Science
Seal with eel stuck up its snout gets help from nosy scientists
- December 07, 2018
A juvenile Hawaiian monk seal was spotted with a spotted eel in its nose at French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands this past summer. The phenomena could cause potential problems for the seals in terms of infections or even by affecting their ability to dive and feed on marine creatures. (more...)
- December 07, 2018
A juvenile Hawaiian monk seal was spotted with a spotted eel in its nose at French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands this past summer. The phenomena could cause potential problems for the seals in terms of infections or even by affecting their ability to dive and feed on marine creatures. (more...)
'Carpooling to the moon': NASA to outsource its next lunar experiment
- December 07, 2018
NASANASA plans to return to the moon with American companies. NASA has picked nine US companies to bid for as-yet unannounced contracts related to a return to the moon. Citing worries over components such as parachutes, the first flight has been pushed back to an unspecified date later in the spring, casting doubt on whether a crewed flight could occur this year from U.S. (more...)
- December 07, 2018
NASANASA plans to return to the moon with American companies. NASA has picked nine US companies to bid for as-yet unannounced contracts related to a return to the moon. Citing worries over components such as parachutes, the first flight has been pushed back to an unspecified date later in the spring, casting doubt on whether a crewed flight could occur this year from U.S. (more...)
3 astronauts safely aboard International Space Station
- December 06, 2018
The Soyuz carrying the next three ISS crew members will launch just a day before SpaceX plans to send a Dragon spacecraft filled with cargo to the International Space Station from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday. The launch came less than two months after a booster failure forced a Soyuz spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and USA astronaut Nick Hague to make an emergency landing . (more...)
- December 06, 2018
The Soyuz carrying the next three ISS crew members will launch just a day before SpaceX plans to send a Dragon spacecraft filled with cargo to the International Space Station from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday. The launch came less than two months after a booster failure forced a Soyuz spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and USA astronaut Nick Hague to make an emergency landing . (more...)
SpaceX Launches Cargo Ship to Space Station, Misses Rocket Landing
- December 06, 2018
The booster toppled over but remained afloat, and SpaceX was sending out boats to tow the stage back to the harbor at neighboring Port Canaveral. The change may simply have resulted from landing-leg deployment, he said. (Turn on the sound to hear their commentary.) Don't out-of-control rockets blow themselves up? Koenigsmann said the flight termination system is turned off when the booster no longer poses a threat to the public. (more...)
- December 06, 2018
The booster toppled over but remained afloat, and SpaceX was sending out boats to tow the stage back to the harbor at neighboring Port Canaveral. The change may simply have resulted from landing-leg deployment, he said. (Turn on the sound to hear their commentary.) Don't out-of-control rockets blow themselves up? Koenigsmann said the flight termination system is turned off when the booster no longer poses a threat to the public. (more...)
Osiris-Rex: Nasa probe arrives at Asteroid Bennu
- December 06, 2018
For a sample-return mission, the asteroid has to be the right size. Wondering where the OSIRIS-REx name came from? The spacecraft will nominally collect a sample on 4 July 2020 and return it to Earth in 2023. Even the faint pressure of sunlight warming the spacecraft can create sufficient thrust to warp its orbit. "Besides carbon, Bennu also might have another component important to life: water, which is trapped in the minerals that make up the asteroid". (more...)
- December 06, 2018
For a sample-return mission, the asteroid has to be the right size. Wondering where the OSIRIS-REx name came from? The spacecraft will nominally collect a sample on 4 July 2020 and return it to Earth in 2023. Even the faint pressure of sunlight warming the spacecraft can create sufficient thrust to warp its orbit. "Besides carbon, Bennu also might have another component important to life: water, which is trapped in the minerals that make up the asteroid". (more...)
David Attenborough: Civilisation is on the brink of collapse
- December 05, 2018
The comments came at the beginning of a two-week climate conference in Katowice, Poland , where emissaries from almost 200 nations are meeting to determine how the world can dramatically scale back greenhouse gas emissions to abide by the landmark Paris climate agreement and, by doing so, stave off the worst effects of climate change. (more...)
- December 05, 2018
The comments came at the beginning of a two-week climate conference in Katowice, Poland , where emissaries from almost 200 nations are meeting to determine how the world can dramatically scale back greenhouse gas emissions to abide by the landmark Paris climate agreement and, by doing so, stave off the worst effects of climate change. (more...)
Some anxious moments as Canadian David Saint-Jacques successfully blasts off
- December 05, 2018
Astronauts Anne McClain of the United States, David Saint-Jacques from Canada , and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko arrived safely at the ISS on board a Soyuz. retired the space shuttle in 2011. The three current inhabitants - Alexander Gerst of Germany, Serena Auñón-Chancellor of the United States and Sergey Prokopyev of Russian Federation - plan to return December 20 aboard a Soyuz module that has been docked to the station since June. (more...)
