TYB
This troubled California lake just turned so green it's visible from space
May 30, 2024
California’s Clear Lake has been taken over by so much algae that its emerald waters are now visible from space, photos show.
The satellite images, taken by NASA in mid-May, indicate that the eutrophic lake may be infested with blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria — single-celled organisms that can become potent enough to poison humans and animals, according to the United States Geological Survey.
County officials wrote that, overall, algae is integral to the freshwater lake’s health and aquatic ecosystem. More than 130 different types of species have been identified thus far, but three problematic blue-green algal species have been known to bloom there in the spring and late summertime. These harmful species can cause skin irritation, along with gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms, officials said.
The satellite images, taken by NASA in mid-May, indicate that the eutrophic lake may be infested with blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria — single-celled organisms that can become potent enough to poison humans and animals, according to the United States Geological Survey.
County officials wrote that, overall, algae is integral to the freshwater lake’s health and aquatic ecosystem. More than 130 different types of species have been identified thus far, but three problematic blue-green algal species have been known to bloom there in the spring and late summertime. These harmful species can cause skin irritation, along with gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms, officials said.
It’s also likely that toxic algae will become a much more common sight in the years to come: Study authors warned that “the seasonally averaged water temperatures have shifted in a manner that may now favor cyanobacterial dominance.”
A sample will need to be taken in order to determine whether this current bloom is harmful, the NASA post said. Regardless, the NASA post warned that the abundance of algae can still deplete oxygen, leading to dead zones that ultimately kill off fish and other aquatic wildlife.
The largest dead zone in the U.S currently spans 6,500 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico, the Environmental Protection Agency wrote, and forms every summer due to pollution from the Mississippi River Basin.
More up-to-date information on Clear Lake water quality is available from the California Water Quality Monitoring Council.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/clear-lake-california-green-algae-photo-19486702.php
https://mywaterquality.ca.gov/habs/where/freshwater_events.html
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Finds Most Distant Known Galaxy
May 30, 2024
Over the last two years, scientists have used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (also called Webb or JWST) to explore what astronomers refer to as Cosmic Dawn – the period in the first few hundred million years after the big bang where the first galaxies were born.
These galaxies provide vital insight into the ways in which the gas, stars, and black holes were changing when the universe was very young.
In October 2023 and January 2024, an international team of astronomers used Webb to observe galaxies as part of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) program.
Using Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph), they obtained a spectrum of a record-breaking galaxy observed only two hundred and ninety million years after the big bang.
This corresponds to a redshift of about 14, which is a measure of how much a galaxy’s light is stretched by the expansion of the universe.
We invited Stefano Carniani from Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, and Kevin Hainline from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, to tell us more about how this source was found and what its unique properties tell us about galaxy formation.
“The instruments on Webb were designed to find and understand the earliest galaxies, and in the first year of observations as part of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES), we found many hundreds of candidate galaxies from the first 650 million years after the big bang.
In early 2023, we discovered a galaxy in our data that had strong evidence of being above a redshift of 14, which was very exciting, but there were some properties of the source that made us wary.
The source was surprisingly bright, which we wouldn’t expect for such a distant galaxy, and it was very close to another galaxy such that the two appeared to be part of one larger object.
When we observed the source again in October 2023 as part of the JADES Origins Field, new imaging data obtained with Webb’s narrower NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) filters pointed even more toward the high-redshift hypothesis.
We knew we needed a spectrum, as whatever we would learn would be of immense scientific importance, either as a new milestone in Webb’s investigation of the early universe or as a confounding oddball of a middle-aged galaxy.
“In January 2024, NIRSpec observed this galaxy, JADES-GS-z14-0, for almost ten hours, and when the spectrum was first processed, there was unambiguous evidence that the galaxy was indeed at a redshift of 14.32, shattering the previous most-distant galaxy record (z = 13.2 of JADES-GS-z13-0).
Seeing this spectrum was incredibly exciting for the whole team, given the mystery surrounding the source.
