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☆ Rainbow-like phenomenon may glow on hellish exoplanet WASP-76b
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Observations from the European Space Agency’s Cheops space telescope, or Characterising ExOplanet Satellite, detected a “glory effect” on WASP-76b, an ultra-hot exoplanet 637 light-years from Earth. Cheops captured data from WASP-76b as the planet passed in front of its star, making 23 observations over three years. But the glory effect is created as light moves through a narrow opening and bends, creating colorful, patterned rings. An artist's illustration shows the night-side view of the exoplanet WASP-76b, where iron rains down from the sky. Lueftinger said she believes that the James Webb Space Telescope or Ariel may be able to help prove the presence of the glory effect on WASP-76b.

Persons: Cheops, ”, Olivier Demangeon, Wilson, ” Demangeon, Matthew Standing, —, “, Theresa Lueftinger, Lueftinger, James Webb, Ariel Organizations: CNN —, WASP, Astrophysics, of Astrophysics, Space Sciences, ESA, Hubble, Spitzer, Telescope, European Space Agency, “, James Webb Space Locations: Portugal, Cheops

☆ A Harvard professor is risking his reputation to search for aliens. Tech tycoons are bankrolling his quest.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

The Harvard professor's research is bankrolled by tech tycoons "pissed off" at academia's dogma. But this boundary-pushing is exactly why he's backed Loeb's research. AdvertisementDesch, the astrophysicist from Arizona University, posted a critique of Loeb's work on arXiv alleging "multiple fatal flaws with the manuscript's arguments." Asked whether he no longer believes in a possible technological origin for the meteor, Loeb said they need to investigate further. As he plans more extravagant expeditions to prove the origin of the interstellar meteor, Loeb likens his critics to crows pecking at the neck of an eagle.

Persons: Avi Loeb, Loeb, —, Steven Desch, they're, Loeb's, they've, Charles Hoskinson, that's, Anibal Martel, Mark Zuckerberg, Stephen Hawking, Lucas Jackson, Oumuamua, Desch, It's, Meech, Hoskinson, Rather, Lane Turner, James Webb, Bill Diamond, Stenzel, AARO, UAPs, Loeb hasn't, Joe Rogan's, Eugene Jhong, Galileo, ", Frank Laukien, Laukien, Charles Alcock, Seth Shostak, Stephen Wolfram, Richard Branson's, Vera, Rubin, Avi Loeb Loeb, what's, Rob McCallum, Mariana Trench, James Cameron, Avi Loeb Hoskinson, spherules, Harvard's Stein Jacobsen, Loeb didn't, Monica Grady, Patricio Gallardo, it's, Diamond, That's Avi, Adam Glanzman Organizations: Harvard, Service, Arizona State University, Netflix, Galileo, Anadolu Agency, Reuters, University of Hawaii, Boston Globe, James Webb Telescope, NASA, SETI Institute, Pew Research Center, Department of Defense, UAP Department of Defense, Jhong, Bruker Corporation, Smithsonian's, for Astrophysics, MIT, Wolfram Research, Harvard University, Survey, US Space Command, Hoskinson, UK's Open University, University of Chicago, Arizona University, U.S . Government, The Washington, Getty, Loeb, Astronomy, Astrophysics Locations: Lexington , Massachusetts, United States, Getty, Loeb's, New York, Cambridge, Massachussetts, UAPs, Colorado, Chile, Papua New Guinea, 2401.09882, IM1

☆ SpaceX is poised to make rocket launches 10 times cheaper with Starship, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Marianne Guenot | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

With its recent Starship mission, SpaceX is poised to cut launch costs 10-fold, said an expertThe firm flew its flagship mega-rocket to space without exploding on Thursday for the first time. AdvertisementSpaceX's Starship launch on Thursday didn't only look cool. SpaceX has already shaved launch costs downStarship-Super Heavy is the biggest launch system ever developed. AdvertisementA picture shows Starship fully stacked on its launchpad. "Lowering launch costs has always been the first step to unlocking broader, deeper sources of value from space," he said.

Persons: —, Elon, Brendan Rosseau, Abhi Tripathi, Elon Musk, Starship's, George Nield, Harvard's Rosseau, Tripathi Organizations: SpaceX, Service, Harvard Business School, Super, Mission, University of California, Space Sciences Laboratory, Space Shuttle, Space Transportation

☆ ‘I’ve dedicated my life to this mission’: Sara Sabry on making space exploration more accessible
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Arya Jyothi | Maheshpreet Narula | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Last year, Sara Sabry made history when she became the first Egyptian, the first Arab woman and the first African woman in space. CNN spoke to Sabry at Dubai Airshow last week to find out more about her experience going to space, and why she started Deep Space Initiative. CNN: How did you feel when you heard that you were selected to go to space? Sabry was chosen to join the Blue Origins flight by the non-profit Space for Humanity Blue OriginCNN: What did you feel when you first saw Earth from space? CNN: Why did you set up the Deep Space Initiative?

