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How Schrödinger's cat could make quantum computers work better
How Schrödinger's cat could make quantum computers work better
Boeing Starliner brings astronaut launches back to Atlas rocket and Cape Canaveral
How Should Wildfire Smoke Damage Be Measured?
Homes that survive wildfire flames but that are still affected by smoke, soot and ash is a growing issue for homeowners and insurers, as is the question of how to best remediate the problem
How 'Earth's twin' Venus lost its water and became a hellish planet
Sols 4175-4177: Don’t Blink We’re Taking a Picture
3 min read
Sols 4175-4177: Don’t Blink We’re Taking a Picture This image shows our previous workspace block and rover wheel tracks from Sol 4171 taken by the Left Navigation Camera onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity. NASA/JPL-Caltech
Earth planning date: Friday, May 3, 2024
Curiosity loves to drive so it’s pretty rare we stay at a location longer than one planning cycle without the intention of drilling. But since we found ourselves at this unique and beautiful rubbly ridge with dark-toned clasts all around, the science team decided to skip driving last plan and stay through most of the weekend in favor of more contact science. My job this week was operating the Mastcams, and we decided to take full advantage of this opportunity! Why not take an afternoon 360-degree panorama while we’re here? It’s understandably hard to argue against a full panorama, so we went for it and planned 331 Mastcam Left images that should cover most of the terrain around us (including a custom arm pose to get the ridge in better view). Since our left filter wheel got stuck last fall, occluding over half of our lens, we’ve had to subframe our images quite a bit to avoid any filter wheel hardware showing up and thus — our Mastcam Left frame size covers less than half what it use to. It’s extremely lucky we’re still able to use the camera at all, and we’re very happy to keep planning 360 panos after all these years even if it takes about 2.5x more images to acquire.
Now for the reason we stayed: a full evening of contact science on the first sol! APXS and MAHLI are planning to investigate a light-toned, layered but somehow still crunchy, rock named “Liberty Cap” and another similar rock named “Wilma Lake.” Liberty Cap imaging will also include a different type of MAHLI stereo where the turret rotates instead of moves laterally, called “rotational” stereo (or: “Herkenhoff” stereo after Ken Herkenhoff, a long-time MAHLI Co-Investigator among many other titles). Without any APXS support, MAHLI will also take a look at a pointy, dark-toned target named “Lookout Peak.” I sit right next to the MAHLI operations team and was trying my best to keep up with all they have going on today.
On the second sol, we drive! To be honest, there’s a ton more we planned today (including mid-drive and post-drive Mastcam imaging!) but this blog could go on and on with how packed this plan is. It’s always a little nerve-wracking sending a plan like this up to Mars before checking out for the weekend, but I’ll try my best and come back fresh for more Mastcam imaging on Monday.
Written by Natalie Moore, Mission Operations Specialist at Malin Space Science Systems
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NASA Invites Media to Attend Louisiana Space Day 2024
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, is one of the world’s largest manufacturing plants, with 43 acres under one roof and a port with deep-water access, permitting transportation of large space systems and hardware NASA
NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, several aerospace companies, and GNO Inc. will host Louisiana Space Day 2024 at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, May 8.
Media are invited to attend and should contact Craig Betbeze at craig.c.betbeze@nasa.gov or 504-419-5333 by 2 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, May 7.
Area middle-school, high-school, and college students will participate in STEM activities, chat with NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, and hear from NASA leadership during an Artemis Generation panel discussion. The event also will include a reading of a Space Day resolution by Louisiana legislators with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Director Joseph Pelfrey, NASA Michoud Director Hansel Gill, and astronaut Cassada, highlighting Louisiana’s contributions to space exploration.
NASA Michoud, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, United Launch Alliance (ULA), Blue Origin, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, LA STEM, partners for Stennis and Michoud, and selected Louisiana school robotics teams are among the exhibitors for Space Day 2024. GNO Inc. coordinated efforts with local schools to bring middle and high-school school students to participate.
Media opportunities for the day include:
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. – STEM activities
Location: Capitol Rotunda
10 a.m. – Chat with NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, NASA Marshall Center Director Joseph Pelfrey, NASA Michoud Assembly Director Hansel Gill, and high school students
Location: Louisiana State Library
TBD – Resolution readings on the House and Senate Floors
11 a.m. – Artemis Generation Panel with college students. Panel participants are Chrystal Morgan, Boeing, as moderator, NASA Marshall Director Joseph Pelfrey, and NASA Michoud Assembly Director Hansel Gill.
Location: Louisiana State Capitol
TBD – Louisiana Space Day 2024 Resolution reading by Louisiana Legislators with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Director Joseph Pelfrey and NASA Michoud Assembly Director Hansel Gill.
About the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility
For more than half a century, NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans has been “America’s Rocket Factory,” the nation’s premiere site for manufacturing and assembly of large-scale space structures and systems. Michoud is a NASA-owned facility, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
To learn more about programs and activities at NASA Michoud, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/michoud-assembly-facility/
Craig Betbeze
Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans
504-419-5333
craig.c.betbeze@nasa.gov
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Euclid telescope: A scientist tells us of his quest to understand the nature of dark matter and dark energy
Black holes scramble information – but may not be the best at it
Black holes scramble information – but may not be the best at it
Boeing's Starliner to join exclusive spacecraft club with 1st astronaut launch today
AI Could Help Find a Solution for String Theory
String theory could provide a theory of everything for our universe—but it entails 10500 (more than a centillion) possible solutions. AI models could help to find the right one
Hubble Views a Galaxy with a Voracious Black Hole
2 min read
Hubble Views a Galaxy with a Voracious Black Hole This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy NGC 4951, located roughly 50 million light-years away from Earth.
Bright, starry spiral arms surround an active galactic center in this new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the galaxy NGC 4951.
Located in the Virgo constellation, NGC 4951 is located roughly 50 million light-years away from Earth. It’s classified as a Seyfert galaxy, which means that it’s an extremely energetic type of galaxy with an active galactic nucleus (AGN). However, Seyfert galaxies are unique from other sorts of AGNs because the galaxy itself can still be clearly seen – different types of AGNs are so bright that it’s nearly impossible to observe the actual galaxy that they reside within.
AGNs like NGC 4951 are powered by supermassive black holes. As matter whirls into the black hole, it generates radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, making the AGN shine brightly.
Hubble helped prove that supermassive black holes exist at the core of almost every galaxy in our universe. Before the telescope launched into low-Earth orbit in 1990, astronomers only theorized about their existence. The mission verified their existence by observing the undeniable effects of black holes, like jets of material ejecting from black holes and disks of gas and dust revolving around those black holes at very high speeds.
These observations of NGC 4951 were taken to provide valuable data for astronomers studying how galaxies evolve, with a particular focus on the star formation process. Hubble gathered this information, which is being combined with observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to support a JWST Treasury program. Treasury programs collect observations that focus on the potential to solve multiple scientific problems with a single, coherent dataset and enable a variety of compelling scientific investigations.
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Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Galaxies
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Zebras bob their heads at each other to signal cooperation
Zebras bob their heads at each other to signal cooperation
A Safe Word Can Protect against AI Impostor Scams
Fraudsters are using AI voice-cloning services to steal identities. Code words can thwart this deception
The Broadest Horizon
Many people travel to broaden their horizons; there's no broader horizon than the cosmos.
The post The Broadest Horizon appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
AI Doesn’t Threaten Humanity. Its Owners Do
We shouldn’t be afraid of AI taking over humanity; we should fear the fact that our humanity hasn’t kept up with our technology