Astronomy
Double Solar Eruptions Spark Widespread Aurora
Last night's aurora painted the sky in reds, greens and even oranges. It's expected to return tonight!
The post Double Solar Eruptions Spark Widespread Aurora appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Meet Jacklyn, The Barge That Changed Blue Origin's Plans
After spending four years converting a massive cargo ferry into a rocket catching ship, Blue Origin scrapped the entire vessel and started from scratch. The story of Jacklyn, named after Jeff Bezos's mother, reveals how even a company founded by one of the world's richest people had to learn hard lessons about what actually works when trying to catch 57 metre rocket boosters descending from space at hypersonic speeds. The barge that ultimately took its name represents a dramatic shift in strategy, from elegant complexity to purpose built simplicity.
The Intruder That Knocked Our Planets Askew
Billions of years ago, a rogue planet eight times more massive than Jupiter tore through our Solar System, passing closer to the Sun than Mars orbits today. That single violent encounter may explain why our giant planets don't orbit in perfect circles like formation theories predict and new simulations suggest there was roughly a one in 9,000 chance it happened at all. The discovery reveals that near misses with interstellar wanderers might be more important in shaping planetary systems than anyone realised.
Heat Waves Will Be Less Extreme because of Paris Climate Agreement
Ten years after the Paris climate agreement, the limited progress we’ve made in reducing global warming means that there will be less extreme heat in the future than there would be without the accord
When Space Junk Comes Home
When a chunk of SpaceX rocket debris crashed into a Polish warehouse this year, it exposed a troubling reality, that the international laws governing space accidents were written for a world where only governments launched rockets. Now, as private companies deploy thousands of satellites and debris rains down with increasing frequency, victims have no direct legal recourse and must rely on their governments to pursue claims on their behalf, that’s if those governments choose to act at all. A new analysis reveals how a Cold War era treaty struggles to protect ordinary people in the age of commercial spaceflight, and why some nations are now taking matters into their own hands.
The Epstein-Barr Virus May Cause Lupus
Early findings indicate that Epstein-Barr Virus may also cause the autoimmune disease lupus
