Science, Space, & Robotics - Page 184

One of the White House health advisors has said that there is a "message" problem regarding what vaccinated people can now do.

That White House health advisor is Dr. Michael Osterholm, who recently stated that COVID-19 vaccines are not complete protection against the virus, thus the recommendation of fully vaccinated people avoiding air travel if it's "nonessential". Here's what Dr. Osterholm said, "It's not perfect, it's not 100 percent [protection from COVID-19]".

Dr. Osterholm also said that there is a problem with conveying this message to the public, stating, "We do have a problem right now from a public health standpoint nuancing that message." As for what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends, fully vaccinated people can safely travel but are still recommended to wear masks.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is still in action capturing astonishing images of planets, galaxies, and other celestial sights.

Above we have an image of the Veil Nebula, and as BGR mentions, it looks like the image was created using special effects, but it's not. This is Mother Nature at her finest. On NASA's post, it details that the Veil Nebula is 2,100 light-years away from Earth and that the nebula was created as a result of a death of a star that is estimated to be 20 times the mass of our Sun.

What we are seeing in the image is ionized gas that has been left over after the star detonated around 10,000 years ago. While it may take some billions of years, eventually, all of this gas will clump together into tighter and tighter pieces. Dust and other materials in space will also clump together, which may form a brand new planetary system, and thus the cycle of stars and planets. For more information on this story, check out this link here.

A new challenge is circulating on the very popular app TikTok, and this new trend is called the "Blackout Challenge".

Reports have surfaced about Joshua Haileyesus, a 12-year-old boy from Colorado who attempted the blackout challenge but was found by his brother passed out on the bathroom floor. Joshua reportedly used a shoelace to choke himself to the point of blacking out and losing consciousness. Doctors have told the family that Joshua will not recover.

Joshua's father, Haileyesus Zeryihun, said, "Told me the bad news that he's not going to survive, he's not going to make it. I was begging them on the floor, pleading to see if they can give me some time, not to give up on him. If I just give up on him, I feel like I'm just walking away from my son." The father of the family warned that these types of "challenges" have serious consequences and that children should be taught how to decipher dangerous challenges from safe ones.

Apple has just announced that it will be building a huge new "grid-scale" energy-storage facility in California, where the iGiant will be storing 240 megawatt-hours of energy.

The company will be tying this new grid-scale energy-storage facility directly from its 130-megawatt solar farm, which Apple built to power daytime energy requirements for its HQ in Cupertino, California. Apple adds that it will see 110 of its manufacturing partners moving to 100% renewable energy -- a move Apple is pushing along its entire supply chain and products to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Apple explains: "Sharing the experience gained through Apple's own transition to 100 percent renewable energy with its suppliers, the company introduces suppliers to resources and training materials with country-specific information to guide them in their transition to renewables".

NASA's new Mars rover recently touched down on the Red Planet not to long ago, but Perseverance isn't the only rover scouring the surface of Mars.

Don't forget about Curiosity, which touched down on the surface of Mars back in 2012. Curiosity is still exploring nearly 10 years later, and to remind you just how good Curiosity is at it's job, NASA has released what could be the best selfie ever taken on Mars. Above, you can see the rover positioned in front of a rock feature known as Mont Mercou.

Additionally, the image also showcases wind-beaten rocks that Curiosity is sitting on as well as dunes of dark sand in the background. On top of that, if you check out the full-resolution image, or have keen eyes, you can spot a hole that has been drilled by Curiosity to take samples of the Red Planets rock material. Here's what NASA states, "Curiosity's drill powderized the sample before trickling it into instruments inside the rover so the science team could get a better understanding of the rock's composition and what clues it might offer about Mars' past."

One of the largest cargo container ships in the entire world has turned sideways and has blocked all traffic in Egypt's Suez Canal.

