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☆ The sun’s activity is peaking sooner than expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Every 11 years or so, the sun experiences periods of low and high solar activity, which is associated with the amount of sunspots on its surface. Over the course of a solar cycle, the sun will transition from a calm to an intense and active period. During the peak of activity, called solar maximum, the sun’s magnetic poles flip. A solar activity spikeThe current solar cycle, known as Solar Cycle 25, has been full of activity, more so than expected. The solar storms generated by the sun can affect electric power grids, GPS and aviation, and satellites in low-Earth orbit.

Persons: ”, Mark Miesch, “, Alex Young, ” Miesch, Scott McIntosh, Robert Leamon, Leamon, Miesch, Young, auroras, Bill Murtagh, ” Murtagh, NASA’s Parker, “ We’ve Organizations: CNN, National Oceanic, Prediction, NASA's Solar Dynamics, NASA, SpaceX, Heliophysics, Goddard Space Flight, GPS, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Goddard Planetary Heliophysics, University of Maryland, College Park, American University, Dynamics, Geological Survey, Probe Locations: Boulder , Colorado, Greenbelt , Maryland, Baltimore County, New Mexico , Missouri, North Carolina, California, United States, England, United Kingdom, Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Scandinavia, Michigan, Upper Midwest, Pacific, Quebec

☆ A Year of Cosmic Wonder With the James Webb Space Telescope
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Katrina Miller | More About Katrina Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The awe the image inspires is comparable to how researchers feel about the Webb’s first year of science. She finds it fitting that the customary gift for one-year anniversaries is paper, because that’s exactly what researchers using the telescope have been churning out for the past year: scientific papers. When it was ready, the Webb embarked on its journey to peer into the depths of the universe. For Dr. Rigby, one of the most gratifying accomplishments of this past year is the way the mission has delivered on its promise to reveal the earliest moments of cosmic time. Before JWST, astronomers knew of only a small handful of candidate galaxies that existed in the first billion years after the Big Bang.

Persons: ”, Jane Rigby, Webb, Rigby, JWST Organizations: Goddard Space Flight

☆ Webb telescope’s first anniversary image reveals the birth of sunlike stars
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a stunning new image of the closest star-forming region to Earth, located 390 light-years away. The release of the image marks the first anniversary since the space observatory began observing the universe. “Webb’s image of Rho Ophiuchi allows us to witness a very brief period in the stellar lifecycle with new clarity. The most powerful telescope ever sent to space, Webb launched on December 25, 2021, and NASA shared its first set of scintillating images on July 12, 2022. Both have served as the targets of other telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope in the past.

Persons: James Webb, another’s, ”, Klaus Pontoppidan, Webb, “, Bill Nelson, “ Webb, Nicola Fox, Eric Smith, “ Webb’s, Jane Rigby, NASA’s, “ We’ve, we’ve, — Organizations: CNN, Telescope, Telescope Science, NASA, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters, Hubble, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Locations: Baltimore , Maryland, Greenbelt , Maryland

☆ NASA's James Webb telescope spotted two stars crashing into each other so violently it could have created gold in space
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The James Webb Space Telescope picked up the blast from two neutron stars colliding. The blast, called a kilonova, created the perfect conditions to make space gold and platinum. The death of two neutron starsAn artist's impressino of a kilonova NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/CI LabA kilonova happens when two neutron stars — collapsed supermassive stars — gravitate around one another and eventually crash. This particular blast, called GRB 230307A, was first detected by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope on March 7, 2023, per Space.com. These only arise in very limited circumstances, like when two neutron stars collide.

Persons: James Webb, JWST, Fermi, Gold, Uli Deck, Andrew Levan Organizations: James Webb Space Telescope, Service, James Webb Space, Space Flight, Getty, Radboud University Locations: Wall, Silicon, Netherlands

☆ There's an enormous gravity hole in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Scientists say they've finally worked out what's causing it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

There's a gravity hole in the Indian Ocean, where ocean levels are about 300 feet lower than surrounding areas. The gravity hole may have been caused by an ancient ocean bed that sank millions of years ago. But a new study suggests researchers should have been looking around, not under, the gravity hole to solve the mystery of how it formed. The blue dot over the Indian Ocean is a gravity 'hole' that has scientists baffled. But scientists have struggled to explain the gravity hole in the Indian Ocean, known as the Indian Ocean geoid low.

Persons: Attreyee Ghosh, Debanjan Pal, Steinberger, Himangshu Paul Organizations: Service, ESA, Research, of Geosciences, NASA, Goddard Space, Indian Institute of Science, National Geophysical Research Institute, New Locations: Bangalore, Africa, Australia, India, Eastern Africa

☆ An experiment that reaches across the galaxy has 'heard' an invisible sea of ripples in space-time for the first time. It's surprisingly loud.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Those ripples are probably the distant thunder of countless collisions between supermassive black holes, throughout space and time. He predicted that the intense gravity of extremely massive objects, like black holes, warps the fabric of space-time. The NSF funded the 15-year experiment, which is called the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav). Supermassive black holes are thought to exist at the center of every galaxy. Her lab runs computer models of merging supermassive black holes to predict how they behave and what signals they send out into space.

