>>20401506

TYB

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Feb 12, 2024

HFG1 & Abell 6: Planetary Nebulae

Planetary nebulae like Heckathorn-Fesen-Gull 1 (HFG1) and Abell 6 in the constellation Cassiopeia are remnants from the last phase of a medium sized star like our Sun. In spite of their shapes, planetary nebulae have nothing in common with actual planets. Located in the bottom left part of the featured photo, HFG1 was created by the binary star system V664 Cas, which consists of a white dwarf star and a red giant star. Both stars orbit their center of mass over about half an Earth day. Traveling with the entire nebula at a speed about 300 times faster than the fastest train on Earth, V664 Cas generates a bluish arc shaped shock wave. The wave interacts most strongly with the surrounding interstellar medium in the areas where the arc is brightest. After roughly 10,000 years, planetary nebulae become invisible due to a lack of ultraviolet light being emitted by the stars that create them. Displaying beautiful shapes and structures, planetary nebulae are highly desired objects for astrophotographers.

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

Navajo president meets with NASA, again asks that human remains not be landed on the moon

February 12, 2024 - 7:47am

Navajo Nation president Buu Nygren met with NASA’s administrator recently to ask again that human remains not be landed on celestial bodies.

Since December, Nygren has asked that the space agency not fly human remains to the moon. That was in prelude to a failed space launch by a private space company that tried launching a rocket bearing human remains that was destined for the moon.

In a statement, Nygren said he told Bill Nelson that he’s opposed to federal funds being used to support burial activities that impact Native cultures. The moon is considered sacred to the Navajo, and burying human remains on it is considered a desecration. NASA has promised to review its policies but made no further commitment.

https://fronterasdesk.org/content/1870800/navajo-president-meets-nasa-again-asks-human-remains-not-be-landed-moon

World's 1st fault-tolerant quantum computer launching this year ahead of a 10,000-qubit machine in 2026

Feb 11, 2024

The world's first commercial fault-tolerant quantum computer with "logical qubits" may be running before the year's end.

Logical qubits — physical quantum bits, or qubits, connected through quantum entanglement — reduce errors in quantum computers by storing the same data in different places. This diversifies the points of failure when running calculations.

The new machine, which has 256 physical and 10 logical qubits, will launch in late 2024, representatives from QuEra, the startup that is building it, said in a statement.

The announcement follows a new study, published Dec. 6, 2023 in the journal Nature, in which researchers from Harvard, QuEra and several other institutions demonstrated a functioning quantum computer that contained 48 logical qubits — the largest number of logical qubits tested to date.

"It is the first machine with quantum error correction," study co-author Harry Zhou, a physicist at QuEra and Harvard University, told Live Science in an email.

While this computer doesn't have enough power to be useful on its own, it provides a platform on which software programmers can start testing code for future quantum computers, Zhou said.

While conventional computers store information in bits with a value of either 0 or 1, quantum computers use qubits — which are a superposition between 0 and 1, thanks to the laws of quantum mechanics.

Qubits can also be stitched together using quantum entanglement to exist in multiple states simultaneously. This enables them to perform many calculations much faster than classical computers — assuming you can build a quantum computer with enough of them. But qubits can easily be disturbed, making them notoriously error-prone. Roughly 1 in 1,000 fail, versus 1 in 1 billion billion bits in conventional computers.

Quantum computers could outpace the best supercomputers if they incorporate millions of qubits, but the largest quantum computer built so far only has around 1,000 qubits, and qubits' high failure rate limits potential scale-up. Error correction could counteract qubits' tendency to fail, and building logical qubits is one way of doing it.

The new error-correction system relies on data redundancy, where the same piece of data is stored in multiple places, Zhou said. Logical qubits perform the same calculations across several physical qubits — vastly reducing error rates if one or more physical qubits fail, because the data is available elsewhere so calculations can continue.

To make the logical qubit, researchers applied error-correcting computer code to regular qubits. They then set up logical gates, or circuits, between the qubits to entangle them. The quantum computer then calculates the 'syndrome' — a measure of whether it's likely an error has occurred or not. Using this information, the quantum computer corrects the errors and proceeds to the next step.

The new qubits represent a significant advance over past efforts. In 2023, the Google Quantum AI Lab demonstrated a 2.9% error rate using three logical qubits; Quera's error rate is 0.5% with 48 logical qubits. The world leader is the University of Oxford, which has achieved error rates of less than 0.01% — but only between two-qubit gates.

Last year, IBM also demonstrated error-correction technology in its 127-qubit Heron chip which reduced error rates fivefold compared with its other chips. But its first commercial fault-tolerant machine isn't expected until 2029.

