Micro stories - small news bits too small to have their own thread

[SvenSvensonov]

A Remarkable Direct Image Of A Nearby Super-Jupiter

You’re looking at the closest exoplanet ever directly imaged from Earth.

To date, astronomers have catalogued nearly 2,000 extrasolar planets. Of these, a precious few have actually been photographed. That red blotch you see above is now the closest exoplanet for which a direct image and spectrum has been obtained.

Typically, exoplanets are observed indirectly using such techniques as the transit method, or by measuring changes in the radial velocity of host stars. In the vast majority of cases, astronomers aren’t able to detect the light from these planets due to their extreme distance from observational equipment. But VHS J1256b—a gas giant located 40 light-years from Earth—is close enough, bright enough, and distant enough from its host star to be seen and distinguished by our telescopes. The direct image of VHS J1256b, along with its spectral signature, was acquired by scientists at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canaries (IAC), the Centre of Astrobiology (CAB), and the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT).

At about 11 times the mass of Jupiter, this massive planet orbits a red dwarf at a distance of 100 AU, which is about 20 times further than Jupiter’s distance from the Sun. Because VHS J1256b is so far from its host star, the astronomers were able to isolate its full spectral range, including ultraviolet rays, X-rays, and infrared.

This system is quite young, with an estimated age between 150- and 300-million years old, making it about 15- to 30-times younger than our Solar System. It’s possible that this is what Jupiter looked like some 4.2-billion years ago.

“As it is young its atmosphere is still relatively warm, around 1,200 degrees C and it is still sufficiently luminous for us to be able to detect it with the VISTA telescope of the European Southern Observatory (ESO),” noted Bartosz Gauza in a statement. He’s the first author on the paper, which now appears in the Astrophysical Journal.

The planet’s spectrum was obtained by the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC) at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory and the New Technology Telescope (NTT) at the La Silla Observatory.

According to study co-author Antonio Pérez-Garrido from the Polytechnic University of Cartagen: “This study was possible thanks to the software techniques which we have developed in our group and which allowed us to detect, among tens of millions of sources, those which move in the sky, and to pick out those which have companions — in this case a planet orbiting a red dwarf — with a common proper motion”.

The spectral signature of VHS J1256b indicated traces of water vapor and alkali metals, but not methane, which came as a surprise.

 

[Transhumanist]

Watch F-35Bs Hover In For A Landing Off A Fake Ship Deck In The Desert

As the F-35B closes in on its (somewhat arbitrary) Initial Operational Capability date, crews have been expanding their flight training. Part of that includes Field Carrier Landing Practice where pilots hone their abilities at handling the aircraft around the tight confines of a amphibious assault ship – or at least a really convincing mock-up.

The short takeoff at the very end is especially edgy to watch as the jet slowly gains momentum at post-stall speeds low over ground:

 

[SvenSvensonov]

This Is How You Inspect an Exotic Spacecraft Heat Shield

When NASA’s Orion crew module re-entered Earth’s atmosphere in 2014 tests, it did so covered in 180 small squares of an advanced heat-shielding material called Avcoat. Now, NASA’s research scientists are inspecting them to find out how they worked. Yes, that does appear to be a vacuum cleaner.

The 16.5-foot-diameter heat shield is being inspected at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. But despite the cleaning equipment pictured, the set-up being used by NASA to inspect the material is really rather special. NASA explains:

It was installed in the center’s state-of-the-art, seven-axis milling machine, which uses precision, computer-aided tools able to fluidly maneuver in a variety of ways to manufacture parts and cut large metal or composite materials or structures... The milling machine boasts a fixed, rotating structure that enables researchers to easily inspect the 5,000-pound heat shield and remove samples of the ablated, or slowly incinerated, material from its surface.

Removal of the samples will consume a team’s attention for the whole of May; then, the entire heat shield will be smoothed off using the same equipment. The samples will be sent to NASA’s Ames facility to be further analyzed, while the shield itself will be headed for further water impact testing.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

GE 3D-Printed a Miniature Jet Engine That Runs at 33,000 RPM

Curious about just how far they could take the company’s additive manufacturing technology, engineers at GE Aviation’s Additive Development Center in Cincinnati successfully created a simple jet engine, made entirely from 3D printed parts, that was able to rev up to 33,000 RPM.

The additive manufacturing process that GE Aviation uses relies on a laser to melt layer after layer of metal powder until eventually a custom part is build up. It’s similar to how a 3D printer like the MakerBot works, but being made from actual metal some of these parts have already been approved for use in planes by the FAA.

