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Category: space – Page 205

NASA’s Starling mission will test new technologies for autonomous swarm navigation on four CubeSats in low-Earth orbit. Credit: Blue Canyon Technologies/NASA

NASA ’s Starling mission successfully tested autonomous navigation in space using “star tracker” sensors, paving the way for more accurate orbital predictions in the StarFOX experiment.

NASA’s Starling mission accomplished a significant objective for the StarFOX (Starling Formation-Flying Optical Experiment) experiment, a test of autonomous navigation, co-location, and situational awareness in space.

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When large stars or celestial bodies explode near Earth, their debris can reach our solar system. Evidence of these cosmic events is found on Earth and the Moon, detectable through accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). An overview of this exciting research was recently published in the scientific journal Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science by Prof. Anton Wallner of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), who soon plans to decisively advance this promising branch of research with the new, ultrasensitive AMS facility “HAMSTER.”

In their paper, HZDR physicist Anton Wallner and colleague Prof. Brian D. Fields from the University of Illinois in Urbana, USA, provide an overview of near-Earth cosmic explosions with a particular focus on events that occurred three and, respectively, seven million years ago.

“Fortunately, these events were still far enough away, so they probably did not significantly impact the Earth’s climate or have major effects on the biosphere. However, things get really uncomfortable when cosmic explosions occur at a distance of 30 light-years or less,” Wallner explains. Converted into the astrophysical unit parsec, this corresponds to less than eight to ten parsecs.

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If we embrace the idea that consciousness is the fundamental fabric of the universe, our exploration of technology, particularly in the realms of artificial intelligence and virtual realities, takes on new significance.

The concept of teleological evolution, driven by a purpose or end goal, posits that the universe is not just a random assembly of matter and energy, but rather a carefully orchestrated symphony of consciousness.

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10 Centimeter Diameter metalens for astronomy.

A newly-developed “metalens” has showcased promise in capturing high-resolution images of celestial bodies like our Sun, Moon, and even some distant objects.

The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) created the first all-glass metalens, which has a diameter of only 10 cm.

With the rising interest in capturing images of celestial objects, the innovative metalens might be a game changer in the development of next-generation optics for telescopes.

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Researchers have developed the first 3D maps of magnetic field structures within a spiral arm of the Milky Way. While we’ve seen smaller-scale magnetic fields before, this is much larger, showing the overall magnetic pattern in our galaxy. These fields are incredibly weak, about 100,000 times weaker than the Earth’s magnetic field, but they impact the galaxy, strongly influencing star-forming regions.

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“The Stardust samples, microscopic grains from a body less than two miles wide, contain a record of the deep past covering billions of miles,” said Dr. Ryan Ogliore. “After 18 years of interrogating this comet, we have a much better view of the solar system’s dynamic formative years.”

What can samples collected from a comet almost 20 years ago tell us about the history of comets and our solar system? This is what a recent study published in Geochemistry hopes to address as a researcher from the Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) analyzed samples from Comet 81P/Wild 2 that were returned to Earth almost exactly 18 years ago today. This study holds the potential to help scientists not only gain greater insights into the origin and history of comets, but of our solar system, as well.

Image of the Stardust sample return capsule being retrieved inside a protective covering after it was collected from its landing site at the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range in January 2006. (Credit: NASA)

While Comet 81P/Wild 2 currently orbits in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, scientists have long hypothesized that the comet formed much farther out, possibly beyond the orbit of Neptune. Therefore, they interpreted that any samples collected from the comet would contain material from the interstellar medium before the formation of the solar system. However, the samples that returned to Earth from NASA’s Stardust mission have revealed material comprised of a variety of events that occurred during the early age of the solar system, as opposed to strictly before the solar system formed.

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Researchers may have identified the missing component in the chemistry of the Venusian clouds that would explain their color and splotchiness in the UV range, solving a long-standing mystery.

What are the clouds of Venus made of? Scientists know it’s mainly made of sulfuric acid droplets, with some water, chlorine, and iron. Their concentrations vary with height in the thick and hostile Venusian atmosphere. But until now they have been unable to identify the missing component that would explain the clouds’ patches and streaks, only visible in the UV range.

In a new study published in Science Advances, researchers from the University of Cambridge synthesised iron-bearing sulfate minerals that are stable under the harsh chemical conditions in the Venusian clouds.

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