Category: Solar System

Our solar system

This time, we take it from no one: Why opening the High Frontier of space can be different (op-ed)

NeRD

As we move closer to the greatest revolution of all time, the opening of the High Frontier of space to humanity, some assert this is somehow a bad thing. Based on inaccurate understandings of history and misplaced projections of those misunderstood times to the future, they are spreading ridiculous and possibly dangerous ideas that what is happening in what I call the Space Revolution is a repeat of the conquests and colonization of history. Wrong. Aside from the fact that we are not taking space from anyone, this time, for…

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‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ reinvigorates an aging ‘Apes’ franchise (review)

NeRD

One of the most underappreciated and longest-running franchises in Hollywood history is “Planet of the Apes,” that imaginative science fiction property which began with the Charlton Heston-led classic from 1968 directed by Franklin J. Schaffner.   Adapted from the 1963 French novel by Pierre Boulle, the plotline centered around astronauts crash landing on a planet in the far future where intelligent simians rule the world and humans are mute feral creatures subjected to all kinds of cruelties. The twist ending of course is that this is no remote alien world,…

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SpaceX Starship’s next launch ‘probably 3 to 5 weeks’ away, Elon Musk says

NeRD

We’re likely still a month or so away from the next launch of SpaceX’s Starship megarocket. That was the timeline Elon Musk offered in a post on X over the weekend, saying Starship’s next test flight is “probably 3 to 5 weeks” away. “Objective is for the ship to get past max heating, or at least further than last time,” the billionaire entrepreneur added.  The 400-foot-tall (122 meters) Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. It consists of two elements, both of which are designed to be…

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How a giant sunspot created aurora mayhem this weekend

NeRD

2024 has been quite the year for spectacular space shows, some of them visible from our own backyards. First, it was the total solar eclipse at the beginning of April. Then, late last week, the sun became the “star” attraction yet again: A huge sunspot launched a series of solar storms that supercharged the aurora, making the ethereal sight visible from much of the United States, Europe and many other parts of the globe. Personally, after being completely overwhelmed with emotion experiencing the total solar eclipse in Dallas, I thought…

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Scientists could make blazing-fast 6G using curving light rays

NeRD

The future of cellular data transfer could lie in “curving” light beams midair to deliver 6G wireless networks with blazing-fast speeds — bypassing the need for line of sight between transmitter and receivers.  In a new study published March 30 in the journal Nature’s Communications Engineering, researchers explained how they developed a transmitter that can dynamically adjust the waves needed to support future 6G signals.  The most advanced cellular communications standard is 5G. Expected to be thousands of times faster, 6G will begin rolling out in 2030, according to the…

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‘Extreme’ solar storms cook up sweet Mother’s Day auroras for Moms everywhere

NeRD

Want to save all the calories from Mother’s Day brunch? You may still be able to “sweeten” the holiday with a view of the ramped-up northern lights again tonight (May 12)! Plasma from a powerful solar eruption called a coronal mass ejection (CME) slammed into Earth on Friday (May 10), sparking an intense geomagnetic storm. One of the effects was a supercharged northern lights display, which provided skywatchers in much of the U.S. and other regions around the world with absolutely mesmerizing aurora views over the weekend. “The aurora may…

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Powerful sun storms could give us a great aurora show for Mother’s Day

NeRD

Want to save all the calories from Mother’s Day brunch? You may still be able to “sweeten” the holiday with a view of the ramped-up northern lights again tonight (May 12)! Plasma from a powerful solar eruption called a coronal mass ejection (CME) slammed into Earth on Friday (May 10), sparking an intense geomagnetic storm. One of the effects was a supercharged aurora, which provided skywatchers in much of the U.S. and other regions around the world with absolutely mesmerizing views of the northern lights. And the show could continue…

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The stormy sun erupts with its biggest solar flare yet from a massive sunspot — and it’s still crackling (video)

NeRD

Just when we thought we’d seen the most powerful flares from a colossal sunspot, the sun unleashed its strongest eruption of the weekend yet, triggering a radio blackout even as the star continues to crackle with solar storms.  According to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), the dynamic solar flare occurred late Saturday (May 10) from an active sunspot region called AR3664. It peaked at 9:23 p.m. EDT (0123 May 11 GMT), registering as a massive X5.8 class flare, SWPC officials said. As a result, parts of some of the…

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Houston, we have an encore: ISS virtual reality experience ‘The Infinite’ returns

NeRD

What do you do for an encore after you have virtually transported thousands of Houstonians to the International Space Station? If you are Felix & Paul Studios, you invite them back to fly to the moon. “Space Explorers: THE INFINITE,” which three years ago made its U.S. premiere in Houston, is now back in Space City for a limited second run. The interactive and immersive experience is again inviting the public to explore a virtual, life-size replica of the International Space Station (ISS), letting them almost feel what it is…

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Watch monster flare-spewing sunspot grow to be 15 times wider than Earth (video)

NeRD

If there were a Page Six for what’s going on in space, the sunspot region AR3664 would definitely be one of the biggest “stars” highlighted. Over the past few days, the region has grown to be roughly 124,300 miles (200,000 kilometers) wide — more than 15 times the diameter of Earth. You can see this dramatic evolution in a new time-lapse video, which consists of imagery gathered by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. And AR3664 is active as well as enormous: It keeps firing off powerful solar flares and coronal mass…

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