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☆ NASA is about to 'touch' the sun. Here's what you need to know.
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-24 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

NASA's Parker Solar Probe is about to make its closest approach to the sun. AdvertisementNASA's Parker Solar Probe launched in 2018 and has completed 21 close flybys around the sun. Over the years the Parker Solar Probe, about the size of a small car, has made increasingly close flybys. NASA last heard from Parker Solar Probe on December 22 and expects to hear from it again around midnight between Thursday and Friday, Nour Rawafi, Parker Solar Probe project scientist at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, said during a recent NASA livestream. Here's what you need to know about this historic mission and how it could help humanity solve some of the world's biggest questions.

Persons: NASA's Parker, NASA's, shouldn't, Joe Westlake, we're, humanity's, Westlake, Nour Rawafi, Parker, Rawafi, Alex Young Organizations: Probe, NASA, Parker, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics, Heliophysics, American Geophysical Union Locations: American, Philadelphia

☆ Are the sonic booms from SpaceX’s Starship launches dangerous? Here’s what experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-24 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

As the Super Heavy booster made its way back to a pinpoint landing, an earsplitting sonic boom rang out. Potential risksResearchers and regulators are working to assess further what risks these sonic booms may present to the surrounding area, Gee said. More data about the sonic booms — and how weather patterns might affect their impact — is desperately needed, he said. Spacex/UPI/ShutterstockSpaceX has indicated it hopes sonic booms will be associated with those ambitious goals in the public consciousness. “Sonic booms announce the return of rockets and spacecraft built to be reused,” a blog post from the company reads.

Persons: ”, Noah Pulsipher, —, Elon Musk, ” Musk, Victor Sparrow, Kent Gee, Gee, Brigham Young’s, Brigham, ” Pulsipher, ” Gee, Sergio Flores, That’s, you’re, Brigham Young, Veronica G, Cardenas, There’s, “ It’s, Cheney Orr, Gwynne Shotwell, Donald Trump’s, Michael Whitaker, Al Drago, Sparrow, “, ” Sparrow Organizations: CNN, SpaceX, Heavy, South Texas, Super, Brigham Young University, Penn State, Concorde, SpaceX’s, Spacex, UPI, Brigham Young, Falcon, Getty, Boca, Brigham, Boca Chica, Bloomberg, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, “, and Wildlife Service, Trump’s, Government Efficiency, Trump, Capitol, New, NASA Locations: South, Provo , Utah, Brownsville , Texas, Gulf of Mexico, Florida, California, firma, Port Isabel, South Padre, Texas, Starship’s, Boca Chica Beach , Texas, AFP, Boca Chica, South Texas

☆ Parker Solar Probe’s Christmas Eve milestone will be the closest flyby of the sun
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-23 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Dr. Eugene Parker is pictured with a model of the Parker Solar Probe on May 31, 2017. “Parker Solar Probe is changing the field of heliophysics,” said Helene Winters, Parker Solar Probe’s project manager from Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, in a statement. An animation depicts Parker Solar Probe's close pass near the intense heat of the sun. Perfect timing to see an active sunJust over a year after the Parker Solar Probe first launched, the sun entered a new solar cycle. “Give us the strongest event you can do, and the Parker Solar Probe can deal with it.”

Persons: Eugene Parker, Scott Olson, Parker, “ Parker, ”, Helene Winters, Johns, “, Johns Hopkins, Nour Rawafi, Rawafi, Alex Young, NASA “, ” Young, Young, Sun, ” Rawafi Organizations: CNN, Parker, NASA, Probe, NASA Goddard Space Flight, Scientists, Johns Hopkins, Physics Laboratory, Applied Physics, Heliophysics, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, International Space Station Locations: Tokyo, Washington, DC, American, Greenbelt , Maryland, United States

☆ NASA mission solves volcanic mystery of Jupiter’s ‘tortured moon’ Io
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-13 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Flybys of Jupiter’s fiery moon Io, carried out by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, are helping to solve the enduring mystery of why the small moon is the most volcanically active body in our solar system. Similar in size to Earth’s moon, Io has an estimated 400 volcanoes that continuously release plumes and lava that coat that moon’s surface. The spacecraft zipped within 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of the moon’s surface, capturing images and data. NASA's Juno spacecraft captures the north polar region of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io on December 30, 2023. CNN/JPLThe Juno spacecraft continues to contribute new insights about Jupiter and its moons, having recently completed a flyby over Jupiter’s swirling cloud tops on November 24.

