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☆ Marjorie Taylor Greene says climate change is a 'scam' and that fossil fuels are 'amazing'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Sarah Al-Arshani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed that climate change is a "scam." The Georgia GOP lawmaker then championed fossil fuels, calling them "natural and amazing." Countless scientific studies say that burning fossil fuels has played a major role in the warming climate. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) April 15, 2023The Georgia lawmaker went on to celebrate fossil fuels. "Don't fall for the scam, fossil fuels are natural and amazing," she wrote.

☆ Compact galaxy's discovery shows Webb telescope's 'amazing' power
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The discovery is another example of how observations by Webb, which was launched in 2021 and began collecting data last year, are transforming our knowledge of the nature of the early universe. The orbiting infrared observatory was designed to be far more sensitive than its Hubble Space Telescope predecessor. This galaxy, Kelly said, is "absolutely tiny" in relative terms. "Nonetheless, we found that it was forming about two stars each year, which is similar to the rate at which the Milky Way is forming stars," Kelly added. "The combined power of the James Webb Space Telescope and the galaxy's magnification due to gravitational lensing allows us to study this galaxy in detail," Williams said.

☆ Juice mission launches to explore Jupiter’s icy ocean worlds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The European Space Agency has sent a spacecraft to explore Jupiter and three of its largest and most intriguing moons. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission, or Juice, launched Friday at 8:14 a.m. Toward the end of the mission, Juice will focus solely on orbiting Ganymede, making it the first spacecraft ever to orbit a moon in the outer solar system. The Juice mission was designed to unravel what takes place as Jupiter interacts with its moons, including auroras, hot spots, radio emissions and waves of charged particles. Given the eventual distance between the spacecraft and Earth, it will take 45 minutes to send a one-way signal to Juice.

☆ First photo of a black hole resembles 'skinny' doughnut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The first photo ever taken of a black hole looks a little sharper now. The central region is darker and larger, surrounded by a bright ring as hot gas falls into the black hole in the new image. The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, called EHT, is a global network of telescopes that captured the first photograph of a black hole. Computers using PRIMO analyzed more than 30,000 high-resolution simulated images of black holes to pick out common structural details. But if heated materials in the form of plasma surround the black hole and emit light, the event horizon could be visible.

☆ The Juice mission will soon launch to Jupiter’s icy ocean worlds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission, or Juice, was expected to lift off Thursday at 8:15 a.m. European Space AgencyGanymede, Callisto and Europa are ice-covered worlds that may contain subsurface oceans that are potentially habitable for life. European Space Agency“With Juice, we want to confirm there’s liquid water in these moons, confirm their heat sources. Testing and modeling of Jupiter’s radiation belts allowed engineers to prepare for what Juice will encounter. Given the eventual distance between the spacecraft and Earth, it will take 45 minutes to send a one-way signal to Juice.

☆ Scientists unveil new and improved 'skinny donut' black hole image
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - The 2019 release of the first image of a black hole was hailed as a significant scientific achievement. There is also a larger "brightness depression" at the center - basically the donut hole - caused by light and other matter disappearing into the black hole. This supermassive black hole resides in a galaxy called Messier 87, or M87, about 54 million light-years from Earth. The M87 black hole image stems from data collected by seven radio telescopes at five locations on Earth that essentially create a planet-sized observational dish. "The image we report in the new paper is the most accurate representation of the black hole image that we can obtain with our globe-wide telescope."

☆ I've scoured Detroit's dumps, streets, and abandoned homes for wood and metal to make furniture. It's exciting to be part of a movement that redefines how society should use reclaimed materials.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

At first, I didn't even know that car design was an actual career or business. Woodward Throwbacks' Detroit showroom. It is a sustainable design studio that custom builds furniture and home goods with recycled materials found in the city. I was falling out of love with car design, and the possibility of being my own boss excited me. What Woodward Throwbacks is doing — redefining how society sees and uses reclaimed materials for everyday use — has never been done before.

☆ Hello AInstein! Robot with ChatGPT shakes up Cyprus classrooms
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Yiannis Kourtoglou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] High school students Konstantinos Timinis and Vladimir Baranov work on "Alnstein", a robot powered by ChatGPT, in Pascal school in Nicosia, Cyprus, March 30, 2023. REUTERS/Yiannis KourtoglouApril 4 (Reuters) - High school students and their tutors in Cyprus have developed a prototype robot powered with ChatGPT artificial intelligence technology to harness and improve teaching experiences in the classroom. Named AInstein, the squat robot created by three Pascal Schools in Cyprus stands roughly the size of a small adult and looks like a sculpted version of the Michelin Man. It is powered with ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by U.S. firm OpenAI and backed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O). Their experience with AInstein showed that AI is not anything to fear, project members said.