This discovery was not just a new distance record for our team; the most important aspect of JADES-GS-z14-0 was that at this distance, we know that this galaxy must be intrinsically very luminous.
From the images, the source is found to be over 1,600-light years across, proving that the light we see is coming mostly from young stars and not from emission near a growing supermassive black hole.
This much starlight implies that the galaxy is several hundreds of millions of times the mass of the Sun! This raises the question: How can nature make such a bright, massive, and large galaxy in less than 300 million years?
“The data reveal other important aspects of this astonishing galaxy. We see that the color of the galaxy is not as blue as it could be, indicating that some of the light is reddened by dust, even at these very early times. JADES researcher Jake Helton of Steward Observatory and the University of Arizona also identified that JADES-GS-z14-0 was detected at longer wavelengths with Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), a remarkable achievement considering its distance.
The MIRI observation covers wavelengths of light that were emitted in the visible-light range, which are redshifted out of reach for Webb’s near-infrared instruments.
Jake’s analysis indicates that the brightness of the source implied by the MIRI observation is above what would be extrapolated from the measurements by the other Webb instruments, indicating the presence of strong ionized gas emission in the galaxy in the form of bright emission lines from hydrogen and oxygen. The presence of oxygen so early in the life of this galaxy is a surprise and suggests that multiple generations of very massive stars had already lived their lives before we observed the galaxy.
“All of these observations, together, tell us that JADES-GS-z14-0 is not like the types of galaxies that have been predicted by theoretical models and computer simulations to exist in the very early universe.
https://webbtelescope.org/contents/early-highlights/nasas-james-webb-space-telescope-finds-most-distant-known-galaxy
Japan loses contact with Akatsuki, humanity's only active Venus probe
May 30, 2024
The Japanese space agency said it has lost contact with its intrepid Venus spacecraft Akatsuki.
Akatsuki is Japan's mission dedicated to studying the climate of Venus and currently the only active spacecraft in orbit around the second planet from the sun.
The $300 million spacecraft launched in 2010 and had a less than stellar start to its mission, failing to enter orbit around Venus due to a failure of its main engine.
However, the mission team managed to contrive a second opportunity in 2015 after five years of orbiting the sun, successfully entering orbit.
The spacecraft, also known as Venus Climate Orbiter, has been conducting science ever since, making some unexpected observations. These activities may now be at an end, however.
JAXA’s mission account for Akatsuki posted on X Wednesday (May 29) that the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) had "lost contact with Akatsuki after an operation in late April due to an extended period of low attitude stability control mode, and is currently making efforts to reestablish communication with the spacecraft."
The spacecraft will need to be able to maintain a stable orientation in order to point its antenna and communicate with Earth.
"We will inform you about future plans once they are fixed. Thank you for your warm support," a second post from the Akatsuki team read.
Akatsuki, which means "dawn" in Japanese, has already worked past its primary mission. The spacecraft began an extended phase of operations in 2018.
Even if Akatsuki cannot be rescued this time, the mission has proven the problem-solving capabilities of JAXA engineers and enhanced our understanding of Venus' climate and atmospheric dynamics.
And, even if Akatsuki is indeed dead, Earth's sister planet might not remain unobserved for long.
Questions of why Venus suffered a strong greenhouse effect, making it the hottest planet in the solar system, and the tantalizing readings of potential biomarkers in its atmosphere, mean the planet is receiving renewed interest.
https://www.space.com/jaxa-loses-contact-akatsuki-venus-probe
US Space Forces Indo-Pacific commander highlights key alliance at Australian Space Summit
May 31, 2024
Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific commander, participated in the Australian Space Summit at the International Convention Center in Sydney, Australia, May 27-28.
The Australian Space Summit aimed to provide presentation to critical funding issues and unveil fresh opportunities for international collaboration with the goal of growing Australia’s space sector.
During the two-day event that explored space collaboration and competition in the Pacific, Mastalir delivered a keynote address and participated in panels which discussed space capabilities and the U.S.-Australian alliance in the Indo-Pacific.