Persons: CNN —, NASA’s, Juno’s, ”, Scott Bolton, Juno, “, Galileo Galilei, Bolton, Linda Morabito, ” Bolton, It’s, Ryan Park, Heidi Becker, Loki Organizations: CNN, Southwest Research Institute, NASA, Jupiter, JPL, Caltech, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, New, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Research, Voyager, Solar System Dynamics, Juno Locations: Washington ,, San Antonio, Pasadena , California

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ A 20 year-old built a nuclear fusion prototype in his home for $2,000. Here's how he did it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-25 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The nuclear fusion prototype generates a glowing orb of plasma. Nuclear fusion reactors that can generate fusion are usually much larger, like this now-retired Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor at PPPL. It can't produce nuclear fusion, but it can achieve plasma, which is where nuclear fusion takes place and is a major step in the overall process. How Nazoordeen made his nuclear fusion prototype from scratchNazoordeen wasn't afraid to ask for help. Everything you need to make a nuclear fusion prototype can probably fit on your desk (banana included).

Persons: —, Nazoordeen, He'd, Claude, I'd, Nazoordeen Nazoordeen, Uber, Carlos Paz, wasn't, Paz, Soldan, Nazoordeen's, Hudhayfa, he's Organizations: Service, Business, University of Waterloo, PPPL . Princeton Plasma Physics, eBay, Columbia University Locations: PPPL

☆ NASA’s Europa Clipper gets the green light to launch
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-09 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The approval was a relief to the Europa Clipper team after the discovery in May of a possible issue with transistors on the spacecraft. Europa Clipper carries 10 science instruments that could determine whether life is possible on another place in our solar system besides Earth. Now, Europa Clipper has been approved to launch, with no changes to the mission plan, goals or trajectory. Exploring an ocean worldWhen Curt Niebur, Europa Clipper program scientist, began working at NASA in 2003, he faced the task of pushing a Europa mission forward. Each year, the effort to get Europa Clipper designed and built has seemed more difficult, he said.

Persons: NASA’s, we’re, ”, Nicola Fox, Jupiter’s, Jordan Evans, Evans, “, ” Evans, Curt Niebur, ” Niebur, It’s, we’ve, That’s, Niebur, Laurie Leshin Organizations: CNN, Clipper, NASA, Europa Clipper, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight, Science, JPL, “, Juno Locations: Pasadena , California, Laurel , Maryland, Greenbelt , Maryland, flybys, Europa, gush

☆ Mercury could have an 11-mile underground layer of diamonds, researchers say
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

This mechanism, the researchers say, can not only give us more insight into the secrets hidden below Mercury’s surface, but on planetary evolution and the internal structure of exoplanets with similar characteristics. Mercury owes its gray surface to the widespread presence of graphite, which is a form of carbon. Also known as the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging mission, it gathered data about the planet’s geology, chemistry and magnetic field, before the spacecraft ran out of fuel and impacted the surface. “However, some lavas at the surface of Mercury have been formed by melting of the very deep mantle. “Only future missions to the planet Mercury will tell whether these predictions were correct.

Persons: ”, Bernard Charlier, it’s, Yanhao Lin, ” Charlier, Lin, Charlier, —, Giuseppe “ Bepi ”, Sean Solomon, Solomon, landers, ” Solomon, BepiColombo, Manley, Felipe González, González, ” González, “ Organizations: CNN, Mercury, University of Liège, NASA, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington Mysterious, Center for, Science, Technology, Research, Nature Communications, MESSENGER, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Columbia University, ESA, University of California Locations: Mercury, Belgium, Beijing, Italian, Giuseppe “ Bepi ” Colombo, New York City, Berkeley

Hopscotching around the East Coast on credit card rewardsMy oldest daughter shares my passion for all things related to aviation and space, and she would love to have a career in the aerospace industry. We easily earn these points from personal cards like our Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and business cards like the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. Also, I hold a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass, which I earned from signing up for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card and the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card. I use the World Of Hyatt credit card and the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card to earn points, but it's also a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards. Continuing to the northeastWe arrived late at night and stayed at Hyatt Place by the Washington DC National Mall, again with World of Hyatt points.

