Science, Space, & Robotics - Page 170

Hubble is at it again with another breathtaking image that shows off a great comparison between two different light waves of a spiral galaxy.

As NASA explains, the Hubble Space Telescope has captured two extremely different images of the spiral galaxy M51 called the Whirlpool Galaxy. The image located on the left is an image captured in visible light, or the light that humans would see it in if they were floating around in space looking at the galaxy. The visible-light image shows off the galaxy's long arms and the pink star-forming regions littered with blue strands of star clusters.

The image on the right is shot in infrared light, light that humans are unable to see. The infrared image has stripped all of the starlight away from the image and leaves viewers with what NASA describes as "Whirlpool's skeletal dust structure". If you are interested in reading more about this story, check out this link here. If you would like to check out more images released by Hubble, visit this link here.

Chimpanzees are our closest known relatives, and a distinct difference between us is that chimpanzees are unable to talk.

But what if they could talk? What would they sound like? Back in 2016, researchers posed that very question to themselves and decided to create a simulation of a monkey talking. The researchers did this by using x-ray videos to map out vocal tracts in living macaques and found that macaques were able to produce an "adequate range of speech sounds to support spoken language". So, why is this important?

The study outlines that for forty years, researchers have believed that the monkeys being unable to speak stems from "limitations in their vocal tract anatomy". This study has disproved that, and has instead found that the limitation doesn't lay in the vocal anatomy but instead with the brain as it's unable to control the vocal tract. If you have never heard what a monkey would sound like if it spoke, the 1-second video can be watched above. The stimulated monkey says, "will you marry me?" - in a not-so-romantic voice.

The Pentagon has just pulled the plug on its $10 billion JEDI cloud computing deal with Microsoft, and now the entire JEDI program is up in the air.

JEDI -- or Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure -- had originally caused issues for Amazon that had been one of the players in the $10 billion cloud deal. Microsoft eventually won, but now they've lost their grip on the JEDI contract with the Pentagon explaining in a statement: "Due to evolving requirements, increased cloud conversancy, and industry advances, the JEDI Cloud contract no longer meets its needs".

Toni Townes Whitley, Microsoft's president of U.S. regulated industries, said in a blog post: "One contract has never, and will never, define our relationship with the DoD or any customer. Our decades-long partnership with the DoD will continue - and we stand ready to support our nation's men and women in uniform as they address our national security needs".

The world of space billboards and major cities having billboards in the sky are about to become a reality, with Geometric Energy Corporation (GEC) announcing it will be offering advertising in space very soon.

GEC announced on April 1, 2021 that it would be sending up Geometric-1 with the 12 x 6U CubeSat adapter plate into low Earth orbit. Geometric-1 will ride the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rideshare mission, announced as DOGE-1 which is completely paid for in cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

Well, now GEC has provided more details on what it will be doing with its CubeSat and that's offering billboards in space that would be available above major cities, at a major cost. We're looking at around $974,000 per month for an advertisement on one of the new space billboards above Tokyo, Japan -- while it would cost an average of around $932,000 above a major city.

Reports are indicating that Chinese researchers have announced a new species of human after DNA analysis was performed on a skull.

Paleoanthropologists have been performing studies on a skull that a bridge construction worker found in Harbin, a city in Northeastern China, in 1933. The researchers have published their findings in three separate studies in the peer-reviewed journal The Innovation on June 25, 2021, and according to the studies, the researchers discovered a new species of human that has now been named Homo Longi, or Dragon Man.

The skull that was discovered back in 1933 and handed into paleoanthropologists for studies to be performed on it three years was found to be from a male that lived 146,000 years ago during the Central Pleistocene geological period. The Harbin skull is the largest Homo skull that has been discovered, and according to Qiang Ji, a professor of paleontology at Hebei GEO University, "The Harbin fossil is one of the most complete human cranial fossils in the world. This fossil preserved many morphological details that are critical for understanding the evolution of the Homo genus and the origin of Homo sapiens".

Researchers have discovered what is currently believed to be a Christian community's remains that date back to the 6th century.

A team of researchers from the Dyfed Archaeological Trust partnered with the University of Sheffield unearthed more than 200 skeletons that the University of Sheffield said were a mix of children, women, and men. The skeleton remains were found in more than 100 graves at a popular beach in Pembrokeshire. The researchers found that the bodies were positioned so their heads for pointing west and that they weren't buried with any possessions.

Due to the bones being completely submerged in sand, the quality of the bones was found to be very high. Jenna Smith at Dyfed Archaeological Trust, who led the excavation, said the bone preservation is "absolutely incredible". The Dyfed Archaeological Trust said there's "still a significant amount of evidence left to excavate". Adding, there is an "intriguing stone structure which pre-dates the burials" that still needs to be excavated from the site. The bones are being stored in the National Museum of Wales.

The 58-page document outlines several interesting pieces of information surroundings Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), such as old reports that are relevant today and the United States' involvement with conducting research.

