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Archive for the ‘space’ category: Page 1011

Jul 12, 2015

Pluto’s Mysterious Dark Splotches Come Into Focus

Posted by in category: space

At this point, it’s safe to say that we’re going to be receiving a new ‘highest resolution image ever’ of Pluto on a close to 24 hour basis. Yesterday, we got our first peek at geologic features on the dwarf planet’s surface. And today, New Horizons beamed back the best image to date of four mysterious dark splotches near Pluto’s south pole.

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Jul 11, 2015

New Horizons Update: Latest Pluto Images Reveal ‘Tantalizing’ Surface Features

Posted by in categories: space, space travel

After a journey of over nine years, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is finally close enough to discern surface features on the cold, dwarf planet.

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Jul 10, 2015

Secrets of Bear Hibernation Could Help Us Get to Mars

Posted by in categories: space, space travel

By studying bears’ months-long lethargy, scientists may have stumbled on a way to prevent astronauts’ bone loss.

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Jul 8, 2015

For the First Time an AI Machine Identified Galaxies All on Its Own

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, space

Researchers in the UK have developed a computer that can scan outer space and classify galaxy types on its own, without any human help. This image recognition AI could help develop robots that can “see” better on their own, possibly helping doctors spot tumors or airport security spot firearms.

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Jul 8, 2015

Pluto’s Odd Dark Spots Continue to Puzzle Scientists (Photos)

Posted by in category: space

The images reveal a great deal of variation and complexity across Pluto’s surface — including the four large dark patches near the equator first spotted by New Horizons late last month. “This object is unlike any other that we have observed,” New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, said during a news briefing today (July 6). New Horizons captured the new photos last Wednesday (July 1) and Friday (July 3), shortly before suffering a glitch that sent it into a precautionary “safe mode” on Saturday (July 4).

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Jul 8, 2015

Using the gravity of the universe to peer into a black hole

Posted by in categories: cosmology, space

Researchers at the European Space Agency harness the natural lensing properties of cosmic gravity to get a closer look at a black hole.

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Jul 7, 2015

Hidden supermassive black holes revealed

Posted by in categories: cosmology, futurism, space

An artist’s illustration of a signs of a supermassive black hole actively feasting on its surroundings. The central black hole is hidden from direct view by a thick layer of encircling gas and dust. (credit: NASA/ESA)

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Jul 7, 2015

Dazzling Interactive Video Shows What Humans Can’t See From Earth

Posted by in category: space

If you think asteroids are rare, it’s only because they’re so small and dark and hard to see. An eye-opening new video (above) shows what the night sky would look like if we could see the near-Earth asteroids astronomers have discovered — it’s quite a swarm.

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Jul 7, 2015

Universe might contain millions of black holes

Posted by in categories: astronomy, gravity, physics, space

[from Engadget]
black_hole_art
Black holes are, by definition, impossible to see by conventional methods and are often further obscured by thick blankets of dust or gas. But that’s not an issue for NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). It can peek through the obscuring layers and monitor the black holes via the high-energy X-rays that they emit. And, after a recent survey that spotted five previously unknown supermassive black holes in the centers of various galaxies, NASA researchers now think there could be millions of of them dotting the Universe like the holes of an intergalactic colander.

“Thanks to NuSTAR, for the first time, we have been able to clearly identify these hidden monsters that are predicted to be there, but have previously been elusive because of their surrounding cocoons of material,” said George Lansbury of Durham University in a statement. “Although we have only detected five of these hidden supermassive black holes, when we extrapolate our results across the whole universe, then the predicted numbers are huge and in agreement with what we would expect to see.” The team’s research has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.

Jul 6, 2015

Evolutionary Biologist Suggests Aliens Look Like Us

Posted by in categories: alien life, astronomy, cosmology, evolution, first contact, space

According to the reputable Australian astro-enthusiast journal, SkyNews, a leading biologist says that it is surprising we have not already discovered extra-terrestrials that look like us — given the growing number of Earth-like planets now discovered by astronomers.

Planet_moonSimon Conway Morris, an evolutionary biologist suggests that aliens resembling humans must have evolved on other planets. He bases the claim on evidence that different species will independently develop similar features which means that life similar to that on Earth would also develop on equivalent planets.

The theory, known as convergence, says evolution is a predictable process which follows a rigid set of rules. Read the full story at Skynews

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Philip Raymond is Co-Chair of The Cryptocurrency Standards
Association [crypsa.org] and chief editor at AWildDuck.com