Lifeboat Foundation

“The only plausible way this can arise among different stars is if there is a consistent process operating during the formation of the heavy elements,” Mumpower said. “This is incredibly profound and is the first evidence of fission operating in the cosmos, confirming a theory we proposed several years ago.”

“As we’ve acquired more observations, the cosmos is saying, ‘hey, there’s a signature here, and it can only come from fission.’”

Neutron stars are created when massive stars reach the end of their fuel supplies necessary for intrinsic nuclear fusion processes, which means the energy that has been supporting them against the inward push of their own gravity ceases. As the outer layers of these dying stars are blown away, the stellar cores with masses between one and two times that of the sun collapse into a width of around 12 miles (20 kilometers).

This program is part of the Big Ideas series, supported by the John Templeton Foundation.

Participant:
Stephen Wolfram.

Moderator:
Brian Greene.

Continue reading “Stephen Wolfram joins Brian Greene to explore whether the ultimate theory of the universe might emerge from a computationally simple framework” »

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NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) represents a cutting-edge initiative in space research, focused on studying atmospheric gravity waves. These waves play a crucial role in the dynamics of Earth’s atmosphere, particularly in the upper layers like the mesosphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere. AWE operates from its unique vantage point aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

One of the primary objectives of AWE is to observe and analyze atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs) in the mesopause region, which is about 54 miles (87 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface. By studying these waves, AWE aims to deepen our understanding of how weather events on Earth’s surface can generate these waves and how they propagate through and affect the atmosphere’s higher regions. This research is vital for comprehending the broader impacts of AGWs on the ionosphere-thermosphere-mesosphere system, particularly in terms of space weather effects, which have implications for satellite operations and communication systems.

AWE is led by Ludger Scherliess at Utah State University in Logan, and it is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory built the AWE instrument and provides the mission operations center.

Philosophy of science.

We call it perception. We call it measurement. We call it analysis. But in the end it’s about how we take the world as it is, and derive from it the impression of it that we have in our minds.

We might have thought that we could do science “purely objectively” without any reference to observers or their nature. But what we’ve discovered particularly dramatically in our Physics Project is that the nature of us as observers is critical even in determining the most fundamental laws we attribute to the universe.

Continue reading “Observer Theory” »

Each Monday, I pick out the northern hemisphere’s celestial highlights (mid-northern latitudes) for the week ahead.

The office is no longer just a cubicle— but it’s also not a children’s playground.

Corporate giants often hold pride in their headquarters, its design, and its acclaim among contemporaries. Chinese tech giant Tencent is set to redefine this corporate landscape with plans for its new headquarters, Tencent Helix.

Continue reading “Tencent’s futuristic new headquarters is twice the size of Apple’s” »

Move over uranium, the Milky Way’s oldest stars have bigger and better elements to make.

A group of researchers from across the United States, Canada and Sweden have discovered ancient neutron stars might have created elements with atomic mass greater than 260.

With an atomic mass of 238, uranium is the heaviest naturally occurring element known on Earth, though others like plutonium have been found in trace amounts due to reactions in uranium deposits.

The asteroid that causes the Geminid shooting star swarm has also puzzled researchers with its comet-like tail. The infrared spectrum of rare meteorites helped to determine the composition of the asteroid.

Asteroid Phaethon, which is five kilometers in diameter, has been puzzling researchers for a long time. A comet-like tail is visible for a few days when the asteroid passes closest to the Sun during its orbit.

However, the tails of comets are usually formed by vaporizing ice and carbon dioxide, which cannot explain this tail. The tail should be visible already at Jupiter’s distance from the Sun.