Tag Archives: captures

Hubble Captures Mysterious Spiral Galaxy Edge-On

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NASA has released a surprising image of the unusual edge-on spiral galaxy UGC 10043 taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

This Hubble image shows UGC 10043, an unusual spiral galaxy located about 150 million light-years away in the constellation Serpens. Image credits: NASA / ESA / Hubble / R. Windhorst / W. Kiel.

UGC 10043 It is located in the constellation Serpens, about 150 million light years from Earth.

Also known as IRAS 15464+2201 or LEDA 56094, this galaxy is one of the somewhat rarer spiral galaxies. Viewed from the side.

“We see galactic disks as sharp lines through space, with pronounced dust lanes along them,” Hubble astronomers said in a statement.

“This dust is spread throughout UGC 10043's spiral arm, but when viewed from the side it appears very thick and cloudy.”

“I can see some lights, too.” Active star forming region In your arms, shining from behind the dust. ”

“Surprisingly, we can also see that the center of the galaxy has a bright, almost egg-shaped bulge that towers far above and below the disk.”

“All spiral galaxies have such a bulge as part of their structure, containing stars that orbit the center of the galaxy in paths above and below the spiral disk.”

“This is a feature that isn't usually obvious in pictures of galaxies.”

“The unusually large size of this bulge compared to the galaxy's disk is likely due to UGC 10043 sucking up material from nearby dwarf galaxies.”

“This may also be why the disc warps, causing one end to bend up and the other end to bend down.”

The color image of UGC 10043 was created from separate exposures taken in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum. Hubble's advanced survey camera (ACS) and Wide field planetary camera 2 (WFPC2).

Two filters were used to sample different wavelengths.

Color is obtained by assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.

“Like most full-color images published by Hubble, this image is a composite of multiple individual snapshots taken by Hubble at different times and capturing different wavelengths of light,” the astronomers said. Explained.

“What is remarkable about this image is that the two sets of Hubble data used were collected 23 years apart, in 2000 and 2023.”

“Hubble's longer lifespan not only allows us to generate new and better images of old targets.”

“It also provides a long-term archive of data, making it increasingly useful to astronomers.”

Source: www.sci.news

Hubble captures twin stars in R Aquarii binary system

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Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have created a unique time-lapse of R Aquari's dynamic behavior from observations spanning 2014 to 2023.

The two stars in the R Aquarii binary system are approximately 1.6 billion miles apart. Image credits: NASA / ESA / Matthias Stute / Margarita Karovska / Davide De Martin / Mahdi Zamani / N. Bartmann, ESA, Hubble.

Located 650 light years away, R Aquary is a so-called symbiotic binary, consisting of two stars surrounded by a large, dynamic cloud of gas.

Such binaries contain two stars in an unequal and complex relationship: a white dwarf and a red giant.

In a disturbing act of stellar cannibalism, white dwarfs are stripping material from their larger companions.

Suffering red giants and unstable white dwarfs occasionally eject material in strange eruptions, loops, and trajectories.

“The twisted outflow of stars makes the region look like an out-of-control lawn sprinkler,” Hubble astronomers said in a statement.

“This dramatically shows how the universe redistributes the products of nuclear energy that form deep inside stars and are jetted out into space.”

“Aquarius R belongs to a class of double stars called symbiotic stars,” they added.

“The host star is an aging red giant star, and its companion star is a compact, burnt-out star known as a white dwarf.”

“The red giant star is mira variable It is more than 400 times larger than the Sun. ”

“The expanded monster star pulsates, changes temperature, and changes brightness by a factor of 750 over a period of approximately 390 days.”

“At its peak, the star is blindingly bright, about 5,000 times brighter than the Sun.”

“When the white dwarf comes closest to the red giant star during its 44-year orbit, it gravitationally sucks out hydrogen gas.”

“This material accumulates on the surface of the dwarf star until spontaneous nuclear fusion occurs, causing the surface to explode like a giant hydrogen bomb.”

“After the explosion, the fueling cycle begins again.”

“This explosion causes geyser-like filaments to erupt from the core, forming strange loops and trajectories as the plasma emerges as a streamer.”

“The plasma is twisted by the force of the explosion and guided upwards and outwards by a strong magnetic field.”

“The outflow appears to be folded into a spiral pattern.”

“Plasma is ejecting into space at more than 1.6 million km (1 million miles) per hour, which is fast enough to travel from Earth to the Moon in 15 minutes.”

“The filament glows in visible light because it is energized by intense radiation from the star.”