Mastalir opened his keynote address by highlighting the importance and growth of space specialties in industry and national security sectors and spoke on the value of space support toward global economy and natural disaster response.
“Space capabilities are a critical enabler of national security,” Mastalir said. “U.S. and allied forces rely heavily on space-based capabilities to project and employ power globally.
That’s why we’re moving rapidly toward becoming more resilient and interoperable with our allies and partners as we prepare the joint force for great power competition with our focus on the Indo-Pacific.”
Joining Mastalir on the panel was Royal Australian Air Force Maj. Gen. Gregory Novak, Defence Space Command, Australian Defence Forces commander.
The panel focused on emphasizing collaboration as a critical component in enhancing the U.S.-Australian partnership for securing the Indo-Pacific.
“There are many similarities in what we’re doing here,” Novak said.
“The space domain has always been a strong part of the U.S.-Australian military-to-military relationship and our alliance. One thing that struck me over the past six months is just how much it’s deepened and broadened over that time.”
On the panel, Mastalir and Novak both highlighted space operations in the Pacific region while exploring how Space Force components interact with their counterparts in allied countries.
The panel also provided examples of recent and planned coalition operations that benefit all participants.
“Last year, we executed Exercise Pacific Sentry together,” Mastalir said.
"It was the most integrated component-level exercise we have executed to date, with a campaign plan synchronized across the Joint Forced Space Component commanders in Australia, Hawaii and California and exchange officers embedded in the operational planning cells across those locations.”
Mastalir then highlighted the expansion of trilateral exercise Keen Edge that involved collaboration between the U.S., Australia and Japan, while noting the value in additional multilateral exercises in the future.
The panel members went on to discuss the importance of allied interoperability for the promotion of security and stability within the region.
Both commanders shed light on why the rules-based international order is critical in supporting stability in the Pacific and discussed how a free and open Indo-Pacific is upheld by space efforts.
“The interests we pursue are all about assured access to space,” Novak said. “They are about promoting security and stability and we do that through encouraging responsible behaviors and doing everything we can as a collective to invest in norms that assure that access, which is ultimately in everyone’s interest.”
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3792723/us-space-forces-indo-pacific-commander-highlights-key-alliance-at-australian-sp/
https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/world/government-plans-for-finding-alien-life/ar-BB1nlCnU
Government plans for finding alien life
May 30, 2024
The government is officially gearing up for the discovery of aliens, a move described as ‘long overdue’ by the UK’s leading UFO expert.
A Freedom of Information request has revealed the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is currently researching how it will react to the so-called ‘black swan’ event that is discovering extraterrestrial life, including announcing the find to the public.
A black swan event is an unpredictable event that has wide-ranging consequences, but in hindsight appears to have been inevitable.
The report is investigating whether a plan already exists – none has ever been made public – what a plan would look like and how the UK can be ‘on the front foot’ should such an astounding scientific discovery finally be made.
It is being conducted over six months and will be finalised in July, at which point a new government could be in receipt of it.
An internal report will be presented to the DSIT Permanent Secretary setting out recommendations for an action plan including opportunities, challenges and areas of expertise.
While a summary of the work states the primary focus of the report will be ‘the impact on the science landscape’, it will also consider the wider impact.
Humans have pondered the existence of other lifeforms, at least on record, since medieval times. In recent decades, reports of UFOs have soared, the most famous being the Roswell incident in 1947, when a craft allegedly crashed in the New Mexico desert.
Looking outward, scientists around the world are focused on the search for extraterrestrial life (SETI), scanning the skies for signs of other beings, whether microscopic or advanced civilisations.
Should a definitive discovery be made, the ramifications for science, governments and society will be significant, hence many in the industry arguing for better planning.
One such voice is Nick Pope, who investigated UFOs for the Ministry of Defence (MoD).‘I’m very pleased to hear this study is being carried out, because it’s long overdue,’ said Mr Pope.
‘Rumours are circulating in the scientific community that strong evidence of a biosignature has already been detected by the James Webb Space Telescope, and whatever might have been found, it’s very possible that an announcement about a biosignature – or perhaps even a techosignature – is imminent.
