TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
November 2, 2024
Saturn at Night
Saturn is bright in Earth's night skies. Telescopic views of the outer gas giant planet and its beautiful rings often make it a star at star parties. But this stunning view of Saturn's rings and night side just isn't possible from telescopes in the vicinity of planet Earth. Peering out from the inner Solar System they can only bring Saturn's day side into view. In fact, this image of Saturn's slender sunlit crescent with night's shadow cast across its broad and complex ring system was captured by the Cassini spacecraft. A robot spacecraft from planet Earth, Cassini called Saturn orbit home for 13 years before it was directed to dive into the atmosphere of the gas giant on September 15, 2017. This magnificent mosaic is composed of frames recorded by Cassini's wide-angle camera only two days before its grand final plunge. Saturn's night will not be seen again until another spaceship from Earth calls.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
NASA’s Hubble, Webb Probe Surprisingly Smooth Disk Around Vega
Nov 01, 2024
In the 1997 movie "Contact," adapted from Carl Sagan's 1985 novel, the lead character scientist Ellie Arroway (played by actor Jodi Foster) takes a space-alien-built wormhole ride to the star Vega.
She emerges inside a snowstorm of debris encircling the star — but no obvious planets are visible.
It looks like the filmmakers got it right.
A team of astronomers at the University of Arizona, Tucson used NASA's Hubble and James Webb space telescopes for an unprecedented in-depth look at the nearly 100-billion-mile-diameter debris disk encircling Vega.
"Between the Hubble and Webb telescopes, you get this very clear view of Vega.
It's a mysterious system because it's unlike other circumstellar disks we've looked at," said Andras Gáspár of the University of Arizona, a member of the research team.
"The Vega disk is smooth, ridiculously smooth."
The big surprise to the research team is that there is no obvious evidence for one or more large planets plowing through the face-on disk like snow tractors.
"It's making us rethink the range and variety among exoplanet systems," said Kate Su of the University of Arizona, lead author of the paper presenting the Webb findings.
Webb sees the infrared glow from a disk of particles the size of sand swirling around the sizzling blue-white star that is 40 times brighter than our Sun.
Hubble captures an outer halo of this disk, with particles no bigger than the consistency of smoke that are reflecting starlight.
The distribution of dust in the Vega debris disk is layered because the pressure of starlight pushes out the smaller grains faster than larger grains.
"Different types of physics will locate different-sized particles at different locations," said Schuyler Wolff of the University of Arizona team, lead author of the paper presenting the Hubble findings.
"The fact that we're seeing dust particle sizes sorted out can help us understand the underlying dynamics in circumstellar disks."
The Vega disk does have a subtle gap, around 60 AU (astronomical units) from the star (twice the distance of Neptune from the Sun), but otherwise is very smooth all the way in until it is lost in the glare of the star.
This shows that there are no planets down at least to Neptune-mass circulating in large orbits, as in our solar system, say the researchers.
"We're seeing in detail how much variety there is among circumstellar disks, and how that variety is tied into the underlying planetary systems.
We’re finding a lot out about the planetary systems — even when we can’t see what might be hidden planets," added Su.
"There's still a lot of unknowns in the planet-formation process, and I think these new observations of Vega are going to help constrain models of planet formation."
Newly forming stars accrete material from a disk of dust and gas that is the flattened remnant of the cloud from which they are forming. In the mid-1990s Hubble found disks around many newly forming stars.
The disks are likely sites of planet formation, migration, and sometimes destruction. Fully matured stars like Vega have dusty disks enriched by ongoing "bumper car" collisions among orbiting asteroids and debris from evaporating comets.
These are primordial bodies that can survive up to the present 450-million-year age of Vega (our Sun is approximately ten times older than Vega).
Dust within our solar system (seen as the Zodiacal light) is also replenished by minor bodies ejecting dust at a rate of about 10 tons per second.
This dust is shoved around by planets. This provides a strategy for detecting planets around other stars without seeing them directly – just by witnessing the effects they have on the dust.
"Vega continues to be unusual," said Wolff. "The architecture of the Vega system is markedly different from our own solar system where giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn are keeping the dust from spreading the way it does with Vega."
For comparison, there is a nearby star, Fomalhaut, which is about the same distance, age and temperature as Vega.
But Fomalhaut's circumstellar architecture is greatly different from Vega's. Fomalhaut has three nested debris belts.
Planets are suggested as shepherding bodies around Fomalhaut that gravitationally constrict the dust into rings, though no planets have been positively identified yet.