Persons: —, Albert Einstein's, Aurore, Sean Jones, Manuela Campanelli, NASA's James Webb, Noll, Kip Thorne, NASA Goddard Thorne, NANOGrav, LIGO, Stephen Taylor, Lorenzo Ennoggi Organizations: Service, Sciences, National Science Foundation, NSF, American Nanohertz, Rochester Institute of Technology, NASA's James Webb Space, Hubble, Telescope, NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Locations: Louisiana, Washington, Europe, India, Australia, China

☆ The sun's activity could peak 2 years early, frying satellites and causing radio blackouts by the end of this year, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Jessica Orwig | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The sun is becoming more active and may reach peak activity sooner than expected. We're currently approaching solar maximum, when the sun reaches peak activity, which experts have previously predicted should happen in 2025. NASAFor example, already this year a powerful solar flare caused widespread radio blackouts that disrupted high-frequency radio signals in North America, Central America, and South America. In the past, powerful solar storms have surged the Quebec power grid, causing blackouts that lasted up to eight hours. Why experts think solar maximum will hit soonWhen the sun's magnetic field is weak, its surface gets a lot more interesting to look at.

Persons: —, We're, Alex James, that's, NASA Goddard, Joy Ng Organizations: Service, University of College London, NASA, YouTube, Dynamics, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, CME Locations: North America, Central America, South America, Quebec, Arizona

☆ NASA scientist says there could be microbial life hiding in dark craters on the moon's south pole
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A NASA planetary scientist said conditions on the lunar south pole could be ripe for microbial life. The lunar south pole has craters of ice and possible microbial lifeThe lunar south pole has had lots of attention in recent years because it's where NASA hopes to land its Artemis III astronauts in 2025. NASANo human has ever set foot on the lunar south pole. A map of "cold traps" inside shadowy lunar craters at the moon's south pole (left) and north pole (right). Even if microbes don't exist on the moon right now, they almost certainly will if humans start walking around on its surface.

Persons: —, there's, Prabal Saxena, Space.com, Saxena, he's, Leonard David, radiodurans, Tardigrades, We're Organizations: NASA, Service, Goddard Spaceflight Center, Artemis, International Space

☆ A gamma-ray explosion that was so bright it blinded scientists' equipment is even weirder than first thought
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Scientists marveled at the power of the gamma-ray jet, which likely marked the birth of a black hole. Astronomers have since been trying to work out what could have made the gamma-ray burst so bright, and may finally have an answer. Researchers have discovered that the gamma-ray explosion ejected a jet with an unusual structure which dragged a large amount of stellar material along with it. The analysis demonstrates that the most extreme explosions do not obey the standard physics assumed for normal gamma-ray bursts, he said. Still, according to O'Connor, this finding "a massive step forward in our understanding of gamma-ray bursts," the "equivalent Rosetta stone of long GRBs."

Persons: marveled, —, Brendan O'Connor, Levan, Gladys Kober, O'Connor, NASA’s, Alexander van der Horst, Hendrik Van Eerten, Eleonora Troja, it's, Van Eerten Organizations: Service, George Washington University, Hubble, NASA, ESA, CSA, Radboud University, NASA’s Goddard Space, University of Bath, University of Rome

☆ El Niño is here and could bring warmer temperatures, more extreme weather patterns
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño La Niña Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years. El Niño generally causes drier conditions in Australia and Southeast Asia, and wetter and warmer conditions in the Americas. El Niño ("little boy" in Spanish) and La Niña ("little girl" in Spanish) are weather patterns in the Pacific Ocean that can impact weather conditions around the globe. NOAA said there is an 84% chance of an El Niño with a greater than moderate strength and a 56% chance of a strong El Niño developing by the winter. While these regions may see warmer temperatures, Schmidt was careful to point out that El Niño does not guarantee a heat record in any region.

Persons: Niño, El Niño, We've, Gavin A, Schmidt, El Organizations: El, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, CNBC, Tropic, Cancer Locations: Australia, Southeast Asia, Americas, United States, California, Gulf, Pacific Northwest, Ohio, El, Indonesia, South America, Eurasia

☆ First mission to ‘touch’ the sun catches the solar wind
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The slower solar wind, located in the same plane of the solar system as Earth, flows at a calmer 249 miles per second (400 kilometers per second). This flip causes the coronal holes to appear across the sun’s surface and release bursts of solar wind directly toward Earth. JHU Applied Physics Laboratory/NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterUnderstanding the source of the solar wind can help scientists better predict space weather and solar storms that can affect Earth. Fortunately, Parker Solar Probe and a separate mission, Solar Orbiter, are perfectly poised to observe the sun’s powerful, dynamic forces at play. “There was some consternation at the beginning of the solar probe mission that we’re going to launch this thing right into the quietest, most dull part of the solar cycle,” Bale said.

