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☆ Voyager 2’s defining Uranus flyby may have been skewed by a rare cosmic event
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-11 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Magnetospheres are the protective bubbles around planets like Earth that have magnetic cores and magnetic fields, and they are driven by the planet’s magnetic field. Voyager 2’s data showed that Uranus’ magnetosphere was home to unexpectedly powerful electron radiation belts. Voyager 2’s observations of Uranus’ magnetosphere defied the way astronomers understand how magnetic fields trap energetic particles and their radiation. The first panel (left) of this artist's concept depicts how Uranus' protective magnetosphere behaved prior to Voyager 2's flyby. Fortunately, sending a dedicated mission to study Uranus in the future has become a priority for NASA, according to a report released in 2022.

Persons: ”, Jamie Jasinski, ” Jasinski, It’s, Linda Spilker, Spilker, ” Spilker, James Webb Organizations: CNN, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, JPL, Caltech, Orbiter, Probe Locations: Pasadena , California

☆ Teen who wowed China in Alibaba math contest got help from teacher, organizers say
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-05 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Ap-Live-Blog-Byline-Image.Png | The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A vocational school student in China who wowed the public in June by finishing near the top in the preliminary round of a math contest was helped by her teacher in violation of the rules, the organizers said this week. An investigation found that the math teacher’s assistance broke a rule of “no discussion with others,” the Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition Organizing Committee said Sunday. For this, we express our sincere apologies,” the organizing committee said. The teacher, Wang Runqiu, also entered the contest and finished 125th in the preliminary round. Damo Academy, the contest organizer, didn’t respond to an email, and a call to the vocational school was unanswered on Tuesday.

Persons: Jiang Ping, Jack Ma, Wang Runqiu, Jiang, Wang, didn’t Organizations: Cambridge, MIT, Caltech, Jiangsu Lianjiang Vocational, Damo Academy Locations: China, China’s Jiangsu, Jiangsu

☆ Planet 9: Inside the search for a hidden planet in our solar system
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-04 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

“It could completely reshape our understanding of the solar system and of other planetary systems, and how we fit into that context. Brown and his colleague, planetary scientist Konstantin Batygin, reported having strong evidence of a hidden planet on the fringes of our solar system. “If you look at these bodies, their lifetimes are tiny compared to the age of the solar system,” Batygin said. “By now, we expected to have found many more of these extreme trans-Neptunian objects,” Sheppard said in an email. Finding a smaller planet would also spark excitement, Rice added, because every solar system planet is immensely useful for extrapolating information about the thousands of comparable exoplanets that researchers are uncovering across the galaxy.

Persons: Mike Brown, Pluto, ”, Brown, Pluto’s, Malena Rice, ” Rice, Konstantin Batygin, Neptune, they’ve, Brown’s, “, we’re, Scott Sheppard, Chadwick Trujillo, Trujillo, ” Brown, Batygin, ” Batygin, Patryk Sofia Lykawka, ” Lykawka, Lykawka, Rice, Hur, Renu Malhotra, Malhotra, Sheppard, ” Sheppard, ” Malhotra, she’s, “ It’s, Sigurd Naess, ” Naess, Vera C, Rubin, That’s Organizations: CNN, Caltech, NASA, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Research, International Astronomical, ESA, Yale University, Getty, California Institute of Technology, Planet Nine, Carnegie Institution for Science, Northern Arizona University, Sheppard, Kindai University, Rice of Yale University, University of Arizona, Survey Telescope, Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, US National Science Foundation, Stanford University, Rubin, Rubin Observatory, Nine Locations: Pasadena , California, AFP, Washington ,, Japan, Neptune, Hawaii, Chile, Norway

☆ Bones from a Tudor shipwreck could help modern medical research
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-02 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The Mary Rose was a royal favorite when it first set sail as the flagship of King Henry VIII’s fleet in 1512. After the Mary Rose came to rest at the bottom of a strait in the English Channel, a layer of silt cloaked the ship and the hundreds of crew who died on board. Now, researchers are studying the objects and bones from the wreck to better understand who the men were and how they lived. Ocean secretsThe wreckage of the Mary Rose is on display at The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, England. The Mary Rose TrustScientists now see how the tasks of life on a ship shaped the bone chemistry of 12 crew members from the Mary Rose by analyzing their collarbones.

