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Science (General/Chat)

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  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - NGC 604: Giant Stellar Nursery

    04/25/2024 1:28:12 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 3 replies
    NASA ^ | 25 Apr, 2024 | Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
    Explanation: Located some 3 million light-years away in the arms of nearby spiral galaxy M33, giant stellar nursery NGC 604 is about 1,300 light-years across. That's nearly 100 times the size of the Milky Way's Orion Nebula, the closest large star forming region to planet Earth. In fact, among the star forming regions within the Local Group of galaxies, NGC 604 is second in size only to 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Cavernous bubbles and cavities in NGC 604 fill this stunning infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam. They...
  • Pompey the Great [Prominent People of Ancient Rome]

    04/25/2024 8:59:08 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 5 replies
    UNRV.com ^ | prior to April 25, 2024 | unattributed
    ...By the age of 17, Pompey was an active participant in his father's campaigns, and was busily building a foundation for his own military career.Pompey rose to prominence serving Sulla in the first major Roman civil war, defeating the forces of Marius in Africa. For this he earned, or was mocked with, the title Magnus (the Great)....he coerced a command in Spain against the rebel Sertorius, simply through the fear of his legions... Pompey returned to Rome in triumph.Upon returning from Spain, Pompey helped mop up the war with the gladiator general Spartacus, claiming much of the credit in the...
  • The VR and AR arms race, Virtual worlds contain very real gold mines

    04/25/2024 6:13:45 AM PDT · by Blood of Tyrants · 2 replies
    The Spectator ^ | 4/16/24 | Ross Anderson
    You probably don’t remember the Humane Pin, despite its dominating the tech-news cycle a few months ago. It’s an elegant AI-powered square that sticks to your lapel and can send messages, search for information and tell you about what you’re seeing, all through voice commands. The Humane company raised more than $230 million in venture backing, and its rollout included a runway appearance at Paris Fashion Week, a TED talk and a chic announcement video where the pin repeatedly misinformed its user. According to the pin, almonds have far more protein than they do, and April’s solar eclipse would have...
  • French musician becomes first-ever passenger inside flying car: ‘Amazing experience’

    04/25/2024 12:46:28 AM PDT · by Libloather · 31 replies
    NY Post ^ | 4/24/24 | Patrick Reilly
    A flying car company made history this week by taking the world’s first car flight with a passenger in what could be the future of transportation. Legendary French electronic musician Jean-Michel Jarre became the first to hitch such a ride, soaring twice through the Slovakian skies in KleinVision’s AirCar in front of captivated onlookers. “One second you speak to the driver, and next, you are up there in the air. An amazing experience,” Jarre, 75, told Sky News. Video released by the company shows the sleek, winged sportscar speeding down the runway on four wheels before suddenly, like something out...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Dragon's Egg Bipolar Emission Nebula

    04/24/2024 12:25:31 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 5 replies
    NASA ^ | 24 Apr, 2024 | Image Credit & Copyright: Rowan Prangley
    Explanation: How did a star form this beautiful nebula? In the middle of emission nebula NGC 6164 is an unusually massive star. The central star has been compared to an oyster's pearl and an egg protected by the mythical sky dragons of Ara. The star, visible in the center of the featured image and catalogued as HD 148937, is so hot that the ultraviolet light it emits heats up gas that surrounds it. That gas was likely thrown off from the star previously, possibly the result of a gravitational interaction with a looping stellar companion. Expelled material might have been...
  • SOMETHING IS AFFECTING GRAVITY IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, AND ASTRONOMERS SAY IT COULD BE AN UNKNOWN PLANET

    04/24/2024 9:33:00 AM PDT · by Red Badger · 58 replies
    The Debrief ^ | APRIL 24, 2024 | MJ BANIAS
    In the far reaches of our solar system beyond the orbit of Neptune, a mysterious and yet-unseen world may be lurking in the darkness. Dubbed “Planet 9,” this hypothetical celestial body has been the subject of intense scientific debate and speculation since its existence was first proposed in 2016. Now, a new study published to the arXiv pre-print service by a team from the California Institute of Technology, Université Côte d’Azur, and Southwest Research Institute has provided compelling evidence supporting the presence of this enigmatic planet. The origin of the Planet 9 hypothesis stems from the peculiar alignments in the...
  • Is Biden About To Declare Himself Climate Dictator?

