Science, Space, & Robotics - Page 31

NASA has taken to its website to share a new infographic that reveals a bunch of statistics regarding near-Earth asteroids (NEOs).

The space agency explains that any comet or asteroid that is 32 feet in diameter and orbits within 30 million miles of Earth is defined as an NEO. With that in mind, the above graphic states that NASA has identified 32,412 near-Earth asteroids of various sizes, and of that total, it has found 853 asteroids bigger than 3,280 feet in diameter. While these numbers seem positive, there is also a major red flag that should be highlighted.

Of the 10,541 near-Earth asteroids NASA has found that are larger than 459 feet in diameter, it still estimates there are 14,000 left to be found, which means the space agency believes it has found less than half of the total number of asteroids greater than 459 in diameter. These asteroids are capable of wiping out an entire city if one were to collide with Earth. More alarmingly, NASA's graphic states it still expects to find another 50 asteroids greater than 3,280 feet in diameter.

A specific type of bacteria that lives in the strangest places on Earth may be the answer to providing a sustainable oxygen supply to colonists living on the surface of Mars.

NASA, along with a select few private companies, are working toward the ultimate goal of creating a colony on the surface of the Red Planet. There are many problems that need to be overcome for this dream to become a reality, one of which is the lack of oxygen within the Martian atmosphere. A team of researchers has proposed using plants with a biocoating of a specific bacteria called Chroococcidiopsis Cubana, which consumes CO2 and produces oxygen.

The team created the biocoating by taking all of the necessary prerequisites for the bacteria to survive on the surface of Mars while also making sure the biocoating was durable and porous enough for cell transportation within the bacteria. The team monitored the new biocoating for 30 days and measured oxygen output, and found the paint-containing bacteria produced 0.4 grams of oxygen per day, which remained consistent over the entire month. For every 35 ounces of paint, the paint can produce 400 grams of oxygen.

For many years, there have been theories circulating about Planet Nine, a mysterious planet that orbits the Sun once every 10,000 or 20,000 years, and now physicists are suggesting it may not even be a planet at all.

A new study has looked at the Planet Nine data acquired in the past and applied the gravitational model called Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND), which is a model that enables researchers to accurately understand the gravitational behavior of galaxies. Typically, this model isn't used on smaller scales such as Planet Nine, but physicists Katherine Brown of Hamilton College and Harsh Mathur of Case Western Reserve University, decided to give it a try, and the results have seemingly thrown a new contender into the mix for the origin of Planet X.

Researchers have theorized Planet Nine's existence through gravitational anomalies that were traced back to strange orbital clustering in the outer Solar System. Within that region are large quantities of small icy rocks, which were clumping together, suggesting they were being influenced gravitationally by a large astronomical body, such as a planet.

Ahead of SpaceX's highly anticipated second orbital test flight with Starship, the space fairing company has fired up one of the Raptor engines powering the launch vehicle.

SpaceX is currently preparing for its second orbital launch attempt with the world's largest and most powerful rocket, Starship. The Elon Musk-led company set out to construct a rocket that is capable of traveling to the surface of the moon, and Mars can carry 100 tons of cargo for basic single-trip colonization of regions and is overall rapidly reusable.

In theory, SpaceX has achieved this with its design, but it has yet to reach space, and during the last test, Starship essentially erupted into flames, severing communications with HQ, which ultimately resulted in it having to be detonated. Ahead of the second orbital attempt, SpaceX has fired up one of its 39 Raptor engines, 33 for the Super Heavy booster and 6 for Starship. The single-engine static fire test was to demonstrate a flight-like startup for a Starship deorbit burn.

NASA has announced that its new lunar rover named VIPER has completed an "obstacle course" simulating the lunar environment - a key step in the development of the rover slated to explore the lunar south pole.

VIPER, or the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, has completed an obstacle course simulating the lunar terrain it will encounter when it lands on Mons Mouton, a mountain located near the lunar south pole. More specifically, the new rover will touchdown close to the western rim of the Nobile crater, where it will then begin its primary objective of documenting the southern lunar environment. Data from VIPER will then be used to dictate viable landing locations for future Artemis missions.

