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Category: space – Page 249

A new experiment uses superconducting qubits to demonstrate that quantum mechanics violates what’s called local realism by allowing two objects to behave as a single quantum system no matter how large the separation between them. The experiment wasn’t the first to show that local realism isn’t how the Universe works—it’s not even the first to do so with qubits.

But it’s the first to separate the qubits by enough distance to ensure that light isn’t fast enough to travel between them while measurements are made. And it did so by cooling a 30-meter-long aluminum wire to just a few milliKelvin. Because the qubits are so easy to control, the experiment provides a new precision to these sorts of measurements. And the hardware setup may be essential for future quantum computing efforts.

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The silicon microchips of future quantum computers will be packed with millions, if not billions of qubits—the basic units of quantum information—to solve the greatest problems facing humanity. And with millions of qubits needing millions of wires in the microchip circuitry, it was always going to get cramped in there.

But now engineers at UNSW Sydney have made an important step toward solving a long-standing problem about giving their more breathing space—and it all revolves around jellybeans.

Not the kind we rely on for a sugar hit to get us past the 3pm slump. But jellybean quantum dots—elongated areas between qubit pairs that create more space for wiring without interrupting the way the paired qubits interact with each other.

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Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, the birthplace of modern astrophysics, announced on May 10 the appointment of Dr. Amy Steele as its new Director of Astronomy and Research.

Coming to Yerkes from the Trottier Space Institute in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, Steele studies the building blocks of planets living around stars like our sun that have reached the final phase of their lives. She will begin her role in June, reporting to Yerkes’ Montgomery Foundation Deputy Director and Head of Science and Education Dr. Amanda Bauer.

“The opportunity to lead the direction of astronomy and research at Yerkes is a dream come true for me as an astronomer,” Steele said. “It is an honor to be able to work alongside an adventurous and passionate team who share the same love for this observatory and communion with the night sky. I am truly excited to collaborate with my colleagues and the Yerkes Future Foundation to inspire astronomers young and old, near and far, to follow their curiosity and chase their dreams.”

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Astronomers have created a stunning mosaic of baby star clusters hiding in our galactic backyard. The montage, published Thursday, reveals five vast stellar nurseries less than 1,500 light-years away. To come up with their atlas, scientists pieced together more than 1 million images taken over five years by the European Southern Observatory in Chile. The observatory’s infrared survey telescope was able to peer through clouds of dust and discern infant stars never seen before. Researchers say the observations will help them better understand how stars evolve from dust.

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On April 28, NASA and its partners achieved another major milestone in the future of space communications — achieving 200 gigabit per second (Gbps) throughput on a space-to-ground optical link between a satellite in orbit and Earth, the highest data rate ever achieved by optical communications technology.

These data rates are made possible by using laser communications, which packs information into the oscillations of light waves in lasers, instead of using radio waves like most space communications systems.

-optical and even free space optics seems to be the future. People need to think about this when making devices.

On April 28th NASA and its partners achieved another major milestone in the future of space communications – achieving 200 gigabit per second (Gbps) throughput on a space-to-ground optical link between a satellite in orbit and Earth, the highest data rate ever achieved by optical communications technology.

Continue reading “NASA, Partners Achieve Fastest Space-to-Ground Laser Comms Link” | >

An international team of astronomers including several Dutch researchers has observed, for the first time, the benzene molecule (C6H6) in a planet-forming disk around a young star. Besides benzene, they saw many other, smaller carbon compounds and few oxygen-rich molecules. The observations suggest that, like our own Earth, the rocky planets forming in this disk contain relatively little carbon. The scientists published their findings in the journal Nature Astronomy.

The researchers studied the young, small star J160532 (one tenth of the mass of our sun) some 500 light years away from us towards the constellation Scorpio. Around such small , many rocky planets similar to Earth form, in disks made of gas and dust. Until now, it has been difficult to study molecules in the warm inner part of these disks where the majority of planets form due to the limited sensitivity and spectral resolution of previous observatories.

For their research, the scientists used data from the MIRI spectrometer aboard the James Webb Space Telescope. MIRI can see right through dust clouds and is particularly well suited to measure hot gas in inner disks. The main optics of the MIRI spectrometer were designed and built by the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA).

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The company offers features such as a large window dome with a view of space, internet access via onboard Wi-Fi, and a dedicated room for exercise and rest at Haven-1.

We have entered a brand new era of space exploration, from flying a chopper on Mars to re-directing an asteroid’s trajectory to retrieving soil samples from a distant space rock.

The future of space is dynamic, with technological prowess allowing science fiction-inspired ideas to become reality. And next-generation space outposts are one such area that has piqued the interest of space startups. Especially since the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled to be decommissioned by the end of this decade.

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