Space Interesting Research & Theory

[colin traveller]

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[BCNTM]

Japan developing wooden satellites to cut space junk

A Japanese forestry firm has partnered with Kyoto University in what would be a world first.

www.bbc.co.uk

Wooden Satellites

 

[Penny]

Scientists Levitate Tiny Plastic Plate Using Just Light​

The Disney-like breakthrough could further our understanding of Mars' atmosphere.

Using the energy from a set of LEDs in a vacuum chamber, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have managed to get two small plastic plates to hover using nothing but light, Wired reports.While scientists have previously used the same physical phenomenon to float invisible aerosols in microfluidic devices, an object big enough to grasp was never moved before, making the study, published in Science Advances, a breakthrough.

The researchers were able to have the Mylar plates, each as wide as a pencil’s diameter, hovering by using nothing but the energy from the light below. The hovering happens thanks to the energy from the LEDs heating up the Mylar's specially coated underbelly. This energizes the air particles under the plastic and thrusts the plates away with a slight wind.

The "magic carpet" might sound rather abstract; however, this technology could actually be utilized to learn more about the mesosphere. Lying between 50 and 85 kilometers (31 and 53 miles) above our heads, this high-up region of the atmosphere is pretty difficult to study since we don't have access to it. This is a bit of a nuisance since the pressure in Mars' atmosphere is similar to Earth’s mesosphere, implying that studying our mesosphere could help us develop technologies for Mars.

Article Link: https://interestingengineering.com/scientists-levitate-tiny-plastic-plate-using-just-light

 

[morris]

Russia deploys giant space telescope in Lake Baikal

Russian scientists on Saturday launched one of the world's biggest underwater space telescopes to peer deep into the universe from the pristine waters of Lake Baikal.

phys.org

The deep underwater telescope, which has been under construction since 2015, is designed to observe neutrinos, the smallest particles currently known.

Dubbed Baikal-GVD, the telescope was submerged to a depth of 750-1,300 meters (2,500-4,300 feet), around four kilometres from the lake's shore.

High-energy neutrino astronomy and the Baikal-GVD neutrino telescope

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2011.09209.pdf

 

[Picanha]

Some nuclear fusion:


Inside JET: The world's biggest nuclear fusion experiment | On Location

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ITER machine: phase-one assembly

In this video drawn directly from ITER CAD data, you can follow the step-by-step progression of component installation in the Tokamak pit. The first two pieces (the base and lower cylinder of the cryostat) are already in place; see what comes next as the 23,000-tonne ITER machine is built

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Stellarators - The Future of Fusion Energy [2020]

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Wendelstein-7X Plasma Video

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[Penny]

NASA Spacecraft Unmask High-Energy Blast That Swept Through the Solar System – Magnetar Eruption in Nearby Galaxy​

On April 15, 2020, a brief burst of high-energy light swept through the solar system, triggering instruments on several NASA and European spacecraft. Now, multiple international science teams conclude that the blast came from a supermagnetized stellar remnant known as a magnetar located in a neighboring galaxy.

This finding confirms long-held suspicions that some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) – cosmic eruptions detected in the sky almost daily – are in fact powerful flares from magnetars relatively close to home.

“This has always been regarded as a possibility, and several GRBs observed since 2005 have provided tantalizing evidence,” said Kevin Hurley, a Senior Space Fellow with the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, who joined several scientists to discuss the burst at the virtual 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society. “The April 15 event is a game-changer because we found that the burst almost certainly lies within the disk of the nearby galaxy NGC 253.”

Article Link: https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-space...ar-system-magnetar-eruption-in-nearby-galaxy/

 

[Penny]

NASA's Parker Solar Probe Discovers Natural Radio Emission in Venus' Atmosphere​

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[Penny]

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Sees Venus Orbital Dust Ring in 1st Complete View​

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission has given scientists the first complete look at Venus’ orbital dust ring, a collection of microscopic dust particles that circulates around the Sun along Venus’ orbit. Though earlier missions have made some observations of Venus’ orbital dust ring, Parker Solar Probe’s images are the first to show the planet’s dust ring for nearly its entire 360-degree span around the Sun.

Article Link: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddar...enus-orbital-dust-ring-in-first-complete-view

 

[morris]

Meteorite protection on the ISS. Equipment for monitoring small objects of the "Otklik" experiment.

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English subtitles available.

 

[Penny]

In the Emptiness of Space 14 Billion Miles Away, Voyager I Detects “Hum” From Plasma Waves​

Voyager 1 — one of two sibling NASA spacecraft launched 44 years ago and now the most distant human-made object in space — still works and zooms toward infinity.

The craft has long since zipped past the edge of the solar system through the heliopause — the solar system’s border with interstellar space — into the interstellar medium. Now, its instruments have detected the constant drone of interstellar gas (plasma waves), according to Cornell University-led research published in Nature Astronomy.

Article Link: https://scitechdaily.com/in-the-emp...away-voyager-i-detects-hum-from-plasma-waves/

 

[Penny]

Approaching zero​

Super-chilled mirrors edge towards the borders of gravity and quantum physics.

Article Link: https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/physics/approaching-zero/​

 

[morris]

Modeling the effect of a large asteroid hitting the Earth.

 

[morris]

NASA Enters the Solar Atmosphere for the First Time, Bringing New Discoveries - NASA

A major milestone and new results from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe were announced on Dec. 14 in a press conference at the 2021 American Geophysical Union Fall

www.nasa.gov

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[Picanha]

DeepMind Has Trained an AI to Control Nuclear Fusion​

The Google-backed AI firm taught a reinforcement learning algorithm to control the fiery plasma inside a tokamak nuclear fusion reactor.

DeepMind Has Trained an AI to Control Nuclear Fusion

The Google-backed AI firm taught a reinforcement learning algorithm to control the fiery plasma inside a tokamak nuclear fusion reactor.

www.wired.co.uk