NASA has taken to its Ames Research Lab YouTube channel to showcase that VIPER has overcome some of the most common challenges it will encounter when it begins to scour the lunar surface. The small rover is seen successfully overcoming simulated fine lunar soil, quicksand-like soil, rocks, slopes, and much more. All of which are critical points of maneuverability. VIPER is expected to launch on the back of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket sometime in November 2024.

One nation is building a "ghost particle" detector 3,500 meters, or 11,500 feet below the surface of the Western Pacific Ocean.

The nation behind the project is China, and engineers are going to be constructing what is called the Tropical Deep-sea Neutrino Telescope (TRIDENT), or Hai Ling (Ocean Bell) in Chinese. The massive telescope will be anchored to the seabed and be tasked with searching for neutrinos, or "ghost particles". Notably, approximately 100 billion neutrinos pass through each square centimeter of your body every second, but since they have nearly zero mass and no electrical charge, they don't interact with any other types of matter.

So, why would researchers want to observe them? Researchers can trace some neutrinos back to their origins, which can be billions of light-years away in distant regions of the universe where galaxies collided, stars went supernova, etc. Due to their speed and lack of interaction with other matter, neutrinos are quite difficult to detect. However, when they pass through water or ice, they can create a particle called a muon that produces a flash of light.

A newly published study has pointed to a dwarf planet located near Mars that may contain some answers in our quest to discover life outside of Earth.

The dwarf planet that researchers are focussing on is called Ceres and is located between Jupiter and Mars. According to the study that was discussed at the Geological Society of America's GSA Connects 2023 meeting earlier this month, Ceres has an abundance of organic matter present on its surface, and follow-up observations of the dwarf planet may garner information regarding the potential of life existing outside of Earth.

The presence of organic matter was first detected back in 2017 from observations by the Dawn spacecraft, but researchers have recently made more observations, leading to the conclusion that there is more organic matter present than initially anticipated. This discovery has further pushed the researchers behind the study to call for more frequent and in-depth observations of Ceres.

Apple and Amazon are working together to bring Apple Podcasts to many more countries around the world via Amazon's devices that support its virtual assistant.

The partnership between Apple and Amazon regarding Apple Podcasts being on Amazon Echo devices began in 2019, and since then, both companies have slowly been adding more and more countries to the list of countries with support for Apple's podcasting services. This integration was only made available in select countries at first, but now Apple has made Apple Podcasts available to more than 40 different regions through Echo devices.

MacRumors reported that Apple updated its support page on its website, stating that Apple Podcasts on Alexa is now available in many more countries. Notably, this integration works on Amazon Echo speakers or an Amazon Fire TV, which has Alex built-in. Users will need to request Alexa play a podcast specifically from Apple Podcasts for it to work.

A group of researchers have discovered a rare isotope that suggests that Earth's inner core may be leaking lava onto the surface.

The claims come from a newly published study in the scientific journal Nature, which details the discovery of helium-3, helium-4, and a third isotope from ancient lava flows in Baffin Island, the largest island in Canada and fifth largest in the world. The team suggests Earth's inner core is leaking after they discovered the element helium-3, an extremely rare element that is typically traced back to the beginning of the universe or the Big Bang.

Researchers believe some helium-3 is trapped within Earth's inner core during the planet's early stages of formation. It should be noted that researchers have known for quite some time that samples from Baffin Island contained helium-3, but more recent research corrected the estimation on just how much, while also further suggesting that lava flows containing this element are coming all the way from the planet's inner core.

The annular solar eclipse happened on October 14, and observers around the world looked up in wonder at the astronomical phenomenon.

The "ring of fire" solar eclipse was seen by millions around the world, with many other people only being able to see a partial solar eclipse due to their location on the planet. However, from Oregon and down through Central and South America, millions were able to capture the event in all its glory. Despite the location of 250 miles above the surface of Earth, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were in the partial solar eclipse group.

NASA astronaut Jasmin Mogbeli snapped a photograph of the event, which was then posted on X by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center the following day. For those who don't know, a solar eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon that occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun with perfect alignment. The moon blots out the majority of the light produced by the sun, and depending on where you are located on Earth, the only part of the sun still visible is an outer glowing ring - the ring of fire.

