NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Nov 18 2022

The Protostar within L1527

The protostar within dark cloud L1527 is a mere 100,000 years old, still embedded in the cloud of gas and dust that feeds its growth. In this NIRCam image from the James Webb Space Telescope, the dark band at the neck of the infrared nebula is a thick disk that surrounds the young stellar object. Viewed nearly edge-on and a little larger than our Solar System, the disk ultimately supplies material to the protostar while hiding it from Webb's direct infrared view. The nebula itself is seen in stunning detail though. Illuminated by infrared light from the protostar, the hourglass-shaped nebula's cavities are created as material ejected in the star-forming process plows through the surrounding medium. As the protostar gains mass it will eventually become a full-fledged star, collapsing and igniting nuclear fusion in its core. A likely analog to our own Sun and Solar System in their early infancy, the protostar within dark cloud L1527 lies some 460 light-years distant in the Taurus star-forming region. Webb's NIRCam image spans about 0.3 light-years.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Hydro-Québec employee charged with spying for China

A Hydro-Québec employee accused of sending trade secrets to China has been charged with espionage.

The employee, Yuesheng Wang, 35, was arrested on Monday morning at his home in Candiac, Que., following an RCMP investigation.

Wang appeared in court on Tuesday via videoconference, from the RCMP detention centre in Montreal, using a Mandarin interpreter. His next appearance is Friday.

He is accused of fraud for obtaining trade secrets, unauthorized use of a computer, breach of trust by a public officer and obtaining trade secrets, a charge under the Security of Information Act (SIA). The crimes were allegedly committed between February 2018 and October 2022.

"This investigation is very significant and sends a clear message," said Insp. David Beaudoin, who leads the RCMP's Integrated National Security Enforcement team, which conducted the investigation into Wang. "We do believe the investigation shows that the actions undertaken by Mr. Wang are criminal in nature."

The RCMP says Wang published academic papers and filed patents in connection with Chinese universities without the permission of Hydro-Québec.

The SIA, formerly known as the Official Secrets Act, is an act of Parliament that addresses national security concerns.

This is the first time that the obtaining trade secrets charge has been laid under the SIA, Beaudoin said. The charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

The investigation began in August 2022 after Hydro-Québec's corporate security branch filed a complaint about Wang, Beaudoin said.

When corporate security grew suspicious, Beaudoin said they took "preventative measures" against Wang, who has since been fired from his job as a researcher at Hydro-Québec's Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage (CETEES).

CETEES develops technology for electric vehicles and energy storage systems, according to Hydro-Québec.

"Our detection and intervention mechanisms allowed our investigators to bring this matter to the attention of the RCMP,

with whom we have worked closely ever since," Dominic Roy, senior director responsible for corporate security at Hydro-Québec, said in a statement.

"No organization is safe from a situation like this one, which is why we must always remain vigilant and transparent, and we must not tolerate violations of the company's code of ethics."

Wang's research focused on batteries.

His byline appears on published academic papers as recently as April 2022, working with other Hydro-Québec researchers, but also, for some papers, alongside researchers affiliated with Chinese universities.

Wang has worked at Hydro-Québec since October 2016, according to information on LinkedIn, a social media platform. Before that, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Arkansas and a visiting researcher at Queen Mary University of London. He has a master's degree in materials engineering from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' institute of physics.

Hydro-Québec is Quebec's government-owned energy provider.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/hydro-quebec-china-spy-1.6650832

Vaxxed and Boosted Al Roker Hospitalized for Blood Clots

NBC’s Today Show weatherman Al Roker, 68, revealed Friday he has been off the air the past two weeks due to blood clots that landed him in the hospital. Roker, who tested positive for COVID in September even though he has been vaccinated and boosted, said on social media he had blood clots that traveled to his lungs from a clot in one of his legs.

Roker was an early recipient of the COVID-19 vaccine in January 2021, getting his shot on live TV on the Today Show.

Roker said in September that he had tested positive for COVID a week after being boosted. Roker said his symptoms were mild.

Two years ago Roker announced he was being treated for prostate cancer. Roker has been public with his myriad health issues, recently saying he was looking at a third knee replacement surgery. Over the years Rokaer has had gastric bypass surgery, shoulder surgery, hip replacement and knee replacement surgeries according to Health Digest.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/11/vaxxed-boosted-al-roker-hospitalized-blood-clots/

Vikram-S, India’s 1st privately built rocket launched successfully

The VKS is a single-stage fuel rocket developed by Hyderabad-based startup company Skyroot Aerospace Pvt Ltd (SAPL) and is a single-stage spin-stabilised solid propellant rocket with a mass of approximately 545 kgs

Vikram-S, India’s first privately developed rocket, was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from its spaceport in Sriharikota, about 115 km from Chennai, at 11:30am on Friday.

After the launch, the rocket achieved an 89.5 km peak altitude around 12pm with all flight parameters intact, said the developer Skyroot Aerospace.

The rocket has been named after Vikram Sarabhai, hailed as the father of India’s space sector. In a bid to symbolise a new start, the mission has been named ‘Prarambh’, which translates as “beginning”.

Dr Jitendra Singh, union minister of state (independent charge), science and technology, atomic energy and space, who attended the launch on Friday said, “This is indeed a new prarambh (start) for the private space sector.”

Taking to Twitter, Singh congratulated India and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this milestone achievement, he wrote, “Congratulations India! A historic landmark under PM @narendramodi! A turning point for Indian #StartUps! A new beginning for #ISRO! First ever private Rocket Vikram-S is in Space.”

“Launched! Vikram-S makes history as the first private rocket of India to grace the skies. We thank you all for being with us for this momentous occasion. More details of flight to follow. Keep watching!” Skyroot Aerospace tweeted.

“We made history today by launching India’s first private rocket. It is a symbol of new India, and just the ‘Prarambh’ of a great future.” Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder of Skyroot Aerospace said.

The VKS is a single-stage fuel rocket has been developed by Hyderabad-based startup company Skyroot Aerospace Pvt Ltd (SAPL) and is a single-stage spin-stabilised solid propellant rocket with a mass of approximately 545 kgs.

“Skyroot was the first startup to sign an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with ISRO for launching its rockets. Apart from being the nation’s first private launch, it will also be the maiden mission of Skyroot Aerospace, named Prarambh. It will carry a total of three payloads in space, including one from foreign customers,” Dr Jitendra Singh said on Thursday.

Skyroot Aerospace said Vikram-S will help test and validate the majority of the technologies in the Vikram series of orbital class space launch vehicles, including many sub-systems and technologies that will be tested across pre-lift-off and post-lift-off phases of the launch.

This launch will be heralding a “new age in India’s space sector”, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe)—a single-window autonomous agency under the government’s department of space to boost the presence of private players in the space sector, said.

The initial launch date of Vikram-S was scheduled for November 15 but was delayed due to bad weather.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/vikrams-india-s-1st-privately-built-rocket-launched-successfully-101668759290584.html

>>17787465

Anybody have the original image?