On Wednesday, officials said that the MV Ever Given, a cargo container ship that conducts trade between Asia and Europe, has become grounded in the man-made waterway that divides Africa from the Sinai Peninsula. According to GAC, the reason the cargo ship turned sideways is because it suffered "a blackout while transiting in a northerly direction."

According to a statement from the Evergreen Marine Corp, a Taiwan-based shipping company that controls the cargo ship, the ship turned sideways because it was overcome by strong winds as it began to enter the Suez Canal. Evergreen Marine Corp also notes that none of the containers have fallen from the ship. Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, which manages the Ever Given, said, "All crew are safe and accounted for. There have been no reports of injuries or pollution." However, management said that the ship never lost power.

Recently a massive asteroid closely missed Earth, but luckily, NASA has managed to snap some images of it so we can enjoy the near-miss in high definition.

Now, the high-definition images aren't like watching a 4K movie on your home TV, but they are pretty good for an asteroid that is whizzing past 1.3 million miles from Earth. NASA Asteroid Watch Twitter account said that the asteroid "will safely fly by Earth" at a distance of five times further away than the Moon.

As for how big the asteroid is, estimations have put it around 550 meters in diameters, or 1,800 feet. Quite a formidably sized asteroid. Below you will find the image that Virtual Telescope Project (VTP) managed to snap only a few hours after the asteroid flew by Earth. For more information on this story, check out this link here. If you are interested in reading more about giant asteroids, check out this one called Apophis here.

On Wednesday, SpaceX did what it does best, launch a rocket into space. The reason for this rocket launch was to deliver a payload of Starlink satellites.

As with almost all of SpaceX's rocket launches, the space agency has cameras scattered all around to give viewers a look at the glorious launch. Now, SpaceX has taken to its official Twitter account to post an incredible video of the deployment of 60 Starlink satellites. The clip only goes for 22 seconds, but it shows the satellites in the payload area.

The commentator over the video explains that viewers can see the satellites separating from the second stage. Then over the coming days and weeks, they will begin to distance themselves from each other and use their onboard ion thrusters to make their way to their operational orbits. At the moment, SpaceX has deployed more than 1,000 of these satellites, and the Starlink network is available in beta form in many areas of the United States.

Dashcam footage can be pretty useful as it can prove your case in the event of a car crash or even capture a meteor streaking across the sky.

Ian Dryhurst was driving his family in Jersey and was lucky enough to capture the latter. Ian and his wife and two sons noticed a "bright light" appearing in the sky, and then it streaked over the Channel Islands at 2.45 pm this past Saturday. Multiple people spotted the meteor and reported hearing an explosion-like sound. This 'explosion-like sound' is the sound of an object breaking the speed of sound.

Oxford University physicist Simon Proud took to Twitter to share satellite images of the meteor streaking across the UK sky. Additionally, Jeresey's harbourmaster confirmed that the sonic boom came from the meteor, and to back that up, the British Geological survey tweeted there was "no evidence of any seismic event" along with the Ministry of Defense saying the sonic boom wasn't caused by an RAF aircraft. For more information on this story, or if you would like to see the video, check out this link here.

Do you think you are on your phone too much? Well, if you do, this might be the best excuse yet for you to take a break for 24-hours.

A company called Reviews.org will be paying select volunteers who participate in the company's 24-hour digital detox challenge. According to the company's website, people who enter into the 24-hour digital detox challenge can be paid up to $2,400, but the challenge isn't as easy as just turning your phone off for 24-hours.

Participants will be required to not only abandon their phone for a day, but also televisions, gaming devices, computers, smartwatches, and smart home devices such as Alexa. The participants of the challenge will be given a safe to store all of their electronics in for 24-hours and a $200 Amazon gift card, so they put together a "survival kit" for the time without electronics. If you want to sign up, or read more about this challenge, check out this link here.

Many people would love to take a spacecraft to the Moon for a quick holiday, but with that trip comes significant cost, especially if you own a lunar home.