The miniature jet engine the engineers at GE built was actually a modified version of one you’d find in an RC model plane. As a result, it’s incredibly simple and basic compared to the jet engines powering modern airliners. But the experiment helps add credence to the idea that 3D printing will eventually be used for more than just plastic trinkets. Eventually it will become an essential part of modern manufacturing.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

GE 3D-Printed a Miniature Jet Engine That Runs at 33,000 RPM

Curious about just how far they could take the company’s additive manufacturing technology, engineers at GE Aviation’s Additive Development Center in Cincinnati successfully created a simple jet engine, made entirely from 3D printed parts, that was able to rev up to 33,000 RPM.

The additive manufacturing process that GE Aviation uses relies on a laser to melt layer after layer of metal powder until eventually a custom part is build up. It’s similar to how a 3D printer like the MakerBot works, but being made from actual metal some of these parts have already been approved for use in planes by the FAA.

The miniature jet engine the engineers at GE built was actually a modified version of one you’d find in an RC model plane. As a result, it’s incredibly simple and basic compared to the jet engines powering modern airliners. But the experiment helps add credence to the idea that 3D printing will eventually be used for more than just plastic trinkets. Eventually it will become an essential part of modern manufacturing.

haha half way to a Terminator takeover!

But more like people will be building these once the plans get on the Internet

 

[SvenSvensonov]

NASA's Kepler Mission Discovered 1,000 Planets In Its Quest to Find Life

It was six years ago this month that NASA shot the Kepler telescope to the heavens on a galactic, planet-finding mission. Today, the space agency released this graphic that could also be Kepler’s mic-dropping resume.

Launched on March 6, 2009, Kepler’s duty is pinpointing stars in our galaxy that sport orbiting exoplanets (like sun does with Earth). NASA is especially interested in those exoplanets that fall in the “habitable zone”—that sweet spot where an exoplanet is just close enough to a life-giving star that the planet could have an atmosphere that produces water, and, in turn, foster living organisms.

The telescope’s mondo powerful light sensor is what’s used to find the locations of Earth-sized planets that might dwell in the habitable zone. The sensor spots minuscule changes in brightness around certain stars—these brightness changes suggest an exoplanet that’s orbiting its star.

That’s not an easy task, though. According to NASA’s press release:

For a remote observer, Earth transiting the sun would dim its light by less than 1/100th of one percent, or the equivalent of the amount of light blocked by a gnat crawling across a car’s headlight viewed from several miles away.

Now according to the data released today, Kepler: Exoplanet Hunter has discovered over 1,000 of these in only six years. Can we give this spacecraft a raise?

 

[Transhumanist]

haha half way to a Terminator takeover!

But more like people will be building these once the plans get on the Internet

I've noticed (a few pages back) liquid metal motors - moving under they own power, are a thing now. Terminator here we come!

A Plane Took a Wrong Turn and Ended Up in a Cloud of Antimatter

Where the hell did the antimatter come from? That’s what atmospheric scientist Joseph Dwyer has been trying to figure out for the past six years, after his research plane accidentally flew through a thunderstorm into a cloud of antimatter in 2009.

Dwyer’s plane was outfitted to detect atmospheric gamma-rays (or γ-rays), high-energy photons that can be caused by cosmic rays colliding into the atmosphere or by intense lightning storms. Here’s what happened on that stormy day in 2009, as recounted by Nature:

It was to study such atmospheric γ-rays that Dwyer, then at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, fitted a particle detector on a Gulfstream V, a type of jet plane typically used by business executives. On 21 August 2009, the pilots turned towards what looked, from its radar profile, to be the Georgia coast. “Instead, it was a line of thunderstorms — and we were flying right through it,” Dwyer says. The plane rolled violently back and forth and plunged suddenly downwards. “I really thought I was going to die.”

But Dwyer survived and his particle detector ended up detecting three 511-kiloelectronvolt gamma-rays spikes. Here’s another thing you should know about gamma-rays: They can also be the result of an electron colliding with its antiparticle, a positron. Particles of matter and antiparticles of antimatter have the same mass but opposite properties such as charge, and they instantly annihilate when their counterparts collide, turning into things like gamma-rays. As our universe is made of matter, the presence of antimatter is usually fleeting.

