Science, Space, Health & Robotics News - Page 204

All the latest Science, Space, Health & Robotics news with plenty of coverage on space launches, discoveries, rockets & plenty more - Page 204.

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Joe Rogan comments on future of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency 'hope'

Jak Connor | Jan 11, 2022 3:03 AM CST

The future of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and the Metaverse has been discussed on a recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience".

Joe Rogan comments on future of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency 'hope'

Comedian and commentator Joe Rogan sat down with Adam Curry, the host of the "No Agenda" podcast and referred to as the "podfather", for 3 hours to discuss a variety of different topics. One of the topics that were brought up was cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, and the Metaverse, where Rogan said, "It's either going to fall apart completely, or we're going to use this as an opportunity to right the ship and come up with a better way to live our lives."

As seen in the above video, Curry explained that many young people are not participating in the traditional financial system and deciding to "opt-out" while simultaneously adopting or building "parallel systems and parallel networks." Additionally, Curry went on to explain that the current monetary system is "broken," referencing aspects such as "inflation" and it being "linked to oil." If you are interested in getting the full conversation, check out the above video.

Continue reading: Joe Rogan comments on future of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency 'hope' (full post)

Elon Musk shares wild teaser of Starship launch and catch tower

Jak Connor | Jan 11, 2022 2:33 AM CST

Elon Musk has taken to his official Twitter account to share a teaser video of the highly anticipated Starship launch and catch tower.

Elon Musk shares wild teaser of Starship launch and catch tower

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared a video showcasing the "launch & catch tower" located at the Starbase facility located in Texas. The launch and catch tower will be used for launching the massive Starship rocket that's expected to be able to send 100 tons of weight into space and then catching it with its chopstick prongs when it returns back down for Earth. Musk has called the entire large structure "Mechazilla".

The tower is necessary for SpaceX to place the 160-foot-tall ship on top of the next-generation booster dubbed Super Heavy, combined the entire structure stands at around 400 feet tall. Super Heavy will be a big step in the space exploration and transportation industry as it will be the first project that may allow humans to walk on the surface of Mars. If you are interested in reading more about this story, check out this link here.

Continue reading: Elon Musk shares wild teaser of Starship launch and catch tower (full post)

NASA says this will hit the James Webb Space Telescope and damage it

Jak Connor | Jan 11, 2022 1:07 AM CST

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is moving into a new period of its unfolding process that will gear it up for operations, but what if it gets hit with a piece of space debris?

NASA says this will hit the James Webb Space Telescope and damage it

The James Webb Telescope will be orbiting the Sun the same as Earth does, and as Earth experiences shooting stars or meteorites, the James Webb Space Telescope will likely encounter micrometeorites that may damage the observatory. During a livestream over the weekend, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center scientist Michelle Thaller explained that the agency took into account the likelihood of the observatory being impacted by space debris, and said that these impacts might damage the large mirrors.

Julie Van Campen, a NASA engineer, explained that if a micrometeorite was to damage and break one of Webb's large mirrors, there isn't much that can be done about it, saying, "What you see is what you get". However, if the observatory's large protective sunshield was hit with a micrometeorite, tearing the first layer, there would still be four more layers of protection in space.

Continue reading: NASA says this will hit the James Webb Space Telescope and damage it (full post)

Researchers make unprecedented discovery, giant 'sea dragon' found

Jak Connor | Jan 11, 2022 1:02 AM CST

The fossilized remains of a giant "sea dragon" that once walked the surface of Earth were discovered by a conservationist in February 2021 while doing routine landscaping at the Rutland Water Nature Reserve in England.

Researchers make unprecedented discovery, giant 'sea dragon' found

Over the course of several weeks, the fossilized remains of the were excavated by paleontologists who were later able to identify that the remains were of an ichthyosaur, an ancient marine reptile that swam and occasionally walked on land during the Triassic period around 250 million years ago. The specimen was found to be almost completely intact and is now the biggest complete Ichthyosaur ever found in Britain.

A team of paleontologists, conservationists, and volunteers safely removed the fossil that ended up having a backbone that stretched 32 feet and included more than 150 individual vertebrae. The fossil was able to remain in almost perfect condition due to it being embedded in clay. Researchers believe that Ichthyosaur would have ranged in size from around 3.3 feet to more than 85 feet in length, and are believed to look similar to a dolphin of today but much larger in size.

Continue reading: Researchers make unprecedented discovery, giant 'sea dragon' found (full post)

NASA expert explains how the humans are hunting for alien buildings

Jak Connor | Jan 11, 2022 12:31 AM CST

A NASA researcher has explained how the agency is constantly looking for intelligent alien life and that this life could be detected through what is called "alien megastructures".

NASA expert explains how the humans are hunting for alien buildings

In a new interview with Vice, Ann Marie Cody, a research scientist at NASA Ames and the SETI Institute, explains that SETI is the "Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" and encompasses a range of micro-fields and that her field concentrates on the search for "techno signatures", which is the hunt for advanced civilizations that have created megastructures that give off a detectable signal.

Cody explains that her colleagues take observe thousands of stars every day, and during the observation, images are taken and then organized into a sequence that showcases the star's brightness of a period of time. If an object has passed in front of its host star, it will cause a dip in brightness that will be seen in the previously recorded sequence. From this, researchers can infer that an object has passed in front of the host star.

