Science

TAMPA, Fla. — A second pair of O3b mPower satellites for upgrading SES’ medium Earth orbit (MEO) broadband network are due to arrive at their SpaceX launchpad in Florida this week, Boeing announced April 11. The satellites set off via truck last week from Boeing’s manufacturing facilities in El Segundo, California, Boeing Satellite Systems International

Scientists have stitched together the most high-resolution map yet of the underlying geology beneath Earth’s Southern Hemisphere, revealing something previously undiscovered: an ancient ocean floor that may wrap around the core. This thin but dense layer sits around 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) below the surface, where the molten, metallic outer core means the rocky mantle

Quantum computing promises to be a revolutionary tool, making short work of equations that classical computers would struggle to ever complete. Yet the workhorse of the quantum device, known as a qubit, is a delicate object prone to collapsing. Keeping enough qubits in their ideal state long enough for computations has so far proved a

Research suggests people can generate false memories within the blink of an eye. In a series of four experiments led by the University of Amsterdam, researchers showed 534 people letters of the Western alphabet in actual and mirrored orientations. After some participants were shown an interference slide with random letters designed to scramble the original

With a mass of around three-quarters of our Sun crammed into a ball that could sit comfortably inside Manhattan, the compact object XMMU J173203.3-344518 is certainly remarkable. Weird, even. Maybe bizarre. But is it strange? A new study by astrophysicists from the University of São Paulo and the Federal University of ABC in Brazil confirms

Home runs are exhilarating – those lofting moments when everyone looks skyward, baseball players and fans alike, anxiously awaiting the outcome: run or out, win or loss, elation or despair. Over the past several Major League Baseball seasons, home run numbers have climbed dramatically, including Aaron Judge’s record-breaking 62 homers for the New York Yankees

The latest bit of brilliance from the field of robotics is a tiny micro-motor that can identify, trap, and transport individual cells. It’s a serious feat of engineering that could find uses from medicine to air purification. Importantly, both electric and magnetic fields can control the machine – and the latter will be vital if

HOUSTON — As preparations for the Artemis 2 mission ramp up, NASA has established a congressionally mandated office to oversee planning for that and future missions to the moon. NASA announced March 30 it had created the Moon to Mars Program Office within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. The office will focus on integrating

Ask any pet owner if their beloved companion has a personality and you’ll most often get an emphatic “yes”. But now tiger researchers can nod along too – a study published Wednesday reveals that the world’s largest felines have individual character traits. The behavior of the 248 Siberian tigers observed through a personality test showed

In 1801, British scientist Thomas Young carried out a ‘double slit’ experiment that has gone down in physics history: By shining light through two slits in a material, he showed that light behaved like a wave, taking different paths simultaneously only to intefere in predictable ways once they recombine. Since that pioneering moment, the experiment

If you’ve ever had the eerie sensation there’s a presence in the room when you were sure you were alone, you may be reluctant to admit it. Perhaps it was a profound experience that you are happy to share with others. Or – more likely – it was something in between the two. Unless you

The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered the four most distant galaxies ever observed, one of which formed just 320 million years after the Big Bang when the Universe was still in its infancy, new research said on Tuesday. The Webb telescope has unleashed a torrent of scientific discovery since becoming operational last year, peering

A cross between a domestic pig and wild boar was bred in Canada decades ago. After escaping captivity, the “super pigs” spread throughout the country, wreaking havoc on native species and crops. Now, they may be making their way into the US. “They are the worst invasive large mammal on the planet. Period,” Ryan Brook,

Billionaire mogul Elon Musk and a range of experts called on Wednesday for a pause in the development of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) systems to allow time to make sure they are safe. An open letter, signed by more than 1,000 people so far including Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, was prompted by the

WASHINGTON — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is once again requesting a significant budget increase for future weather satellite programs after Congress cut its funding request for 2023. In its fiscal year 2024 budget proposal, recently posted online, NOAA requested $417.4 million for the Geostationary Extended Observations, or GeoXO, program of next-generation geostationary weather