And the 511 kiloelectronvolt gamma-ray spikes were a smoking gun for electron-positron annihilation. A few more calculations led Dwyer to the conclusion that the plane was surrounded by a small cloud of positrons.

But where did these positrons, the antimatter, come from? Intense thunderstorms can indeed produce positrons, but other data from this storm led the scientists to rule that explanation out. Same with cosmic rays, which should have caused other types of radiation to show up in the data.

Dwyer ended up publishing his results after failing to come up an explanation. But Nature reports he is now planning to send balloons and even another plane into a thunderstorm to collect more data and get to the bottom of the mysterious antimatter.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

I've noticed (a few pages back) liquid metal motors - moving under they own power, are a thing now. Terminator here we come!.

Oh it's getting scary...

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Brain-like circuit performs human tasks for the first time

There are already computer chips with brain-like functions, but having them perform brain-like tasks? That's another challenge altogether. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara aren't daunted, however -- they've used a basic, 100-synapse neural circuit to perform the typical human task of image classification for the first time. The memristor-based technology (which, by its nature, behaves like an 'analog' brain) managed to identify letters despite visual noise that complicated the task, much as you would spot a friend on a crowded street. Conventional computers can do this, but they'd need a much larger, more power-hungry chip to replicate the same pseudo-organic behavior.

This is far from ushering in truly complex neural computers that replicate human intelligence down to a tee. You'd need many more artificial synapses to achieve tasks that require a subtler understanding of what's going on, like recognizing what should be in a scene based on what's there. That should only be a matter of time, though, and the scientists believe there's an interim step in the near future where a memristor network pairs with a traditional processor to perform more sophisticated tasks. Don't be surprised if you eventually see phones with genuinely smart navigation apps, or medical imaging systems that identify conditions which would otherwise be hard to find.

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Put this on an air-to-air missile and you won't be able to jam/confuse it. It will see and understand the target.

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Ebola lives on in survivor's eye - Telegraph

Ebola virus has been detected for the first time in an eye of a patient months after it vanished from his blood - and in a bizarre medical twist, the virus also changed his eye colour.

Dr. Ian Crozier, an American doctor, was diagnosed with Ebola in September 2014 while working in Sierra Leone with the World Health Organisation.

He was sent back to the United States to Emory University Hospital's special Ebola unit in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr Crozier left the hospital in October when Ebola was no longer detected in his blood, the New England Journal of Medicine reported Thursday.

But two months later he developed an inflammation and very high blood pressure in his left eye. It caused swelling and serious vision problems.

He returned to the same hospital where he had been treated, and an ophthalmologist, Dr. Steven Yeh, removed some of the fluid and tested it for Ebola. It did in fact contain the virus, but it was not present in his tears or the tissue around his eye.

Doctors believed he did not pose a risk of infecting other people, but Yeh said the case shows that survivors of the deadly virus should be monitored for possible eye infection. It is not known how long this condition can last.

The infection caused an inflammation of the inside of his eye.

Besides the problems with his vision, his iris changed color, going from blue to green 10 days after the symptoms were first detected.

After undergoing treatment with a variety of medicines, Crozier began to recover his vision but it is still not complete. And his eye color returned to normal.

The worst ever outbreak of Ebola began in southern Guinea in December 2013 before spreading to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The death toll now exceeds 11,000, the World Health Organisation reported this week.

Cases of eye inflammation had been reported among survivors of Ebola in previous, limited epidemics and among people with a virus known as Marburg, which is similar to Ebola. But such cases are rare, the medical journal said.

In the current epidemic, some cases of people with eye trouble have been reported among survivors of Ebola.

Dr. John Fankhausser, chief of medicine at ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia, said chronic pain, headaches and eye trouble were the problems most often cited by 100-odd survivors who attended a meeting at that hospital.

Around 40 percent suffered pain and inflammation in the eyes, he told The New York Times.

But the proportion of survivors who suffer these problems is still not known, the medical journal said.

It has already been established that the Ebola virus can persist in semen for several months after a patient is declared healthy.

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New Centimeter-Accurate GPS System Could Transform Virtual Reality and Mobile Devices | UT News | The University of Texas at Austin

AUSTIN, Texas — Researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a centimeter-accurate GPS-based positioning system that could revolutionize geolocation on virtual reality headsets, cellphones and other technologies, making global positioning and orientation far more precise than what is currently available on a mobile device.