According to an article by Money.co.uk, financial experts factored every aspect of what it would cost to build a home on the Moon. The experts looked at energy costs and food costs and communicated with experts to get the most accurate idea about how much it would to own a home on the Moon. They found that a lunar mortgage will cost a buyer around $326,000 per month for 25 years, bringing the total cost of the loan to be over $62 million.

The financial experts say that the lunar mortgage loan price would fall considerably after the first lunar home is built due to the knowledge gained on how to build more lunar homes effectively. This would bring the lunar mortgage loan down from $62 million to $52 million. As far as land prices go, the Moon is incredibly cheap due to there being absolutely nothing there. Land prices cost roughly $20, according to recent price estimates. For more information on this story, check out this link here.

On Tuesday, a team of archaeologists announced the discovery of new Dead Sea Scroll fragments that date back to a Jewish revolt against Rome nearly 1,900 years ago.

The first of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in a desert cave near the Dead Sea located in Qumran in the 1940s and 1950s. According to the researchers, the scrolls date from the third century B.C to the first century A.D and include readings of some of the oldest biblical texts and documents that outline the Jewish sect's beliefs. As for the newly found fragments, they were found in the desert south of Jerusalem at Cave of Horror in the Judean Desert reserve of Nahal Hever.

Researchers believe that the fragments of the scrolls were placed there during the Bar Kochba Revolt, which was an uprising of Jewish people that armed themselves against Rome between the dates of 132 and 136 A.D. The archaeologists also found rare coins that dated back approximately 2,000 and a 6,000-year-old skeleton of a child that was mummified and what may be the oldest surviving basket made out of woven reeds in the world.

Most people don't really notice insects until they are being bothered by them, but many states across the US will soon become very familiar with this particular species of insect.

A new report from Science Alert has revealed that billions of one of the largest broods of 17-year cicadas will soon emerge from underground in a dozen states ranging from New York west to Illinois to south and northern Georgia. The cicadas will emerge from underground, and then for about four weeks, many people will begin to notice how annoying insects can really be with these bugs constantly whistling mating calls.

After the cicadas mate, the female cicada will lay hundreds of eggs in a small tree branch, then the eggs will hatch, and the cicada nymphs will fall to the ground, where they will then burrow underground to start the entire cycle all over again. According to Science Alert, the cicadas will begin to emerge from underground sometime between April and May. For more information about cicadas, and the coming storm of them, check out this link here.

Most people are aware that our time on Earth is limited, as the Sun will eventually run out of fuel and destroy itself.

Researchers have discovered through stimulation that Earth's oxygen-rich atmosphere will expire before the Sun destroys itself. According to researchers from the Toho University and NASA Nexus for Exoplanet System Science, there is evidence that Earth will lose it's oxygen-rich atmosphere in approximately 1 billion years.

The researchers published the paper in the journal Nature Geoscience, and according to Kazumi Ozaki, "We find that the Earth's oxygenated atmosphere will not be a permanent feature". However, Earth's atmosphere will have high levels of oxygen for quite some time before it begins to drop off to levels similar to that of the Great Oxidation Event that occurred around 2.4 billion years ago.

A meteor coursed through the sky over Vermont on March 7th, causing a series of Earth-shaking booms as it burned up by entering the atmosphere.

According to NASA Meteor Watch, the meteor flew through the atmosphere at speeds of about 42,000 mph, and appeared as giant bright fireball. As the meteor was entering our atmosphere it released the equivalent of 440 pounds of TNT, which suggests that the meteor was around 10 pounds in weight, and 6 inches in diameter.

A local news station reported that people were calling in, saying that they heard a "loud boom and body-rattling vibration" as the meteor passed. Chris Hrotic, a commenter on NASA's initial post about the event said, "I was fortunate to hear and see it by the Missisquoi River at the Missisquoi Wildlife Refuge in Swanton, VT, just before sunset. No loud boom as reported by others, but a rushing sound that made me look up at just the right moment. It was extremely bright and absolutely spectacular!"

