Ed Dwight could have been the only black astronaut in the 1960s – but politics got in the way. In 2024, at the age of 90, he finally got his chance to go into orbit.
Humanity has entered a new age of space tourism. For a minimum of $450,000 (£360,000), people with deep pockets can claim the title “astronaut” after a short sub-orbital flight to the edge of space and back and up to 10 minutes experiencing weightlessness above the Earth.
On these near-spaceflights, currently offered by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, there is usually one member of the crew whose name and story captures the headlines – and often a free ride.
They say that we ultimately lose information once it enters a black hole, but is this really the case? Let’s find out on today’s video. Have you ever wondered what happens to information when it falls into a black hole? Does it get destroyed forever? Does it arrive somewhere else? Does it enter a girl’s bookcase and call it for Murf? Is there a way for it to escape? Today, we’re diving into one of the biggest mysteries in physics: the black hole information paradox. But first, why should we care? Well, in case a black hole suddenly pops up in your bedroom or office table, this paradox sits at the intersection of quantum mechanics and general relativity, the two pillars of modern physics, and solving it could unlock new understandings of the universe itself. So, let’s get started. Our journey begins with looking at the basics of black holes and the paradox that has puzzled scientists for decades.
Like any good explainer, let’s begin with the basics. What exactly is a black hole? In simple terms, a black hole is a region in space where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from it. No Brad, it’s not a challenge; calm down. This happens when a massive star collapses under its own gravity, compressing all its mass into an incredibly small, incredibly dense point known as a singularity. Surrounding the singularity is the event horizon, the boundary beyond which nothing can return. Think of the event horizon as the ultimate point of no return. Once you cross it, you’re inevitably pulled towards the singularity, and there’s no way back. Feel like you know well about black holes? Great. Now let’s talk about Hawking radiation. In the 1970s, Stephen Hawking proposed that black holes aren’t completely black; instead, they emit a type of radiation due to quantum effects near the event horizon. This radiation, aptly named Hawking radiation, suggests that black holes can slowly lose mass and energy over time, eventually evaporating completely. But here’s where things get tricky: Hawking radiation is thermal. By that, we don’t mean that it’s smoking or anything, but that it appears to carry no information about any of the stuff that fell into the black hole. And this brings us to the heart of our mystery: the black hole information paradox. How can the information about the material that formed the black hole and fell into it be preserved if it’s seemingly lost in the radiation? With this foundation in place, I feel that we’re now ready to explore the paradox itself and the various theories proposed to resolve it. – DISCUSSIONS \& SOCIAL MEDIA
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NASA is very interested in developing a propulsion method to allow spacecraft to go faster. We’ve reported several times on different ideas to support that goal, and most of the more successful have utilized the sun’s gravity well, typically by slingshotting around it, as is commonly done with Jupiter currently.
But, there are still significant hurdles when doing so, not the least of which is the energy radiating from the sun simply vaporizing anything that gets close enough to utilize a gravity assist. That’s the problem a project supported by NASA’s Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) and run by Jason Benkoski, now of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is trying to solve.
The project was awarded a NIAC Phase I grant in 2022, focused on combining two separate systems—a heat shield and a thermal propellant system. According to the project’s final report, combining those two technologies could allow a spacecraft to perform what is known as an Oberth maneuver around the sun.
Explore the unique characteristics that make fungi so resilient, and find out why they may be the key to future space travel.
Astronauts aboard the space station Mir made a frightening discovery: several species of Earth-derived fungi were found growing throughout the shuttle, blanketing air conditioners and corroding control panels, putting both the station’s integrity and their lives at risk. How had the fungi survived the journey to space? Shannon Odell shares why fungi may be the key to our future on other planets.
Once docked, the ISS will “drift down” to 220 km (136 miles) above the Earth’s surface over the following year.
Once in position, the vehicle will fire its 30 Draco engines for a series of burns setting up for a final re-entry burn four days later.
The deorbiting vehicle will be tasked with firing its engines to keep the station on course and powering it when comes into contact with thickening layers of the upper atmosphere during its descent.
“Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art have been about pushing boundaries,” said Brittany Brown. “Missy has a track record of infusing space-centric storytelling and futuristic visuals in her music videos, so the opportunity to collaborate on something out of this world is truly fitting.”
The planet Venus just received a gift from NASA, but this time it’s not in the form of a spacecraft or lander, but instead in the form of a hip hop song transmitted by the agency’s Deep Space Network, “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”, which was originally released in 1997 by the hip hop artist, Missy Elliott. Not only is Venus the favorite planet of Missy Elliott, but this also marks only the second time a song has been transmitted into the unknown, with the first being “Across the Universe” from The Beatles in 2008.
The song was sent to Venus on July 12, 2024, at 10:05 am PDT by the Deep Space Station 13 radio dish antenna located in Barstow, California, with the command being sent from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The song took approximately 14 minutes to reach Venus traveling at the speed of light.
Dive into the world of tachyons, the elusive particles that might travel faster than light and hold the key to understanding dark matter and the universe’s expansion. Join us as we explore groundbreaking research that challenges our deepest physics laws and hints at a universe far stranger than we ever imagined. Don’t miss out on this thrilling cosmic journey!