Page 24 features an introduction that states a list of three "weapon systems" that were extracted from data analysis of 1,000 reports of UFO landings or near-UFO landings. The report states that the creatures or objects outlined in the cases possess "a device to interfere with electrical circuits," "a device to induce paralysis," and a "heat ray."

Under the "Stalled Engines," it reads on page 27 that a vehicle stalled within the vicinity of a transparent mushroom-shaped object that had occupants inside with "cat-like" faces. Page 32 features Case 144, France, which states that two individuals came into contact with two "dwarfs" who used an object to paralyze one of the individuals. The paralyzed individual was unable to move or talk until the light was shut off.

An old U.F.O. released by the Australian government has resurfaced online and is currently being used as a reference to compare to the recent U.F.O. report from the Pentagon.

The report can be found on the National Archives of Australia website and is titled "Scientific Intelligence - General - Unidentified Flying Objects" with its contents ranging from 1957 - 1971. Reports have indicated that these documents were originally released back in 2008, and while definitely being dated, they are still being used as a reference point to compared against the recent U.F.O. report released by the Pentagon.

The 2008 report features chronological documentation on what is described as "U.S. Official Attitude To U.F.O.'s" (now referred to as Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon, or U.A.P.). Page 9 is the beginning of the section, and it outlines the events that took place between the late 1940s to mid 1950s. According to the report, U.F.O. investigations in the U.S. began in June 1947 under the project code name SIGN. The report outlines several events in the following years, but a few to especially note are:

An old Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) report from Australia is causing a stir online. Many Redditors are using it to compare against the recently released Pentagon report on UFOs that was widely considered online as "lacking" information.

The UFO report from Australia can be found on the National Archives of Australia website and is titled "Scientific Intelligence - General - Unidentified Flying Objects". The report is free to view publicly, and its contents range between 1957 - 1971.

One section of the report on page 11 under the "U.S. Official Attitude To U.F.O.'s", it's stated that Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter, the first director of the Central Intelligence Agency that was created by the National Security Act of 1947 publicly stated that the US government knew the UFO were extra-terrestrial beings but were withholding the information from the public. Full quote can be found below.

SKA is building out the world's largest telescope, with the Square Kilometer Array Observatory (SKAO) costing $2.2 billion and will have 197 dishes (50 feet/15 meters in diameter) installed in Karoo, South Africa's Northern Cape, and then 131,072 antennas (6.5 feet/2 meters tall) in Murchison, in Western Australia.

Professor Philip Diamond, Director-General of SKAO said during at SKAO's global HQ in the UK this week: "I am ecstatic-this moment has been 30 years in the making. Humankind is taking another giant leap by committing to build what will be the largest science facility of its kind on the planet".

SKA's new radio telescopes will study the "detailed properties of the first luminous objects in the universe, and be able to take snapshots of the 21cm emission at many different epochs, before, during and after reionisation, yielding detailed information about the formation of the first structures in the universe. It will provide the best measurements available of the characteristics of the first light sources in the universe" according to the SKA Telescope website.

After over 30 years of planning and preparing, the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) observatory is being built and will be the largest radio telescope on the planet.

SKA will be building two new sites with the first in Australia and the second in South Africa, after representatives of the SKA Organization (SKAO) met at the annual European Astronomical Society (EAS) on June 29, 2021. The news is gigantic for not just the science world, but all of us -- the new telescopes will also be listening out for extraterrestrial radio signals with much more power than ever before.

SKA is spending $2.2 billion on the project, and will have 197 dishes (50 feet/15 meters in diameter) installed in Karoo, South Africa's Northern Cape, and then 131,072 antennas (6.5 feet/2 meters tall) in Murchison, in Western Australia.

A student in Teignmouth, Devon saw a gigantic UFO hovering over the ocean -- right from his kitchen window, before it blasted off into the distance.

Matthew Evans lives in a block of units on the top level and when in his kitchen could see the UFO over the horizon, he explains: "I couldn't help but see it. My kitchen window gives a great view of the sea so when it came across the horizon".

Evans added: "It wasn't moving like a plane would. It was moving a lot slower and went up and down for a bit before hovering a good ten seconds. It stayed in one spot long enough for me to pull out my phone and get those snaps. Then it quickly zoomed off at some speed and I couldn't see it anymore".

A declassified Australian report on Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) mentions several encounters with alien life that are unexplainable.

The declassified report is located on the National Archives of Australia website and features 58 pages of compelling information on UFO sightings and strange encounters with alien creatures between 1957 and 1971. Page 32 of the report states, "50m from object, witness paralyzed (also birds and cows). Four handsome men with brown skin emerge with translucent helmets." The report also shows the United States has been involved in UFOs and conducting investigations into them since 1947.

Page 7 of the report reads as follows: "The early analyses of UFO reports by USAF Intelligence indicated that real phenomena were being reported which had flight characteristics so far in advance of US aircraft that only an extraterrestrial origin could be envisaged." Additionally, the report lists many cases where extraterrestrials were using paralysis as a way of subduing witnesses.