"Given the physical similarity between the stars of Vega and Fomalhaut, why does Fomalhaut seem to have been able to form planets and Vega didn't?" said team member George Rieke of the University of Arizona, a member of the research team.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-webb-probe-surprisingly-smooth-disk-around-vega/
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2410.24042
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2410.23636
From Mars Rovers to Factory Assembly Lines
Nov 01, 2024
Artificial intelligence software initially designed to learn and analyze Martian terrain is now at the heart of a system to monitor assembly lines on Earth.
The vision inspection software from Neurala Inc., an artificial intelligence company in Boston, Massachusetts, works with existing cameras, computers, and even cellphones to monitor the quality of products running along a conveyor belt, for instance.
“Our software can learn very quickly on a processor with a very small footprint, a skill we learned working with NASA,” said Neurala cofounder and CEO Massimiliano Versace.
“By doing so, we enable vision inspection with whatever components are already available, deploying in minutes. In our exploration of the market, we realized that the manufacturing space had a precise need for this technology.”
Versace and Neurala (Spinoff 2018) began working with NASA more than a decade ago on a project funded through the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program.
NASA was interested in “adaptive bio-inspired navigation for planetary exploration,” and Versace and his team had been working on neural network AI software modeled on the human brain.
Focusing on a rover concept that could independently learn to traverse Martian terrain, Neurala went on to win STTR Phase II funding for the project.
Additional money from a NASA Center Innovation Fund enabled the Neurala team to adapt its technology to drone navigation and collision avoidance.
In both the rover and the drone applications, the Neurala software could run on a small device on the vehicle itself, eliminating the delay of sending signals to a decision maker in another location.
Since then, the company developed the software to help monitor assembly lines.
Onsite computing is an advantage in manufacturing, as well, where an assembly line may have a hundred items passing every minute, making visual inspections for quality control difficult.
https://www.nasa.gov/technology/tech-transfer-spinoffs/from-mars-rovers-to-factory-assembly-lines/
Space Coast Rocket founder Robert Burns pleads guilty to COVID-19 fraud, U.S. says
Updated Nov. 1, 2024
The founder of the Florida media blog “Space Coast Rocket,” Robert Burns, has pleaded guilty to COVID-19-related wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
The maximum penalty for the crime is 20 years of federal prison. There is not yet a sentencing date.
Authorities said that in 2021, Burns had applied for three Paycheck Protection Plan loans to support two of his businesses.
“In all three applications, Burns made false statements to obtain the loans,” the attorney’s office said.
“In one instance, he inflated his company’s income to obtain a larger payout and supported the application with false or fictitious tax documents.
In total, Burns fraudulently obtained $57,186 in PPP funds. Burns then spent all the funds on non-business purposes.”
The office said that Burns agreed to forfeit $57,186 “and make full restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration.”
Assistant United States Attorney Richard Varadan is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by both the U.S. Secret Service and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
https://flvoicenews.com/space-coast-rocket-founder-robert-burns-pleads-guilty-to-covid-19-fraud-u-s-says/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-superman-helped-launch-the-hubble-space-telescope/
How Superman Helped Launch the Hubble Space Telescope
Nov 1, 2024
As a huge Superman fan, I have long wanted to own Action Comics No. 419, the issue published in 1972 with an iconic cover showing the Man of Steel hurtling into the sky, seeming to fly right off the page.
That’s why, earlier this year, I was delighted to finally track down a copy in the secondhand section of my local comic shop.
But I quickly discovered that this comic has another claim to fame. Within its pages, Superman became involved in one of the most significant chapters in the history of space science.
On the first page, reporter Clark Kent, Superman’s alter ego, covers the launch of a new NASA satellite while onboard a space shuttle.
“I’m in orbit with NASA’s Large Space Telescope, the LST. Here, well above the haze of our atmosphere, astronomers will get a crystal-clear view of the stars and planets,” Kent says in the comic.
Right there on the page was a dead ringer for the real-life Hubble Space Telescope. I was baffled: How did the cartoon version of a space telescope that launched in 1990 get into a comic published in 1972?
There was a clue in the story’s credits. Pete Simmons, then director of space astronomy at Grumman Aerospace Corporation (now Northrop Grumman), is credited with “technical assistance.”
This was enough information for a Google search, which turned up a documentary clip from 1997.
