Never smile with your teeth showing (or even yawn) at a monkey‚ as this could be considered threatening.

Scientists think the toothy fish may have used its mismatched jaw to trap prey.

Syphilis is on the rise across all age groups and regions in the U.S.‚ based on data from 2018 to 2022.

On December 5th‚ 2020‚ Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission successfully returned samples it had collected from the Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) 162173 Ryugu home. Since asteroids are basically leftover material from the formation of the Solar System‚ analysis of these samples will provide insight into what conditions were like back then. In particular‚ scientists are interested in determining how organic molecules were delivered throughout the Solar System shortly after its formation (ca. 4.6 billion years ago)‚ possibly offering clues as to how (and where) life emerged. The samples have already provided a wealth of information‚ including more than 20 amino acids‚ vitamin B3 (niacine)‚ and interstellar dust. According to a recent study by a team of Earth scientists from Tohoku University‚ the Ryugu samples also showed evidence of micrometeoroid impacts that left patches of melted glass and minerals. According to their findings‚ these micrometeoroids likely came from other comets and contained carbonaceous materials similar to primitive organic matter typically found in ancient cometary dust. The team was led by Megumi Matsumoto‚ an assistant professor from the Earth Science Department at Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Science. He was joined by researchers from the Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Kyoto University‚ the CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science‚ the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS)‚ the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI)‚ the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)‚ and NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The details of their findings were presented in a paper that recently appeared in the journal Science Advances. An artist’s conception shows Hayabusa 2’s sample return capsule making its atmospheric re-entry as its mothership flies above. Credit: JAXA Illustration Like the Moon and other airless bodies‚ Ryugu has no protective atmosphere and does not experience weathering or erosion. This ensures that craters caused by past impacts on its surface (which is directly exposed to space) are carefully preserved despite the passage of eons. These impacts generate intense heat that leaves behind melted patches of glass (aka. “melt splashes”)‚ which quickly solidify in the vacuum of space. These impacts cause changes to the composition of the asteroid’s surface materials‚ revealing information about the history of impacts. After analyzing the Ryugu samples‚ Matsumoto and her colleagues found melt splashes ranging in size from 5 to 20 micrometers. Their composition suggests they came from cometary sources that impacted Ryugu while it was in a near-Earth orbit. “Our 3D CT imaging and chemical analyses showed that the melt splashes consist mainly of silicate glasses with voids and small inclusions of spherical iron sulfides‚” said Matsumoto in a recent Tohoku University news release. “The chemical compositions of the melt splashes suggest that Ryugu’s hydrous silicates mixed with cometary dust.” Their analysis revealed small carbonaceous materials with a spongy texture indicative of nano-pores‚ small voids caused by the release of water vapor from hydrous silicates. This vapor was subsequently captured in the melt splashes‚ which also contained silicate glasses rich in magnesium and iron (Mg-Fe) and iron-nickel sulfides. The carbonaceous materials are similar in texture to primitive organic matter observed in cometary dust but differ in composition – lacking nitrogen and oxygen. Said Matsumoto: “We propose that the carbonaceous materials formed from cometary organic matter via the evaporation of volatiles‚ such as nitrogen and oxygen‚ during the impact-induced heating. This suggests that cometary matter was transported to the near-Earth region from the outer solar system. This organic matter might be the small seeds of life once delivered from space to Earth.” The carbonaceous material found in the melt splash shows a spongy texture and contains small iron sulfide inclusions. ©Megumi Matsumoto et al. Looking ahead‚ the team hopes to examine more Ryugu samples that will provide further insights into how primitive organic materials were delivered to Earth billions of years ago. Similarly‚ scientists at NASA’s Johnson Space Center recently completed the careful process of removing the samples collected by the OSIRIS-REx mission from their sample container. Analysis of these samples will reveal the composition and history of asteroid Bennu‚ another NEA that will provide vital information on how our Solar System evolved. Further Reading: Tohoku University‚ Science Advances The post Asteroid Ryugu Contained Bonus Comet Particles appeared first on Universe Today.

The Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO) is different than other large telescopes‚ and that difference makes it more vulnerable to space junk. Other telescopes‚ like the Giant Magellan Telescope and the European Extremely Large Telescope‚ focus on distant objects. But the VRO’s job is to repeatedly image the entire available night sky for ten years‚ spotting transients and variable objects. All that space junk can look like transient events‚ impairing the VRO’s vision and polluting its results. In a new research note awaiting publication‚ Harvard physicist/astronomer Avi Loeb points out how space junk will affect the VRO’s work. The paper is “Flares from Space Debris in LSST Images.” LSST is the Legacy Survey of Space and Time‚ the VRO’s primary observing effort. The problem stems from space junk and also the VRO’s extreme sensitivity‚ a critical part of its success. “Owing to the exceptional sensitivity of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory‚ we predict that its upcoming LSST images will be contaminated by numerous flares from centimetre-scale space debris in Low Earth Orbits (LEO)‚” Loeb writes. “Millisecond-duration flares from these LEO objects are expected to produce detectable image streaks of a few arcseconds with AB magnitudes brighter than 14.” This NASA video is a representation of space junk orbiting Earth. The debris is obviously not scaled to Earth‚ but it shows where the greatest orbital debris populations are. Credit: NASA. Our space junk problem is getting worse‚ as everyone knows. The ESA says that as of December 6th‚ 2023‚ there are 130 million objects in the size range of 0.1-1 cm orbiting Earth. There are also one million objects between 1-10 cm and 36‚500 objects larger than 10 cm. With so many launches‚ the problem is getting worse. Space is a burgeoning economy‚ and a certain amount of junk goes with it. Not all of those objects are in the critical Low-Earth Orbit region‚ but a large subset of them are. According to Loeb‚ this population of debris has implications for the VRO. “In this Note‚ we examine the implications of this LEO debris for the upcoming Legacy Survey of Space &; Time (LSST) of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile‚” Loeb writes. When it comes to the VRO’s images‚ it’s not really the size of the debris that matters. An object’s albedo is the real problem. Albedo can scale with size‚ but not always. There’s no way to measure the individual albedos of pieces of space junk‚ but in this work‚ Loeb calculates albedo by combining an object’s radius and distance with one of its sides illuminated by the Sun. That yields the fraction of light that it will reflect. We already know how space junk can reflect light because we can see it with the Zwicky Transient Facility. It’s similar to the VRO in that it detects transient light sources. “Data from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) shows that the sunlight glints from known LEO satellites generate flashes of duration 10?3±0.5 s.” That’s an extremely brief flash. But the VRO and its LSST will visit each patch of the sky for 30 seconds and take back-to-back 15-second exposures. The problem is that debris is moving‚ and rather than just a flash‚ it creates a streak. “The light from the flares is therefore expected to spread across no more than a few arcseconds‚ independently of the LSST exposure time which is 4 orders of magnitude longer‚” Loeb writes. What does that mean for the VRO? It’s not good. According to Loeb‚ the number of objects that can create problematic streaks “exceeds by an order of magnitude” the number of large satellites orbiting Earth. USA’s Space Surveillance Network regularly tracks satellites and has built a catalogue of orbiting objects that could help the VRO manage the problem. But as Loeb points out‚ “Out of the entire debris population‚ only 3.515 × 104 (351‚500) objects are regularly tracked and catalogued by Space Surveillance Networks.” This infographic shows the populations of satellites in different orbits and how urgent it is to clean these orbits. Note the LEO “needs urgent protection‚” according to the maker. While it’s primarily about satellites‚ it drives the space debris problem point home. Image Credit: By Pablo Carlos Budassi – Own work‚ CC BY 4.0‚ https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=140585562 Streaks of light in images are only part of the problem. There’s the more generalized problem of the combined light from all satellites and debris. Other researchers have examined the problem and its effects on ground-based astronomy. A March 2023 paper in Nature Astronomy showed that by 2030‚ reflected light from space junk and functioning satellites will increase the diffuse background brightness for the VRO by 7.5%. That means the VRO’s LSST will be 7.5% less efficient. That’ll add over $20 million US to the cost of the 10-year-long LSST. Satellites and their predictable orbits mean they should be easier to deal with. In fact‚ the LSST team has a plan to deal with satellites. They propose an updated scheduler that can mitigate the problem. “Overall‚ sacrificing 10% of LSST observing time to avoid satellites reduces the fraction of LSST visits with streaks by a factor of 2‚” the authors of a paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters write. But junk is far more abundant. Without a solution‚ will LSST images be littered with noisy streaks? It seems irrational to download the responsibility for space debris to the people trying to see the sky through it. Any long-term solution has to include two things: the cleaning up of Low Earth Orbit and an international agreement to stop polluting it even further. The ESA is coming to terms with the space debris problem. “130 million pieces of space debris larger than a millimetre orbit Earth‚ threatening satellites now and in the future‚” the ESA wrote when announcing their Zero Debris Charter. “Once a week‚ a satellite or rocket body reenters uncontrolled through our atmosphere. Behaviours in space have to change.” While the Charter is primarily aimed at reducing the risk of collisions‚ it will benefit ground-based astronomy. NASA is seeking solutions‚ too. Their Detect‚ Track‚ and Remediate: The Challenge of Small Space Debris competition is reaching out to people around the globe for innovative solutions to the problem. Those are great initiatives‚ but the VRO is scheduled to see its first light in early January 2025. A solution to the problem of satellites and satellite constellations in space is likely within reach. But debris is a much thornier problem. “However‚ the above numbers suggest that image contamination by untracked space debris might pose abigger challenge‚” Loeb concludes. The post Space Junk is Going to be a Problem for Vera Rubin appeared first on Universe Today.

A sneaky approach.

Democrats openly putting illegal aliens over US citizens

“What we’re seeing is a rash of legislation that both doesn’t do what it thinks it’s going to do‚ will be used to do bad things specifically‚ and also will impact the First Amendment rights of adults and minors alike‚” said Ari Cohn‚ free speech counsel at TechFreedom‚ a tech policy think tank. “Nothing should terrify you more than having to identify yourself before speaking online.” “The whole hearing was a joke; it was a sham‚” said May‚ the 26-year-old Michigan activist who created the...

Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen felt co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg's testimony before Congress was "powerful" on Wednesday — especially when he turned to apologize directly to families who blamed the toxicity of social media for the loss of a loved one. "That apology‚ I think‚ is a turning point because it's the first time he's actually had to visibly face the consequences of his choices‚" Haugen said on CNBC's Last Call. The hearing regarding child safety on social media featured...

Britain’s top diplomat said Thursday that his country could officially recognize a Palestinian state after a cease-fire in Gaza without waiting for the outcome of what could be yearslong talks between Israel and the Palestinians on a two-state solution. Foreign Secretary David Cameron‚ speaking to The Associated Press during a visit Thursday to Lebanon intended to tamp down regional tensions‚ said no recognition could come while Hamas remained in Gaza‚ but that it could take place while...