NASA has taken to its website and social channels to highlight a new discovery by the world's most powerful space telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

The space agency explains in its blog post that Webb's infrared instruments, specifically the observatory's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) has captured the biggest planet in the solar system, Jupiter, in spectacular detail. The image has revealed a new feature of Jupiter as NASA explains there is the detection of a 3,000-mile-wide high-speed jet stream that stretches around the equator of the planet. This discovery will enable researchers to learn more about Jupiter's chaotic and turbulent atmosphere.

Webb made these observations of Jupiter back in July 2022, and since then, the team has been analyzing the acquired data. Webb's instruments being in infrared light enables the observatory to pierce through thick clouds of gas and dust, which is why Webb is able to see all the way back to nearly 400 million years after the Big Bang. Since Jupiter is a gas giant, Webb is able to see much further into the atmosphere, capturing valuable information on the jet stream around the equator, such as the wind speed of the planet, clouds, and much more.

NASA's spacecraft that is orbiting the sun has absolutely smashed its previous record set back in November 2021.

The Parker Solar Probe is a NASA spacecraft designed to monitor and observe our local star, and while it orbits the sun it collects valuable data that is then relayed back to Earth for researchers to interpret and develop a deeper understanding of solar weather, solar patterns, star evolution and more. The Parker Solar Probe is the fastest human-made object, and on September 27 the probe reached 394,736 mph (635,266 km/h), breaking its previous record of 364,660 mph (586,863 kmh).

That wasn't the only record that the Parker Solar Probe broke on September 27, as reports indicate it also broke its distance record by coming within 4.51 million miles of the surface of the Sun, which is closer than any other spacecraft has been before. The probe has one more scheduled fly-by of the sun, and it will be its closest approach yet at 3.83 million miles from the surface of the sun. That fly-by is scheduled to take place in late 2024.

The iconic Hubble Space Telescope, which has been in operation for more than 30 years, has captured a stunning view of a distant spiral galaxy.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has pointed its old, yet still extremely powerful instruments at the spiral galaxy known as IC 5332, which resides approximately 30 million light-years away from Earth within the constellation Sculptor. The European Space Agency (ESA) notes that IC 5332's orientation is almost "face-on" to Earth, which may not make sense at first, but imagine if a spiral galaxy was a large disk or a circular plate.

From Earth's perspective, the spiral galaxy appears to be completely circular, which is how astronomers determine if Earth is "face-on" to the astronomical object they are attempting to observe. If the spiral galaxy appeared flat, it would mean Earth is looking at it from the side-on - the same as if you were to look at a plate side-on.

NASA's Juno spacecraft has captured a stunning image of the most volcanic body in the solar system, a moon of the largest planet in our solar system - Jupiter.

The Juno spacecraft passed Jupiter's fifth moon, named IO, on October 15 and, during its fly-by, snapped an incredible shot that displays the scorched surface of the body. The surface of IO is covered in volcanic activity, with the red spots in the above photo representing lakes of molten silicate lava.

These patches of molten lava are spread across the entire moon, as the moon has hundreds of volcanos that are consistently erupting and flowing more lava out onto the barren landscape. For reference, IO is approximately the same size as our moon, with estimates putting it only just a little bit bigger. Notably, Jupiter has 92 moons, and IO is the fourth largest moon in the solar system and also the innermost moon orbiting Jupiter.

NASA has taken to its exoplanets X account to highlight an image captured by multiple of its telescopes, writing "something's watching".

The space agency explains in its X post that it appears the Helix Nebula was looking right back at Earth when NASA pointed its extremely sensitive instruments at it to observe it in a variety of wavelengths of light. Notably, the Helix Nebula is a dying star that is located approximately 700 light-years away from Earth within the constellation Aquarius, and is officially defined as a "planetary nebula", which is a phase of the life of a star.

The space agency explains on its website that when a star such as the sun runs out of fuel it will begin to expand and the outer layers of the star begin to "pull off". Simultaneously the core of the star begins to shrink in on itself. The Helix Nebula is experiencing both of these stages, and in approximately 5 billion years our sun will suffer the same fate.