Persons: —, It's, it's, Chase, Riddle, Johns Organizations: Service, Business, Embry, Riddle Aeronautical University, Southwest, Chase, Chase Sapphire, Southwest Airlines, Hyatt House, Orlando Airport, Hyatt, Hyatt Business, Card, Reagan National Airport, Washington DC National, U.S . Naval Academy, Naval Academy, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics, University of Delaware, Hyatt Place Locations: Denver, East, Daytona Beach , Florida, Daytona, Orlando, Florida, Washington, Annapolis , Maryland, Baltimore, Newark , Delaware, New York City, La Guardia

☆ Two meteor showers are set to peak this week. Here’s how to see them
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Look up at the night sky this week for a chance to see high-speed meteors and bright fireballs from two meteor showers set to peak around the same time. Meteor showers are the debris left by comets and asteroids orbiting the sun that Earth encounters annually at some point during its orbital path. Constellation Aquarius is the radiant for the Southern Delta Aquariids, and constellation Capricornus is the radiant for the Alpha Capricornids. The Southern Delta Aquariids are about 40 kilometers (25 miles) per second, according to NASA, and typically last for half a second. I think that makes them particularly special.”Meteor showersHere are the remaining meteor showers that are expected to peak in 2024.

Persons: Robert Lunsford, Lunsford, Andrew Rivkin, ” Rivkin, “ Organizations: CNN, Southern, American Meteor Society, NASA, Meteor, Applied, Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Northern, Southern Delta, Alpha, Taurids, Farmers, Almanac Locations: Baltimore, Southern, New York , New Jersey , Connecticut, East, Perseids

☆ Scientists found an underground cave on the moon where astronauts could live and think there may be hundreds more
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Jessica Orwig | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The team speculates that, given how they think this cave formed, there could be hundreds more hidden under the lunar surface. AdvertisementTo the moon cave and beyondExploring caves on the moon could offer a plethora of scientific data and resources for future space missions. There's also a chance that moon caves harbor water, a crucial resource for any future moon bases. Access to lunar water is key to NASA's plans to establish a permanent base on the moon and, eventually, use it to hopscotch astronauts to Mars. Bruzzone and his coauthors also noted that caves and lava tubes of different ages might act like fossilized records of the moon's history.

Persons: —, Leonardo Carrer, Lorenzo Bruzzone, Wes Patterson, NASA's LRO, Tranquillitatis, Patterson, Caspar Benson, There's, Bruzzone Organizations: Service, University of Trento, Associated Press, Business, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, NASA, Arizona State, Reconnaissance, Getty, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Locations: American, Hawaii

☆ Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is the oldest vortex in the solar system
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot is a massive storm that has swirled within the atmosphere of the largest planet in the solar system for years. The Great Red Spot is a massive vortex within Jupiter’s atmosphere that is about 10,159 miles (16,350 kilometers) wide, which is similar to Earth’s diameter, according to NASA. Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty ImagesWhile the first two scenarios resulted in cyclones, they differed in shape and other characteristics witnessed in the Great Red Spot. But the researchers believe that the persistent atmospheric storm cell, which resulted from intense wind instability, produced the Great Red Spot. Previous research, published in March 2018, has shown that the Great Red Spot is growing taller as it shrinks in size overall.

Persons: Giovanni Domenico Cassini, Ann Ronan, Cassini, ”, Agustín Sánchez, Lavega, “, updrafts, Donato Creti, Vincenzo Pinto, Michael Wong, ” Wong Organizations: CNN, Research, NASA, University of, Visitors, Vatican Museum, University of California Locations: Italian, Basque, Bilbao, Spain, AFP, Berkeley

☆ What’s on the far side of the moon? Here’s why scientists want to find out
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“The far side of the moon is very different from the near side,” said Li Chunlai, China National Space Administration deputy chief designer. The Yutu-2 lunar rover took an image of the Chang'e-4 lunar probe on the far side of the moon on January 11, 2019. Far side mysteriesDespite years of orbital data and samples collected during six of the Apollo missions, scientists are still trying to answer key questions about the moon. Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty ImagesChang’e-6 is just one mission heading to the moon’s far side as NASA has plans to send robotic missions there as well. Cracking the lunar codeOne of the most fundamental questions that scientists have tried to answer is how the moon formed.