QuEra plans to launch several quantum computers in the coming years, starting with a 30-logical-qubit, 3,000 physical qubit machine coming out in 2025. Its monster, a machine with more than 10,000 physical qubits and 100 logical qubits, is scheduled for 2026. "At 100 logical qubits, the [2026] machine can perform correct calculations that exceed the capability of today’s supercomputers," Zhou said.

https://www.space.com/fault-tolerant-quantum-computer-10000-qubit-machine

Major Airport Crowned ‘UFO Hotspot’ After Countless Strange Sightings

February 12, 2024

A slew of articles published Monday crowned a major British airport a “UFO hotspot” after a series of strange sightings in the last six years.

Some 27 reports of strange UFOs/UAPs have emerged around England’s Stansted Airport in the last six years, according to the Daily Star. Some of these sightings are reportedly classified as “near misses” as mystery objects hurl themselves around the skies above this busy facility. Back in 2022, a Ryanair flight was nearly hit by something that didn’t appear on the drone-monitoring equipment, but managed to get some 4,000 feet into the air, the outlet reported.

“These fascinating revelations illustrate that whatever one thinks about UFOs there’s a credible and serious flight safety issue involved,” former Ministry of Defense (MOD) chief Nick Pope stated, according to the outlet. “When an object passes within 20 [meters] of an aircraft this is a very close call by anyone’s definition. This, and the other incidents revealed in this FOI response, shows that it was a mistake for the MOD to terminate their UFO investigation [program] at the end of 2009 and suggests it’s time to reverse this policy.”

In another example, multiple aircraft reported an object within their vicinity, roughly 500 feet below them as they lined up to land on Stansted’s Runway 22, an Essex police report explained, the Daily Star reported. Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS) on the aircraft reportedly detected the object, but none of the pilots could see anything in the skies, the report added.

Whether these things are alien or not shouldn’t bother those employed to investigate these incidents. Stansted reportedly serves some 27 million passengers annually, so anything flying close to planes needs to be addressed.

“Even if people are skeptical and think this is all just drone activity it should be borne in mind that while drones can be flown as a hobby, or by surveyors, they can also be used in espionage and terrorism. Either way — and particularly in crowded flight paths — we need to identify all objects in our airspace,” Pope said, the Daily Star reported.

He reportedly further argued that, here in the U.S., we apparently take issues like this very seriously (though our most recent UFO/UAP bill was a total joke). The same level of care needs to be applied to investigating these incidents in the U.K. in order to “mitigate” their potential threat, Pope added, according to the outlet.

https://dailycaller.com/2024/02/12/stansted-airport-london-england-ufo-hotspot-nick-pope-strange-objects-reports/

Where to find Utah's highest concentrations of UFO sightings

Feb 12, 2024

Grand County — home to Moab — is Utah's No. 1 spot for UFO sightings, with more reports per capita than any other county in the state.

The tourism-heavy area ranked No. 22 for all U.S. counties, according to data from the National UFO Reporting Center.

Zoom out: 24 of the state's 29 counties tallied more UFO sightings per capita than the national average of 34.3 sightings per 100,000 residents between 2000 and 2023, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Erin Davis report.

By the numbers: The Salt Lake metro area reported 47.1 sightings per 100,000 residents, a fraction of Grand County's 340.9.

https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2024/02/12/utah-ufo-sightings-moab-grand-county

Ufologist Reinaldo Ríos urges Dominican President to acknowledge UFO reports

February 12, 2024 | 8:10 am

Puerto Rican ufologist Reinaldo Ríos, a frequent visitor to the Dominican Republic, has responded to President Luis Abinader’s inquiry about UFOs visiting the nation. During a press conference with “LA Semanal” in February 2024, a journalist asked President Abinader if there were any reports of UFO sightings in the country. The president replied that, at that moment, there were none, but he expressed willingness to investigate further.

At the time of the press conference, Reinaldo Ríos was leading an expedition in Moca, Espaillat, specifically in the Rincón de los Jiménez sector. He presented a video showcasing an alleged alien visitation in that region during the period of 2014 to 2015. The news gained coverage from various Dominican media outlets, as well as international ones. Some media sources even discussed the possibility of establishing a UFOport in the country.

In addition, Ríos emphasized in various interviews the notion that the Dominican Republic might be under the protection of extraterrestrial beings. Having interviewed numerous Dominicans, he has collected a significant amount of testimony regarding the presence of aliens in the country. Ríos urges President Abinader to publicly acknowledge this matter, given its international significance.

Reinaldo Ríos has expressed his willingness to be considered by the Quisqueya government for any hearings, investigations, or discussions related to the UFO phenomenon. He seeks to contribute his expertise and findings to shed light on the alleged extraterrestrial activity in the Dominican Republic.

https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2024/02/12/ufologist-reinaldo-rios-urges-dominican-president-to-acknowledge-ufo-reports/