A team of astronomers have identified what seems to be a rogue astronomical "zombie" object making its way from a cluster of stars.

Astronomers were thrown for a loop when they detected an object moving as fast as 22,000 mph relative to the Hyades star cluster located approximately 153 light years from Earth within the constellation Taurus. The detection proved to be an opportunity to learn about the mysterious star cluster, such as the low count of white dwarf stars (dead/zombie stars), given how approximately 97% of the stars in the Milky Way galaxy will become white dwarfs.

Astronomers only estimate the Hyades star cluster having a few white dwarfs at its core, with the other stars located in the area only being loosely bound, enabling the possibility of them being ejected out of the group. But how would that happen? Two ways: a cloud of gas moving into the area or an interaction with another star cluster. Astronomers have further theorized that the lack of white dwarfs within the Hyades star cluster may be a result of them all being ejected.

Amazon has just announced that its innovative Prime Air drone deliveries are being extended outside of the United States and into the skies of both the United Kingdom and Italy, as well as a third state in the US.

Amazon says that it has spent the necessary time and resources to build out its safe and scalable drone delivery service, where they said they've refined the technology and are now building the right infrastructure to ensure the Prime Air drone delivery service provides the ultimate convenience to Amazon customers. The design work on the drones has also been an important part, with a tease of its next-gen MK30 delivery drone.

The company has also been working closely with regulators to design their new drones -- including the new MK30 -- to the highest standard set with those regulations. UK's Aviation Minister Baroness Vere said in a statement in Amazon's announcement: "Not only will this help boost the economy, offering consumers even more choice while helping keep the environment clean with zero emission technology, but it will also build our understanding how to best use the new technology safely and securely".

Chang Guang Satellite Technology, the first commercial remote sensing satellite company in China, has announced its successfully beamed down data at 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps).

A new report from South China Morning Post states that one of Chang Guang Satellite Technology's satellites has successfully sent remote sensing images from a Jilin-1 satellite to a vehicle-mounted ground station. The test pushed data transfer speeds to 10 Gbps, which converts to 1.25 gigabytes per second, or 1,250 megabytes per second. Imagine looking at your game downloading at that kind of speed.

It should be noted that the type of vehicle this data was sent to hasn't been disclosed, nor its capabilities, which may influence the overall speeds achieved. Furthermore, Chang Guang Satellite Technology operates more than 108 satellites, and the satellite that beamed down the data was only launched in December 2022.

A team of astronomers detected a large outburst from a massive volcanic comet called 12P/Pons-Brooks, more commonly called simply 12P.

The outburst resulted in the comet becoming dozens of times brighter over the course of a few days, and according to reports, the brightness increase can be attributed to light reflecting off the expanded coma. So, what caused this outburst or explosion? Solar radiation, or heat from the Sun, heats up the exterior of comets such as 12P, which are cryovolcanic comets or cold volcano comets.

The interior of the comet then slowly heats up as well, creating an immense amount of pressure that then bursts out a weak point in the comet's outer shell, shooting out the frozen innards into the surrounding space. Depending on the size of the explosion and the damage it caused, comets such as 12P can make strange shapes with their increasing in brightness.

The small helicopter situated on the surface of Mars has broken its ground-speed record, which marks the fastest NASA's Ingenuity helicopter has traveled during a flight.

It was only last week that NASA announced it was going to attempt to break its ground-speed record that it set back on Flight 60, and now the space agency has done it, with Ingenuity traveling up 22 mph (10 m/s) for 121 seconds, compared to the previous record of 17.8 mph (8 m/s) for 124.18 seconds. NASA has continuously pushed the limitations of flight on another planet with Ingenuity, and with 62 flights and counting, we can expect even more records to be broken in the future.

According to NASA's flight log for Ingenuity, Flight 62 consisted of the small helicopter traveling 880 feet horizontally at a maximum altitude of 59 feet. Ingenuity traveled 22.4 mph for 121.1 seconds in a North Eastern direction. Ingenuity will continue its primary mission of imaging the surface of the Red Planet and relaying those images back to NASA headquarters, where they undergo analysis to identify any valuable scientific prospects to inspect and to map out a favorable path for Ingenuity's companion, NASA's Perseverance rover.