The space race to get paying tourists to space has officially begun, and according to recent announcements, Richard Branson will beat Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to space.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic are in a race to be the first viable company that can provide space tourism flights. Paying customers will be able to see Earth like they have never seen it before, as well as experience weightlessness for several minutes. Bezos positioned himself to beat other billionaires that are behind competing tourism companies by announcing that he was going to space on July 20, the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

However, the Federal Aviation Administration recently gave Virgin Galactic the all-clear to fly passengers on its next test flight. Now, Branson has announced that he will be a passenger on Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity rocketplane when it launches to perform an up-and-down test on July 11. Branson tweeted the following, "I've always been a dreamer. My mum taught me to never give up and to reach for the stars. On July 11, it's time to turn that dream into a reality."

Since the release of US Navy officials' now-viral UFO sighting videos, many Americans have been speculating if alien life truly exists somewhere out there in the deep dark void of space.

The US intelligence report put forward by the Pentagon was highly anticipated to reveal the existence or at least confirm the presence of extraterrestrial life. However, the report did no such thing and more so concentrated on how unidentified aerial phenomena are a national security risk, regardless of their origin. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center has found that most Americans believe aliens exist, and the viral videos are the proof.

The survey involved 10,417 American adults, and according to the results, approximately 65% of Americans believe that extraterrestrial life exists, and 51% believe the videos released by the US military show proof that intelligent alien life has visited Earth. Additionally, the survey found that 76% of Americans aged between 18 and 29 believe in alien life, compared to 69% of Americans between 30 and 49. Furthermore, 58% of Americans aged between 50 and 64 were believers in alien life.

China has made its mark in the nation's space history as two astronauts conducted the first spacewalk outside of the new space station.

The two Chinese astronauts are Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, and on Sunday, they both took a "walk" outside of China's new orbital station to set up cameras and other essential equipment. The astronauts used a 50-foot-long robotic arm to orientate the equipment into place, and from the video that was shown by Chinese state TV, we can see that the third astronaut, Nie Haisheng, stayed inside to mind the station.

Liu and Tang were outside of the new station for 7 hours, and in total, the astronauts plan on staying aboard the new station for a total of three months. China launched the first module of the new station on April 29. Following the first module launch was a second launch with the Shenzhou capsule. The capsule arrived on June 17, and inside was all three astronauts, food, and fuel. For more information on China's ambitious plans for space exploration, check out this link here.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is moving closer and closer to finally being able to launch and reveal secrets of the universe.

According to Peter Rumler, the European Space Agency's (ESA) project manager for the JWST, the final mission analysis for the telescope has been conducted, and the telescope has passed. Rumler also says that the analysis confirmed that the telescope was fully compatible with the Ariane 5 rocket from Webb's launch service provider Arianespace.

"We are thrilled to have passed this important step towards the launch of Webb and to have received the green light from Arianespace and NASA", says Rumler. The Ariane 5 rocket will carry Webb out of Earth's atmosphere and disconnect itself from the telescope after it has successfully put in on its four-week journey to the second Lagrange point where it will be stationed. The second Lagrange point is located 932,056 miles away from Earth in the opposite direction to the Sun.

NASA has dropped another incredible image that was snapped with the Hubble Space Telescope, and this time we have an awesome display of the red, white, and blue.

The above image was taken with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, and is the open star cluster named NGC 330. This star cluster is around 180,000 light-years away from Earth and is situated in the Small Magellanic Cloud in the constellation Tucana.

As for the stars themselves, they are all roughly the same age, and due to the cluster featuring so many stars, astronomers are using NGC 330 to learn more about how stars form. Astronomers have observed clusters of stars forming differently when compared to stars located anywhere else, a phenomenon that was first discovered using Hubble.

Astronomers have announced that they have detected the very first merger of a black hole and a neutron star.

Due to humans not being able to see the merger happen with our naked eyes, a few videos have been published to show the public what happened visually. Firstly, a neutron star is an extremely dense object that is leftover remnants of a star that has gone supernova. As for a black hole, a black hole is also extremely dense, but they are a region of spacetime.

Black holes have such a strong gravitational pull that not a single thing can escape it - not even light. When a black hole consumes a neutron star, it gives off gravitational waves, which Albert Einstein discovered in 1916. In 2015, researchers in the United States identified the first gravitational waves using the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory when two black holes collided.

What is a white dwarf? Simply put, it's what stars such as our Sun become after they have expelled all of their nuclear energy.

Now, astronomers have located a white dwarf that has seemingly taken the cake for being the smallest yet most massive white dwarf ever observed by astronomers. The study was published in the July 1 issue of the journal Nature, and according to the study's lead author, Ilaria Caiazzo, the Sherman Fairchild Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Theoretical Astrophysics at Caltech, this white dwarf is "packing a mass greater than that of our Sun into a body about the size of our Moon."

This white dwarf, like many other white dwarfs that have been discovered, was once like our Sun. The Sun will swell into what is called Red Giant in 5 billion years, and from there, it will begin to reduce in size and eventually compact down into a white dwarf. Phys.org reports that 97% of all stars become white dwarfs.