Source: www.sci.news

JUICE captures unprecedented image of Earth’s radiation belts

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In August 2024, ESA’s Jupiter ICy satellite probe (JUICE) made history with its daring Moon-to-Earth flight and double-gravity assisted maneuver. When the spacecraft passed the moon and the home planet, NASA’s Jupiter’s energetic neutrons and ions The (JENI) instrument aboard JUICE has captured the clearest images yet of Earth’s radiation belts, belts of charged particles trapped in Earth’s magnetosphere.

The center of this infographic shows the clearest image yet of a cloud of charged particles trapped in Earth’s magnetic field, and the inset shows high-energy images detected along JUICE’s flight path. Measurements of ions and electrons are shown. Image credit: ESA / NASA / Johns Hopkins APL / Josh Diaz.

“The moment we saw the clear new image, the whole room erupted in high-fives,” said Dr. Matina Goukiuridou, JENI deputy director at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

“It was clear that we had captured the giant ring of hot plasma surrounding Earth in unprecedented detail, and this result has sparked excitement about what’s to come on Jupiter.”

Unlike traditional cameras that rely on light, JENI uses special sensors to capture high-energy neutral atoms emitted by charged particles that interact with hydrogen gas in the widespread atmosphere surrounding Earth. Masu.

The JENI instrument is the latest generation of this type of camera and builds on the success of similar instruments in NASA’s Cassini mission, which revealed the magnetospheres of Saturn and Jupiter.

August 19th, JENI and its companion particle measuring instrument Jupiter’s energetic electrons (JoEE) made the most of his brief 30-minute encounter with the moon.

As JUICE zoomed just 750 km (465 miles) above the lunar surface, the instrument collected data about the space environment and its interactions with our closest celestial companion star.

Scientists expect this interaction to be magnified and observed on Jupiter’s moons as the gas giant’s radiation-rich magnetosphere passes over them.

On August 20, JUICE entered Earth’s magnetosphere, passing approximately 60,000 km (37,000 miles) over the Pacific Ocean. There, the instruments experienced for the first time the harsh environment that awaits them on Jupiter.

As JoEE and JENI raced through the magnetic tail, they encountered the dense, low-energy plasma typical of the region before plunging into the heart of the radiation belt.

There, instruments measured the millions of degrees of plasma surrounding Earth to investigate the secrets of plasma heating, which is known to drive dramatic phenomena in planetary magnetospheres.

“We couldn’t have expected a better flyby,” said Dr. Pontus Brandt, principal investigator for JoEE and JENI at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

“The wealth of data we have obtained from our deep dive into the magnetosphere is amazing. JENI’s image of the entire system that we just flew was simply the best.”

“This is a powerful combination to leverage in the Jupiter system.”

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This article has been adapted from the original release by NASA.

Source: www.sci.news

Camera captures rare meeting between endangered wombat and echidna

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A rare and lively encounter between a young wombat and an echidna has been caught on camera, delighting conservationists in Australia.

This active behaviour, captured on camera traps, is the work of the endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat (Laciorhinus kleftii) is proving successful.

At their lowest point in the late 1990s, with just 35 remaining in a small reserve in central Queensland, wombats were one of the rarest large mammals on the planet. Today, thanks to hard work, wombats' numbers have grown to around 400. In 2009, relocations began to the fenced Richard Underwood Sanctuary in southern Queensland, where around 15 wombats now live.

Andy Howe Howe of the Australian Wildlife Conservation Society in Newcastle, Australia, was sorting through 100 hours of footage recorded at the sanctuary when two clips caught his eye. The first, from early June, shows a northern hairy-nosed wombat baby, proving that the sanctuary's population has successfully raised young and that the pups are now foraging on their own. The wombats are well-groomed and at a healthy weight, Howe says.

Then, in footage taken a month later, he was seen with a young wombat and a short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatusThe echidna waddles around the frame, seemingly unfazed, while the wombat becomes increasingly agitated and throws himself into the dirt.

Tim Flannery A researcher at the Australian Museum in Sydney says he has never seen an interaction like this in his decades of experience studying mammals: “This is a nervous wombat and a happy echidna,” he says.

Northern hairy-nosed wombat, Richard Underwood Nature Reserve, Queensland, Australia

Brad Ruhe/Australian Wildlife Conservation Council

He says this is typical echidna behaviour, and that the animal's spine makes it difficult and dangerous to attack. For much of the video, the wombat points its tail at the echidna, a defensive posture in the tunnel where it presses the intruder against the roof of its burrow.

Flannery says it's “amazing” to see such natural, wild behaviour from a species so close to extinction. “It's very encouraging to see wombats thriving,” he says. Now that the transplant has proven successful, he suggests new populations be established elsewhere as soon as possible.