The militarization of space is ramping up with France starting its very first military exercises in space, ensuring it can protect its satellites in orbit from attack.

France recently announced its new Space Command, with Michel Friedling as its head, who said the space-based military exercise is a "stress test of our systems" and that the exercise "were a first for the French army and even a first in Europe". He also told reporters in Toulouse in southwest France at Space Command HQ: "A series of events appear and create crisis situations or threats against our space infrastructure, but not only this".

The military exercises in space started this Monday, and will run all week through to Friday. As for France's own Space Command, the space-based arm of its military was announced in 2019 and is said to have staff topping 500 by 2025. Defence Minster Florence Parly said at the time of announcing Space Command: "Our allies and adversaries are militarising space... we need to act".

Scientists have been left "speechless" after a man discovered something "mind-blowingly" rare scattered on his driveway.

A man from the UK heard a "rattling noise" outside of his house, and when he woke up the next morning and went outside, he was surprised to see meteorite fragments all over his driveway. Being the kind samaritan he is, the man picked up all of the pieces of meteorite and took them to the Natural History Museum for researchers to look at them.

Professor Sara Russell, a researcher at the Natural History Museum, said she was "speechless with excitement" and, "There are about 65,000 known meteorites in the entire world, and of those only 51 of them are carbonaceous chondrites that have been seen to fall like this one." Another researcher, Dr. Ashley King, said the man did a "fantastic job" collecting the fragments considering he had no idea what it actually was at the time.

Researchers and scientists have issued a warning for an infectious disease that they say is currently on the rise.

The infectious disease is called diphtheria and was previously thought to nearly be vanquished, but it is now making a return as new cases have been increasing over the years. The infectious disease is caused by strains of the bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae and is spread much like COVID-19 by respiratory droplets, and in some cases, skin contact.

Symptoms of diphtheria include a sore throat and mild fever. However, within a few days, the toxins that the bacteria produces can kill off many cells in the infected person's throat, which can cause a buildup that makes it difficult for the person to breathe. Additionally, people infected with diphtheria can develop a swollen "bull neck" due to the swollen lymph nodes. Most shockingly, if the infection is left untreated the toxin can make its way into the bloodstream, causing significant internal damage that kills about half of people that are infected.

There is something quite creepy about abandoned cities and towns, and there is even something creepier when they are photographed frozen in time.

One photographer took a drone to a once population coal-mining town called Vorkuta, which is just north of the Arctic Circle. The town is now abandoned and has been completely frozen in time, with buildings covered in snow and ice. The temperatures there are as low as 60 degrees below zero and can even drop below 60 in the winter months.

The photographer behind these incredible shots is Maria Passer, who is based in Moscow. Maria traveled to the eerie town and captured several birds-eye-view images, which can be seen above and below. Maria explained to CNN, "To attract miners to live in hard climate conditions the salaries here were really good. It's really a tragedy that many people have to leave their houses and to go to live somewhere else. But these locations, they have an abandoned beauty. I'm trying to see this, and to show this, in my pictures."

SpaceX has some world-leading technology with its Starlink internet service already up and in lower earth orbit offering satellite internet access to regular users. But the plans are much more vast for Starlink according to Elon Musk.

In a recent SpaceX filing with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) where it was requesting permission to install internet terminals on moving vehicles. This is where Tesla, SpaceX boss and Dogecoin enthusiast Elon Musk tweeted out: "Not connecting Tesla cars to Starlink, as our terminal is much too big. This is for aircraft, ships, large trucks & RVs".

SpaceX director of satellite policy David Goldman wrote to the FCC, where he said: "This application would serve the public interest by authorizing a new class of ground-based components for SpaceX's satellite system that will expand the range of broadband capabilities available to moving vehicles throughout the United States and to moving vessels and aircraft worldwide".