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Tesla Robotaxi Already a Monster Hit

Questions to inspire discussion.

Autonomous Driving Development.

🔄 Q: What version of the Robotaxi software is Tesla currently working on? A: Tesla’s autonomy team is focused on version 14, which will be merged with the public release for consumer vehicles.

đŸ›Łïž Q: How is Tesla approaching the expansion of its Robotaxi service area? A: Tesla is taking a cautious approach, prioritizing data collection and safety over rapid expansion.

👀 Q: Are Tesla’s Robotaxis currently fully autonomous? A: The service is currently supervised by a human driver, with the goal of eventually removing the safety monitor for fully autonomous operation.

Future Plans and Strategies.

Continue reading “Tesla Robotaxi Already a Monster Hit” | >

White dwarf stars could create surprisingly common long-lived habitable zones

A new study by Manuel Barrientos and colleagues from the University of Oklahoma reveals that between 0.6% and 2.5% of white dwarfs in our solar neighborhood undergo dramatic cooling delays that could extend habitable zones for billions of additional years. The secret lies in an element known as neon-22, which, after carbon and oxygen, is the most abundant element inside white dwarfs.

When white dwarfs contain at least 2.5% neon-22 by mass, they undergo a process called “distillation” as their cores crystallize. The research team discovered this occurs because the solid crystals become depleted in neon-22 compared to the surrounding liquid, making them lighter and causes them to float upward where they melt. This astronomical equivalent of a lava lamp releases enormous amounts of gravitational energy, effectively putting the white dwarf’s cooling on pause for up to 10 billion years.

The neon-22 forms during the star’s lifetime through a well understood process. During the helium burning stage, nitrogen-14 (produced by the CNO cycle) transforms into neon-22. This means stars with higher initial abundances of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen (collectively called “metallicity”) produce more neon-22 in their white dwarf descendants.

NASA Sets Coverage for Northrop Grumman CRS-23, SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch

NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 6:11 p.m. EDT, Sunday, Sept. 14, for the next launch to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. The mission is known as NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 23, or Northrop Grumman CRS-23.

Watch the agency’s launch and arrival coverage on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and more. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Filled with more than 11,000 pounds of supplies, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL spacecraft, carried on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission will be the first flight of the Cygnus XL, the larger, more cargo-capable version of the company’s solar-powered spacecraft.

1st known interstellar visitor ‘Oumuamua is an ’exo-Pluto‘ — a completely new class of object, scientists say

Instead of being a mix of water ice, rock and carbon-rich material left over from the formation of the solar system, ‘Oumuamua appears to be almost pure nitrogen ice. And rather than being a compact ball, the visitor is more elongated than any known body in the solar system and starkly different from the interstellar Comets and , the only other known interstellar visitors.

“‘Oumuamua is in a different category of object,” Desch told Space.com by email. “It’s much harder to find, but there are a lot more of them.”

Planets arise from the cloud of gas and dust left over after a star is born. The first few million years are chaotic as the growing worlds jostle for their place around the young star


The sleep switch that builds muscle, burns fat, and boosts brainpower

UC Berkeley researchers mapped the brain circuits that control growth hormone during sleep, uncovering a feedback system where sleep fuels hormone release, and the hormone regulates wakefulness. The discovery helps explain links between poor sleep, obesity, diabetes, and cognitive decline, while opening new paths for treating sleep and metabolic disorders.

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