Persons: Eugene Parker, Parker, ”, James Drake, “ That’s, Stuart D, Bale, ” Parker, ” Bale Organizations: CNN, Parker, Probe, JHU, Physics Laboratory, Space, University of Maryland, College Park, University of California, Orbiter, Parker Solar Probe Locations: Berkeley

☆ Webb telescope spies giant plume on Saturn’s moon Enceladus
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A record-breaking water plume erupted from Saturn’s moon Enceladus, and the James Webb Space Telescope was watching when it occurred. The geyser-like plumes release water vapor, organic chemicals and ice particles into space. But the plume witnessed by the Webb telescope spanned more than 6,000 miles (9,656 kilometers), which is nearly the distance between Los Angeles and Buenos Aires, Argentina, according to a NASA release. The James Webb Space Telescope captured a a water vapor plume jetting from the south pole of Enceladus. The inset image, taken by the Cassini orbiter, shows how small Enceladus appears compared with the water plume.

Persons: James Webb, Cassini, —, Webb, . Villanueva, ”, Geronimo Villanueva, ” Villanueva, “, NASA’s, Stefanie Milam, we’ve Organizations: CNN, NASA, James Webb Space, Cassini, ESA, CSA, Goddard Space Flight, Saturn, Clipper, NASA Goddard Space Flight Locations: Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Greenbelt , Maryland

☆ NASA's Webb Telescope spots a water plume twice the length of the US, spewing from a Saturn moon that could host alien life
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NASA's Webb Telescope revealed just how giant the water plumes shooting out of a Saturn moon are. The water gushes 6,000 miles, or about twice the length of the US, from the moon called Enceladus. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSIBut the James Webb Space Telescope is the most powerful observatory ever launched into space. A water vapor plume jetting from the southern pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, as captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. "It was just so shocking to detect a water plume more than 20 times the size of the moon."

Persons: NASA's, —, James Webb, Cassini, Webb, NASA’s James Webb, Geronimo Villanueva, " Villanueva, Leah Hustak, Saturn Organizations: Service, NASA, JPL, Caltech, SSI, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, ESA, CSA, Goddard Space Flight Locations: Los Angeles , California, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Angeles, San Francisco

☆ Creepy close-up images of the sun reveal yarn-like strands, dark pores, and a 'light bridge' crossing a decaying sunspot
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The sun looks spooky and mysterious in new images from the world's most powerful solar telescope. The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope has been observing the sun from the Hawaiian island of Maui since it first opened in 2020. Its first video, below, showed roiling solar plasma, each cell the size of Texas. Dark "pores" on the solar surface indicate powerful magnetic fields, which are likely driving the dark threads visible in the atmosphere above. The bright yellow surface plasma cools until its density is so low that it drops below the surface, through the dark lanes between cells.

☆ TikTok creators just filed a lawsuit to fight Montana's ban on the app. They say it tramples their rights.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A group of TikTok creators have filed the first lawsuit against Montana's ban on the app. — Five TikTok content creators have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn Montana's first-in-the-nation ban on the video sharing app, arguing the law is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights. Opponents say Montana residents could easily circumvent the ban by using a virtual private network. President Joe Biden's administration initially shelved those plans, but more recently threatened to ban the app if the company's Chinese owners don't sell their stakes. TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has also released another so-called "sister app" to TikTok across the globe as talks of bans have mounted, called Lemon8.

☆ Webb telescope spots water in rare comet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope to observe a rare comet in our solar system, making a long-awaited scientific breakthrough and stumbling across another mystery at the same time. For the first time, water was detected in a main belt comet, or a comet located in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The space observatory detected water vapor around Comet Read, which suggests that water ice can be preserved in a warmer part of the solar system. It’s possible that the warmer temperatures of the main asteroid belt cause Comet Read to lose its carbon dioxide over time, the researchers said. Comet Read might have also formed in a warmer pocket of the solar system without carbon dioxide, Kelley said.

☆ Opinion | Dooce and Other ‘Mommy Blogs’ Deserve Credit for Shaping the Internet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Jessica Grose | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In the past few months, several internet giants have fallen. BuzzFeed News folded. Vice is headed for bankruptcy. And with the recent publication of Ben Smith’s “Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral,” there’s been a resurgence of chatter about Gawker Media, which went kaput in 2016. (I worked at Jezebel, which was under the Gawker Media umbrella, from 2007 to 2008.)

