TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
November 9, 2024
Neptune at Night
Ice giant Neptune is faint in Earth's night sky. Some 30 times farther from the Sun than our fair planet, telescopes are needed to catch a glimpse of the dim and distant world. This dramatic view of Neptune's night just isn't possible for telescopes in the vicinity of planet Earth though. Peering out from the inner Solar System they can only bring Neptune's day side into view. In fact this night side image with Neptune's slender crescent next to the crescent of its large moon Triton was captured by Voyager 2. Launched from planet Earth in 1977 the Voyager 2 spacecraft made a close fly by of the Solar System's outermost planet in 1989, looking back on Neptune as the robotic spacecraft continued its voyage to interstellar space.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Public hearing in the Congress of Peru on the Tridactyl Beings of Nazca | LIVE
November 9, 2024
In Espanol.
Hopefully there is a translated version later today.
https://x.com/NazcaMummies/
https://x.com/jaimemaussan1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neLHuJOIYdY
Scientists present strongest evidence yet for ninth solar system planet
November 7, 2024
A team of researchers believes they have found the most convincing evidence to date for the existence of a hidden planet, which may be Planet Nine.
According to a recent study, this planet, possibly located in the Kuiper Belt, is small, with a mass between 1.5 and 3 times that of Earth.
"It could be an icy, rocky Earth, or a super-Pluto. Due to its large mass, it would have a great internal energy that could sustain, for example, subsurface oceans.
Its orbit would be very distant, much beyond Neptune, and much more inclined compared to the known planets," Patryk Sofia Lykawka, associate professor of Planetary Sciences at Kindai University in Japan and co-author of the study, said according to El Tiempo.
Other researchers, such as Konstantin Batygin and Michael Brown, argue that an unseen planet several times larger than Earth could be "shepherding" smaller objects in the solar system.
Batygin and Brown, strong advocates that Planet Nine exists, have been working on the search for Planet Nine since 2014, conducting computer simulations to test their theories against the presence of the hidden planet.
They theorize that its gravitational pull, a "super-Earth" object about five to seven times the mass of Earth, may be altering the paths of distant bodies in the Kuiper Belt.
Michael Brown suggested that Planet Nine could be significantly larger, possibly ten times its mass.
The potential existence of Planet Nine first gained scientific traction in 2016 when Brown and Batygin proposed that an unseen planet could explain the unusual orbits of certain Kuiper Belt objects, generating controversies and several opposing theories.
They were inspired by a study by astronomer Scott Sheppard, who, along with Chadwick Trujillo, first noticed that the orbits of several known trans-Neptunian objects were strangely clustered.
"Since Neptune was successfully discovered in 1846, at least 30 astronomers have proposed the existence of various types of trans-Neptunian objects and have always been wrong," said Batygin, a professor of Planetary Science at the California Institute of Technology, according to El Tiempo.
For over a decade, scientists have been searching for hidden planets in the Kuiper Belt, focusing on peculiar gravitational anomalies and unusual orbital patterns.
The influence of an unseen, massive object, referred to as the planet's "gravitational attraction," is suggested by gravitational anomalies observed in the orbits of distant bodies.
Astronomers hope that these unusual orbital patterns may eventually lead to Planet Nine's precise location.
Advances in telescope technology and data analysis have provided scientists with more tools to investigate the mystery of Planet Nine.
With growing advancements in observational technology and collaborations across the globe, scientists are optimistic about finding Planet Nine.
Only until the end of 2025 will NASA's new telescope, capable of surveying the entire night sky, determine if a new planet exists or not.
As new telescopes come online and data accumulates, researchers like Michael Brown and Konstantin Batygin believe that a definitive answer could emerge within the next decade.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/scientists-present-strongest-evidence-yet-for-ninth-solar-system-planet/ar-AA1tF7R2
https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/indian-scientists-prl-ahmedabad-discover-new-planet-it-is-five-times-bigger-than-earth-2624404-2024-10-28
Elon Musk unveils new 'Marslink' service to connect PLANETS with high speed wifi in major hope for Mars missions
08/11/2024 - 20:31
Elon Musk has unveiled a new “Marslink” service that will connect planets to high-speed WiFi from Earth.
The SpaceX founder has presented the concept to Nasa at a Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group meeting, which is dedicated to supporting the space station’s mission on the Red Planet.