Persons: Mary Rose, King Henry VIII’s, ”, Luke Parry, Parry, Ne’Kiya Jackson, Calcea Johnson, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt, Jackie Wattles Organizations: CNN, Mary Rose Museum, Mary Rose Trust, paleobiology, University of Oxford, Caltech, Tombstone, NASA, CNN Space, Science Locations: French, Tudor England, Portsmouth, England, New York, United States, Jamestown , Virginia, Belgium, North America, Tanzania, Louisiana, Mexico, Valeriana

☆ NASA reestablishes contact with Voyager 1 using an old radio transmitter
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-01 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Voyager 1 is now using a radio transmitter it hasn’t relied on since 1981 to stay in contact with its team on Earth while engineers work to understand what went wrong. NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is depicted in this artist's concept traveling through interstellar space, or the space between stars, which it entered in 2012. Voyager 1 has been using one of its two radio transmitters, called an X-band based on the frequency it utilizes, for decades. In the meantime, engineers sent a message to Voyager 1 on October 22 to check that the S-band transmitter was working and received confirmation on October 24. “The S-band signal is too weak to use long term,” Waggoner said.

Persons: Bruce Waggoner, hasn’t, Waggoner, it’s, ” Waggoner Organizations: CNN, NASA, JPL, Caltech, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Space, Network, Engineers, Space Network Locations: Pasadena , California

☆ Perseverance rover captures video of ‘googly eye’ feature on Mars
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-31 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Perseverance rover spotted a quick glimpse of a cosmic “googly eye” on Mars during a recent solar eclipse. The Perseverance rover, currently ascending the western wall of Jezero Crater, captured a video of the partial eclipse, which resembled a googly eye, on September 30. Previous images includes a video taken by the Curiosity rover in 2019 and photo that the Opportunity rover snapped in 2004. Astronomer Asaph Hall discovered Mars’ two moons, Phobos and Deimos, in 1877. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Martian Moons eXploration mission, or MMX, intends to solve some of those enduring riddles.

Persons: —, Asaph, Mars, MSSS, ”, Rick Welch, Perseverance’s, Hazel Hill Organizations: CNN, NASA, Opportunity, Japan Aerospace Exploration, JPL, Caltech, ASU, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Locations: Mars, Pasadena , California

☆ Anandkumar Transitions From Nvidia to CalTech to Advance AI Climate Research
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-24 | by ( Helen Li | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Anandkumar, a former senior director of Nvidia's AI research, left the private sector last year to return full time to academia at CalTech, where she serves as a Bren professor in the computing and mathematical sciences department. Her lab focuses on tensors, which can help solve higher-order problems in AI, such as simulating fluids. She helped build an AI-based weather model and made it available as open source. She hopes that by figuring out how AI can better simulate the physical world, researchers can more accurately predict and alleviate the climate crisis. See Business Insider's full AI Power List

Organizations: CalTech

☆ Robinhood's cofounder has joined the rapidly growing commercial space race, and wants to beam solar power from satellites to earth
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-21 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Aetherflux aims to launch a constellation of satellites to transmit solar power to Earth using infrared lasers. Bhatt told BI why he's joining the commercial space race and what Robinhood taught him about capitalism. AdvertisementAetherflux aims to create a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) that will collect solar power and beam it down to receptors on Earth using infrared lasers. Caltech's president, Thomas F. Rosenbaum, said the project had shown them that solar power beamed from space "is still a future prospect" but that it "should be an achievable future." The science has already been demonstrated; it's just going to be an engineering and economic feat to prove it can be done from space, Bhatt said.

Persons: Baiju Bhatt, Bhatt, Robinhood, —, Vlad Tenev, Elon, Baiju Bhatt Bhatt, Thomas F, Rosenbaum, it's, he'd, you'll, Spencer Platt, Matthew Weinzierl, Weinzierl, Einstein, Aetherflux Organizations: he's, Service, California Institute of Technology, NASA, Langley Research Center, Stanford, DARPA, Investment, Space Angels, McKinsey, Harvard Business School, SpaceX, Getty, Apex, Forbes Locations: India, Anadolu, Bay

☆ NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will launch to find whether life could exist on an icy ocean world
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft — designed to explore its namesake, Jupiter’s moon Europa — is expected to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket Monday at 12:06 p.m. If Europa Clipper doesn’t take off Monday, there are launch opportunities through November 6. NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft carries a special message from humanity onboard. There was no harder year than this one to get Europa Clipper over the finish line, said Curt Niebur, Europa Clipper program scientist. That’s what’s waiting us at Europa.”The Europa Clipper spacecraft is seen atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on October 13.

