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Dec 1, 2018
The top AI scientist who quit Google over Chinese censorship plans details the hypocrisy that sent him packing
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: robotics/AI
Jack Poulson is the former Google Senior Research Scientist who quit the company’s machine learning division over Project Dragonfly, the company’s secret plan to build a censoring Chinese search engine designed to help the country’s spies surveil dissident search activity.
In an editorial on The Intercept, Poulson describes the series of events that led up to his resignation: a chain of execs who, in private meetings and public statements, engaged in hypocritical deflection and spin rather than giving the straight answer about why they were going to go into China and what the result of that would be (answers: “To make money,” and “complicity in human rights abuses”).
Dec 1, 2018
Andromeda Galaxy Twinkles in a Colorful Sea of Stars (Photo)
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space
Miguel Claro is a professional photographer, author and science communicator based in Lisbon, Portugal, who creates spectacular images of the night sky. As a European Southern Observatory Photo Ambassador and member of The World At Night and the official astrophotographer of the Dark Sky Alqueva Reserve, he specializes in astronomical “Skyscapes” that connect both Earth and night sky. Join Miguel here as he takes us through his photograph “The Colourful Spiral Galaxy of Andromeda.”
Around the same time that the first human ancestors of the genus Homo roamed the Earth, light from the Milky Way’s closest neighboring galaxy began its 2.5 million-year trek to our planet, creating the image we see today.
Homo, the genus that includes modern humans, is estimated to be between 1.5 and 2.5 million years old. Meanwhile, the Andromeda galaxy (M31) is 2.5 million light-years away from Earth. In the amount of time it took for that light to reach us, humans have evolved from the stone tool-wielding Homo habilis up to the point where we have the necessary technology to construct powerful telescopes, giving us the capability to observe, study, photograph and understand the wonders of the vast universe. [Andromeda Galaxy Photos: Amazing Pictures of M31].
Dec 1, 2018
New Research Could Rewrite Physics From the Ground Up
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: cosmology, particle physics
Four researchers came together to propose the addition of six novel particles to tackle five enduring issues within the current Standard Model Theory. This new proposed model, detailed in APS Physics, is named SMASH for “Standard Model Axion See-saw Higgs portal inflation.” The team proposed that particles rho and axion could explain inflation and dark matter respectively, along with three heavy right-handed neutrinos.
With these findings, the researchers hope to answer the following questions about the Standard Model:
Continue reading “New Research Could Rewrite Physics From the Ground Up” »
Dec 1, 2018
We mourn the passing of former President George H.W. Bush, a leader who was a passionate advocate for space exploration
Posted by Michael Lance in categories: futurism, space travel
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine reflects on the former president’s contributions to our space program by saying, “The President noted it was humanity’s destiny to explore, and America’s destiny to lead. We salute this great American leader, who challenged us to chart a course for the future to benefit all humanity.”
Dec 1, 2018
Steadily easing into my workflow
Posted by Michael Lance in categories: robotics/AI, space
It’s been a busy few days and now, a new picture of Mars without the camera lens cover. Plus, a new view from my robotic arm camera. Read: http://go.nasa.gov/2Q6txLp&h=AT2OsODL_mwl4ybu3wGRiR812vXmG4B…tm_fqcCRzw
More Mars pics: go.nasa.gov/InSightRaws
Dec 1, 2018
Neil deGrasse Tyson under investigation at Fox after 3 women accuse him of sexual misconduct
Posted by Michael Lance in category: futurism
- Fox and the producers of “Cosmos” have opened an investigation into multiple sexual misconduct claims against the show’s host, astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson.
- Dr. Katelyn N. Allers of Bucknell University claimed deGrasse Tyson groped her at an event in 2009.
- Another woman, Ashley Watson, claimed that she quit her former job as Tyson’s assistant in response to repeated inappropriate sexual advances he made toward her.
- Both allegations came to light roughly a year after musician Tchiya Amet claimed that Tyson raped her when they were both graduate students.
Fox and the producers of the television series “Cosmos” have opened an investigation into multiple sexual misconduct claims against the show’s host, Neil deGrasse Tyson. The move follows a report on the website Patheos in which two women accused Tyson of inappropriate sexual behavior.
“The credo at the heart of ‘Cosmos’ is to follow the evidence wherever it leads,” the producers said in a joint statement. “The producers of ‘Cosmos’ can do no less in this situation. We are committed to a thorough investigation of this matter and to act accordingly as soon as it is concluded.”
To get to the Moon, Mars and beyond: we’re going to need a bigger boat. NASA’s Space Launch System will be the largest rocket ever assembled. So how do you build a rocket of unprecedented size? Find out: https://go.nasa.gov/2reryWv&h=AT1kQENIbN8mgnEjOtOB961e5lWIk9…o6EX1Flehg
Dec 1, 2018
NASA Astronaut May Be Among Last to Launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome
Posted by Alberto Lao in category: space travel
NASA astronaut Anne McClain is expected to take her first spaceflight aboard Soyuz, as every U.S. astronaut has done since 2011 — but she may be one of the last.