Before Europeans arrived, the species was found from northern Victoria through arid New South Wales and into central Queensland, and reestablishment of the species throughout its range would have major environmental benefits, Dr Flannery said.

“They're ecosystem engineers because they dig and burrow into the soil,” he says, “and their burrows provide shelter for other creatures during heat waves, droughts and fires.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Breakthrough: EHT Captures Highest-Resolution Image of Black Hole Ever Detected from Earth

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Astrophysicists from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration have conducted test observations that achieve the highest resolution ever obtained from Earth’s surface by detecting light emanating from the center of a distant galaxy at a frequency of about 345 GHz. When combined with existing images of the supermassive black hole at the center of Messier 87 and the Milky Way galaxy at a lower frequency of 230 GHz, these new results not only produce a 50% sharper picture of the black hole, but also a multi-color image of the region just outside the boundaries of these cosmic monsters.

This artist’s impression shows the locations of radio observatories on Earth that took part in the EHT Collaboration’s pilot experiment to produce the highest-resolution observations from the ground. Image courtesy of ESO/M. Kornmesser.

In 2019, the EHT Collaboration released images of M87*, the supermassive black hole at the center of Messier 87, and in 2022, they released images of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

These images were obtained by linking multiple radio observatories around Earth, using a technique called Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), to form a single “Earth-sized” virtual telescope.

To get higher resolution images, astronomers typically resort to larger telescopes, or greater distances between observatories acting as part of an interferometer.

But because the EHT was already the same size as Earth, a different approach was needed to increase the resolution of ground-based observations.

Another way to increase a telescope’s resolution is to observe shorter wavelengths of light, and that’s exactly what the EHT Collaboration is currently doing.

“The EHT has seen the first image of a black hole at 1.3 millimeter wavelengths, but the bright ring created by the black hole’s gravity bending light still appears blurry because we’ve reached the absolute limit of how sharp an image we can make,” said Dr Alexander Raymond, an astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“At 0.87mm, the images will be clearer and more detailed, which may reveal new properties, some previously predicted, but also some perhaps not.”

To demonstrate detection at 0.87 mm, EHT researchers carried out test observations of distant, bright galaxies at this wavelength.

Rather than using the entire EHT array, they used two smaller subarrays, including ALMA and the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX).

Other facilities that will be used include the IRAM Thirty Meter Telescope in Spain, the Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) in France, and the Greenland Telescope and Submillimeter Array in Hawaii.

In this pilot experiment, scientists achieved measurements down to 19 microarcseconds, the highest resolution ever achieved from the Earth’s surface.

But it hasn’t yet been able to capture an image: Though it has robustly detected light from some distant galaxies, it hasn’t used enough antennas to be able to accurately reconstruct an image from the data.

This technical test opens up new avenues for studying black holes.

With the full array, the EHT can see details as small as 13 microarcseconds, the equivalent of seeing a bottle cap on the Moon from Earth.

This means that at 0.87mm we can obtain images with approximately 50% higher resolution than the previously published M87* and Sagittarius A* 1.3mm images.

What’s more, it may be possible to observe a black hole that is more distant, smaller and fainter than the two black holes imaged so far.

“Observing changes in the surrounding gas at different wavelengths will help us solve the mysteries of how black holes attract and accrete matter, and how they can launch powerful jets that travel across the Milky Way galaxy,” said Dr Shepard Doleman, EHT founding director and astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

This is the first time that VLBI technology has been used successfully at a wavelength of 0.87 mm.

“The detection of a VLBI signal at 0.87 mm is groundbreaking as it opens a new observational window into the study of supermassive black holes,” said Dr Thomas Krichbaum, astrophysicist at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy.

“In the future, the Spanish and French IRAM telescopes in combination with ALMA and APEX will allow us to image smaller and fainter radiation simultaneously at two wavelengths, 1.3 mm and 0.87 mm, which was previously possible.”

Team paper Published in Astronomical Journal.

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Alexander W. Raymond others2024. First Very Long Baseline Interferometry Detection at 870 μm. AJ 168, 130;doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ad5bdb

This article is a version of a press release provided by ESO.

Source: www.sci.news

Hubble Space Telescope captures photo of obscure barred spiral galaxy

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Astronomers have created a beautiful image of the barred spiral galaxy UGC 11861 using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows UGC 11861, a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Cepheus, 69 million light-years from Earth. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / C. Kilpatrick.

11861 posts It is located in the northern constellation Cepheus and is about 69 million light years away from Earth.