Persons: Mike McAleenan, Tim Dunn, Hurricane Milton, ”, Robert Pappalardo, Ada Limón, Curt Niebur, ” Niebur, “ It’s, we’ve, That’s, Haje Korth, ” Korth, ” Pappalardo Organizations: CNN, Clipper, SpaceX, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, 45th Weather Squadron, US Space Force, NASA’s, Hurricane, Europa Clipper, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, US, NASA, JPL, Caltech, Kennedy Space Center, European Space Agency, Europa, Johns Hopkins, Physics Laboratory Locations: Florida, Pasadena , California, Europa

☆ NASA launches a probe to find out if there really could be alien life on Jupiter's moon Europa
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-14 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NASA launched Europa Clipper to see if Jupiter's moon Europa could host alien life. NASA / Jet Propulsion Lab-Caltech / SETI InstituteThe NASA mission, called Europa Clipper, aims to figure out whether the Jupiter moon and its ocean could support life. The Europa Clipper spacecraft at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA/Kim Shiflett"We scientists have been dreaming about a mission like Europa Clipper for more than 20 years. An artist's concept of NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft.

Persons: —, Laurie Leshin, Kim Shiflett, We've, Gina DiBraccio, Jordan Evans, Evans Organizations: NASA, Europa Clipper, Service, SpaceX, Jet Propulsion, Caltech, SETI, Europa, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Kennedy Space Center, Clipper, JPL, Planetary Science Locations: Florida

☆ Mini-moons like the one Earth just captured could be huge business opportunities
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-30 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The second moon that Earth has captured in its orbit this month is an asteroid called 2024 PT5. Mini-moons like this could be ideal targets for asteroid mining to send humans deeper into space. Space mining could be huge, since some asteroids are worth more than our entire global economy. Some startups are trying to figure out how to start mining space rocks, and do it in a cost-effective way. "Either if you are thinking about collecting mineral samples for research or starting a space mining venture, mini-moons are your best bet to get your business off the ground," he said.

Persons: —, it's, Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, Elon, Marcos, Teddy Kareta, Mars, Richard Binzel, they're, Kareta Organizations: Service, NASA, Business, Lowell Observatory, JPL, Caltech, ASU, SpaceX, MIT Locations: Mars, Earth's

☆ Astronomers spot the most massive black hole jets ever observed
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-24 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Astronomers have observed a massive pair of jets releasing from a supermassive black hole 7.5 billion light-years from Earth. The megastructure spans 23 million light-years in length, making these black hole jets the largest ever seen, according to new research. Black hole jets can accelerate radiation and particles close to the speed of light, causing them to glow in wavelengths visible to radio telescopes. The massive black hole jets could help answer both. Martijn Oei (pictured), lead author of the new study, and his colleagues will continue their search for massive black hole jets.

Persons: Martijn Oei, ” Oei, Europe’s, Oei, “, Aivin Gast, Gast, LOFAR, “ Aivin, Porphyrion, NASA's, Powell, Nelson, Martin Hardcastle, Sasha Tchekhovskoy, ”, Tchekhovskoy Organizations: CNN —, California Institute of Technology, Astrophysics, University of Oxford, NASA, JPL, Caltech, CNN, Keck, NASA's Goddard, University of Hertfordshire, Northwestern University Locations: India, Hawaii, England

☆ Tiny lizard ‘scuba dives’ and hides out from predators
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-21 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Reptiles are astonishingly diverse, with extraordinary adaptations such as a tiny lizard in Costa Rica that has evolved a way to “scuba dive,” according to new research. Fantastic creaturesUsing the air bubble helps the anole to stay underwater longer, and the technique may help the tiny lizard hide from predators, researchers say. This ability allows the lizard to stay underwater for a prolonged period of time. Across the universeAn artist's concept depicts NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft entering interstellar space, or the space between stars. Along the way, Voyager 1 found a thin ring around Jupiter and two new Jovian moons as well as five new moons orbiting Saturn.