Persons: CNN —, Sara Sabry, you’re, Sabry, wasn’t, ”, we’re, it’s Organizations: CNN, Humanity, University of North, Sabry, Dubai Airshow, Humanity Blue Origin CNN, ” CNN Locations: University of North Dakota, Colorado, Egypt, Africa

☆ Apollo 17 samples reveal that the moon is 40 million years older than previously thought
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Lunar dust collected by Apollo 17 astronauts in the 1970s has revealed that the moon is 40 million years older than previously believed. After landing on the moon on December 11, 1972, NASA astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt collected rocks and dust from the lunar surface. A new analysis of that sample detected zircon crystals and dated them to 4.46 billion years old. “When the surface was molten like that, zircon crystals couldn’t form and survive. A lunar zircon grain is shown under a microscope.

Persons: Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, ”, Philipp Heck, Robert A, Heck, Bidong Zhang, Zhang, Audrey Bouvier, Jennika Greer, Greer, they’re, ” Heck, “, ” Greer, Dieter Isheim Organizations: CNN, Apollo, NASA, Polar Studies, Field, Research Center, University of Chicago, University of California, Bayreuth University, University of Glasgow, Northwestern University, Field Museum, Northwestern University Center, Atom Locations: Chicago, Los Angeles, Germany, Evanston , Illinois

☆ Side-by-side photos show 4 major changes made to SpaceX's Starship rocket system after its first launch ended in an explosion
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Marianne Guenot | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementMore than a thousand changes have been made to the rocket since and it is now "ready to launch" again Musk recently said. SpaceX's enormous Starship mega-rocket is made of two stages: the Starship spaceship and its booster, the Super Heavy booster. The Starship-Super Heavy launch system is made up of two stages. Instead, for Starship's maiden test flight, SpaceX decided to see if they could absorb the force of the flames with a thick concrete launchpad alone. The FAA will still need to review the changes made to the Starship launch system before it can grant a new license.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, it's, Abhi Tripathi, Starship's, Tripathi, Ashlee Vance, Vance, hushes, —, SpaceX's, LabPadre, SpaceX hasn't, It's, April's, Polly Trottenberg, Jared M, Margolis Organizations: SpaceX, Service, NASA, Super, Mission, University of California's, Sciences Laboratory, Flight Safety, FAA, Bloomberg, Boca Chica, CNBC, Texas Commission, Environmental, Center for Biological Diversity Locations: Wall, Silicon, Starship's, Boca Chica , Texas

☆ How mapping Mars could help us live there
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“It might sound silly, but maybe in the future it will be very common for people to go to Mars and even live there,” says Atri. EMM/EXI/Dimitra Atri/NYU Abu Dhabi Center for Astrophysics and Space ScienceDust and desertificationAstronomers have been mapping Mars for nearly two centuries. NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Sciences is now using NYUAD’s map in its Mars 24 software, which maintains precise timings on Mars. The new images show details of Mars’ topography, like the Valles Marineris, which is known as the “Grand Canyon of Mars,” in stunning detail. But elsewhere, other researchers are already examining how innovations being developed to grow food on Mars could impact Earth.

Persons: Dimitra Atri, ”, Wilhelm Beer, Johann von Mädler, Giovanni Schiaparelli’s, NASA’s, Scott Dickenshied, Mars, Atri Organizations: CNN, Planet, NASA, European Space Agency, ESA, New York University Abu Dhabi, Mars, United, United Arab Emirates, Mars Research, NYUAD, NYU Abu Dhabi Center for Astrophysics, NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Sciences, United Arab Locations: Texas, United Arab, Mars, Germany, Italian, Africa, United Arab Emirates, Canada

ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI team/Handout via REUTERS File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBENGALURU, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Following quickly on the success of India's moon landing, the country's space agency launched a rocket on Saturday to study the sun in its first solar mission. The rocket left a trail of smoke and fire as scientists clapped, a live broadcast on the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) website showed. While Russia had a more powerful rocket, India's Chandrayaan-3 out-endured the Luna-25 to execute a textbook landing. Prime Minister Modi is pushing for India's space missions to play a larger role on a world stage dominated by the United States and China. Satellites in low earth orbit are the main focus of global private players, which makes the Aditya-L1 mission a very important project," he said.