Persons: Von, hasn’t, ”, Li Chunlai, David Trone, Bill Nelson, ” Nelson, “ We’re, Pink Floyd, Renu Malhotra, Louise Foucar, we’ve, Noah Petro, Artemis III, “, ” Petro, Artemis, Malhotra, Brett Denevi, ” Denevi, Hector Retamal, Denevi, Aitken, “ it’s, CNN’s Wayne Chang Organizations: CNN, China National Space Administration, NASA, Louise Foucar Marshall Science Research, Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, Apollo, Reconnaissance, Artemis, Soviet Union, Johns Hopkins, Getty Locations: China, Tucson, AFP, Hainan Province

☆ Pluto’s heart was likely created by an ancient collision
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A deep basin called Sputnik Planitia, which makes up the “left lobe” of the heart, is home to much of Pluto’s nitrogen ice. The New Horizons spacecraft took an image of Pluto's heart on July 14, 2015. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/NASAThrough new research on Sputnik Planitia, an international team of scientists has determined that a cataclysmic event created the heart. The teardrop shape of Sputnik Planitia is a result of the frigidity of Pluto’s core, as well as the relatively low velocity of the impact itself, the team found. The researchers believe that the new theory regarding Pluto’s heart could shed more light on how the mysterious dwarf planet formed.

Persons: Clybe Tombaugh, Pluto, it’s, ”, Harry Ballantyne, Erik Asphaug, ” Asphaug, “ That’s, Sputnik Planitia, Martin Jutzi, Kelsi Singer, ” Singer Organizations: CNN, Regio, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Research Institute, NASA, Sputnik, Pluto, University of Bern, University of Arizona’s, Laboratory, University of Bern’s Physics, Kelsi, Southwest Research, New Locations: United States, Switzerland, Boulder , Colorado

☆ “Oppenheimer,” My Uncle and the Secrets America Doesn’t Want to Tell - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Ariel Kaminer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The darkened sky stretches over miles of desert sand as in the distance, from an illuminated scaffold, the object rises that will change the world. The first atomic test is the defining scene in “Oppenheimer,” which won seven Academy Awards on Sunday night, including best picture. Watching the film on opening weekend, I found the scene excruciating, even though history had long since recorded the outcome. “Oppenheimer” is a movie about a singular genius, an extraordinary collaboration and a turning point in history. An innovation designed to make the world safer in the long term made it manifestly more dangerous.

Persons: “ Oppenheimer, ”, Edward Teller, it’s, Robert Oppenheimer’s Organizations: Los Alamos

☆ Space photos from 5 recent moon-landing missions show how tiny engineering errors can cause big problems, like crashing or landing sideways
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Houston-based company's uncrewed Odysseus lander was almost lost to one of the tiniest possible mistakes. The view from the Intuitive Machines Odysseus lander as it descended to its landing site. Intuitive MachinesWith less than two hours to go before landing, Intuitive Machines engineers frantically whipped up a new navigation system. Indeed, several robotic moon landing attempts have crashed or otherwise malfunctioned in the last few years. Similarly, Intuitive Machines' success on Thursday shows that small errors don't necessarily have to spell the end of a mission.

Persons: Steve Altemus, Trent Martin, Odysseus, Astrobotic —, Peregrine, Astrobotic Astrobotic, Astrobotic, Vikram, SpaceNews, Robert Braun, Kailasavadivoo Sivan, ispace, NASA's, Braun, Japan's Smart Lander, SLIM, LEV, Takara Tomy Organizations: US, Business, NASA, Reconnaissance, Goddard, Arizona State University, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, NASA's Goddard Space Flight, freefall, JAXA, Takara, Sony Group Corporation, Doshisha Locations: India, Japan, Houston

☆ Intuitive Machines almost lost its moon lander because somebody forgot to flip a switch before launch
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A serendipitous moment, a NASA experiment, and frantic, innovative software engineering rescued the company's Odysseus lander from what could have been a catastrophic error — a switch that didn't get flipped before launch. NASA TVIt was a "spicy" landing, Altemus said. AdvertisementThe Houston-based company flew Odysseus, which is its Nova-C-model lander, to the moon on a $118 million NASA contract. Its success marks the first commercial moon landing ever and NASA's first return to the lunar surface since 1972. It was risky — the NASA lasers were on the lander to test whether they worked in space at all — but it was better than nothing.