The researchers’ new system could allow unmanned aerial vehicles to deliver packages to a specific spot on a consumer’s back porch, enable collision avoidance technologies on cars and allow virtual reality (VR) headsets to be used outdoors. The researchers’ new centimeter-accurate GPS coupled with a smartphone camera could be used to quickly build a globally referenced 3-D map of one’s surroundings that would greatly expand the radius of a VR game. Currently, VR does not use GPS, which limits its use to indoors and usually a two- to three-foot radius.

“Imagine games where, rather than sit in front of a monitor and play, you are in your backyard actually running around with other players,” said Todd Humphreys, assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics and lead researcher. “To be able to do this type of outdoor, multiplayer virtual reality game, you need highly accurate position and orientation that is tied to a global reference frame.”

Humphreys and his team in the Radionavigation Lab have built a low-cost system that reduces location errors from the size of a large car to the size of a nickel — a more than 100 times increase in accuracy. Humphreys collaborated with Professor Robert W. Heath from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and graduate students on the new technology, which they describe in a recent issue of GPS World.

Centimeter-accurate positioning systems are already used in geology, surveying and mapping, but the survey-grade antennas these systems employ are too large and costly for use in mobile devices. The breakthrough by Humphreys and his team is a powerful and sensitive software-defined GPS receiver that can extract centimeter accuracies from the inexpensive antennas found in mobile devices — such precise measurements were not previously possible. The researchers anticipate that their software’s ability to leverage low-cost antennas will reduce the overall cost of centimeter accuracy, making it economically feasible for mobile devices.

Humphreys and his team have spent six years building a specialized receiver, called GRID, to extract so-called carrier phase measurements from low-cost antennas. GRID currently operates outside the phone, but it will eventually run on the phone’s internal processor.

To further develop this technology, Humphreys and his students recently co-founded a startup, called Radiosense. Humphreys and his team are working with Samsung to develop a snap-on accessory that will tell smartphones, tablets and virtual reality headsets their precise position and orientation.

The researchers designed their system to deliver precise position and orientation information — how one’s head rotates or tilts — to less than one degree of measurement accuracy. This level of accuracy could enhance VR environments that are based on real-world settings, as well as improve other applications, including visualization and 3-D mapping.

Additionally, the researchers believe their technology could make a significant difference in people’s daily lives, including transportation, where centimeter-accurate GPS could lead to better vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology.

“If your car knows in real time the precise position and velocity of an approaching car that is blocked from view by other traffic, your car can plan ahead to avoid a collision,” Humphreys said.

Samsung provided funding to Humphreys’ Radionavigation Lab at UT Austin for the centimeter-accurate global positioning system research and plans to continue funding related basic research.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Ebola lives on in survivor's eye - Telegraph

Eye-bola! I'll see myself out.

 

[Aepsilons]

Eye-bola! I'll see myself out.

LOL!

korny!

 

[SvenSvensonov]

NASA Is Considering The Use Of Soft Robotic Squids To Explore Europa

NASA has chosen its next batch of proposals under its advanced concepts program, including the use of soft-robotic rovers for exploring gas-giant moons, and autonomous robots capable of crawling, hopping, and rolling around the surface of the Moon.

Under Phase I of NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, selected participants are given $100,000 to fund a nine-month initial definition and analysis of the proposed concepts. Proposals that pass this initial phase will be granted upwards of $500,000 for two additional years of concept development. The point of the program is to encourage the development of futuristic technologies NASA can use to explore both the Earth and Solar System.

One of the more interesting proposals calls for a soft robotic squid/eel hybrid. The device would be equipped with a short antenna on its back to draw power from changing magnetic fields. The aquatic rover could be used to explore the subsurface oceans on Europa and Enceladus.

Another concept would see the deployment of “atmospheric satellites” above Earth. As a NASA release explains:

[T]wo glider-like unmanned aerial vehicles [would be] connected by an ultra-strong cable at different altitudes that sail without propulsion. The vehicle would use wind shear in the lower stratosphere (approximately 60,000 ft.), similar to a kite surfer, where the upper aircraft provides lift and aerodynamic thrust, and the lower aircraft provides an upwind force to keep it from drifting downwind. If successful, this atmospheric satellite could remain in the stratosphere for years, enabling NASA’s Earth science missions, monitoring capabilities or aircraft navigation at a fraction of the cost of orbital satellite networks.