Elon Musk has unveiled a new “Marslink” service that will connect planets to high-speed WiFi from Earth.
The SpaceX founder has presented the concept to Nasa at a Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group meeting, which is dedicated to supporting the space station’s mission on the Red Planet.
Nasa had asked commercial providers to submit proposals about how their projects could help them explore Mars.
One of the proposals given was for Marslink - an adaptation of Musk’s Starlink satellite network, which currently provides WiFi to over four million users.
The new service would see multiple satellites orbit the planet, using laser communication from the existing Starlink service which would allow the planet to share data.
Musk’s concept is one of three ideas pitched to Nasa to develop “next-generation relay services” that can beam over 4Mpbs of data between the neighbouring planets.
It’s not the billionaire’s first foray into exploring the Red Planet.
In September, Musk said that SpaceX will land its Starship rocket on Mars in 2026.
“These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars,” he said.
https://www.gbnews.com/science/elon-musk-marslink-service-connect-planets-high-speed-wifi-mars-missions
NASA Named one of America’s Best Employers for Veterans
Nov 08, 2024
NASA is one of America’s Best Employers for Veterans, according to Forbes and Statista.
Statista surveyed more than 24,000 military veterans – having served in the United States Armed Forces – working for companies with a minimum of 1,000 employees.
Veterans were asked to share opinions about their employer on factors such as working conditions, salary and pay, and topics of interest to the veteran community.
This is the fourth consecutive year NASA has earned this recognition.
“NASA has a long history of collaboration and commitment to the military community,” said Deborah Sweet, NASA Veterans Employment Program Manager.
“In addition to the many military members who have been part of our Astronaut program, many of our civil servants are Veterans who chose to continue serving by supporting NASA’s mission after they hung up the uniform.”
Across the agency, veterans deliver subject matter expertise, years of on-the-job training, and advanced skills in everything from information technology to transportation logistics and from supply-chain management to public relations.
NASA continues to increase efforts to bring veterans into its ranks.
The agency recently expanded its SkillBridge Fellowship Program which provides transitioning members a chance to gain valuable work experience while learning about NASA.
Veterans who served on active duty and separated under honorable conditions may also be eligible for special hiring authorities such as veterans’ preference, as well as other veteran specific hiring options when applying for full time roles at NASA.
https://www.nasa.gov/careers/nasa-named-one-of-americas-best-employers-for-veterans/
Dragon Spacecraft Boosts Station for First Time
November 8, 2024
NASA and SpaceX monitored operations as the company’s Dragon spacecraft performed its first demonstration of reboost capabilities for the International Space Station at 12:50 p.m. EST on Friday.
The spacecraft’s Draco thrusters adjusted the station’s orbit through a reboost of altitude by 7/100 of a mile at apogee and 7/10 of a mile at perigee, lasting approximately 12 minutes and 30 seconds.
By testing the spacecraft’s ability to provide reboost and, eventually, attitude control, NASA’s International Space Station Program will have multiple spacecraft available to provide these capabilities for the orbital complex.
Currently, the Roscosmos Progress spacecraft and the Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft also provide reboost for the space station.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft recently delivered more than 6,000 pounds of supplies to the orbiting laboratory.
The resupply mission lifted off Nov. 4 on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and arrived at the space station on Nov. 5.
This launch was the 31st SpaceX commercial resupply services mission for the agency.
For more than two decades, the International Space Station has served as a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit.
The space station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including missions to the Moon under Artemis and, ultimately, human exploration of Mars.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2024/11/08/dragon-spacecraft-boosts-station-for-first-time/
Hubble Captures a Galaxy with Many Lights
Nov 08, 2024
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features NGC 1672, a barred spiral galaxy located 49 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Dorado.
This galaxy is a multi-talented light show, showing off an impressive array of different celestial lights.
Like any spiral galaxy, shining stars fill its disk, giving the galaxy a beautiful glow.
Along its two large arms, bubbles of hydrogen gas shine in a striking red light fueled by radiation from infant stars shrouded within.
Near the galaxy’s center are some particularly spectacular stars embedded within a ring of hot gas.
These newly formed and extremely hot stars emit powerful X-rays. Closer in, at the galaxy’s very center, sits an even brighter source of X-rays, an active galactic nucleus.
This X-ray powerhouse makes NGC 1672 a Seyfert galaxy. It forms as a result of heated matter swirling in the accretion disk around NGC 1672’s supermassive black hole.
