The artificial intelligence (AI) program DeepMind has gotten closer to proving a math conjecture that’s bedeviled mathematicians for decades and revealed another new conjecture that may unravel how mathematicians understand knots. The two pure math conjectures are the first-ever important advances in pure mathematics (or math not directly linked to any non-math application) generated by artificial intelligence, the researchers reported Dec. 1 in the journal Nature. Conjectures are mathematical ideas that are suspected to be true but have yet to be proven in all circumstances. Machine-learning algorithms have previously been used to generate such theoretical…
Read MoreMonth: December 2021
Celebrating the Holiday Season in Space
The Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year holidays are typically joyful events spent with family and friends. Astronauts and cosmonauts who happen to be in space during the holidays have found their own unique way to celebrate the occasions.
Read MoreNASA Selects Four University Teams for Aviation Projects
NASA’s research focus on sustainable aviation will get some big help from teams of university faculty and students recently selected to participate in the agency’s University Leadership Initiative (ULI).
Read MoreJames Webb Telescope Rolls to the Pad Aboard an Ariane 5 Rocket
Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope onboard, is rolled out to the launch pad, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021.
Read MoreTop 20 Kennedy Space Center Highlights from 2021
A look at the top stories at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in 2021.
Read MoreWhere Ideas Go to Grow
James Smith created the JPL University Crowdsourcing Initiative (JUCI) to pair JPLers with a volunteer workforce hungry for challenges.
Read MoreBest beginner drones
Navigating the market to find the best beginner drones available is getting easier all the time. But to give you a head start in your search we’ve compiled a list of best beginner-friendly options that will suit all budgets and requirements. Whether you’re looking for something small and cheap to get started or a more advanced model that will take you from beginner to enthusiast, you’re in the right place. Some models, while sitting firmly in the beginner category, also offer features that make them suitable for even professional use,…
Read MoreAstronomers find record-breaking haul of starless ‘rogue’ planets
Astronomers have discovered dozens of new “rogue” planets, roughly doubling the known number of these mysterious free-roaming worlds. A team of researchers found a collection of at least 70 exoplanets without parent stars — the largest single group of rogue planets ever found — in a patch of space about 420 light-years from Earth, a new study reports. “We did not know how many to expect and are excited to have found so many,” study lead author Núria Miret-Roig, an astronomer at the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux in France and…
Read MoreVenus Farewell, Moonless Skies for the Quadrantids
Venus presents a stunning crescent at dusk before switching over to the morning sky early next month. After dodging the Moon for the Geminids, it’s dark skies all around for the Quadrantid meteor shower. The post Venus Farewell, Moonless Skies for the Quadrantids appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreBest DSLR cameras
DSLRs are probably the most popular types of digital cameras in the photography industry, taking the lead after analogue SLRs went out of fashion in the early to mid 2000s. Now though, there’s a new paradigm with modern mirrorless cameras pushing technology further and offering some advances over DSLR models. However, the heritage and well-established builds of DSLRs have led to some of the most reliable and durable imaging cameras in the world. So while they may be slowly surpassed by mirrorless, they’re certainly still a viable option either for…
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