There’s also the CRICKET program, the use of inexpensive biomimetic robots — like crawlers, hoppers, and small-soccer-ball style buckyball-bots — to explore the moon and other planetary bodies. These machines would be used to search for volatiles such as hydrogen, nitrogen, and water, along with developing hi-res maps.

Exciting stuff! You can find out more here and here.

 

[Transhumanist]

Eye-bola! I'll see myself out.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

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Say Hi To Pluto's Smallest Moons

After nine years and a 3 billion mile journey, NASA’s New Horizons probe is finally getting closeto everyone’s favorite ex-planet, Pluto. And in doing so, she’s also captured the first ever family portrait of Pluto and all its little moons.

So far, we’ve seen five moons orbiting Pluto: Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, and Styx. (Yes, this does sound like the beginning of a Greek odyssey to capture a golden fleece.) Kerberos and Styx were only found by the Hubble Space Telescope back in 2011 and 2012, thanks to the distances involved, and their diminutive size: at most, they’re 20 and 13 miles wide, respectively.

To obtain the image you see above, New Horizons used its most sensitive camera, the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager, shooting 10-second exposures. From there, the NASA team managing the mission did some serious ENHANCE work to end up with a photo in which you can kinda-sorta-maybe make out the moons.

As New Horizons gets closer to Pluto, there’s a distinct chance that we’ll spot new moons, ones that are simply too small and too far away to have been detected before. The Solar System isn’t done with secrets yet.

 

[Transhumanist]

This Magnetic Shield Will Push the Boundaries of Particle Physics

This chamber might not look empty—but in fact it’s missing something that usually permeates every space on Earth: magnetic fields. And it will help physicists in the quest for a unifying Theory of Everything.

In fact, it’s the first magnetic shield to be built that provides a space with an extremely low magnetic field over a large volume. Built by a team of international scientists, the device will allow researchers to measure properties of fundamental particles that are usually clouded by the Earth’s ambient magnetic fields. In turn, it’s hoped that they’ll gain a better understanding of the physics of some of the most exotic particles we know of.

In the Journal of Applied Physics, the researchers explain that the device provides more than 10 times better magnetic shielding than previous shields. “The apparatus might be compared to cuboid Russian nesting dolls,” Tobias Lins, one of the researchers, told PhysOrg. “Like the dolls, most layers can be used individually and with an increasing number of layers the inside is more and more protected.” PhysOrg describes how they managed it:

The team’s big breakthrough came from in-depth numerical modeling of the arrangement of the precision treated magnetizable alloy, resulting in significantly optimized design details, like thickness, connections and spacing of layers. The materials in magnetic shields change their magnetization due to environmental influences, like temperature changes and vibrations caused by passing cars, and these shifts can be passed to the inside of the shield. The thinner sheets in the new design enabled a better balancing of the magnetic field in the metal, resulting in the smallest and most homogenous magnetic field ever created within the shielded space, even beating the average ambient magnetic field of the interstellar medium.

The ability minimize the presence of magnetic fields will allow the researchers to detect tiny fluctuations in particle properties which could otherwise go unnoticed. Teams are already using it to measure the distribution of electric charges on an isotope of xenon, and soon it will be used to look for magnetic monopoles—which are theoretically predicted but have never yet been physically detected.

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A unifying theory of everything? 42 obviously... oh, you wanted me to show my work. There I go, straight to the answer again.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

The Mysterious Bands Crisscrossing Jupiter's Moon Europa May Be Sea Salt

The icy white surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa is streaked in yellow-brown, cracks made by the ocean below. These dark streaks hint at the chemical composition of the ocean, which is one of the top places to search for alien life. Here’s encouraging news: The dark color may come from sea salt—the same stuff in our oceans.

The new study by NASA scientist comes by way of “Europa in a can,” a lab set-up mimicking the surface conditions of Europa. The team took sodium chloride, also known as table salt, and put it inside a minus 280 degrees Fahrenheit vacuum chamber, bombarding it with radiation like that from Jupiter’s magnetic field. After several hours—equivalent to a century’s worth of radiation from Jupiter—the salt turned brown, the same color as the cracks on the surface of Europa. The longer the bombardment, the darker the color.

Previous observations by NASA’s Galileo telescope have suggested the color comes from interactions with sulfur and magnesium on the moon’s surface. But this new study adds sodium chloride to the equation. Earth’s oceans are dominated by sodium chloride, and the results suggest Europa’s ocean could be as well.

We won’t know for sure until we visit Europa and get better images of the surface. And you know what, NASA wants to do just that.