‘As always, it’s better to have a plan and not need it, than need it and not have it.’
A biosignature is any characteristic, such as an element or molecule, that offers evidence of past or present alien life. Technosignatures are any property or effect that shows past or present technology.
‘DSIT rightly categorises the discovery of extraterrestrial life as a black swan scientific event,’ said Mr Pope. ‘It’s arguably the ultimate black swan scientific event. The societal impact of finding extraterrestrial life is impossible to overstate.
It would arguably be the biggest and most important scientific discovery of all time, and the most impactful.
‘This is particularly true if we find intelligent life, especially if we were to interact with it in some way. This would have profound effects on almost every aspect of society, including politics, religion, science, technology, and much more besides.
‘In the worst case scenario, we might be facing an existential threat.’
Despite numerous countries conducting their own searches, there is little official guidance at any level regarding what will happen in the event of discovering alien life – or even making contact.
The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) has developed a Declaration of Principles, a set of general guidelines for such an event, but does little beyond establishing that the signal must be verified and the country that makes the discovery gets to share it with the world.
1/2
After that happens, there is little in place.
Mr Pope, who submitted the FOI request, said: ‘The societal reaction to Covid – ripping each other apart over masks and vaccines – doesn’t bode well, particularly when one remembers that governments had contingency plans for a global pandemic, so it was hardly an unanticipated event.
‘How would people react to finding evidence of an advanced civilisation on a planet orbiting a nearby star? Especially, as some believe, if they’re already sending probes here.’
The case study summary appears to focus on the idea that life would be found beyond Earth, noting numerous missions bound for other planets in the search.
It said: ‘The convergence of rapid technological advancements, expanding knowledge of life’s resilience, and the identification of habitable exoplanets have brought us closer than ever to a monumental breakthrough. With missions to study the moons of Saturn and Jupiter, and tantalizing [sic] findings on Mars, we are ever closer to discovering habitable environments within our solar system.
‘Additionally, the study of extremophiles on Earth and the use of AI to search for biosignatures have expanded our understanding and detection capabilities. As these factors align, the imminent discovery of extraterrestrial life promises to revolutionise our comprehension of the cosmos and propel us into an era of scientific exploration.’
Both Nasa and the European Space Agency (ESA) currently have missions bound for Jupiter’s icy moons, thought by many to be the best place to find life in the solar system, while last month the US agency confirmed it was progressing with its Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s organic-rich moon Titan.
In addition, land- and space-based satellites and radio antennae are continually searching for signs among the stars, while rovers on Mars continue to hunt for evidence of life on the Red Planet.
As Mr Pope mentioned, rumours are swirling that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has already found evidence of life.
In September, Nasa revealed the groundbreaking satellite had detected traces of dimethyl sulphide, a compound that on Earth is only produced by life, primarily phytoplankton.
Many argue that if – or when – humans discover life beyond their own planet, it will be microscopic. Perhaps it will be the telltale signs of long gone bacteria on Mars, or deep-sea dwelling microbes on an icy moon.
While that finding may not have the same societal impact as discovering an advanced civilisation, it will still be momentous. And if scientists do in fact make contact, the ramifications will be even greater.
Mr Pope added: ‘Sceptics will say “you can’t get here from there”, but in a universe nearly 14 billion years old there might be civilisations out there a billion years ahead of us, and who’s to say they haven’t figured out a workaround to what scientists generally regard as the impenetrable barrier of light speed.
‘Some theoretical physicists speculate about wormholes and warp drive, and it’s interesting that as part of the contract associated with the Pentagon’s AATIP – Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program – work, scientific papers were written on subjects that included anti-gravity, warp drive and wormholes.
‘I hope the DSIT study will include input from the Ministry of Defence, because while it may be highly classified, the MoD may have information that would be useful to DSIT.
‘The defence and national security implications of this issue shouldn’t be overlooked.’
Metro.co.uk contacted the DSIT, but purdah restrictions during the election period and the report being in progress prevented further comment.
2/2