Persons: —, Steve Altemus, Altemus, Odysseus, Frankenstein, Robert Braun, Tim Crain, Crain, Braun Organizations: Service, NASA, Business, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Locations: Mars

☆ February full moon peaks this weekend
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —February’s full moon, known as the snow moon, is set to peak on Saturday, shining bright around the world in the night sky. It’ll just be a little bit smaller than your average full moon that you look up at.”The full moon phase occurs when the moon, Earth and the sun are in alignment, in that order. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, completely blocking the sun’s face. A total solar eclipse won’t be visible across the contiguous United States again until August 2044. A lunar eclipse, which causes the moon to look dark or dimmed, occurs when the sun, Earth and moon align so that the moon passes into Earth’s shadow.

Persons: CNN —, “ It’s, ”, Rachel Klima, “, ” Klima, Klima, “ We’re, Buck, Lyrids, Capricornids Organizations: CNN, Farmers, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics, American Meteor Society, Taurids Locations: United States, Laurel , Maryland, Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe, North, East Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, Earth’s, Asia

☆ ‘Magic islands’ mystery on Saturn’s moon Titan may be solved
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The disappearing “magic islands” on Saturn’s largest moon Titan have intrigued scientists since NASA’s Cassini mission spotted them during flybys a decade ago. Titan, larger than both our moon and the planet Mercury, is the only moon in our solar system with a thick atmosphere. The sea is 50% larger than Lake Superior and is made up of liquid methane, ethane and nitrogen. An artist's illustration shows a lake at the north pole of Saturn's moon Titan, including raised rims spied by Cassini. Liquid methane slowly seeps into the frozen clumps, eventually causing them to disappear from view.

Persons: NASA’s, Cassini, Xinting Yu, ”, Yu, Stéphane Le Mouélic, Virginia Pasek, ” Yu, “ Organizations: CNN, NASA, Titan, JPL, Caltech, University of Texas, Research, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Locations: Ligeia Mare, Superior, San Antonio, Virginia

Many countries are working on them — and neither China, Russia, Iran, India or Pakistan have signed a U.S.-initiated pledge to use military AI responsibly. Another AI project at Space Force analyzes radar data to detect imminent adversary missile launches, he said. One urgent challenge, says Jane Pinelis, chief AI engineer at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Lab and former chief of AI assurance in Martell’s office, is recruiting and retaining the talent needed to test AI tech. Testing and evaluation standards are also immature, a recent National Academy of Sciences report on Air Force AI highlighted. Might that mean the U.S. one day fielding under duress autonomous weapons that don’t fully pass muster?

Persons: —, Replicator —, Kathleen Hicks, ”, Gregory Allen, we’ve, Missy Cummings, George Mason, Lisa Costa, Wallace ‘ Rhet ’ Turnbull, Tom Siebel, Matt Visser, Palantir, Jack Shanahan, Maven, Mark Milley, Christian Brose, Paul Scharre, ” Anduril, Nathan Michael, Michael, Shanahan, Craig Martell, Martell, Jane Pinelis, “ Organizations: U.S ., Russia, Air Force, China, Pentagon, Department of Defense, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Navy, ” U.S . Space Force, Space Force, Space Systems Command, Blackhawk, ., U.S . Missile Defense Agency, Defense Counterintelligence, Security Agency, Third Infantry Division, NATO, Maven, National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency, U.S . Special Operations, ISIS, Command, Control, Chiefs, Armed Services Committee, U.S, Marines, Special Forces, Industry, BAT, Marine Expeditionary, Pentagon AI, LinkedIn, Johns Hopkins, Lab, National Academy of Sciences Locations: Md, Ukraine, U.S, China, Russia, Iran, India, Pakistan, ” U.S, Silicon Valley

☆ Scientists used a laser beam to bend a bolt of lightning for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For the first time, scientists were able to show they can bend lightning from a storm with a laser. The project, 20 years in the making, required a super powerful laser to be shot into the sky. A powerful laser was able to deflect a lightning bolt almost 200 feet before it hit a lightning rod, greatly improving the rod's function. The Laser Lightning Rod is seen in place on top of a Swiss mountain. AdvertisementAdvertisementEventually, the scientists were able to record a natural lightning bolt that, for the first time, followed the laser beam before hitting the tower.

