 billion contract to construct a new lunar lander for the upcoming Artemis mission.

NASA told SpaceX to pause the construction of the new lunar lander until the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a decision on the protest. That decision was announced by the GAO on Friday, and the "congressional watchdog" stated that "NASA did not violate procurement law or regulation when it decided to make only one award," which was Blue Origin's entire defense in protesting the initial decision.

The GAO stated, "The announcement reserved the right to make multiple awards, a single award, or no award at all. In reaching its award decision, NASA concluded that it only had sufficient funding for one contract award. As a result, GAO denied the protest arguments that NASA acted improperly in making a single award to SpaceX."

A video of what appears to be a "shape-shifting UFO" has been filmed near a plane, but is it actually a UFO?

The video was uploaded to the YouTube channel Disclose Screen The Grimreefar, and the narrator of the video insinuates that the strange object seen in the video is a "shape-shifting UFO" or a "plasma-based alien lifeform" living in the upper atmosphere. The problem with this video is the assumptions made about the object that doesn't consider any established science.

Plasma is matter that is superheated to temperatures, so hot electrons are stripped away, turning into an ionizing gas. It cannot support carbon-based life as there is no atomic structure. Assumptions such as these and that any object that a viewer can't identify is an "alien UFO" may lead to people rejecting authentic videos due to how many fake videos they have seen. UFO videos need to be taken with a healthy amount of skepticism and the appropriate scientific method to establish authentic evidence.

A new research paper has revealed that Google's quantum computer has been used to create something called a "time crystal".

It should be noted before I explain what this "time crystal" is, the research paper from Google researchers has yet to be peer-reviewed, which means the findings are not yet "official" and can be challenged by other academics in the field. So, what is a "time crystal"? A time crystal is a state of matter that can continuously operate out of thermal equilibrium.

A good way to think of this is by imaging an ice cub and a glass of water. By placing an ice cube in the water, the water in the glass becomes cooler, but the ice will eventually melt, and after enough time, the water will become room temperature. This process is "thermal equilibrium". According to the paper, researchers used Google's quantum computer called Sycamore to create a system that operates outside of thermal equilibrium, a new phase of matter.

Ever since the internet got hyped about the Pentagon's UFO report, videos have been emerging that claim they feature "UFOs".

Due to the lack of official knowledge around unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) or UFOs, and the overall suspicion around the subject, it's difficult to siphon through all of the "evidence" of UFOs without running into fakes. Fake evidence of UFOs usually comes in doctored videos or images and can usually be spotted with a quick check for reliable evidence.

The /r/UFO subreddit is littered with these videos, and even with the lack of substantial evidence, the clips or images still manage to go viral, sometimes even reaching Reddit's front page. A video recently posted to the /r/UFO subreddit shows what the author claims to be a "fleet of UFOs flying from the dark side of the moon".

Imagine that you're laying there at night, just got into your bed and pulled the cover over you... and then a huge siren starts blasting through your town... and you don't know what it is, at all.

An unidentified siren has been blasting out to residents of Suitland, Maryland throughout the night and all they want to know is where the noise is coming from, and they want it to stop. Suitland, Maryland resident Scott Bovarnick said: "It sounds kind of like a combination of a tornado siren and a spaceship taking off, like the siren from the 'Purge' movies. We have a lot of young families in the neighborhood, a lot of children, and I know it's probably keeping them up. A lot of my neighbors are having trouble sleeping, and it's disturbing".

NBC Washington reports that complaints of loud noises in the area of Prince George's County aren't new, and they've been happening "on and off for years". Residents are pinpointing the siren to the US Census Bureau building, which is in the Suitland Federal Center.

It's happened again: someone has been caught flying around LAX in a jetback, with pilots calling air traffic control to say they have a "possible Jetpack man in sight".

With the huge uptick in UFO chatter, sightings, and the infamous UFO report -- it should come as no surprise that the pilots thought it was a UFO. But nope, it's someone in a jetpack, and with all of the advanced radar technology, surveillance technology (private and military) they still don't know who is doing this.

FOX 11 got their hands-on audio recordings of the pilots talking with air traffic control at LAX, here's what they said:

NASA is currently planning on the construction of a new deep-space communication dish in an effort to address upcoming demand on the network.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Deep Space Network Project Manager Bradford Arnold told Region Media that the most recent upgrades to the current facilities are struggling with the demand and that the construction of this new cutting-edge deep-space antenna will get ahead of the coming problem. The new deep-space antenna is estimated to cost around $82.3 million and will be constructed in Tidbinbilla, Canberra, Australia.

Arnold told Region Media, "We are trying to address the upcoming demand by developing new efficiencies and building more antennas. All missions may expect to get a little less than they get now." Arnold goes on to say that there are 34 upcoming missions that the network would need to handle, and that's "about 70 percent more than we have today. While the new antennas will help, it's likely the [deep space network] will struggle to keep up."

Astronomers have accidentally found an exoplanet that has more water than Earth, and its star can be seen with the naked eye.

A Sun-like star located just 50 light-years away, which is quite small when you are speaking on distances most commonly used in space, has been accidentally found to have an exoplanet that is believed to house more water than Earth. The exoplanet is named Nu2 Lupi d and was accidentally located when astronomers were using the European Space Agency's Cheops satellite to observe a star.

The researchers objective was to observe planets b and c around the star and stumbled across evidence of planet d. The astronomers were using the transit photometry method of identifying planets, which is when astronomers observe the brightness of the local star and record any dips in brightness. These dips represent an object passing in between the telescope and the star, and in this case, it was a mystery planet.

NASA has described the coming Perseid Meteor Shower as the "best meteor shower of the year", and it's right around the corner.

If are you are located in the Northern Hemisphere, you will have to look up at the night sky on August 12 as there will be hundreds of shooting stars streaking across the night sky. NASA has described the Perseid Meteor Shower of 2021 as the "best meteor shower of the year," and it will peak on the following nights; August 11; Thursday, August 12; and Friday, August 13.

Earth is passing close to the tail of the comet Swift-Turtle which causes a lot of rock debris to enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up as they plummet towards the ground. These pieces of rock traveling at 37 miles per sound and burning up in the night sky are what we refer to as "shooting stars" due to the long streaks they temporarily leave upon entry. NASA recommends that the night of August 11 will be the best time to witness the event and that for best viewing is to go to a location that has as little light pollution as possible.