Science, Space, & Robotics - Page 175

We're all waiting for the coveted UFO report from the Pentagon, which will discuss all things UFOs and UAPs (or unidentified flying objects aka unidentified aerial phenomena) -- we've got astrophycistist Neil deGrasse Tyson adding in some of his thoughts with CNN recently.

During the interview with John Berman on CNN, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson was asked about the "ring of fire" solar eclipse, the upcoming UFO report from the Pentagon, and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) about physically moving the moon to fight climate change -- no, I'm not kidding and neither was he. You can see that in the CNN video above, and Tyson's comments.

Tyson's comments about UFOs kicks off at around the 2:28 mark, where Neil deGrasse Tyson said to CNN's John Berman: "I wish we had better evidence than monochromic fuzzy Navy video, if we're being visited by aliens -- you know, we upload 6 billion high-resolution color photos and videos to the internet every day. We have unwittingly crowdsourcing the observation of the planet, and I want better evidence than that... and just because you don't know what it is, doesn't mean you then know what it is ".

This week the world will be able to see the very first solar eclipse of 2021, and here's how anyone can watch it happen!

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the Sun at a very precise angle, hence why it only happens once a year. If you want to view the eclipse in person, you will need to be located in the Northern hemisphere, preferably in Canada, northern Russia, or Greenland, as you will see the total solar eclipse. If you are stationed in North America, Europe, or Asia, you will see a partial solar eclipse, and if that's not good enough for you, then there is an easy solution.

Through the power of the internet, anyone can enjoy the solar eclipse from the comfort of their own home, and while it doesn't come close to how gorgeous the eclipse is in real life, it's better than not seeing it at all. Above is a link to a livestream by timeanddate that will begin at 5 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT), tune in to see the "Ring of Fire" solar eclipse. If you are interested in reading more about the coming solar eclipse, check out this link here.

NASA has successfully created one of the most detailed maps ever of the impacts of carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the Los Angeles region.

NASA used the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3 (OCO-3) instrument that is located on the International Space Station to gather data of carbon dioxide levels. NASA has compiled its gathered data and has created an animated video displaying the levels of CO2 throughout each region.

The yellow regions represent the highest levels of CO2, and as Phys.org reports, "Yellow indicates atmospheric CO2 elevated by five or more molecules out of every million molecules of air or five parts per million. That's equivalent to the amount that global atmospheric CO2 is rising globally on average every two years."

This coming Thursday, Earth will be blessed with the first solar eclipse of 2021, and according to one astronomer, it will look like the Star Wars "death star".

The first solar eclipse of 2021 will have a 100-minute viewing window, but unfortunately, not the entire planet will be able to enjoy its beauty. People that are located in the Northern hemisphere, and predominately those living in Canada, northern Russia, and Greenland, will be able to see a total solar eclipse. The total solar eclipse will look like a "Ring of Fire", or as Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, said, it will look like "the 'Death Star".

Now, it should be noted that if you aren't living in Canada, northern Russia, or Greenland, you will still be able to see the solar eclipse, just not the total solar eclipse. Residents in North America, Europe, and Asia will be able to see a partial solar eclipse that will look like the moon has taken a bite out of the Sun. Faherty also said, "Most people might not realize that these eclipses chase each other", referring to the recent super blood moon.

NASA is in the middle of the entire UFO + UAP debacle, where "unidentified aerial phenomena" (which is now the politically correct term for UFO, I guess) are blasted all over the headlines.

Bill Nelson recently became the new boss of NASA and in a new interview with CNN Business, Nelson was asked about UFOs. CNN asked: "Americans have long been fascinated by UFOs, and the public has seen the videos that our Navy pilots have taken, and they've heard their accounts. Do you think that we have been contacted by extraterrestrials?"

He of course gives a great non-answer to the last bit about being contacted by extraterrestrials, so he's fitting into his role at NASA well in his first month. Nelson said: "Well, I have talked to those Navy pilots, and they are sure that they saw something. And of course we've seen their video from their jets. What is it, we don't know".

The Hubble Space Telescope is some of the best 'eyes' we have on the universe, and the images it can capture are nothing short of breathtaking.

Launched 30-years-ago, the Hubble Space Telescope captures space phenomena in unprecedented detail. Every day the space telescope is observing the universe as far as it can muster. The data that it relays back to researchers on Earth allows them to better understand the countless mysteries that layout in the cold dark void.

The most recent image released by Hubble has made it onto my own wallpaper, and once you see it, it may make it onto yours. Hubble has snapped a ridiculously good image of the spiral galaxy NGC 691, which is about 120 million light-years from Earth. NASA explains that "this galaxy is a member of the NGC 691 galaxy group named after it, which features a group of gravitationally bound galaxies." If you are interested in reading more about this story or would like to download the image in full resolution, check out this link here.

