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Amazon owner’s Blue Origin to buy asteroid mining company Honeybee Robotics

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Amazon owner Jeff Bezos’s aerospace company Blue Origin is to acquire a robotic asteroid mining startup called Honeybee Robotics.

Honeybee Robotics has operations in Longmont, Colorado and Altadena, California, and will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Origin, headquartered in Kent, Washington.

The deal between Honeybee’s parent organization, Ensign-Bickford Industries, and Blue Origin is expected to close in mid-February. [Read more…] about Amazon owner’s Blue Origin to buy asteroid mining company Honeybee Robotics

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Ceremorphic unveils plans to build supercomputer infrastructure on 5 nanometer chips

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Supercomputing startup Ceremorphic has unveiled plans to deliver a complete silicon system built on 5 nanometer infrastructure.

The company says its system will provide the performance needed for next-generation applications such as artificial intelligence model training, high-performance computing, automotive processing, drug discovery, and metaverse processing.

Designed in advanced silicon geometry (TSMC 5nm node), this new architecture was built from the ground up to solve today’s high-performance computing problems in reliability, security and energy consumption to serve all performance-demanding market segments. [Read more…] about Ceremorphic unveils plans to build supercomputer infrastructure on 5 nanometer chips

Vodafone, Qualcomm, and Thales deliver ‘world-first’ smartphone demonstration of integrated SIM technology

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Leading telecommunications industry innovators Vodafone, Qualcomm Technologies, and Thales have joined forces to demonstrate a working smartphone featuring iSIM – a new technology enabling the functionality of a SIM card to be integrated into a device’s main processor.

This milestone paves the way for commercialisation of the technology, which could be rolled out in a host of new devices that will use iSIM to connect to mobile services.

The iSIM, based on the ieUICC GSMA specification and which complies with GSMA specifications, embeds the SIM functionality into the device’s main processor, allowing for greater system integration, higher performance, and increased memory capacity. [Read more…] about Vodafone, Qualcomm, and Thales deliver ‘world-first’ smartphone demonstration of integrated SIM technology

NASA’s James Webb Telescope all set to see universe’s very first galaxies and distant worlds

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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launched recently on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America.

A joint effort with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency, the Webb observatory is NASA’s revolutionary flagship mission to seek the light from the first galaxies in the early universe and to explore our own solar system, as well as planets orbiting other stars, called exoplanets.

“The James Webb Space Telescope represents the ambition that NASA and our partners maintain to propel us forward into the future,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. [Read more…] about NASA’s James Webb Telescope all set to see universe’s very first galaxies and distant worlds

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  • NASA Invites Media to Northrop Grumman’s September Antares Launch from Virginia
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    NASA Invites Media to Northrop Grumman’s September Antares Launch from VirginiaMedia accreditation is open for the launch from Virginia of Northrop Grumman’s 14th commercial resupply services mission to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station aboard its Cygnus spacecraft. Northrop Grumman is targeting liftoff of its Antares launch vehicle for no earlier than 10:26 pm EDT Tuesday,…
    Tags: space, nasa, will, launch, science, mission
  • Which way does the solar wind blow?
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    Which way does the solar wind blow?The surface of the sun churns with energy and frequently ejects masses of highly-magnetized plasma towards Earth. Sometimes these ejections are strong enough to crash through the magnetosphere – the natural magnetic shield that protects the Earth – damaging satellites or electrical grids. Such space weather events can be catastrophic.…
    Tags: space, solar, science, astronomy
  • NASA selects mission to study space weather from ISS
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    NASA selects mission to study space weather from ISSNASA has selected a new mission that will help scientists understand and, ultimately, forecast the vast space weather system around our planet. Space weather is important because it can have profound impacts – affecting technology and astronauts in space, disrupting radio communications and, at its most severe, overwhelming power grids.…
    Tags: space, mission, nasa, will, science, solar
  • NASA sends CubeSats to space on first dedicated launch with US partner Rocket Lab
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    A series of new CubeSats now are in space, conducting a variety of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, following launch Sunday of Rocket Lab’s first mission for NASA under a Venture Class Launch Services (VCLS) contract. An Electron rocket lifted off at 1:33 a.m. EST (7:33 p.m. NZDT) from the…
    Tags: launch, nasa, science, space, mission
  • Australian research shows NASA's James Webb telescopes will reveal hidden galaxies
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    Australian research shows NASA's James Webb telescopes will reveal hidden galaxiesTwo new studies from the University of Melbourne will help the largest, most powerful and complex space telescope ever built to uncover galaxies never before seen by humanity. The papers are published in The Astrophysical Journal and the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and show that NASA's James Webb Space…
    Tags: will, telescope, space, webb, news

Farmers help create ‘Virtual safe space’ to save bumblebees

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Solutions to help pollinators can be tested using a “virtual safe space” tool created by scientists at the University of Exeter in collaboration with farmers and land managers.

Bee-Steward is a decision-support tool which provides a computer simulation of bumblebee colony survival in a given landscape.

The tool lets researchers, farmers, policymakers and other interested parties test different land management techniques to find out which ones and where could be most beneficial for bees. [Read more…] about Farmers help create ‘Virtual safe space’ to save bumblebees

NYU Abu Dhabi researchers discover new findings on the evolution of galaxies

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Emirati national Aisha Al Yazeedi, a research scientist at the NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Center for Astro, Particle, and Planetary Physics, has published her first research paper, featuring some key findings on the evolution of galaxies.

