Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Webb telescope reveals asteroid collision in neighboring star system      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have captured what appears to be a snapshot of a massive collision of giant asteroids in Beta Pictoris, a neighboring star system known for its early age and tumultuous planet-forming activity.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Galactic bloodlines: Many nearby star clusters originate from only three 'families'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have deciphered the formation history of young star clusters, some of which we can see with the naked eye at night. The team reports that most nearby young star clusters belong to only three families, which originate from very massive star-forming regions. This research also provides new insights into the effects of supernovae (violent explosions at the end of the life of very massive stars) on the formation of giant gas structures in galaxies like our Milky Way.

Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Small, cool and sulfurous exoplanet may help write recipe for planetary formation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers observing exoplanet GJ 3470 b saw evidence of water, carbon dioxide, methane and sulfur dioxide. Astronomers hope the discovery of this exoplanet's sulfurous atmosphere will advance our understanding of how planets forms.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Researchers upend theory about the formation of the Milky Way Galaxy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research reveals a shocking discovery about the history of our universe: the Milky Way Galaxy's last major collision occurred billions of years later than previously thought.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Exotic black holes could be a byproduct of dark matter      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In the first quintillionth of a second, the universe may have sprouted microscopic black holes with enormous amounts of nuclear charge, MIT physicists propose. The gravitational pull from these tiny, invisible objects could potentially explain all the dark matter that we can't see today.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

People feel more connected to 'tweezer-like' bionic tools that don't resemble human hands      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some say the next step in human evolution will be the integration of technology with flesh. Now, researchers have used virtual reality to test whether humans can feel embodiment -- the sense that something is part of one's body -- toward prosthetic 'hands' that resemble a pair of tweezers. They report that participants felt an equal degree of embodiment for the tweezer-hands and were also faster and more accurate in completing motor tasks in virtual reality than when they were equipped with a virtual human hand.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Planet-forming disks around very low-mass stars are different      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, a team of astronomers studied the properties of a planet-forming disk around a young and very low-mass star. The results reveal the richest hydrocarbon composition seen to date in a protoplanetary disk, including the first extrasolar detection of ethane and a relatively low abundance of oxygen-bearing species. By including previous similar detections, this finding confirms a trend of disks around very low-mass stars to be chemically distinct from those around more massive stars like the Sun, influencing the atmospheres of planets forming there.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Scientists detect slowest-spinning radio emitting neutron star ever recorded      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have detected what they believe to be a neutron star spinning at an unprecedentedly slow rate -- slower than any of the more than 3,000 radio emitting neutron stars measured to date.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

'Weird' new planet retained atmosphere despite nearby star's relentless radiation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A rare exoplanet that should have been stripped down to bare rock by its nearby host star's intense radiation somehow grew a puffy atmosphere instead -- the latest in a string of discoveries forcing scientists to rethink theories about how planets age and die in extreme environments. Nicknamed 'Phoenix' for its ability to survive its red giant star's radiant energy discovered planet illustrates the vast diversity of solar systems and the complexity of planetary evolution -- especially at the end of stars' lives.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Geoscience: Geography
Published

Best of both worlds: Innovative positioning system enhances versatility and accuracy of drone-viewpoint mixed reality applications      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed an innovative positioning system that enhances the versatility and accuracy of drone-viewpoint mixed reality (MR) applications by aligning real and virtual world coordinates without predefined routes. By integrating visual positioning systems and natural feature-based tracking, this technology is expected to be applied to urban landscape simulation, maintenance, and inspection work.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Children's visual experience may hold key to better computer vision training      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A novel, human-inspired approach to training artificial intelligence (AI) systems to identify objects and navigate their surroundings could set the stage for the development of more advanced AI systems to explore extreme environments or distant worlds, according to new research.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Designing environments that are robot-inclusive      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To overcome issues associated with real-life testing, researchers successfully demonstrated the use of digital twin technology within robot simulation software in assessing a robot's suitability for deployment in simulated built environments.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Medium and mighty: Intermediate-mass black holes can survive in globular clusters      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research demonstrated a possible formation mechanism of intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters, star clusters that could contain tens of thousands or even millions of tightly packed stars. The first ever star-by-star massive cluster-formation simulations revealed that sufficiently dense molecular clouds, the 'birthing nests' of star clusters, can give birth to very massive stars that evolve into intermediate-mass black holes.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope finds most distant known galaxy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Over the last two years, scientists have used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to explore what astronomers refer to as Cosmic Dawn -- the period in the first few hundred million years after the big bang where the first galaxies were born.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

The case of the missing black holes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have applied the well-understood and highly verified quantum field theory, usually applied to the study of the very small, to a new target, the early universe. Their exploration led to the conclusion that there ought to be far fewer miniature black holes than most models suggest, though observations to confirm this should soon be possible. The specific kind of black hole in question could be a contender for dark matter.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Imperceptible sensors made from 'electronic spider silk' can be printed directly on human skin      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a method to make adaptive and eco-friendly sensors that can be directly and imperceptibly printed onto a wide range of biological surfaces, whether that's a finger or a flower petal.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Birth of universe's earliest galaxies observed for first time      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have now seen the formation of three of the earliest galaxies in the universe, more than 13 billion years ago. The sensational discovery contributes important knowledge about the universe.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

AI poised to usher in new level of concierge services to the public      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Concierge services built on artificial intelligence have the potential to improve how hotels and other service businesses interact with customers, a new paper suggests.