News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
(Image credit: NASA via collectSPACE.com) While Artemis 1 will be uncrewed, it plans to carry several mannequin-type devices to test out how the lunar environment will affect humans. One example is “Commander Moonikin Campos,” named after Apollo 13 engineer Arturo Campos in a NASA contest. Campos will fly in the commander’s seat and wear an … Read more
A new visualization shows the power of an epic supernova erupting in deep space. The video shows the famous explosion in the Eta Carinae star system that briefly made it the brightest object in the sky in the year 1843. More than 170 years later, the two lobes of the supernova are still expanding into … Read more
Earth is far from a solid mass of rock. The outer layer of our planet – known as the lithosphere – is made up of more than 20 tectonic plates; as these gargantuan slates glide about the face of the planet, we get the movement of continents, and interaction at the boundaries, not least of which is … Read more
The hippopotamus is a surprisingly mysterious beast. Although it’s the third largest land mammal, can run a spritely 30 km/h (19 mph) over short distances, and is far more dangerous to humans than a grizzly bear, we know relatively little about its social communication. A new study working to rectify this lack of knowledge … Read more
Several international airlines recently cancelled flights into certain US airports over concerns the rollout of 5G mobile communication technology could interfere with some planes’ equipment. After warnings about the potential problem from aviation bosses and the Federal Aviation Administration, telecommunications companies AT&T and Verizon delayed activating some 5G masts around US airports. But how … Read more
The volcanic eruption in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga peaked on January 15 with more explosive force than 100 simultaneous Hiroshima bombs, NASA scientists reported on Monday 24 January. Using a combination of satellite and surface-based surveys, researchers calculated the explosive power of the volcano based on the amount of rock that was removed during the blast from the … Read more
When Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai, a mostly submerged volcanic cauldron in the South Pacific Ocean, exploded on 15 January, it unleashed a blast perhaps as powerful as the world’s biggest nuclear bomb, and drove tsunami waves that crashed into Pacific shorelines. But 3 hours or so before their arrival in Japan, researchers detected the waves of … Read more
Barely 2 months after it began, the Omicron wave is already ebbing in some countries. And although it has sickened huge numbers of people, caused massive disruption, and left many health care workers exhausted, it is also leaving something unusual in its wake: a sense of optimism about the pandemic’s trajectory. In countries where many … Read more
NASA’s first moonbound mission for the Artemis program is in final testing. The team executed its second launch countdown sequencing test Monday (Jan. 24), with no major issues reported, according to an agency blog post. “The test demonstrated the ground launch software and ground launch sequencer, which checks the health and status of the rocket … Read more
A new image captures NASA’s distant James Webb Space Telescope in a sky full of stars. The Rome-based Virtual Telescope Project took the exposure over five minutes using its robotic telescope, a PlaneWave 17-inch, tracking Webb on a Paramount ME mount. The image captured Webb just as it was arriving at its destination at the … Read more