Persons: clapped, Luna, Modi, Sankar Subramanian, Somak Raychaudhury, Rama Rao Nidamanuri, Nivedita, Jayshree, William Mallard Organizations: Solar Orbiter, ESA, NASA, Solar, Rights, Indian Space Research, Elon, SpaceX, Indian Institute of Space Science, Technology, ISRO, Thomson Locations: India, Russia, United States, China, Bengaluru

☆ Astronomers solve the puzzle of an unusual pulsing dead star
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The spinning dead star and the companion star that it closely orbits were first discovered in 2007. Once the pulsar began siphoning off material from the companion star, its characteristic pulsing beam disappeared. Instead, the pulsar entered a constant, alternating cycle of operating in what astronomers call “high” mode and “low” mode. They discovered that an exchange of matter between the pulsar and its companion star triggers the unusual behavior of the pulsar. As the pulsar tugs at its companion star, gas releases from the companion and forms a disk around the pulsar before slowly falling toward it.

Persons: ”, Maria Cristina Baglio, Francesco Coti Zelati, Coti Zelati, Sergio Campana Organizations: CNN, Astrophysics, New York University, Italian National Institute for Astrophysics, Institute of Space Sciences, Astronomers, Southern, Italian National Institute for Astrophysics ’, Observatory Locations: New York University Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Spain, Chile

☆ The world's top alien hunters explain why a Harvard physicist's discovery of 'alien' tech is likely a false alarm
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Adam Barnes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Harvard physicist Avi Loeb announced the discovery of tiny "spherules" at the bottom of the Pacific. But three of the world's top experts on the search for aliens are skeptical the tech is from aliens. The fragments "could be a spacecraft from another civilization, or some technological gadget," Loeb told CBS News. This will constitute independent evidence for the interstellar origin of IM1 in addition to its measured speed," Loeb wrote. Loeb told Insider that, when ready, the team will publish their findings in a scientific paper that will be "shared openly and submitted for a peer-reviewed journal."

Persons: Avi Loeb, Loeb, Dan Werthimer, IM1, aren't, Douglas Vakoch, Vakoch, Monica Grady, Werthimier Organizations: Service, CBS, SETI Research, University of California, Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence, SETI, Center, Object, Sun, Space Command, NASA, DOD, The Open University, HMS Locations: Wall, Silicon, Berkeley, Papua New Guinea

☆ Fact Check-No evidence linking clouds to earthquakes, contrary to claims following Turkey-Syria quake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Experts contacted by Reuters dismissed claims shared online conflating the events that occurred weeks apart and emphasized that there is no evidence linking cloud formations to quakes. “Lenticular clouds form from a natural interaction of the air with mountains,” Mark Wysocki, senior lecturer in Cornell University’s Earth and Atmospheric Sciences department, told Reuters by email. A diagram illustrating this process provided by Wysocki is viewable (ibb.co/PmKM019)“And earthquakes form from the natural movement of the Earth’s crust. Experts contacted by Reuters say there is no evidence linking clouds to earthquakes. The science behind the formation of lens-like-shaped clouds, or lenticular clouds, has been documented.

☆ ‘Star Chasers of Senegal’ Review: Between Science and the Sacred
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Orthodox religion and state-of-the-art astrophysics would seem to have a star-crossed relationship at best, but they intersect gracefully in the latest “NOVA” special, which looks both backward and forward in time. The principal of “Star Chasers of Senegal”—and straddler of worlds—is Maram Kaire , a Senegalese astronomer affiliated with the Africa Initiative for Planetary and Space Sciences and a scientist-advocate eager to establish a space agency in his own country. Meanwhile, he assists in projects from abroad, the one at the center of “Star Chasers” being NASA’s most recent deep-space probe, christened “Lucy”—after the fossilized human discovered in 1974, and the song “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.” The “jewels” the new Lucy is out to observe are the so-called Trojan Asteroids trapped in Jupiter’s orbit, which theoretically predate the creation of the sun and the Earth. Traveling at 15,000 mph, Lucy will have mere moments to make her observations, so it behooves the NASA scientists to have as much advance knowledge as they can collect about the size, shape and speed of Orus.

☆ 2 climate activists got kicked out of the world's biggest Earth-science conference for protesting, and one says the association is 'silencing scientists'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Two climate scientists were kicked out of a major science conference in Chicago on Thursday. They told Insider the American Geophysical Union told them they'd be arrested if they returned. "I interpreted that as basically a threat — which I don't know if it was a hollow threat or not — to try and get us fired," Abramoff told Insider. "AGU Fall Meeting year after year provides a wide-open space for debate and discussion around all issues in Earth and space science. "I love the AGU fall meeting, and I'm really grateful that the AGU exists," Kalmus said.

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