All's not as it appears, this tale has many twists -
but if I wasn't here documenting the story
would that mean that the plot did not exist?

— Peter Hammill

Astronomy

Fossil snake discovered in India may have been the largest ever

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 12:00pm
The vertebrae of Vasuki indicus, a snake that lived 47 million years ago, suggest it could have been as long as 15 metres
Categories: Astronomy

Sorry, little green men: Alien life might actually be purple

Space.com - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 12:00pm
The search for alien life can now include purple bacteria, thanks to a new catalog of chemical makeup of the lavender-hued organisms.
Categories: Astronomy

Zack Snyder on sticking the landing for the 2nd half of Netflix's 'Rebel Moon' (exclusive)

Space.com - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 12:00pm
An exclusive interview with Zack Snyder about "Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver."
Categories: Astronomy

Russia launches new Angara A5 heavy-lift rocket on 4th orbital test mission (photos)

Space.com - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 11:00am
Russia's Angara A5 rocket lifted off on April 11, marking the fourth launch of the first rocket developed by Russia since the fall of the USSR in 1991.
Categories: Astronomy

This Nearly 50-Foot Snake Was One of the Largest to Slither the Earth

Scientific American.com - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 11:00am

Fossilized vertebrae that were found in an Indian coal mine belonged to a gigantic and previously unknown snake species

Categories: Astronomy

'Devil Comet' 12P/Pons-Brooks is heading for the sun. Will it survive?

Space.com - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 10:30am
'Devil Comet' 12P/Pons-Brooks is hurtling toward the sun where it will make its closest approach on April 21. We take a look at whether this celestial vagabond will survive.
Categories: Astronomy

Jupiter's moon Io has been a volcanic inferno for billions of years

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 10:00am
Measurements of sulphur isotopes in Io’s atmosphere show that the moon may have been volcanically active for its entire lifetime
Categories: Astronomy

Jupiter's moon Io has been a volcanic inferno for billions of years

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 10:00am
Measurements of sulphur isotopes in Io’s atmosphere show that the moon may have been volcanically active for its entire lifetime
Categories: Astronomy

'Star Trek: Discovery' season 5 episode 4 uses time travel to remember the past 5 seasons

Space.com - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 10:00am
Tragically, in an attempt to make the actual plot work, we're drowned in absurd amounts of technobabble. Once you get past that, it's actually all right.
Categories: Astronomy

Hubble goes hunting for small main-belt asteroids

ESO Top News - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 10:00am

Astronomers recently used a trove of archived images taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to visually snag a largely unseen population of smaller asteroids in their tracks. The treasure hunt required pursuing 37 000 Hubble images spanning 19 years. The payoff was finding 1701 asteroid trails, with 1031 of those asteroids uncatalogued. About 400 of these uncatalogued asteroids are about below a km in size.

Categories: Astronomy

Mathematicians Explain Why Some Lengths Can’t Be Measured

Scientific American.com - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 10:00am

Can you assign a size to every object? The surprising answer is no

Categories: Astronomy

Jupiter's violent moon Io has been the solar system's most volcanic body for around 4.5 billion years

Space.com - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 9:00am
Jupiter's moon Io is the solar system's most volcanic body thanks to a gravitational tug of war that rages below its surface. But now scientists know the violent moon has always been this way.
Categories: Astronomy

Dubai floods seen from space

ESO Top News - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 8:45am
Image: Dubai floods seen from space
Categories: Astronomy

AI Report Shows ‘Startlingly Rapid’ Progress—And Ballooning Costs

Scientific American.com - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 8:30am

A new report finds that AI matches or outperforms people at tasks such as competitive math and reading comprehension

Categories: Astronomy

Alt-space history series 'For All Mankind' gets 5th season, new 'Star City' spinoff

Space.com - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 8:00am
Apple TV+ is headed back to the past, and the future, with a fifth season of "For All Mankind" and new spinoff "Star City." Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi are returning to lead both.
Categories: Astronomy

NASA greenlights 2028 launch for epic Dragonfly mission to Saturn's huge moon Titan

Space.com - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 8:00am
The Dragonfly mission is set to launch in July 2028 on a six-year journey to Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
Categories: Astronomy

SpaceX’s Starship Could Save NASA’s Beleaguered Mars Sample Return Mission

Scientific American.com - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 8:00am

Facing budgetary pressure for its Mars Sample Return program, NASA has turned to private industry for ideas—perhaps with one specific company in mind

Categories: Astronomy

It’s Time to Act on Pilots’ Mental Health

Scientific American.com - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 7:00am

Mental health recommendations for pilots and air traffic controllers bring new ideas to old problems; the FAA must decide what’s next

Categories: Astronomy

What Philosopher Ibn Sina Can Teach Us about AI

Scientific American.com - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 7:00am

A philosopher who lived centuries before artificial intelligence might be able to help us understand the field's personhood questions

Categories: Astronomy

Quantum-proof encryption may not actually stop quantum hackers

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 6:31am
Cryptographers are scrambling to understand an algorithm that could undermine the mathematics behind next-generation encryption methods, which are intended to protect against quantum computers
Categories: Astronomy