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Archive for the ‘space’ category: Page 739

May 18, 2018

Space tourism for the people: become a virtual reality astronaut

Posted by in categories: space, virtual reality

VR companies around the world are planning to offer live views of the Earth from space within the next few years.

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May 18, 2018

Spacewatch: China readies for part one of mission to far side of the moon

Posted by in category: space

Magpie Bridge relay satellite will communicate with lunar lander to be deployed later in the year.

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May 17, 2018

Astronomers release most complete ultraviolet-light survey of nearby galaxies

Posted by in categories: evolution, space

Capitalizing on the unparalleled sharpness and spectral range of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers is releasing the most comprehensive, high-resolution ultraviolet-light survey of nearby star-forming galaxies.

The researchers combined new Hubble observations with archival Hubble images for 50 star-forming spiral and dwarf in the local universe, offering a large and extensive resource for understanding the complexities of and . The project, called the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS), has amassed star catalogs for each of the LEGUS galaxies and cluster catalogs for 30 of the galaxies, as well as images of the galaxies themselves. The data provide detailed information on young, massive and star clusters, and how their environment affects their development.

“There has never before been a star cluster and a stellar catalog that included observations in ultraviolet light,” explained survey leader Daniela Calzetti of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. “Ultraviolet light is a major tracer of the youngest and hottest star populations, which astronomers need to derive the ages of stars and get a complete stellar history. The synergy of the two catalogs combined offers an unprecedented potential for understanding star formation.”

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May 17, 2018

Lunar Palace 1: China’s One-Year Mock Moon Mission in Pictures

Posted by in categories: solar power, space, sustainability

China and India are going to build a Lunar base/colony (I’ve heard) and the Japanese (I’ve heard) want to clad the moon in solar cells and microwave the power to Earth. To different places round the globe depending on the time.


In May 2018, China wrapped up a yearlong mission inside “Lunar Palace 1,” a Beijing facility designed to help the nation prepare to but boots on the moon. See images of the experiment here. (Read our full story here.) Here: Four volunteers take the oath in front of Lunar Palace 1, a facility for conducting bio-regenerative life-support systems experiments key to setting up a lunar base, at the Beijing University for Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA) on May 10, 2017. A ceremony was held in the BUAA that day as eight volunteers in two groups started a 365-day experiment in Lunar Palace 1.

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May 16, 2018

Laser emissions discovered emerging from the Ant Nebula

Posted by in category: space

An international team of astronomers has identified a rare laser phenomenon shining from the heart of the planetary nebula Menzel 3, otherwise known as the Ant Nebula. The discovery suggests the presence of an as yet unseen companion star, hiding at the core of the chaotic cosmic structure.

Menzel 3 is located roughly 8,000 light years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Norma. Discovered by Donald Menzel in the 1920s, it was given the moniker of the Ant Nebula, owing to its apparent similarity to the head and thorax of a garden ant.

The striking object belongs to a specific family of diffuse bodies known as planetary nebula. Despite their suggestive name, the formation of these beautiful structures has nothing to do with planets, and is instead rooted in the demise of middleweight stars similar to our Sun.

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May 16, 2018

European Space Agency receives prototype microgravity 3D printer

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, space

After two years in development, Project MELT (Manufacturing of Experimental Layer Technology) has resurfaced with a prototype microgravity 3D printer.

Made for the European Space Agency (ESA) the Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) breadboard machine is designed to 3D print high performance polymers aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and other off-world locations.

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May 15, 2018

An asteroid the size of the Statue of Liberty is set to narrowly miss Earth tonight

Posted by in category: space

Don’t panic.


An asteroid the size of the Statue of Liberty is set to narrowly miss Earth on Tuesday evening. Luckily, it won’t actually smack into our planet or cause any da.

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May 15, 2018

Gigantic telescope to hunt for universe’s birth

Posted by in category: space

When it’s complete, the Giant Magellan Telescope will be as tall as the Statue of Liberty. On this podcast episode, an astronomy expert explains what the enormous telescope can teach us about the universe.

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May 15, 2018

This DeepMind AI Spontaneously Developed Digital Navigation ‘Neurons’ Like Ours

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI, space

When Google DeepMind researchers trained a neural network to tackle a virtual maze, it spontaneously developed digital equivalents to the specialized neurons called grid cells that mammals use to navigate. Not only did the resulting AI system have superhuman navigation capabilities, the research could provide insight into how our brains work.

Grid cells were the subject of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, alongside other navigation-related neurons. These cells are arranged in a lattice of hexagons, and the brain effectively overlays this pattern onto its environment. Whenever the animal crosses a point in space represented by one of the corners these hexagons, a neuron fires, allowing the animal to track its movement.

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May 14, 2018

The Man Behind Siri Shares His View of the Future of AI

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, space

Babak Hodjat, inventor of the technology that powers Apple’s virtual assistant, speaks to the uncertainties and opportunities in this innovative space.

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