- December 05, 2018
Astronauts Anne McClain of the United States, David Saint-Jacques from Canada , and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko arrived safely at the ISS on board a Soyuz. retired the space shuttle in 2011. The three current inhabitants - Alexander Gerst of Germany, Serena Auñón-Chancellor of the United States and Sergey Prokopyev of Russian Federation - plan to return December 20 aboard a Soyuz module that has been docked to the station since June. (more...)
Russian Soyuz rocket successfully launches three astronauts to ISS
- December 05, 2018
Gerst, who tweeted in anticipation of the new trio's arrival early Monday, could see the launch from the ISS because the space station was in orbit directly over Kazakhstan at the time. The accident in October was the first aborted crew launch for the Russian space program since 1983, when two Soviet cosmonauts safely jettisoned after a launch pad explosion. (more...)
- December 05, 2018
Gerst, who tweeted in anticipation of the new trio's arrival early Monday, could see the launch from the ISS because the space station was in orbit directly over Kazakhstan at the time. The accident in October was the first aborted crew launch for the Russian space program since 1983, when two Soviet cosmonauts safely jettisoned after a launch pad explosion. (more...)
People Were Injured in Destructive Tornadoes That Hit Illinois on Saturday
- December 04, 2018
The National Weather Service says the actual number of tornadoes that touched down will be confirmed in the coming days. At least 12 were reported in IL on Saturday. Assistant Fire Chief Andy Goodall spoke to reporters Saturday night after the storms raked the city of 11,000. Most were discharged within hours. There have been no reported deaths; however, at least one injury was reported as critical. (more...)
- December 04, 2018
The National Weather Service says the actual number of tornadoes that touched down will be confirmed in the coming days. At least 12 were reported in IL on Saturday. Assistant Fire Chief Andy Goodall spoke to reporters Saturday night after the storms raked the city of 11,000. Most were discharged within hours. There have been no reported deaths; however, at least one injury was reported as critical. (more...)
Collapse of civilisations on the horizon without climate action - Attenborough
- December 04, 2018
Negotiators from around the world opened the United Nations' annual climate change conference Sunday in a Polish city built around mining coal, widely seen as a main culprit behind global warming. Some of the nations most at risk from climate change will have the chance Monday to plead the case for immediate action. Ministers and some heads of government plan to join the discussion tomorrowy, when host Poland is expected to push for a declaration ensuring a "just transition" for fossil ... (more...)
- December 04, 2018
Negotiators from around the world opened the United Nations' annual climate change conference Sunday in a Polish city built around mining coal, widely seen as a main culprit behind global warming. Some of the nations most at risk from climate change will have the chance Monday to plead the case for immediate action. Ministers and some heads of government plan to join the discussion tomorrowy, when host Poland is expected to push for a declaration ensuring a "just transition" for fossil ... (more...)
NASA probe Osiris-Rex becomes ancient asteroid's first visitor
- December 04, 2018
It launched in September 2016 and will spend two years up close and personal with Bennu. The sample will be small-only 60 grams, or 2.1 oz. -but that's enough material to meet the missions goals. There are a host of other reasons that NASA chose Bennu, and you can read about them all here. Osiris-Rex aims to collect at least 60 grams (two ounces) of dust and gravel, the first such attempt by the USA after a smaller mission to another asteroid by Japan. (more...)
- December 04, 2018
It launched in September 2016 and will spend two years up close and personal with Bennu. The sample will be small-only 60 grams, or 2.1 oz. -but that's enough material to meet the missions goals. There are a host of other reasons that NASA chose Bennu, and you can read about them all here. Osiris-Rex aims to collect at least 60 grams (two ounces) of dust and gravel, the first such attempt by the USA after a smaller mission to another asteroid by Japan. (more...)
NASA, Russia launch Soyuz rocket to ISS just weeks after failure
- December 04, 2018
Last month Russian Federation said the October launch had failed because of a sensor that was damaged during assembly at the Baikonur cosmodrome but insisted the spacecraft remained reliable. Saint-Jacques, 48, described the Soyuz spacecraft as "incredibly safe". It is the first mission since an aborted launch in October. In a successful rehearsal for Monday's flight, a Soyuz cargo vessel took off on November 16 from Baikonur and delivered several tons of food, fuel and supplies to ... (more...)
- December 04, 2018
Last month Russian Federation said the October launch had failed because of a sensor that was damaged during assembly at the Baikonur cosmodrome but insisted the spacecraft remained reliable. Saint-Jacques, 48, described the Soyuz spacecraft as "incredibly safe". It is the first mission since an aborted launch in October. In a successful rehearsal for Monday's flight, a Soyuz cargo vessel took off on November 16 from Baikonur and delivered several tons of food, fuel and supplies to ... (more...)
SpaceX to Launch Falcon 9 Rocket #Spaceflight SSO-A @1:32pm EST
- December 03, 2018
The launch was initially scheduled to take place at 10:31 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California . A post on the official SpaceX Twitter account said the delay was necessary to "conduct additional inspections of the second stage". (more...)