Persons: Lindsey Swierk, Kaspar Hauser, ”, Hauser, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Vincent van Gogh, ” Timothy A, Clary, Vincent van Gogh’s, It’s, King Ramses II, — Helga, Zohar, Artemis, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, NASA, JPL, Caltech, NASA’s, International, Getty, Orion, Artemis, CNN Space, Science Locations: Costa Rica, Costa Rica’s, Nuremberg, Germany, Bristol, England, AFP, China, France, Egypt

☆ Voyager 1 survives clogged thruster issue billions of miles away
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Engineers at NASA have successfully fired up a set of thrusters Voyager 1 hasn’t used in decades to solve an issue that could keep the 47-year-old spacecraft from communicating with Earth from billions of miles away. Currently the farthest spacecraft from Earth, Voyager 1 is about 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) away. Earlier this year, engineers spotted an issue when the fuel tube inside one of Voyager’s thrusters became clogged. Engineers switched again to the trajectory correction thruster set in 2018 when the second set also appeared clogged. Once the spacecraft has exhausted this thruster set, Voyager 1’s remaining option is the other already clogged set of attitude propulsion thrusters.

Persons: Calla, ”, It’s, Todd Barber, Suzanne Dodd, ” Barber Organizations: CNN — Engineers, NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, Caltech, Engineers Locations: Pasadena , California

☆ A former Nvidia researcher who left the chip giant for academia shares why AI models should be open source and free for all
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-29 | by ( Helen Li | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

AI researcher Anima Anandkumar highlights the role of AI in weather, climate, and medical design. She formerly worked at Nvidia on machine learning research and now spearheads Caltech's AI research. The former Nvidia senior director of AI research and Amazon Web Services alum spent decades working at the forefront of AI algorithms and helped make Nvidia's FourCastNet weather simulator available as open source. I see that as the golden age of open research where even in industry, you could open source, you could publish, you could freely collaborate. To me, my goal to be having a dual appointment was to really enable open research and do that for beneficial tasks.

Persons: —, Anima, Anandkumar, fluidly, I've, ChatGPT, I'm, it's, Gavin Newsom, That's Organizations: Nvidia, Service, Web Services, Caltech, Business, Big, Big Tech, AWS, TED, Gov Locations: Big Tech, California

☆ Perseverance rover begins steep climb to study the oldest parts of Mars
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-24 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

This ascent is something scientists have been looking forward to for years, long before Perseverance landed on Mars. Turning back Martian timeThe impact that created Jezero Crater also generated a lot of heat, partly from the energy of the object that slammed into Mars. The crater rim site of Pico Turquino, as the hydrothermal rocks are called, provides another, different possibility. A panorama shows the area Perseverance will climb in the coming months to crest Jezero Crater’s rim. “For now, we’re just going to pursue our crater rim investigation.

Persons: ”, Thompson, Perseverance, Pico, Hazel Hill, Briony Horgan, “, Horgan, Ken Farley, Pico Turquino, ” Farley, Farley, Steven Lee, ” Lee, ” Horgan, we’re Organizations: CNN, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, JPL, Caltech, University of Arizona, Purdue University, Mars, California Institute of Technology, ASU Locations: Pasadena , California, Mars, Dox, ”, West Lafayette , Indiana, Pico, Jezero

☆ ‘Zombie star’ of supernova that exploded in 1181 revealed by study
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

But Zijlstra, who was not involved with the new study, was the first to make the connection to SN 1181. The report suggested that SN 1181 might belong to the elusive Type Iax category of supernova due to the presence of this “zombie” white dwarf. That energy causes the sudden brightness of the supernova.”That massive collision might explain another curious aspect of the SN 1181 zombie star. “We theorize that the star reignited because SN 1181 was a Type Iax supernova, which is an incomplete explosion. Schaefer added that SN 1181 represents one of the few reliable connections from supernova to supernova remnant.

Persons: ”, Takatoshi Ko, Albert Zijlstra, Dana Patchick, Zijlstra, ” Zijlstra, “, coauthors, NASA's Chandra, ” Ko, Chandra, Ko, Bradley Schaefer, Schaefer, ” Schaefer, astrophysicists Organizations: CNN, Astrophysical, University of Tokyo, University of Manchester, Survey, NASA, ESA, JPL, Caltech, Subaru, Louisiana State University Locations: China, Japan, England, New Mexico, Hawaii

☆ Oceans of water may be trapped deep beneath the Martian surface
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Data from a retired NASA mission has revealed evidence of an underground reservoir of water deep beneath the surface of Mars, according to new research. A team of scientists estimates that there may be enough water, trapped in tiny cracks and pores of rock in the middle of the Martian crust, to fill oceans on the planet’s surface. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took an image of InSight sitting on the Martian surface on February 2, 2019. “It’s certainly true on Earth — deep, deep mines host life, the bottom of the ocean hosts life. Windows into Martian historyThe findings add a new piece to the Martian water puzzle.