The recently appointed NASA administrator is moving to establish study groups for UFO sightings and evidence.

NASA chief Bill Nelson has said that not even the higher-ups of the US space agency have any idea what the flying objects are that have been seen by US Navy pilots. Many people believe the high-speed objects seen by US Navy pilots are evidence of extraterrestrial life, and Nelson has said that "We don't know if it's extraterrestrial. We don't know if it's an enemy. We don't know if it's an optical phenomenon."

However, Nelson did say that he isn't ruling out the possibility of the objects seen in the videos being linked to extraterrestrial life. "We don't think [it's an optical phenomenon] because of the characteristics that those Navy jet pilots described". Ultimately, no one officially knows what the Navy pilots have been seeing, but Nelson may establish study groups in the future to get to the bottom of the mystery. "so the bottom line is, we want to know", said Nelson.

Jeff Bezos has announced he will be rocketing up to space on July 20... just 15 days after he resigns as the CEO of Amazon. Jeff will be joined by his brother Mark Bezos, who will be rocketing up to space with him.

In a post on Instagram, Bezos beamed: "Ever since I was five years old, I've dreamed of traveling to space. On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend".

The Pentagon has been inspired by SpaceX to use reusable rockets similar to the Falcon 9 and Starship to deliver military cargo all around the world.

The Pentagon is putting $50 million aside for a new program led by the US Space Force called Rocket Cargo. The new program will focus on researching and developing capabilities such as landing "a rocket on a wide range of non-traditional materials and surfaces," building "a rocket cargo bay and logistics for rapid loading and unloading" and air-dropping "cargo from the rocket after re-entry in order to service locations where a rocket or aircraft cannot possibly land."

From looking at what the Pentagon is describing in the new Rocket Cargo program, it's apparent that the US Air Force is looking to develop rockets similar, or better than SpaceX's Starship. The new military program is looking to develop rockets that can launch 30 - 100 tons of cargo, and are reusable. Currently, the only rocket that can do that is SpaceX's Starship rocket that is still in its late stages of development. For more information on this story, check out this link here.

SpaceX has put their veteran Falcon 9 rocket to the test as it launches yet again from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket has marked the 17th time SpaceX has launched in 2021 and the 87th overall successful recovery of an orbital class rocket. The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at 12:26 a.m. EDT (0426 GMT) and was carrying a massive radio satellite into orbit for Sirius XM before it turned around headed back to Earth for landing.

The launch of the recent mission also marked the third SpaceX launch in just three days. The day prior, a different Falcon 9 rocket took off from Pad 39A with 7,300lbs of scientific cargo and supplies. The rocket headed towards the International Space Station, and the cargo arrived successfully last Saturday morning. For more information on this story, check out this link here.

The first human genome was sequenced 20 years ago, and now researchers have announced they have finally filled in all of the missing parts.



The first human genome sequencing draft was announced by researchers from the Human Genome Project and Celera Genomics in 2000. Now, researchers have published a pre-print study that claims the remaining 8% of the human genome that was a mystery has been filled in using new technology.

Karen Miga, a researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said, "You're just trying to dig into this final unknown of the human genome. It's just never been done before and the reason it hasn't been done before is because it's hard." The study has been published in pre-print form, which means that it has yet to be peer reviewed, and for this reason Miga has said that she won't declare that 100% of the human genome has been sequenced until the results are published in an official medical journal.

An unclassified report from the Pentagon and the US director for national intelligence is expected to bust open the mysterious link between Navy sighting of UFO's and aliens.

While the report is highly anticipated, it may be underwhelming when it finally is released because many people are anticipating intelligence bodies to confirm the sighting are aliens. Unfortunately, that isn't the goal of the report, as US intelligence agencies, including the Pentagon, have said that the goal of the report is to establish if there is a link between the sightings and other countries.

According to two officials who have been briefed on the report and decided to speak on the condition of anonymity, the coming report won't disclose or confirm aliens in any way. The officials said that the report found no link between extraterrestrial existence and the sightings and videos that are being used as "evidence".

If you want to tune into the first solar eclipse of 2021, you will have a 100-minute window this coming Thursday.

The first solar eclipse of 2021 will happen on June 10, and it will be the first time this year that the Sun will be entirely blocked out by the moon. For those that don't know, a solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Sun and Earth. The "Ring of Fire" phenomenon occurs when the moon lines up perfectly between the Sun and Earth, causing the Sun's light to bleed around the edges of the moon - creating the Ring of Fire.

