Tag Archives: Asteroids

Research Preview: Science Magazine – March 24, 2023

Science Magazine – March 24, 2023 issue: This color-enhanced scanning electron microscopy image shows Ti2CCl2 MXenes grown by chemical vapor deposition. The two-dimensional layers of this material grew perpendicular to the substrate and then folded into microspherical structures. Ion intercalation between two-dimensional MXene sheets has potential for energy storage and other applications.

A new pandemic origin report is stirring controversy. Here are key takeaways

Workers in hazmat suits carry rubbish bins at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market
Workers disinfected Wuhan’s Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in March 2020, but not before a Chinese research team collected samples there that would reveal the presence of SARS-CoV-2–susceptible mammals.

Virology database cuts off—and then reinstates—scientists who found and analyzed data collected 3 years ago by team in China

Earth at higher risk of big asteroid strike, satellite data suggest

Image with rings showing crater width on map of Kazakhstan
If Zhamanshin crater in Kazakhstan is 30 kilometers wide (red ring) instead of 13 kilometers (black ring), as a new study suggests, the impact that made it would have been far more fierce.

“It would be in the range of serious crap happening.

At a basic level, humanity’s survival odds come down to one thing: the chances of a giant space rock slamming into the planet and sending us the way of the dinosaurs. One way to calibrate that hazard is to look at the size of Earth’s recent large impact craters. 

Research Preview: Science Magazine – Feb 24, 2023

Contents | Science 379, 6634

Science Magazine – February 24, 2023 issue:

Samples returned from the asteroid Ryugu are similar to Ivuna-type carbonaceous meteorites

The Hayabusa2 spacecraft made two landings on the asteroid (162173) Ryugu in 2019, during which it collected samples of the surface material. Those samples were delivered to Earth in December 2020. The colors, shapes, and morphologies of the returned samples are consistent with those observed on Ryugu by Hayabusa2, indicating that they are representative of the asteroid.

Journals take up arms against AI-written text

Many ask authors to disclose use of ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence

Iron stress threatens Southern Ocean phytoplankton

Lack of the nutrient limits the plants’ productivity, key to climate and ecosystems

Preview: New Scientist Magazine – Dec 17, 2022

ISSUE 3417 | MAGAZINE COVER DATE: 17 December 2022 | New Scientist

New Scientist (December 17, 2022) issue:

How reindeer eyes change colour in winter to help them see in the dark

It turns out reindeers’ amazing night vision is thanks to a strange ‘mirror’ in their eyes called the tapetum lucidum that is extra sensitive to UV light

How a US civil war shipwreck became a template for marine conservation

The USS Monitor, an iconic piece of military history, sank 160 years ago. Now a marine sanctuary, the wreck has become an unlikely testbed for ocean conservation

NASA’s asteroid redirection spacecraft was a smashing success in 2022

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test aimed to change the orbit of the space rock Dimorphos, and it did so perfectly

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – Oct 13, 2022

Volume 610 Issue 7931

Had COVID? A delayed booster might lead to a better response

People vaccinated not long after being infected with SARS-CoV-2 mount a weaker immune response than do those whose infections are well behind them.

This rare primate will not survive deforestation

Modelling suggests that tree cutting is a greater threat to the Milne-Edwards’s sifaka than are climate extremes.

Hydrogen could help China’s heavy industry to get greener

Providing the clean fuel to manufacturing plants would be a cost-effective way to tackle the country’s climate goals.

Dinosaur-killing asteroid set off colossal global tsunami

For the first time, scientists simulate the worldwide spread of the staggering wave triggered by the Chicxulub impact.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – Oct 6, 2022

Volume 610 Issue 7930

Deflecting asteroids is not enough — we need to know when they approach

After NASA’s DART asteroid-deflection experiment, a fully funded telescope for detecting space rocks is an equally pressing priority.

The oceans store more carbon than thought — but not enough to save the planet

Although the marine ‘carbon sink’ is bigger than expected, it is still inadequate to keep global warming at bay.

Electric cars could break the grid if future drivers stick to today’s routines

The rise in electric-vehicle ownership could overload the electric grid unless charging becomes a daytime activity.

Science: Research Salary Survey, Jumping Spiders, NASA Smashing Asteroids

The Nature salary and satisfaction survey reveals researchers’ outlook, and NASA’s test of planetary defenses.

In this episode:

00:45 Salary and satisfaction survey

Like all aspects of life, scientific careers have been impacted by the pandemic. To get an insight into how researchers are feeling, Nature has conducted a salary and satisfaction survey. We hear from some of the respondents.

Careers Feature: Stagnating salaries present hurdles to career satisfaction

09:07 Research Highlights

The physics of a finger snap, and the surprisingly strong silk of jumping spiders.

Research Highlight: It’s a snap: the friction-based physics behind a common gesture

Research Highlight: High-speed spinning yields some of the toughest spider silk ever found

11:23 Briefing Chat

We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the plans to smash a spacecraft into an asteroid, and how baby formula is changing to better resemble breast milk.

Nature News: NASA spacecraft will slam into asteroid in first planetary-defence test

Chemistry World: The science of breast milk and baby formula

Technology: NASA Targets Asteroid With Spacecraft

NASA introduced the space agency’s first planetary defense test mission, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test or DART, a spacecraft they plan to launch later this month on a mission to crash into an asteroid.

Space Ventures: Asteroids As Source Of Precious Metals & Elements (Video)

Mining on asteroids sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but it could soon become a reality. Nations and powerful corporations already have plans for such ventures and are hard at work staking their claim to resources from space. How can economic growth continue unfettered once all the earth’s resources have been consumed?

Major companies and governments have long been working on plans to exploit the resources to be found in the vastness of space. How far are humans from achieving this? This documentary examines the technological requirements of space mining. It also assesses how great the desire is to find new sources of raw materials. The film touches on scientific and fundamental societal issues – including humanity’s craving for new territories and our degradation of the Earth as we attempt to exploit all our planet has to offer.

2021: Five Major Stories Shaping The World (Video)

The World in 2021 will start to look beyond covid-19: to the launch of an asteroid-smashing space probe, the next step in the fight against climate change and China’s supremacy at the box office. Here are five stories to watch out for.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Top five stories for 2021 00:39 – Democracy under threat 04:17 – The electric revolution revs up 06:55 – A chance to turn a corner on climate change 10:39 – China v Hollywood: battle of the box offices 14:40 – Defending the planet