Persons: ”, Vashan Wright, ‘, Mars, orbiters, InSight’s seismometer, Wright, James Tuttle Keane, Aaron Rodriguez, Michael Manga, “ It’s, haven’t, Alberto Fairén, Fairén, Bruce Banerdt, we’re, Banerdt, al, ” Banerdt, “, ” Wright Organizations: CNN, NASA, National Academy of Sciences, Reconnaissance Orbiter, JPL, Caltech, University of Arizona, University of California, Diego’s Scripps, of Oceanography, Mars, Interior Exploration, Transport, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of Maryland, Cornell University Locations: Mars, Berkeley

☆ New tech will trap CO2 from cargo ships and store it in the ocean
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-06 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The dissolved calcium carbonate then reacts with the CO2 in the water to form bicarbonate salts, locking the CO2 away. Adkins says that with a full-scale reactor, he aims to capture and store about half of a ship’s CO2 emissions. BAR Technologies/Cargill French company Airseas has developed the Seawing, which it says could help ships cut their carbon emissions by an average of 20%. A British company called Seabound, for example, makes a device that captures between 25% and 95% of a ship’s CO2 emissions. “We think that ships are actually going to be able to compete with underground CO2 storage,” he said.

Persons: it’s, Jess Adkins, ”, Adkins, ” Adkins, Calcarea, Melissa Gutierrez, Pierre Forin, geochemist Will Berelson, Will Berelson, Airseas, Maxime Horlaville, Norsepower, Daniel Sigman Organizations: CNN — International, International Maritime Organization —, UN, California Institute of Technology, Caltech, University of Southern, USC, British Port Association, Cargill, BAR Technologies, de Bordeaux, Michelin, Norsepower, Anemoi, Technologies, Geophysical Sciences, Princeton University Locations: University of Southern California, Port of Los Angeles, Norway, Nantong, Vancouver, British

☆ Scientists digitally dissect ancient Egyptian ‘screaming’ mummy
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Ancient Egypt’s pyramids, pharaohs and artifacts delight the imagination, reigniting wonder of the distant past in every generation. Experts are also using the latest techniques to spill secrets hidden within discoveries made decades ago, with new research this week “digitally dissecting” an unusual mummy found in 1935. The "screaming woman" whose mummified remains were discovered in 1935 may have died violently, a new study suggests. — To keep swimmers and beachgoers safe, scientists are using artificial intelligence to detect juvenile sharks, which like to hang out near the shore. They find wonder in planets beyond our solar system and discoveries from the ancient world.

Persons: Sahar Saleem, Saleem, Saleem couldn’t, Venus, Guillermo Legaria, Lonely Guy, —, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Kasr Al, Cairo University, Mercury, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA, JPL, Caltech Venus, Lonely, —, CNN Space, Science Locations: ., Damietta, Egypt, Luxor, New York City, Kasr Al Ainy, Europe, Asia, Thailand, Southeast Asia

☆ Venus atmosphere shows potential signs of life — again
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“We’re a long way from saying this, but if there is life on Venus producing phosphine, we have no idea why it’s producing it. So finding them in the atmosphere of Venus is interesting on that basis as well. But further analysis of that data by Clements’ team revealed weak traces of the molecule, reinforcing the theory. “To date, our analyses remain unchallenged in the literature,” said Mogul, who was not involved in the research of Clements’ team. While detecting phosphine and ammonia in Venus’ clouds is exciting, it is just the beginning of a longer journey to unravel the mysteries of that planet’s atmosphere, he said.