☆ New James Webb telescope photo of a galaxy cluster 6 billion light years away shows a trippy phenomenon where gravity warps spacetime
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

New cosmic photos of galactic "arcs and streaks" in space were released on Tuesday by NASA's James Webb Telescope. The galaxies are bending space and time in a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing. The SDSS J1226+2149 galaxy cluster shown in this newest photo is around 6.3 billion light years away, in the constellation Coma Berenices, according to the ESA. The James Webb Space Telescope's first deep field infrared image, released July 11, 2022. The light from the MACS0647-JD system is bent and magnified by the massive gravity of galaxy cluster MACS0647.

☆ An 'ultramassive' black hole has been discovered that's 33 billion times the mass of the sun
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They estimate this black hole is 30 billion times bigger than our sun. That would make it one of the biggest black holes ever discovered. This black hole may remain one of the biggest holes ever discovered because physicists think black holes can't grow much bigger than that, Nightingale said. The technique could unveil 'inactive' black holesThe discovery of this black hole pushes back the limits of cosmology, Nightingale told the BBC. "How do you form a black hole this big in just 13 billion years of the universe's existence?"

The vernal or spring equinox of 2023 happens Monday, March 20. Technically, two things: Earth's tilted axis and the planet's orbit around the sun. How the spring equinox worksThe Earth orbits the sun once every 365 days and six hours. The spring equinox occurs when the sun's warming rays line up perpendicular to Earth's axial tilt:An illustration of the spring equinox. About 92 days and 19 hours after the spring equinox, the Earth will reach its summer solstice.

☆ NASA image may show first-ever 'rogue' supermassive black hole, leaving a trail of newborn stars in its wake
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

A NASA Hubble image may show the first runaway supermassive black hole ever discovered. Astrophysicists have long theorized that black holes could "go rogue" or "run away," if other black holes pushed them out of their galaxies. But nobody has ever confirmed a black hole wandering through intergalactic space, much less a supermassive black hole going rogue. And while two galaxies colliding is the simplest explanation for a rogue black hole, that's not what seems to have happened here. Even though they're invisible, there's no reason to worry about rogue supermassive black holes sneaking up on us from other galaxies.

☆ Warren Buffett’s must-read annual letter arrives Saturday. Here’s what to expect from the investing legend
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Andrew Harnik | APWarren Buffett's loyal following of value investors is about to hear from the legend himself, at a crucial time when interest rates have soared and recession fears are raging. He believed that when interest rates are high, it could be a major "gravitational pull" on values. "We have a roughly 15-year period of abnormally and historically low interest rates. "Interest rates are the main determinant of equity prices, to quote Buffett, so I think I'm looking for and expecting a discussion on interest rates." "Private equity and others who are thinking of making acquisitions would have to go into the market to borrow [at] higher interest rates.

☆ Galaxies spotted by Webb telescope rewrite understanding of early universe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

These galaxies, one of which appears to have a mass rivaling our Milky Way but 30 times more densely packed, seem to differ in fundamental ways from those populating the universe today. "The leading theory is that an ocean of dark matter filled the early universe after the Big Bang," Labbe said. "This dark matter - we don't know what it is actually is - started out really smooth, with only the tiniest of ripples. These ripples grew over time due to gravity and eventually the dark matter started to collect in concentrated clumps, dragging hydrogen gas along for the ride. "Their explosion set off the chain of events that formed subsequent generations of stars," Labbe said.

☆ Sony's movie chief talks China censorship, upcoming game adaptation 'Gran Turismo,' and how his studio is preparing for a potential Hollywood writers' strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

It was a long-term deal so I don't think we have to confront that yet, but it's gone terrifically for us, actually. If you don't want to compete, don't come in. Can you talk about the synergy with the Whitney Houston movie — she was a Sony Music artist — or "Gran Turismo," a Playstation game? Do you wish HBO Max's "The Last of Us," which is also based on a Sony Playstation game, had been a movie? A lot of big movies come out of it.

☆ Astronomers document a not-so-super supernova in the Milky Way
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

This binary system, studied using a telescope at the Chile-based Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, is located about 11,000 light years from Earth in our Milky Way galaxy in the direction of the constellation Puppis. Its companion star boasts a mass 18 to 19 times greater than the sun after cannibalizing its mate. The two stars orbit around each other every 59-1/2 days, separated by about eight-tenths of the distance existing between Earth and the sun. The type of binary system examined in this study is rare, with roughly 10 estimated to exist in a Milky Way populated by about 100-400 billion stars. "In the case of these massive stars, we have not yet detected planets around them.