Galaxies eventually undergo a phase in which they lose most of their gas, which results in a change into their properties over the course of their evolution. Current models for galaxy evolution suggest this should eventually happen to all galaxies, including our own Milky Way; Al Yazeedi and her team are delving into this process.

Commenting on the findings, Al Yazeedi said: “The evolution of galaxies is directly linked to the activity of their central supermassive blackhole (SMBH). However, the connection between the activity of SMBHs and the ejection of gas from the entire galaxy is poorly understood.

“Observational studies, including our research, are essential to clarify how the central SMBH can influence the evolution of its entire host galaxy and prove key theoretical concepts in the field of astrophysics.” [Read more…] about NYU Abu Dhabi researchers discover new findings on the evolution of galaxies

Space scientists reveal secret behind Jupiter’s ‘energy crisis’

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New research published in Nature has revealed the solution to Jupiter’s ‘energy crisis’, which has puzzled astronomers for decades.

Space scientists at the University of Leicester worked with colleagues from the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), Boston University, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) to reveal the mechanism behind Jupiter’s atmospheric heating.

Now, using data from the Keck Observatory in Hawai’i, astronomers have created the most-detailed yet global map of the gas giant’s upper atmosphere, confirming for the first time that Jupiter’s powerful aurorae are responsible for delivering planet-wide heating. [Read more…] about Space scientists reveal secret behind Jupiter’s ‘energy crisis’

SuperBIT: A low-cost balloon-borne telescope to rival Hubble

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Durham, Toronto and Princeton Universities have teamed up with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency to build a new kind of astronomical telescope. SuperBIT flies above 99.5% of the Earth’s atmosphere, carried by a helium balloon the size of a football stadium.

The telescope will make its operational debut next April and when deployed should obtain high-resolution images rivalling those of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Mohamed Shaaban, a PhD student at the University of Toronto, will describe SuperBIT in his talk today (Wednesday 21 July) at the online RAS National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2021). [Read more…] about SuperBIT: A low-cost balloon-borne telescope to rival Hubble

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  • Hubble data confirms galaxies lacking dark matter
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    Hubble data confirms galaxies lacking dark matterThe most accurate distance measurement yet of ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG) NGC1052-DF2 (DF2) confirms beyond any shadow of a doubt that it is lacking in dark matter. The newly measured distance of 22.1 +/-1.2 megaparsecs was obtained by an international team of researchers led by Zili Shen and Pieter van Dokkum…
    Tags: matter, dark, hubble, space
  • NASA Invites Media to Northrop Grumman’s September Antares Launch from Virginia
    30
    NASA Invites Media to Northrop Grumman’s September Antares Launch from VirginiaMedia accreditation is open for the launch from Virginia of Northrop Grumman’s 14th commercial resupply services mission to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station aboard its Cygnus spacecraft. Northrop Grumman is targeting liftoff of its Antares launch vehicle for no earlier than 10:26 pm EDT Tuesday,…
    Tags: space, will, launch, technology, test

Scientists use NASA satellite data to track ocean microplastics from space

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Scientists from the University of Michigan have developed an innovative way to use NASA satellite data to track the movement of tiny pieces of plastic in the ocean.

Microplastics form when plastic trash in the ocean breaks down from the sun’s rays and the motion of ocean waves. These small flecks of plastic are harmful to marine organisms and ecosystems.

Microplastics can be carried hundreds or thousands of miles away from the source by ocean currents, making it difficult to track and remove them. Currently, the main source of information about the location of microplastics comes from fisher boat trawlers that use nets to catch plankton – and, unintentionally, microplastics. [Read more…] about Scientists use NASA satellite data to track ocean microplastics from space

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  • NASA finds heavy rainfall ringing major Hurricane Maria’s eye
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    NASA finds heavy rainfall ringing major Hurricane Maria’s eyeImagine being able to look down at a storm from orbit in space, and provide data that lets scientists calculate the rate in which rain is falling throughout it. That is what a NASA satellite rainfall product does as it incorporates data from satellites and observations. NASA found very heavy…
    Tags: nasa, satellite, data, space, news

Blast wave and debris from exploded star collide with wall of surrounding gas

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Motions of a remarkable cosmic structure have been measured for the first time, using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. The blast wave and debris from an exploded star are seen moving away from the explosion site and colliding with a wall of surrounding gas.

Astronomers estimate that light from the supernova explosion reached Earth about 1,700 years ago, or when the Mayan empire was flourishing and the Jin dynasty ruled China.

However, by cosmic standards the supernova remnant formed by the explosion, called MSH 15-52, is one of the youngest in the Milky Way galaxy. The explosion also created an ultra-dense, magnetized star called a pulsar, which then blew a bubble of energetic particles, an X-ray-emitting nebula. [Read more…] about Blast wave and debris from exploded star collide with wall of surrounding gas

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  • Hubble captures giant star on the edge of destruction
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    Hubble captures giant star on the edge of destructionIn celebration of the 31st anniversary of the launching of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers aimed the renowned observatory at a brilliant "celebrity star", one of the brightest stars seen in our galaxy, surrounded by a glowing halo of gas and dust. The price for the monster star's opulence is…
    Tags: star, stars, material, gas, space, years, nebula, news