☆ Lasers on Artemis II will share high-definition video of the moon
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —When the crewed Artemis II mission makes its lunar flyby in late 2024, we’ll be able to see video of the moon like never before — and it’s all thanks to lasers. Along for the historic journey to the moon will be the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System, or O2O — making Artemis II the first crewed lunar flight to demonstrate laser communications technology. This illustration depicts the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System sending a laser signal from the Orion spacecraft to Earth. Lasers will be able to send back more data at a quicker rate across longer distances, such as when Orion is flying by the moon during Artemis II. “We are thrilled by the promise laser communications will offer in the coming years,” says Badri Younes, deputy associate administrator and program manager for space communications and navigation at NASA headquarters in a statement.

☆ Astronomers spot a sneak peek of Earth's death — a star swallowing a planet whole — for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Astronomers discovered a distant star swallowing a planet for the first time ever. Swallowing the planet whole produced a burst of energy that expelled the star's outer layers, causing it to expand and brighten rapidly. Except for a veneer of dust, the star pretty much looked the same as it had before, one year after devouring its planet. The distant planet that just got absorbed by its star was about the size of Jupiter, which is more than 1,300 Earths. (It later turned out, this pre-eruption dust was material from the planet skimming the atmosphere of the star as it orbited closer and closer.)

☆ Wrexham: An intoxicating tale of Hollywood glamour and sporting romance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Aimee Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

In an often brutal and bleak world, the recent resurgence of Wrexham, the city as well as the soccer club, lifts the soul. The Turf pub is a must-see for Wrexham fans. But now, there’s Wrexham with a story that, in hindsight, feels as if it was just waiting for Hollywood. One of Wrexham city center's shopping areas, pictured on April 22. Wrexham fans celebrate on the pitch after their team beat Boreham Wood at the Racecourse Ground.

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden and South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol are expected to agree on Wednesday to deepen collaboration meant to deter nuclear escalation by North Korea amid heightened anxiety about its growing arsenal of missiles and bombs, U.S. officials said. The Republic of Korea is South Korea's official name. The officials stressed that no U.S. nuclear weapons would be returned to the peninsula, and South Korea would continue not to have control over the U.S. nuclear arsenal. South Korea will also reaffirm its commitment to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and its non-nuclear status, they said. It is only the second state visit Biden has hosted since he took office two years ago - the first such guest was France's president.

“We need to have tabletop exercises that go through a variety of scenarios, including possibly nuclear weapons,” a senior official told CNN earlier this month. Leaks loomRecent online leaks of Pentagon documents involving South Korea also loom over the visit. One of the leaked documents describes, in remarkable detail, a conversation between two senior South Korean national security officials about concerns by the country’s National Security Council over a US request for ammunition. Plans and pompWednesday’s events mark just the second state visit of the Biden presidency (Biden hosted French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte in December 2022). President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee visit the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, Tuesday.

☆ I've studied the sun for 23 years. Here's what happened during the last solar maximum and what to expect from this one.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Crystal Raypole | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Solar maximum is a peak in the sun's activity that happens around the middle of each solar cycle. Mathew OwensThe solar maximum represents a peak in solar activity when the sun's magnetic field reaches its strongest and most disordered and dynamic point. NASA/Solar Dynamics ObservatorySolar cycles typically last 11 years, and the solar maximum happens roughly in the middle of each cycle. The sun's magnetic field reaches peak strength during solar maximum, generating an increase in events like solar flares and coronal mass ejections. These bursts are around four times as likely to occur during a solar maximum than a solar minimum.

☆ S.Korea's Yoon to meet Biden as doubts grow over nuclear umbrella
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

More than 64% supported South Korea developing its own nuclear weapons, with about 33% opposed. Yoon has been pushing to boost South Korea's say in operating the U.S. extended deterrence but exactly what that might entail has not been spelt out. A senior U.S. official said on Friday that Biden, during the summit with Yoon, would pledge "substantial" steps to underscore U.S. commitments to deter a North Korean nuclear attack. South Korea, a major producer of artillery shells, says it has not provided lethal weapons to Ukraine, citing its relations with Russia. South Korea tries to avoid antagonising Russia, due chiefly to business interests and Russian influence over North Korea.

☆ What it’s like to be a theme park designer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Kate Springer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“Back then, it definitely wasn’t cool to be into theme parks, but I was obsessed,” Jeffs, 39, tells CNN. Jeffs points to the immersive “Pacific Rim: Shatterdome Strike” ride at Trans Studio Cibubur, part of Indonesia’s largest theme park chain, as an example. “When I was growing up, theme park design was often dismissed as a rinky-dink, second-class artistic discipline simply because it was rarely well done. “That first summer, we drove 10,000 miles and hit up virtually any theme park that had managed to re-open,” he says. Courtesy Taylor JeffsAnd though he’s ridden over 600 roller coasters and explored theme parks worldwide, Disneyland in California remains his all-time favorite park.

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