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Category: space – Page 26

Emily Simpson has loved space since she was a 10-year-old kid celebrating her birthday at a planetarium. Now a recent Florida Tech graduate, she leaves with not only a dual degree in planetary science and astronomy and astrophysics but with published research, too. She mapped our solar system’s “alternate fate” had it housed an extra planet between Mars and Jupiter instead of the existing asteroid belt.

Simpson’s paper, “How might a planet between Mars and Jupiter influence the inner solar system? Effects on , obliquity, and eccentricity,” was published in Icarus, a journal devoted to the publication of research around solar system studies. It was co-authored by her advisor, assistant professor of Howard Chen.

They developed a 3D model that simulates how the solar system’s orbital architecture may have evolved differently with the formation of a planet that is at least twice the size of Earth’s mass—a super-Earth—instead of an asteroid belt.

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The amorphous state of matter is the most abundant form of visible matter in the universe, and includes all structurally disordered systems, such as biological cells or essential materials like glass and polymers.

An is a solid whose molecules and atoms form disordered structures, meaning that they do not occupy regular, well-defined positions in space.

This is the opposite of what happens in crystals, whose ordered structure facilitates their , as well as the identification of those “defects,” which practically control the physical properties of crystals, such as their plastic yielding and melting, or the way an electric current propagates through them.

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Scientists are closer than ever to uncovering one of astronomy’s most elusive mysteries: Planet X. A groundbreaking telescope is set to revolutionize the search for the enigmatic ninth planet and challenge our understanding of the solar system’s boundaries.

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Astronomers have made a remarkable discovery: a neutron star spinning at a staggering rate of 716 times per second, making it the fastest-spinning neutron star in the known universe, tied only with PSR J1748–2446. This stellar body, located in the binary system 4U 1820–30 within the NGC 6,624 globular cluster near the Milky Way’s center, is around 26 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius.

The discovery was made using NASA’s Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), an X-ray telescope mounted on the International Space Station. Gaurava K. Jaisawal from DTU Space shared that during observations of thermonuclear bursts, the team detected oscillations corresponding to a spin rate of 716 Hz, confirming the extreme speed.

Neutron stars, remnants of massive stars that have exhausted their nuclear fuel, are known for their rapid rotation and intense density. This newfound star is no exception, showcasing powerful thermonuclear blasts that briefly make it up to 100,000 times brighter than the Sun. These explosions occur as material from its companion star—a white dwarf in this case—accretes onto the neutron star’s surface, igniting under extreme pressure.

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Texas’ growth as a technology and data homebase isn’t slowing down anytime soon. This week, three firms announced the development of a massive, $1 billion data center being planned for North Texas.

Dallas-based fiber internet provider Gigabit Fiber, real estate firm Lincoln Property Co. and investment firm Tradition Holdings are reportedly partnering on the data center and tech space called GigaPop, set for a 131-acre tract of land in Red Oak, about 18 miles south of Dallas. Gigabit Fiber will begin construction of the 800,000-square-foot site in early 2025, starting with a 7,500-square-foot space.

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We crafted our first rodent car from a plastic cereal container. After trial and error, my colleagues and I found that rats could learn to drive forward by grasping a small wire that acted like a gas pedal. Before long, they were steering with surprising precision to reach a Froot Loop treat.

As expected, rats housed in enriched environments – complete with toys, space and companions – learned to drive faster than those in standard cages. This finding supported the idea that complex environments enhance neuroplasticity: the brain’s ability to change across the lifespan in response to environmental demands.

After we published our research, the story of driving rats went viral in the media. The project continues in my lab with new, improved rat-operated vehicles, or ROVs, designed by robotics professor John McManus and his students. These upgraded electrical ROVs – featuring rat-proof wiring, indestructible tires and ergonomic driving levers – are akin to a rodent version of Tesla’s Cybertruck.

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