What I learned amazed me. The Large Space Telescope was Hubble. While the project was named after astronomer Edwin Hubble in 1983, NASA had been developing plans for what it called a Large Space Telescope since the late 1960s.
The agency had successfully launched its first successful space telescope, the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 (OAO-2), in 1968, and by 1971 it had begun to conduct feasibility studies for a larger instrument to peer deeper into the cosmos.
But such an expensive project would be a tough sell in Congress. Simmons, who had previously worked on the OAO-2, took on the challenge of demonstrating to the public—and to Congress—that the LST was a worthy scientific investment.
One day Simmons was on a plane to New York City when he noticed a child in the seat next to him reading a Superman comic, he recalled in an episode of the documentary series People Near Here, produced by Mountain Lake PBS.
“I thought, ‘Gee, those are pretty popular,’” he said in the documentary. He invited employees of DC Comics to the Grumman labs and showed them models of the LST, which convinced them that they should feature the telescope in a Superman story.
The result was Action Comics No. 419. The comic sold well, as Superman comics usually did, giving Simmons tangible evidence of the American public’s interest in the LST that he could share with Congress.
“I went down to Washington, DC, and we gave every member of Congress a copy of this Superman comic,” he recalled.
“I remember asking as many as I could find, ‘If I can get the Large Space Telescope talked about in Superman comics, would you think it’s popular enough?’
Then I’d give them a copy of this issue.” I needed to know more. My two great interests—comic books and space science—were colliding.
Could we really have Superman to thank for all the important discoveries and stunning images made by the Hubble Space Telescope?
1/2
Sadly, Simmons died in 2018. So I contacted Charles Robert O’Dell, an observational astronomer and lead scientist on the Large Space Telescope project from 1972 to 1983.
O’Dell told me that in the early days of the project, the fate of the LST was not solely in the hands of Congress.
Proponents also had to convince their fellow astronomers, many of whom would have preferred the money be spent on Earth-based telescopes, that the LST was a worthy investment.
“We organized what we called dog and pony shows of NASA engineers and managers,” he says. “We went to Harvard University, the University of Chicago and the California Institute of Technology and spoke at those places, proselytizing the LST. And this did sway people.”
But in the eyes of astronomers, Action Comics No. 419 wasn’t exactly a selling point for the LST. In fact, it was a turnoff, O’Dell says. “Remember how conservative astronomy was as a body at that time And so, seeing a comic—it was just an alien concept.”
To convince Congress, O’Dell believes that the comic would only really have been useful in the hands of a natural salesperson like Simmons.
“Simmons would go in with this enormous salesman’s enthusiasm for the project and pull that comic out, He could pull something like that off,” O’Dell says.
O’Dell can’t confirm how much influence the comic had on Congress. And the telescope still had a tough fight for funding ahead. In 1974 and 1976 astronomers undertook campaigns to lobby support for the project in Congress.
They sent letters and telegrams and even made personal visits to Capitol Hill. In 1977 the legislature finally approved funding of the LST.
Thirteen years later, under a new name, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched.
It has been operating for more than three decades, and it was the first observatory to detect elements from the early universe, image the surface of a star besides the sun and confirm the presence of supermassive black holes.
And it owes its existence, I learned, more to the hard work and passion of people like O’Dell and Simmons than to any fictional superhero.
But somehow I think Superman would prefer it that way.
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Earth from Space: Ross Island, Antarctica
01/11/2024
The icy landscape of Ross Island in Antarctica is featured in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image from 3 February 2024, during the austral summer.
Zoom in to explore this image at its full 10 m resolution or click on the circles to learn more.
According to the orientation of the image, the geographic South Pole would be around 1350 km from the top of the image.
Ross Island, covering around 2460 sq km, lies in Eastern Antarctica at the edge of the vast Ross Ice Shelf, a small fraction of which is visible in the upper part of the image.
The island was named after the British explorer Sir James Clark Ross, who discovered it in 1841 during his quest for the magnetic South Pole.
Four volcanoes form the island: Mount Bird, Mount Terra Nova, Mount Terror and Mount Erebus.
Two can be seen clearly in the image: Mount Terror is on the left and Mount Erebus, the largest, is on the right.
Though its name suggests otherwise, Mount Terror is not as ominous as it might sound.
Sir James Clark Ross named both Mount Terror and Mount Erebus after his ships, the HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus, of the 1841 expedition.
Mount Erebus is still active and is thought to be the southernmost active volcano in the world.
Standing at 3276 m, it is the tallest peak on the island and is also one of a few volcanoes in the world that contain an active lava lake.