    04/24/2024 5:21:27 AM PDT · by MtnClimber · 35 replies
    Issues & Insights ^ | 23 Apr, 2024 | I & I Editorial Board
    Democrats have already made it clear that they will stop at nothing – nothing – to prevent Donald Trump from winning in November. So, we aren’t surprised to read reports that President Joe Biden might declare a “climate emergency” this year in hopes that it gooses his reelection odds. Never mind that such a declaration would put the U.S. right on the path to a Venezuela-style future. Late last week, Bloomberg reported that “White House officials are weighing whether to declare a national climate emergency several months out from the 2024 election.” Bloomberg goes on to report that: White House...
  • Brits on health alert as 'zombie deer disease' could 'pass to humans like mad cow'

    04/23/2024 1:57:24 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 25 replies
    Express ^ | Tue, Apr 23, 2024 | Mieka Smiles
    Scientists fear that two hunters died after eating infected meat sparking panic of a mad cow disease rerun.Two hunters have died amid fears they contracted the so-called “zombie deer disease” after eating infected meat. The US pair died soon after eating deer meat which scientists believe carried chronic wasting disease (CWD). by TaboolaSponsored Link This Simple Trick Will Block All Ads On Your Windows Safer Online Tips Now it’s sparked panic that the disease could pass from deer to humans as they both developed similar neurological symptoms as seen in animals. The disease has been nicknamed “zombie deer disease” as...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Contrail Shadow X

    04/23/2024 12:41:25 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 12 replies
    NASA ^ | 23 Apr, 2024 | Image Credit & Copyright: Fatih Ekmen
    Explanation: What created this giant X in the clouds? It was the shadow of contrails illuminated from below. When airplanes fly, humid engine exhaust may form water droplets that might freeze in Earth's cold upper atmosphere. These persistent streams of water and ice scatter light from the Sun above and so appear bright from below. On rare occasions, though, when the Sun is near the horizon, contrails can be lit from below. These contrails cast long shadows upwards, shadows that usually go unseen unless there is a high cloud deck. But that was just the case over Istanbul, Türkiye, earlier...
  • A Never Before Seen Look At Human Life In The Womb | Baby Olivia

    04/23/2024 11:39:32 AM PDT · by Morgana · 5 replies
    Live Action News Youtube ^ | August 9 2021 | Live Action
    From a single-celled human to a baby with a beating heart, brainwaves, fingers, and toes, Olivia shows the remarkable beauty of a unique life within the womb. Baby Olivia was created by Live Action and reviewed by accredited medical professionals to show audiences the spectacular life of a baby growing within the womb. With scientific accuracy, this video depicts the moment human life begins and beyond to show the humanity of preborn children throughout each stage of human development. earn more at http://www.babyolivia.com Video reviewed and accredited by: Dr David Bolender, PhD, Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy, Medical College of...
  • NASA to launch solar sail, navigate space using sunlight

    04/23/2024 11:22:53 AM PDT · by Red Badger · 32 replies
    UPI ^ | April 22, 2024 | Sheri Walsh
    An artist’s concept of NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft in orbit. NASA plans to launch the solar sail this week from New Zealand to perform navigation tests, using sunlight to propel it. Image courtesy of NASA/Aero Animation/Ben Schweighart April 22 (UPI) -- NASA is gearing up for a launch this week that will test a new way to navigate the solar system, using a large sail to catch the sunlight. The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is scheduled to lift off Wednesday in New Zealand aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from NASA's Complex 1 on the Mahia...
  • Discovery in Maya pyramid reveals dramatic dynasty collapse, archaeologists say

    04/23/2024 9:14:17 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 12 replies
    CNN ^ | April 18, 2024 | Mindy Weisberger
    In an ancient Maya temple-pyramid in Guatemala, archaeologists recently discovered the scorched bones of at least four adults who were likely members of a royal lineage. The burning signaled a deliberate and potentially public desecration of their remains, according to new research.The bones offer a rare glimpse of intentional corpse destruction in Maya culture to commemorate dramatic political change.All of the remains belonged to adults, and scientists identified three of the individuals as male. Two were between 21 and 35 years old, and one was between 40 and 60 years old, researchers reported Thursday in the journal Antiquity. Among the...
  • Humans and their livestock have sheltered in this Saudi Arabian cave for 10,000 years

    04/23/2024 9:08:48 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 17 replies
    Nature ^ | April 18, 2024 | Gillian Dohrn
    ...In the past decade, satellite data and fossil finds have suggested that the Arabian Peninsula was not always an arid desert. Periods when the region contained lakes and lush greenery might have drawn people and animals there from Africa, according to the study's authors... in 2018, Stewart and his colleagues described an 88,000-year-old finger bone from the Saudi Arabian desert2 — one of the oldest human fossils found outside of Africa. And in 2020, they described footprints on a lake shore dating back around 120,000 years...The researchers turned to caves under Harrat Khaybar, a vast basalt plain pocked with volcanic...
  • NASA’s Voyager 1 Resumes Sending Engineering Updates to Earth