Along with its bright young stars and X-ray core, a highlight of this image is the most fleeting and temporary of lights: a supernova, visible in just one of the six Hubble images that make up this composite.
Supernova SN 2017GAX was a Type I supernova caused by the core-collapse and subsequent explosion of a giant star that went from invisible to a new light in the sky in just a matter of days.
In the image above, the supernova is already fading and is visible as a small green dot just below the crook of the spiral arm on the right side.
Astronomers wanted to look for any companion star that the supernova progenitor may have had — something impossible to spot beside a live supernova — so they purposefully captured this image of the fading supernova.
Recently, NGC 1672 was also among a crop of galaxies imaged with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, showing the ring of gas and the structure of dust in its spiral arms.
The image below compares the Webb image with Hubble's image.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-captures-a-galaxy-with-many-lights/
NASA Shares Space Food Insight with Commercial Food Industry
Nov 07, 2024
NASA recently welcomed more than 50 commercial food and commercial space companies to learn about the evolving space food system supporting NASA missions, including unique requirements for spaceflight, menu development, and food provisioning – essential elements for human spaceflight and sustainable living in space.
The event, held at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, brought together private industry leaders, NASA astronauts, and NASA’s space food team to discuss creative solutions for nourishing government and private astronauts on future commercial space stations.
“The commercial food industry is the leader in how to produce safe and nutritious food for the consumer, and with knowledge passed on from NASA regarding the unique needs for space food safety and human health, this community is poised to support this new market of commercial low Earth orbit consumers,” said Kimberlee Prokhorov, deputy chief for the Human Systems Engineering and Integration Division at Johnson, which encompasses food systems work.
Experts from NASA’s Space Food Systems Laboratory shared the unique requirements and conditions surrounding the formulation, production, packaging, and logistics of space food for enabling the success of commercial low Earth orbit missions.
Attendees heard astronaut perspectives on the importance of space food, challenges they encounter, and potential areas of improvement.
They also tasted real space food and learned about the nutritional requirements critical for maintaining human health and performance in space.
“By bringing together key players in the commercial food and space industries, we were able to provide a collaborative opportunity to share fresh ideas and explore future collaborations,” said Angela Hart, manager for NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program at Johnson.
“Space food is a unique challenge, and it is one that NASA is excited to bring commercial companies into.
Working with our commercial partners allows us to advance in ways that benefit not only astronauts but also food systems on Earth.”
As NASA expands opportunities in low Earth orbit, it’s essential for the commercial sector to take on the support of space food production, allowing the agency to focus its resources on developing food systems for longer duration human space exploration missions.
NASA will continue providing best practices and offer additional opportunities to interested commercial partners to share knowledge that will enable a successful commercial space ecosystem.
The agency’s commercial strategy for low Earth orbit will provide the government with reliable and safe services at a lower cost and enable the agency to focus on Artemis missions to the Moon in preparation for Mars, while also continuing to use low Earth orbit as a training and proving ground for those deep space missions.
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/leo-economy/nasa-shares-space-food-insight-with-commercial-food-industry/
Nvidia Adds Ex-NASA Space Center Director Ellen Ochoa to Board
November 7, 2024 at 2:07 PM PST
Nvidia Corp., the world’s most valuable company, named NASA veteran Ellen Ochoa as a director, expanding the size of its board to 13 members.
Ochoa, 66, previously ran the space agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and was the first Latina astronaut in space, Nvidia said in a statement Thursday.
The move bolsters Nvidia’s board after an AI-fueled rally turned the company into a Silicon Valley titan.
The chipmaker eclipsed Apple Inc. this week in market capitalization, and its sales are set to more than double two years in a row.
As the leading provider of chips that underpin artificial intelligence computing systems, the company also has been increasingly influential in the direction of the tech industry.
“Ellen’s extraordinary experience speaks volumes about her role as a trailblazer and a leader,” Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said in the statement.
“We look forward to her joining Nvidia’s board on our continuing journey to build the future of computing and AI.”
Ochoa, who has a doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University, brings the number of female Nvidia board members to five — or roughly 40%.
Ochoa also serves on the boards of Service Corporation International and Mutual of America Financial Group.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nvidia-adds-ex-nasa-space-220737762.html
Can the boss man post that one on FB too?