Persons: James, Maxwell, “ There’s, ”, Dave Clements, “, we’ve, Clements, ” Clements, Venus, Clements ’, Rakesh Mogul, Jane Greaves, NASA's, ” Greaves, Greaves, Javier Martin, Torres, Martín, Kate Pattle, ” Pattle, Pattle Organizations: CNN, Astronomical Society, Imperial College London, NASA, JPL, Caltech, Saturn, Venus, Telescope, California State Polytechnic University, ” Mogul, Cardiff University, Green Bank, Royal Astronomical Society, European Space Agency, University of Aberdeen, University College London Locations: Hull, England, Hawaii, SOFIA, ALMA, Pomona, United Kingdom, West Virginia

☆ Surprising element traced back to Renaissance alchemist’s basement laboratory
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-28 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors produced the first maps of the stars and practiced alchemy, the precursor to chemistry. But ancient alchemists actually developed technology and discovered chemical elements that are still widely used today. Now, a new discovery links both astronomy and alchemy in one intriguing figure who lived during the Renaissance. Once the Starliner mission concludes, SpaceX will ferry a quartet of astronauts for NASA’s Crew-9 mission to the space station.

Persons: Sir Isaac Newton, Uraniborg, Tycho Brahe, Brahe, wasn’t, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Mark Nappi, Craig Smith, Diva Amon, Andrew Sweetman, Sweetman, ”, David Flannery, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Chemists, Lund University Danish, NASA, Boeing, Engineers, SpaceX, NASA’s, Marine, Scottish Association for Marine Science, JPL, Caltech, Perseverance, CNN Space, Science Locations: Ireland, Brazil, Mars

☆ NASA just scored a badly needed win: The best potential evidence of alien life yet
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewNASA has snagged a chunk of rock on Mars that could someday prove to be the first clear evidence of alien life. To confirm their suspicions, scientists would need to bring the rock sample to Earth and study it in more detail. Advertisement"We're not saying there's life on Mars, but we're seeing something that is compelling as a potential biosignature," Stack Morgan said. That was the plan that could've brought scientists the Cheyava Falls rock sample. There is a lot going on in this rock," Stack Morgan said.

Persons: —, it's, Katie Stack Morgan, Stack Morgan, Astrobotic, wasn't, could've, Aaron Gronstal, We're Organizations: Service, NASA, Business, JPL, Caltech, ASU, Space Station, Boeing Locations: Mars

☆ NASA Perseverance rover’s rock find may show microbial life existed on Mars
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The NASA Perseverance rover may have found a pivotal clue that’s central to its mission on Mars: geological evidence that could suggest life existed on the red planet billions of years ago. “These spots are a big surprise,” said David Flannery, member of the NASA Perseverance science team and an astrobiologist at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia, in a statement. But the arrowhead-shaped specimen could help the Perseverance team unlock whether Mars was once a planet hospitable to life. Perseverance rover captured a 360-degree panorama of a region on Mars called “Bright Angel,” where a river flowed billions of years ago. Exploring Mars’ pastSince landing on Mars, Perseverance has crossed Jezero Crater and explored an ancient river delta in search of microfossils of past life.

Persons: ”, David Flannery, haven’t, Mars, “ We’re, Briony Horgan, we’ve, —, Morgan Cable, MSSS “ We’ve, Ken Farley, it’s, Perseverance, Nicola Fox, Bill Nelson, ” Horgan, ” Farley Organizations: CNN, NASA, Queensland University of Technology, Purdue University, Chemicals, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, Caltech, ASU, ” Cable, California Institute of Technology, MSSS Geologists, Science Locations: Australia, West Lafayette , Indiana, Mars, Pasadena , California, Cheyava, Pasadena, Neretva

☆ NASA’s Curiosity rover makes its ‘most unexpected’ find on Mars
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-20 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —The Curiosity rover has made its most unusual find to date on Mars: rocks made of pure sulfur. “I think it’s the strangest find of the whole mission and the most unexpected,” said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Previously, while exploring Mars, NASA’s Spirit rover broke one of its wheels and had to drag it along while using the other five to drive backward. And Vasavada says it’s what inspired the team to “look behind” the Curiosity rover — otherwise they wouldn’t have seen the crushed sulfur. To determine what process formed the sulfur rocks, the team considered nearby bedrock instead.

Persons: ”, Ashwin Vasavada, “, Sharp, White, Vasavada, ” Vasavada, Briony Horgan, Curiosity, Mount Sharp, Becky Williams, Gediz, “ It’s, we’re, ” Curiosity’s, “ I’m Organizations: CNN, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, NASA, Caltech, Mars, NASA SVS, Spirit, Purdue University, Planetary Science Institute, Curiosity’s Locations: Pasadena , California, ”, Mars, West Lafayette , Indiana, Mt, Gediz, Gale, Tucson , Arizona

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