The caldera forms a plateau at the summit of the volcano, where two craters can be spotted.
While the smaller crater is inactive, the main crater holds a smaller, inner crater where the lava lake is located.
The jagged edges of the Erebus ice tongue can be seen stretching out into McMurdo Sound.
The ice tongue is the forefront of a glacier that originates from the volcano’s slopes.
Ross Island is also one of Antarctica’s most important centres for scientific research.
Both the US McMurdo Station and the New Zealand Scott Base are at the extreme tip of the long and narrow Hut Point Peninsula, visible in the upper part of the image.
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2024/11/Earth_from_Space_Ross_Island_Antarctica
Lily Tang Williams: Inflation, Taxes, and Fake Renter – Clip from My Debate #nh02
A viral clip from my debate on Oct. 31st with my opponent Maggie Goodlander.
I promise to tell the truth and call out lies. I have the fire in my belly to fight for the people
Lily's YT https://www.youtube.com/@lilytangwilliamsZHIYOU/featured
Full Debate
Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsIyLNJiEn0
Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pkCGuQ0ZWs
https://x.com/Lily4Liberty
Advanced space tech for disaster response with Smart-Connect
01/11/2024
When disaster strikes, maintaining communication is critical. Yet, terrestrial (ground) networks are often compromised, leaving civilians stranded and first responders without access to vital information.
Limited bandwidth can severely delay crisis management efforts, potentially costing lives.
Recent events around the world, including devastating floods and wildfires, underscore the increasing relevance and urgency for advanced disaster response technology.
To address this challenge, ESA's Smart-Connect project, part of the Civil Security from Space programme, is leveraging space technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide reliable connectivity and rapid communication in times of crisis.
Smart-Connect is a consortium with European and Canadian industry, led by satellite-based land monitoring company GeoVille.
Since its launch earlier this year, the Smart-Connect consortium has expanded to 11 companies across five European countries.
The project has welcomed the following new partners from July this year:
Gemsotec (Belgium): Developing an advanced system to filter and prioritise critical information for first responders.
Nazka (Belgium): Creating interactive, real-time mapping solutions that evolve with developing situations.
Medair (Switzerland): An international humanitarian organisation testing Smart-Connect tools in real-world crisis scenarios.
In recent months, the project has made significant technological advancements. Researchers have achieved impressive AI-powered data compression, with ratios up to 1:50.
Meaning, if a file originally took up 50 megabytes of space, it could be compressed to just 1 megabyte without compromising quality.
Development is also underway on an open Application Programming Interface (API) gateway framework, enabling users to easily integrate Smart-Connect with their existing tools.
Users can simply log in, share files and connect additional tools as needed, rather than having to overhaul their entire system.
A key component of the system is the conneXstream Middleware, which automatically switches between terrestrial and satellite networks to ensure uninterrupted data flow.
This fail-safe system uses space-enabled Earth observation technology to capture crucial data about affected areas, which is then quickly processed by advanced AI algorithms and delivered to users with actionable information.
"ESA is proud to be supporting organisations engaged in Smart-Connect, making a difference and providing critical communications infrastructure when it's needed most," said Christopher Topping, ESA's Civil Security from Space Programme Manager.
"With Europe facing increasingly significant challenges, we're proud to be using space to protect citizens and ensure prosperity, “through such projects."
“We approach this opportunity to shape the future of disaster response with great excitement and utmost respect.
To tackle the most pressing and, so far, unaddressed issues in the realm of civil security, the consortium has gathered a team of experts and major stakeholders from across Europe,” said Krzysztof Czarnecki, IT Project Manager at Geoville.
“A future where space assets become a staple in every first responder’s toolkit is approaching, and we are here to deliver it.”
By combining the power of space technology, artificial intelligence, and international cooperation, Smart-Connect is not just preparing Europe for future crises – it's setting a new standard for rapid and effective disaster response globally.
Smart-Connect is part of ESA's Civil Security from Space programme, which brings together ESA's Connectivity and Secure Communications directorate and Earth Observation directorate. Working with European and Canadian industry, the programme uses space capabilities to meet emerging challenges in civil security and crisis management.
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Connectivity_and_Secure_Communications/Advanced_space_tech_for_disaster_response_with_Smart-Connect
AskaPol: Chair Nancy Mace: "hell or high water" UAP hearing Nov. 13th
10-24-2024
https://www.askapol.com/p/nancy-hell-or-high-water-mace