Space – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Earth Is Getting Hit by Too Much Antimatter, and Nobody Knows Why

Posted by Michael Lance in particle physics, space

Nov 8
2018

Amid the high speed cosmic rays raining down on us from the depths of space are a handful of antimatter particles called positrons.

Astronomers think that Earth is showered by these ‘anti-electrons’ because of pulsars, but there’s a weird catch – there are more of these particles coming at us than there should be. And now, thanks to a new study, we might finally get some answers.

Cosmic rays are incredibly fast particles, since they’re being shot down from space at high energies. Positrons make up a small percent of these super speedy particles, but nobody is entirely sure where or how they’re made.

Three asteroids will fly dangerously close to Earth this weekend, NASA warns

Posted by Michael Lance in space

Nov 8
2018

You might want to head to the pub and wait for this to all blow over.

The biggest of the three is predicted to be up to 30 metres wide.

NASA Wants To Probe Uranus In Search Of Gas

Posted by Alberto Lao in space

Nov 7
2018

We hear a lot about Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, and that’s because we have extremely fancy hardware floating around and, in some cases, cruising on the surface of those planets. The planets that lie further away from the Sun don’t get nearly as much attention, but they may soon, as NASA is currently spitballing some missions that will give us a better look at Uranus than we’ve ever gotten.

Watch a spacecraft leave the International Space Station

Posted by Michael Lance in space

Nov 7
2018

After delivering more than five tons of supplies, water, spare parts and experiments, a Japanese cargo spacecraft bids farewell to our orbiting laboratory. Live coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. EST. Details: https://go.nasa.gov/2qz6rOs

Electrical properties of dendrites help explain our brain’s unique computing power

Posted by Marcos Than Esponda in computing, neuroscience, space

Nov 7
2018

We humans are intelligent, other living species are also intelligent but we build bridges and cars, we describe the universe and develop several languages while other species don’t. Well it seems the reason is that: we have a different hardware.

Neurons in human and rat brains carry electrical signals in different ways, scientists find.

LIVE LAUNCH: NASA’s ICON Probe

Posted by Michael Lance in space

Nov 7
2018

Click on photo to start video.

For our space fans who are night owls, join us at 2:45 a.m. as NASA streams the launch of the ICON probe. The probe will study the zone where our terrestrial atmosphere meets space.

Could Solar Radiation Pressure Explain ‘Oumuamua’s Peculiar Acceleration?

Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in space

Nov 6
2018

Abstract: ‘Oumuamua (1I/2017 U1) is the first object of interstellar origin observed in the Solar system.

Recently, Micheli et al. (2018) reported that ‘Oumuamua showed deviationsfrom a Keplerian orbit at a high statistical significance.

NASA’s mission to ‘Touch the Sun’ just reached its first major milestone with close flyby

Posted by Genevieve Klien in space

Nov 6
2018

It’s been a busy month for the Parker Solar Probe which, if you haven’t been keeping track, is currently moving faster than any man-made object ever and also closer to the sun than anything humans have ever built. The spacecraft launched a couple of months back, but it’s finally ready to do some science, and it just made it first close pass by our Sun, which is obviously cause for celebration.

The probe, which will make dozens of passes of the star, achieved its closest distance of this particular loop (called “perihelion”) on Monday night. Now, its handlers back on Earth are eagerly awaiting word from the craft so that it can share whatever information it has gathered.

Ron Howard: Creating vision of a future Mars colony

Posted by Genevieve Klien in habitats, space

Nov 5
2018

To mark the second season of the television series Mars, Hollywood director Ron Howard talked to the BBC about creating a realistic depiction of the first human colonies on the Red Planet.

If humankind is to expand out into the Universe, then Mars is likely to be our first stepping stone. With an atmosphere largely consisting of carbon dioxide and temperatures that vary between 20C and −125C, the Red Planet isn’t exactly ideal for human occupation.

We’d have to adapt to living almost entirely within sealed habitats — so outdoors-y types need not apply.

Astronomers spot one of the oldest stars ever

Posted by Genevieve Klien in space

Nov 5
2018

Our Solar System is incredibly old by human standards. The Sun, sitting in the center, is thought to be just over 4.6 billion years old, which is an almost unfathomable amount of time to you and I. But it’s actually not all that impressive when it comes to stars.

A new survey of one particular star here in our own Milky Way galaxy reveals that it’s a whole lot older than anyone thought. In fact, it’s old enough to make our own star look like a youngster by comparison. The elderly star is called (deep breath) 2MASS J18082002–5104378 B, and what it lacks in a flashy name it more than makes up for in age. Astronomers now believe it to be an incredible 13.5 billion years old.