When you’re just a wee twisty, bendy rope of muscle, fang, and bone, your options may be slightly limited when you get yourself into a pickle. That’s why the dwarf reed snake (Pseudorabdion longiceps) developed what appears to be a unique way of fleeing. When danger approaches, the small, South Asian serpent flings itself ass

A synthetic analog of a black hole could tell us a thing or two about an elusive radiation theoretically emitted by the real thing. Using a chain of atoms in single-file to simulate the event horizon of a black hole, a team of physicists observed the equivalent of what we call Hawking radiation – particles

A dozen severed hands found piled in the courtyard of an ancient Egyptian palace could be the result of a gruesome “trophy-taking” ritual by a foreign invader, according to a new study. Inscriptions and reliefs from Egyptian tombs and temples depict mutilated or amputated hands as early as the New Kingdom from the 16th to

Astronomers have traced a repeating radio signal back to a rocky, Earth-sized exoplanet that appears to have one of the crucial factors that make a world habitable: a magnetic field. The planet is known as YZ Ceti b, and it’s orbiting a small red dwarf star located around 12 light-years from Earth. “The search for

It probably comes as no surprise to people living in low-lying coastal regions, but sea waters are rising by large, measurable amounts. That assessment comes from NASA, which has analyzed 30 years of sea-level satellite measurements. The news is not good. Since 1993, the seas rose by a total of 9.1 centimeters. Two years ago,

Researchers have developed a new energy-saving paint that repels heat, comes in any color, and should last centuries. It’s also the lightest paint created to date. Inspired by butterfly wings, this paint isn’t made from pigment. Instead, color is created structurally through the arrangement of nanoparticles. The team is calling it ‘plasmonic paint’. Based on

WASHINGTON — Small satellite manufacturer Apex will launch its first satellite next year as a demonstration of its capabilities as it prepares for large-scale production. Apex announced April 4 that its first Aries satellite will fly on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare mission, scheduled for launch no earlier than January 2024. The satellite mission, dubbed “Call to

Over many thousands of years, a species of animal that shared a close relationship with wolves slowly morphed into something that loves to curl up in your lap, get belly rubs, and eat kibble three times a day. These changes in dogs weren’t just behavioral. In fact, the changes in body plan – like shorter

Right down on a molecular level, water ice can form out of a rich variety of structures. Though they’re all fairly similar in general appearance, differences in their properties means distinct arrangements of solidified H2O can react and behave differently too. One such phase is called cubic ice, and it is the subject of ongoing

Mexico has recovered from the United States a giant stone statue known as an “Earth monster” that dates to the Olmec civilization before the Christian era, authorities said. ​The elaborately carved statue weighs more than a ton and is nearly six feet (1.8 meters) tall and five feet (1.5 meters) wide, the National Anthropology and

Astronomers have observed a rare case of a galaxy shapeshifting. A few decades ago, an object located some 630 million light-years away named PBC J2333.9-2343 was classified as a giant radio galaxy. It projected large, radio-emitting structures perpendicular to our line of sight, formed by colossal jets that once erupted from the galactic center. More

The operator of a nuclear facility in Minnesota said on Thursday the plant suffered a leak last November of water containing radioactive tritium, but that contamination was largely limited to the plant itself. Xcel Energy, operator of the nuclear plant northwest of Minneapolis in the Midwest state of Minnesota, did not say why it waited

Pick a card, any card. Like a devious magician, the Universe already knows your selection as the laws of physics guide everything from your neurological wiring to the contractions of your hand’s muscles. But, if asked to pick a particle from an empty patch of space, you might have a chance of fooling the Universe.

TAMPA, Fla. — The launch of the first commercial satellites in AST SpaceMobile’s cellphone-compatible broadband constellation has slipped into 2024, the company said March 31 as it disclosed rising costs for developing the network. AST SpaceMobile had planned to launch the first five BlueBird satellites it is building in-house on a SpaceX Falcon 9 before

Tyrannosaurus rex might not have been puckering up for a good ol’ snog, but the dinosaur‘s teeth were not exposed like a ‘gator’s; instead, they protected behind a pair of lizardy lips. That’s the result of work investigating the teeth and bones of reptiles and dinosaurs, present and past, finally resolving a long-standing debate in