News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
3D printing has become both more accessible and more affordable in the last few years, thanks to notable brands releasing machines like the Elegoo Mars 2 Pro that are capable of printing quickly, without sacrificing quality. This is great for folks at home looking to create small figurines for tabletop or board games, or perhaps … Read more
Astronomers have spied three whole systems of exoplanets being born around one binary star. SVS 13 is a binary star system 980 light-years away, and the complex structures of dust around it are shedding light on how planetary systems are born in these fascinating environments. Since a large proportion of stars is bound up in … Read more
On March 4, 2022, a lonely, spent rocket booster will smack into the surface of the Moon at nearly 6,000 mph. Once the dust has settled, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will move into position to get an up-close view of the smoldering crater and hopefully shed some light on the mysterious physics of planetary impacts. … Read more
On 4 March 2022, a lonely, spent rocket booster will smack into the surface of the Moon at nearly 6,000 mph (9,656 km/h). Once the dust has settled, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will move into position to get an up-close view of the smoldering crater and hopefully shed some light on the mysterious physics of … Read more
Not all planetary systems are alike. Out there in the big, wide galaxy, a number of different configurations have been spotted, some vastly different from our home system. These include extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, that orbit not one, but two stars, like the fictional Star Wars world of Tatooine. Now, for the first time, astronomers … Read more
For more than sixty years, humanity has been searching the cosmos for evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence. While our efforts have been limited, and the results less than encouraging, that may be about to change. With thousands of exoplanets discoveries in the last two decades alone and next-generation telescopes becoming available, major breakthroughs are expected to … Read more
We tend to think of intelligence as something that describes just one individual. But it’s possible to describe all kinds of collectives as intelligent, too – whether we’re talking about social groups of humans, enclaves of insects, or even the mysterious behavior of slime mold and viruses. By extension, could intelligence be observed on a much … Read more
Scientists watching the skies for asteroids that may threaten Earth have hit a new milestone, spotting the 10,000th sizable space rock that circles the sun near Earth’s orbit. The detection comes as part of NASA’s ongoing planetary defense work, which discovers and monitors space rocks in the inner solar system to assure that no large … Read more
The likelihood of lakes of liquid water hidden under Mars‘ southern polar ice cap is receding before our very eyes. Last year, a paper found that temperatures were likely far too cold for water to remain unfrozen in the region. Now, a new study has found that the radar signal interpreted as liquid water was … Read more
From sea to land to sky, Earth’s systems are contaminated with synthetic substances, and scientists warn it has already pushed the integrity of our planet over the brink. Today, there are about 350,000 human-made chemicals on the market, including plastics, pesticides, industrial chemicals, cosmetic chemicals, antibiotics, and other drugs. The fact this number continues … Read more