☆ Explainer: What to expect during the green comet's encounter with Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nicknamed "dirty snowballs" by astronomers, comets are balls of ice, dust and rocks that typically hail from the ring of icy material called the Oort cloud at our solar system's outer edge. One known comet actually originated outside the solar system - 2I/Borisov. Comets are composed of a solid core of rock, ice and dust and are blanketed by a thin and gassy atmosphere of more ice and dust, called a coma. Its greenish, emerald hue reflects the comet's chemical composition - it is the result of a clash between sunlight and carbon-based molecules in the comet's coma. NASA plans to observe the comet with its James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which could provide clues about the solar system's formation.

“Now, we have a better understanding of the kind of benefits that operating in cislunar space can bring countries back home.”Though definitions sometimes differ, cislunar space generally refers to the space between Earth and the moon, including the moon's surface and orbit. In 2021, Holzinger co-authored a report titled “A Primer on Cislunar Space“ to help U.S. government officials understand the ins and outs of cislunar space. That interest is apparent: Last year, the Space Force identified cislunar operations as a development priority, and in April established the 19th Space Defense Squadron to oversee cislunar space. In November, the White House released its own strategy for interagency research on "responsible, peaceful, and sustainable exploration and utilization of cislunar space." Together, these factors could make it difficult to manage traffic in cislunar space, particularly if adversaries intentionally try to mask their activities there.

☆ Why an Abu Dhabi startup wants to send quinoa seeds into space
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Abu Dhabi-based startup StarLab Oasis, a spin-off from Texan company Nanoracks, wants to grow seeds in outer space in order to develop plant varieties that can survive on a less hospitable Earth. In 2023, StarLab Oasis expects to send its first seeds into orbit. From soybeans to quinoa, seeds grow differently in space than on land. Sending seeds to space will help “sustainability, climate change, and food security on Earth,” StarLab Oasis’ co-founder Allen Herbert tells CNN Business. It plans to work with companies, space agencies, universities and non-profits, to send seeds to space either for research or commercial purposes.

☆ NASA spacecraft heads for the most volcanic place in the solar system
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A NASA spacecraft is gearing up for the first of a series of close encounters with the most volcanic place in the solar system. The Juno spacecraft will fly by Jupiter’s moon Io on Thursday, December 15. Juno captured a glowing infrared view of Io on July 5 from 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers) away. “The team is really excited to have Juno’s extended mission include the study of Jupiter’s moons. Juno flew by Jupiter’s moon Ganymede in 2021, followed by Europa earlier this year.

☆ A year only lasts 17.5 hours on the ‘hell planet’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

One year for this planet lasts about 17.5 hours on Earth. A team of researchers used a new tool known as EXPRES, or the EXtreme PREcision Spectrometer, to determine the precise nature of the planet’s orbit. But the hell planet is not the only planet orbiting Copernicus. An illustration shows just how closely the planet Janssen (left), depicted as an orange dot, orbits its host star Copernicus. Once Janssen moved in closer to Copernicus, the hell planet became even hotter.

☆ 7 times NASA's James Webb Space Telescope spotted something Hubble missed
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The James Webb Space Telescope can capture a more complete view of galaxies, stars, and planets. Before Webb, astronomers had another workhorse cosmic observatory: the Hubble Space Telescope. Webb is 100 times stronger than Hubble, which allows astronomers to peer even further into space. Webb spied countless galaxies that Hubble missedA side by side collage of the same area taken by the Hubble and the James Webb space telescopes. Where Hubble saw a faint dot, Webb resolved 2 distinct mystery objectsOne of the lensed images of MACS0647-JD, from the James Webb Space Telescope.

☆ Dance of merging galaxies captured in new Webb telescope image
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The beautiful chaos of two merging galaxies shines in the latest image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. The Webb telescope, designed to observe faint, distant galaxies and other worlds, is an international mission between NASA and its partners, the European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency. The pair of galaxies, known as II ZW 96, are located some 500 million light-years from Earth in the Delphinus constellation. Astronomers are using the observatory to study how galaxies evolve and, among other topics, why luminous infrared galaxies like II ZW 96 shine brightly in infrared light, reaching luminosities more than 100 billion times that of our sun. Researchers have turned Webb’s instruments on merging galaxies, including II ZW 96, to pick out fine details and compare the images with those previously taken by ground-based telescopes and the Hubble Space Telescope.

☆ AT 2022cmc: Rare cosmic event beamed light at Earth from 8.5 billion light-years away
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But the rare cosmic event actually occurred 8.5 billion light years away from Earth, when the universe was just a third of its current age — and it has created more questions than answers. This graphic shows how a tidal disruption event might look in space. Carl Knox/OzGrav/Swinburne University of TechnologyWhen a star is torn apart by a black hole’s gravitational tidal forces, it’s known as a tidal disruption event. Observing more events like this could reveal how black holes launch such powerful jets across space, according to the researchers. “Scientists can use AT 2022cmc as a model for what to look for and find more disruptive events from distant black holes.”

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