Continue reading: NASA expert explains how the humans are hunting for alien buildings (full post)

Scientists suggest the universe may be 'pixelated'

Jak Connor | Jan 11, 2022 12:02 AM CST

Researchers are on a quest to link quantum gravity with the world we live in, and have suggested the universe, or spacetime, consists of individual "pixels".

Scientists suggest the universe may be 'pixelated'

A new press blurb outlines a team of researchers coming together to conduct a new experiment that will attempt to link the conventional laws of general relativity established by Albert Einstein with the world of quantum physics. These two realms of physics are yet to be unified in one cohesive theory, and Rana Adhikari, professor of physics at Caltech, and fellow colleagues believe that the universe is made of incredible small units described as a "spacetime pixel".

"A spacetime pixel is so small that if you were to enlarge things so that it becomes the size of a grain of sand, then atoms would be as large as galaxies," explains Adhikari. The researchers believe that discovering these "pixels" would allow for the unification of the two theories and answer the big question of whether gravity and spacetime can be broken down into individual components when observed on the smallest scales.

Continue reading: Scientists suggest the universe may be 'pixelated' (full post)

Researchers drop most comprehensive image of black hole eruption yet

Jak Connor | Jan 10, 2022 2:43 AM CST

A team of researchers has captured the most comprehensive image of an erupting black hole yet, according to a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Astronomy.

Researchers drop most comprehensive image of black hole eruption yet

The team of researchers pointed the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) telescope in Western Australia at the galaxy Centaurus A, which contains the closest actively feeding supermassive black hole to Earth. The black hole located at the center of Centaurus A is currently engulfing large amounts of gas, which results in material being ejected out at high speeds.

This process and ejection of material cause what is described as "radio bubbles" that are then detected by MWA and interpreted by researchers. The researchers estimated the observed black hole has the mass of about 55 million suns and that the jets of material ejected out of it stretch as far as 1.8 million light-years. Due to Centaurs A's close proximity to Earth, researchers can accurately observe the black hole, leading them to believe that much can be learned from its near presence.

Continue reading: Researchers drop most comprehensive image of black hole eruption yet (full post)

New study reveals dirty city air is killing millions of people

Jak Connor | Jan 10, 2022 2:02 AM CST

A study that looked at the urban air pollution levels for 2.5 billion people found that 86% of people living in cities around the world are exposed to unhealthy levels of pollution that can contribute to death.

New study reveals dirty city air is killing millions of people

The new study was published in The Lancet Planetary Health and looked at the levels of PM2.5, a particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less. Researchers behind the study wrote in their background notes that inhaling PM2.5 can lead to death from cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, lung cancer, and respiratory infection.

The study included 13,000 cities from around the world and looked at the PM2.5 concentrations of each from 2000 to 2019. The researchers found that the average population-weighted PM2.5 concentration globally was 35 micrograms per cubic meter in 2019, which is seven times the World Health Organization's 2021 guidelines. Additionally, the team estimated that in 2019, 61 in every 100,000 deaths can be attributed to an unhealthy consumption of PM2.5.

Continue reading: New study reveals dirty city air is killing millions of people (full post)

Lunar rover detects first signs of water on the surface of the Moon

Jak Connor | Jan 10, 2022 1:32 AM CST

Reports have surfaced regarding an announcement from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, which stated that water has been detected under the Moon's surface.

Lunar rover detects first signs of water on the surface of the Moon

According to a new study published in Science Advances on Friday, data acquired by China's Chang'e 5 lunar lander indicates the presence of water under the surface of the Moon. The rover used its mineralogical spectrometer to analyze the chemical composition of rocks and soil at the landing site.

The analysis resulted in the detection of water molecules at a concentration of less than 120 parts per million, or around 120 grams of water in one tonne of lunar soil. Additionally, the study looked at the water concentration in rocks and found it was 180 parts per million and wrote that the discrepancy between the water concentration in the soil and rock is due to the rock likely originating from deeper in the lunar surface.

Continue reading: Lunar rover detects first signs of water on the surface of the Moon (full post)

Origins found for mysterious 'house' on far side of the Moon

Jak Connor | Jan 10, 2022 1:03 AM CST

In December 2021, an affiliated Chinese media channel called "Our Space" reported on China's Yutu 2 rover spotting what was described as a "house" or "hut" on the far side of the moon.

Origins found for mysterious 'house' on far side of the Moon

China's Yutu 2 rover landed on the far side of the moon back in January 2019, and since then, it has been exploring the surface of the Von Karman crater, which is where it spotted the strange object on the horizon. The image seen above was sent back to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), and since then, the small Yutu 2 rover has been driving towards the object.

Now, reports indicate that the mysterious object has been renamed to the "moon cube" and that the CNSA has driven the rover 262 feet to reach the object. Initial reports indicated that it would take two or three months to reach the cube, but only after a few weeks, the rover was in range to identify the object. According to an update from Our Space, the object is a rock shaped like a rabbit, hence the new name for the object "Jade Rabbit".

Continue reading: Origins found for mysterious 'house' on far side of the Moon (full post)