- December 03, 2018
The launch was initially scheduled to take place at 10:31 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California . A post on the official SpaceX Twitter account said the delay was necessary to "conduct additional inspections of the second stage". (more...)
Russian Federation successfully launches manned Soyuz rocket following October failure
- December 03, 2018
It was the first manned launch for the Soviet-era Soyuz since 11 October, when a rocket carrying Russia's Aleksey Ovchinin and U.S. astronaut Nick Hague failed just minutes after blast-off, forcing the pair to make a harrowing emergency landing. (more...)
- December 03, 2018
It was the first manned launch for the Soviet-era Soyuz since 11 October, when a rocket carrying Russia's Aleksey Ovchinin and U.S. astronaut Nick Hague failed just minutes after blast-off, forcing the pair to make a harrowing emergency landing. (more...)
"Horrifying": Global outrage after Chinese researcher claims first gene-edited babies
- December 03, 2018
He's academic board said He had "seriously violated academic ethics and norms". He insisted he had consulted overseas scientists during previous worldwide conferences on genome editing. "Our school will immediately hire authoritative experts to set up an independent committee to conduct in-depth investigations and publish relevant information after investigation", SUSTC said in the statement . (more...)
- December 03, 2018
He's academic board said He had "seriously violated academic ethics and norms". He insisted he had consulted overseas scientists during previous worldwide conferences on genome editing. "Our school will immediately hire authoritative experts to set up an independent committee to conduct in-depth investigations and publish relevant information after investigation", SUSTC said in the statement . (more...)
Climate action must triple to curb global warming, says United Nations report
- December 02, 2018
According to Climate Home News , which reported on Monday that it had seen a draft version of the document - which is thus still subject to change - the draft communique fails to back the Paris Climate Agreement, instead, simply "acknowledging the different circumstances, including those of countries determined to implement the Paris Agreement ". (more...)
- December 02, 2018
According to Climate Home News , which reported on Monday that it had seen a draft version of the document - which is thus still subject to change - the draft communique fails to back the Paris Climate Agreement, instead, simply "acknowledging the different circumstances, including those of countries determined to implement the Paris Agreement ". (more...)
NASA's InSight Shares First Picture After Profitable Mars Touchdown
- December 01, 2018
After arriving on Mars on 26 November, the twin satellites - nicknamed EVE (MarCO-A) and WALL-E (MarCO-B) - relayed information from the Insight lander during its descent to the Martian surface. And it's capable of hammering a probe into the surface. Odyssey has also relayed a pair of images showing InSight's landing site. He's leading one of the teams that will analyze Mars's core. (more...)
- December 01, 2018
After arriving on Mars on 26 November, the twin satellites - nicknamed EVE (MarCO-A) and WALL-E (MarCO-B) - relayed information from the Insight lander during its descent to the Martian surface. And it's capable of hammering a probe into the surface. Odyssey has also relayed a pair of images showing InSight's landing site. He's leading one of the teams that will analyze Mars's core. (more...)
NASA spacecraft making descent to Mars
- December 01, 2018
Travelling 548 million kilometres from Earth, the Mars InSight spacecraft is due to reach its destination on the dusty, rock-strewn surface of the Red Planet at about 8pm Irish time. InSight also is fitted with a German-made drill to burrow as much as 5 meters underground, pulling behind it a rope-like thermal probe to measure heat flowing from inside the planet. (more...)
- December 01, 2018
Travelling 548 million kilometres from Earth, the Mars InSight spacecraft is due to reach its destination on the dusty, rock-strewn surface of the Red Planet at about 8pm Irish time. InSight also is fitted with a German-made drill to burrow as much as 5 meters underground, pulling behind it a rope-like thermal probe to measure heat flowing from inside the planet. (more...)
NASA Administrator reveals new commercial plan to explore the Moon
- December 01, 2018
The contracts that the companies can bid on include launching and landing services and payload delivery systems. "We are excited to partner with these unbelievable companies at the dawn of a new era of lunar and solar system exploration", stated Moon Express founder & CEO, Bob Richards. (more...)
- December 01, 2018
The contracts that the companies can bid on include launching and landing services and payload delivery systems. "We are excited to partner with these unbelievable companies at the dawn of a new era of lunar and solar system exploration", stated Moon Express founder & CEO, Bob Richards. (more...)
NASA looks to private companies for deliveries to the moon
- November 30, 2018
Astrobotic has been competitively selected to be a delivery provider of NASA payloads to the Moon on the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract. Earlier this year, NASA cancelled its only robotic vehicle under development to explore the surface of the Moon, known as the Resource Prospector (RP) mission. (more...)
- November 30, 2018
Astrobotic has been competitively selected to be a delivery provider of NASA payloads to the Moon on the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract. Earlier this year, NASA cancelled its only robotic vehicle under development to explore the surface of the Moon, known as the Resource Prospector (RP) mission. (more...)
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The Northwest could see a year's worth of snow this weekend