Unfortunately, due to the position of Earth in its orbit around the Sun and the orbit of the moon, not everyone will be able to see the total solar eclipse. Canada, northern Russia, and Greenland will be able to see a total solar eclipse. Most of the northern hemisphere will be able to catch a partial solar eclipse. The eclipse will last for a total of 100 minutes. If you are interested in reading more about this story, check out this link here.

The head of NASA has said that researchers are now investigating the recent slew of UFO sightings from US Navy pilots.

Reports of UFOs being spotted by US Navy pilots can be traced back to 2017 when The New York Times reported that many Navy pilots have said they've seen unidentified flying objects in the sky performing aerial maneuvers that far exceed anything that humans are currently capable of.

In December 2020, Senator Marco Rubio, who was the Senate's intelligence committee chair, requested the Pentagon and the US director for national intelligence to deliver an unclassified report to Congress regarding current knowledge on UFO's by the end of the month.

If you thought the highly-anticipated government report on UFOs was going to have aliens landing on the White House lawn and having ice cream with President Biden... think again.

The New York Times and CNN are reporting that the Pentagon UFO report did not find any evidence that the UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena, the new term for unidentified flying objects) were "alien spacecraft". Even though they are not from this world, they're also not made by the US military or any other US government technology.

I don't get how we go from this:

NASA has partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other organizations to track the coming hurricane season.

Currently, NASA astronauts are able to take photos and observe the planet from an altitude of 250 miles. Researchers on the ground then take these images and observations and georeference them, adding to other research, advancing the accuracy of weather prediction.

According to NASA Earth, June 1 is the very start of the Atlantic hurricane season, and a forecast from NOAA along with information from NASA's Earth-orbiting satellites found that the coming hurricane season will have an "above average number of named storms." NASA states on its blog that it's currently developing new technology and missions to generate a deeper understanding of the impact of these storms and their formation.

A new study has found evidence that suggests Apple's MagSafe wireless technology could be dangerous to some users.

The new study was published in the American Heart Association Journal explored the dangers of magnet wireless charging interacting with someone who has cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED).

The researchers wrote, "Magnet wireless charging is being utilized increasingly in current-generation smartphones. Apple's MagSafe is a proprietary wireless charging technology with an array of magnets that has the capacity to generate magnet field strength >50 gauss (G). We hypothesize that there is clinically significant magnet interference caused by Apple's MagSafe technology on cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED)."

There are many aspects of Jupiter that researchers are excited to try and understand, and a key aspect to developing that understanding is with Juno.

NASA launched the space probe Juno on August 11, 2011, as it is a part of the New Frontiers program, a program run by NASA that selects medium-class missions that can provide high-science returns. NASA tasked Juno with orbiting Jupiter, which begun on July 5, 2016. Since then, the space probe has been taking many pictures of the gas giant that have been vital to researchers developing a deeper understanding of the planet.

Juno's key missions are to measure Jupiter's composition, gravitational field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere. Additionally, researchers are interested to know more about how Jupiter formed, if it has a solid core or is completely comprised of gas, how much water is present, and its high-speed winds. In the entirety of this article, you will find some of the best images that Juno has snapped of Jupiter. Check out more of Juno here.

NASA's Perseverance has been living for 100 days on Mars, and NASA is celebrating with a Twitter post that commemorates the new rover.

Perseverance touched down in the ancient lake bed called the Jezero crater on February 18, and since then, it has been sending back incredible information about the Martian landscape. Perseverance is on a hunt for remains of past life, and researchers believe that if Mars ever hosted any life, fossils of their remains would be in the crater.

The new Martian rover is making good progress uncovering the mysteries of the Red Planet, and since it touched down, it has sent back more than 75,000 images. Other achievements from the rover include; recording the first sounds from Mars, transporting the Ingenuity helicopter, which later became the first aircraft humans have ever launched on another world and blasting rocks with lasers. For more information on Perseverance, check out this link here.

NASA is taking some unusual astronauts up to the International Space Station this week, and they aren't human.

NASA's next cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will include more than 5,000 tardigrades, which are microscopic creatures that are commonly referred to as "water bears". Tardigrades are almost indestructible, so researchers are seeing what happens when they are living in zero gravity.

Thomas Boothby, an assistant professor of molecular biology at the University of Wyoming, who is leading the experiment, said, "Some of the things that tardigrades can survive include being dried out, being frozen, and being heated up past the boiling point of water." Adding, "They've been shown to survive and reproduce during spaceflight, and can even survive prolonged exposure to the vacuum of outer space."