Persons: —, Aurélien Houard, Appliquée, they'd, Houard, Jean, Pierre Wolf, Benjamin Franklin, we've, Wolf, Houart Organizations: Service, EPFL, University of Geneva, Polytechnique, Street, Nat, CNN, Street Journal, Photonics Locations: Swiss, EPFL, Switzerland, France, Germany, Säntis

“Russia’s thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons remind the world that escalation of the conflict – by accident, intention, or miscalculation – is a terrible risk. New Construction at Russia's Novaya Zemlya nuclear test site, June 22, 2023. Lop Nur nuclear test site. “The Chinese test site is different than the Russian test site,” Lewis said. Both countries keep their strategic nuclear arsenals on “hair-trigger” alert, meaning that nuclear weapons can be launched on short notice.

Persons: Jeffrey Lewis, James Martin, ”, Cedric Leighton, “, Vladimir Putin, ” Lewis, Lewis ’, António Guterres, ” Guterres, Dmitry Medvedev, Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Sergei Shoigu, Lewis, we’ve, Leighton, they’d, ” Leighton, Nur, Hans Kristensen, Kristensen, Israel –, Dyess, Frederic J . Brown, Fiona Cunningham, Yang Kun, ” Daryl Kimball, Kimball, Michael Frankel, James Scouras, George Ullrich, Soviet Union –, Russia –, We’re Organizations: CNN, James, James Martin Center, Nonproliferation Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, US, US Air Force, Atomic Scientists, Soviet Union, United Nations, Russia’s Security, Russian Defense Ministry, Planet Labs PBC, Middlebury, Science and Global Security, Novaya, Middlebury Institute, China Observer, China’s Foreign Ministry, Planet Labs, Nevada National Security, National Security Administration, US Department of Energy, Office, National Security Council, International Monitoring, Federation of American Scientists, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Missile Defense, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Columbia, Northrop Grumman's Air Force, Getty, Control Association, ACA, NGO, PLA, Nuclear, Carnegie Endowment, International, Arms Control Association, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Soviet Locations: Russia, United States, China, Xinjiang, Nevada, . China, Moscow, Washington, Ukraine, Soviet, Belarus, Minsk, Novaya Zemlya, Zemlya, Soviet Union, Lop Nur, Japan, Lop, Beijing, Stockholm, United Kingdom, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Ellsworth, Palmdale , California, AFP, Yuli County, Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Baltimore, Russian, Hiroshima

☆ A NASA probe got slammed by a massive eruption from the sun — and caught it all on camera
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A NASA probe caught a massive eruption from the sun on camera. The Parker Solar Probe flew right through a major coronal mass ejection last year. NASA said that the CME that struck the Parker Solar Probe was "one of the most powerful coronal mass ejections ever recorded." The Parker Solar Probe's mission to touch the sunAn artist's illustration of the Parker Solar Probe approaching the sun. NASAThe Parker Solar Probe was designed specifically to study the sun.

Persons: NASA's Parker, Parker, Johns Hopkins, it's, Jim Kinnison, We're, Russ Howard Organizations: NASA, Parker, Probe, Service, Solar Probe, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics, CME, NASA's Parker Solar Probe, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Locations: Wall, Silicon, CMEs

☆ NASA discovered a new crater on the moon as wide as a 3-story building, and it's probably Russia's Luna-25 gravesite
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The crater was likely caused by Russia's Luna-25 lander crashing into the moon last month, NASA said. Had Luna-25 not crashed, it would've been the first craft to explore the lunar south pole region. It could be the crash site of Russia's Luna-25 moon lander, NASA said in a statement Thursday. "During its descent" on August 19, "Luna 25 experienced an anomaly that caused it to impact the surface of the Moon," NASA said in the statement. The country had previously tried to land a craft near the lunar south pole, but it failed the first time.

Persons: Russia's Luna, would've, Luna, Robert Braun Organizations: NASA, Service, Reconnaissance, Luna, Goddard Space Flight, Arizona State University, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Locations: Wall, Silicon, India, Russia

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