    04/23/2024 9:04:41 AM PDT · by Red Badger · 56 replies
    NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory ^ | April 22, 2024 | Staff
    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. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After some inventive sleuthing, the mission team can — for the first time in five months — check the health and status of the most distant human-made object in existence. For the first time since November, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is returning usable data about the health and status of its onboard engineering systems. The next step is to enable the spacecraft to begin returning science data again. The probe and its twin,...
  • Drowned land off Australia was an Aboriginal hotspot in last ice age, 4,000 stone artifacts reveal

    04/23/2024 9:02:02 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 11 replies
    Live Science ^ | April 14, 2024 | Emma Bryce
    An analysis of over 4,000 stone artifacts discovered on an island off northwestern Australia provides a snapshot of Aboriginal life tens of thousands of years ago...The diverse artifacts found on the island also reveal intriguing insights about the movement of people between Australia's mainland and the island, especially during the peak of the last ice age, between 29,000 and 19,000 years ago, according to the study, which was published April 1 in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.At that time, sea levels were low enough to expose the continental shelf between Australia and what is now Barrow Island, a 78-square-mile (202...
  • 'Unprecedented' discovery of mysterious circular monument near 2 necropolises found in France

    04/23/2024 8:54:26 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 12 replies
    Live Science ^ | April 18 2024 | Jennifer Nalewicki
    ...Located in Marliens, a commune in eastern France, the site has a large bowtie-shaped structure, whose middle sports a circular construction measuring 36 feet (11 meters) in diameter. This center circlet is interconnected by a 26-foot-long (8 m) horseshoe-shaped structure on one side and a jug-handle-shaped feature on the other, according to a translated statement from the French National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP), which carried out the excavations...Based on the plethora of artifacts found there — including a bundle containing seven flint arrowheads, two protective armbands worn by archers, a flint lighter and a copper-alloy dagger — archaeologists...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Moon and Smoke Rings from Mt. Etna

    04/22/2024 3:06:47 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 6 replies
    NASA ^ | 22 Apr, 2024 | Image Credit & Copyright: Dario Giannobile
    Explanation: Yes, but can your volcano do this? To the surprise of some, Mt. Etna emits, on occasion, smoke rings. Technically known as vortex rings, the walls of the volcano slightly slow the outside of emitted smoke puffs, causing the inside gas to move faster. A circle of low pressure develops so that the emitted puff of volcanic gas and ash loops around in a ring, a familiar geometric structure that can be surprisingly stable as it rises. Smoke rings are quite rare and need a coincidence of the right geometry of the vent, the right speed of ejected smoke,...
  • NASA Veteran's Propellantless Propulsion Drive That Physics Says Shouldn't Work Just Produced Enough Thrust to Overcome Earth's Gravity

    04/22/2024 9:04:07 AM PDT · by Red Badger · 89 replies
    The Debrief ^ | APRIL 19, 2024 | Christopher Plain
    Dr. Charles Buhler, a NASA engineer and the co-founder of Exodus Propulsion Technologies, has revealed that his company’s propellantless propulsion drive, which appears to defy the known laws of physics, has produced enough thrust to counteract Earth’s gravity. A veteran of such storied programs as NASA’s Space Shuttle, the International Space Station (ISS), The Hubble Telescope, and the current NASA Dust Program, Buhler and his colleagues believe their discovery of a fundamental new force represents a historic breakthrough that will impact space travel for the next millennium. “The most important message to convey to the public is that a major...
  • Tracking The Demise Of The U.S. Green Energy Transition

    04/22/2024 5:56:38 AM PDT · by MtnClimber · 11 replies
    Manhattan Contrarian ^ | 22 Apr, 2024 | Francis Menton
    We’re coming up on three and a half years into the Biden presidency — a presidency which from the outset promised an “all of government” regulatory onslaught to force a transition away from fossil fuels and to “green” energy. And the regulatory onslaught has indeed come forth. But how about the actual transition in energy use? Not so much. Let’s have a round-up of some recent data points. On the regulatory onslaught front, on March 7, 2024 Thomas Pyle of the Institute for Energy Research put out a list of “200 Ways the Biden Administration and Democrats Have Made it...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Perijove 16: Passing Jupiter

    04/21/2024 1:13:00 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 15 replies
    NASA ^ | 21 Apr, 2024 | Perijove 16: Passing Jupiter Video Credit & License: NASA, Juno, SwRI, MSSS, Gerald Eichstadt; Music
    Explanation: Watch Juno zoom past Jupiter. NASA's robotic spacecraft Juno is continuing on its now month-long, highly-elongated orbits around our Solar System's largest planet. The featured video is from perijove 16, the sixteenth time that Juno passed near Jupiter since it arrived in mid-2016. Each perijove passes near a slightly different part of Jupiter's cloud tops. This color-enhanced video has been digitally composed from 21 JunoCam still images, resulting in a 125-fold time-lapse. The video begins with Jupiter rising as Juno approaches from the north. As Juno reaches its closest view -- from about 3,500 kilometers over Jupiter's cloud tops...