The galaxy, also known as LEDA 67671, IRAS 21557+7301, or TC 609, is classified as a barred spiral galaxy and a candidate active galactic nucleus.

UGC 11861 is Composed It consists of an exponential disk, a central box-shaped structure, and two broad spiral arms.

“The galaxy is actively forming new stars amidst clouds of gas and dark dust grains, visible as glowing blue spots in the outer arms,” ​​Hubble astronomers said in a statement.

“As a result of this activity, three supernova explosions have been observed in and near UGC 11861, in 1995, 1997, and 2011.”

“The first two were both Type II supernovae, the kind that result from the collapse of a massive star at the end of its life.”

“This Hubble image was made from data collected to study a Type II supernova and its environment.”

The color image of UGC 11861 was created from images taken separately in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum. Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS).

Two filters were used to sample different wavelengths, and color was generated by assigning a different hue to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.

“UGC 11861 is located 69 million light-years from Earth, which may seem a very long distance, but it was just the right distance for the Hubble Space Telescope to capture this spectacular photo of the galaxy’s spiral arms and the short, bright bar at its center,” the astronomers wrote.

Source: www.sci.news

Hubble Space Telescope captures stunning image of a barred spiral galaxy

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Astronomers have used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to capture striking new photos of LEDA 12535, a barred spiral galaxy located in the famous Perseus Cluster of galaxies.

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows LEDA 12535, a barred spiral galaxy about 320 million light-years away in the constellation Perseus. The color composite was created from images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light. It is based on data obtained through three filters. The colors are obtained by assigning a different hue to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / I. Chilingarian.

LEDA12535 It is located about 320 million light years away in the constellation Perseus.

Also known as MCG+07-07-072 or SDSS J032041.39+424814.8, it is classified as a barred spiral galaxy.

“LEDA 12535 has a highly unusual shape for a spiral galaxy, with thin arms extending from the ends of its barred nucleus and tracing a nearly circular path around the disk,” the Hubble astronomers said.

“Using a common extension of Hubble's basis system, it is classified as an SBc(r) galaxy. The c indicates that the two spiral arms are loosely wound, each completing only a half revolution around the galaxy, and the (r) refers to the ring-like structure they produce.”

“Galactic rings come in a variety of shapes, from merely unusual to rare and astrophysically important.”

“Lenticular galaxies are a type of galaxy that lies intermediate between elliptical and spiral galaxies,” the astronomers added.

“Unlike elliptical galaxies, they feature large disks but lack spiral arms.”

“Lenticular means lens-shaped, and these galaxies often feature a ring-like shape in their disks.”

“The classification of ring galaxies, on the other hand, is only applied to unusual galaxies with a round ring of gas and star formation that closely resembles spiral arms but is either completely detached from the galactic core or lacks a visible core at all.”

“They are thought to have formed from the collision of galaxies.”

“Finally, there is the famous gravitational lensing, where the ring is actually a distorted image of a distant background galaxy, formed by the 'lensing' galaxy bending the light around it.”

“The ring-shaped images, called Einstein rings, can only form if the lensed galaxy and the photographed galaxy are perfectly aligned.”

Source: www.sci.news

Beautiful photography captures the beauty of mangrove forests

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These graceful and serene photographs pay tribute to an important yet declining ecosystem: mangrove forests. These photos are some of this year's top entries. Mangrove Photography AwardThe work showcases the beauty, diversity and fragility of mangroves, which grow in salty coastal waters in stark contrast to most other trees.

The dramatic photo above captures the middle of a mangrove forest along the vibrant blue coast of the United Arab Emirates. Taken by photographer Amar Alsayed Ahmed, the image won the competition's Mangroves and Landscapes category.

The winner in this category was another photo by Alsayed Ahmed, showing a gracefully meandering river (above). The golden mangroves dotted along the river accentuate the lush greenery it brings to the region.

Unfortunately, this is not the case for mangrove forests, which are proliferating around the world. Despite being hotspots of biodiversity and important carbon stores that help offset climate change, mangroves are under threat from factors such as logging, aquaculture and water pollution, which in turn threaten the wildlife and people that depend on them.

These include species like lemon sharks, and Gillian Morris' entry (pictured above) features a young pair photographed in the Bahamas that was highly commended in the Mangrove and Underwater category. Lemon sharks spend the first few years of their lives in mangrove “nurseries” and are one of the many marine creatures that live there.

In Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, an ambitious project is underway to plant and restore coastal mangroves. Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative (ADMI) It is part of a nationwide effort to plant 100 million mangrove trees across the UAE by 2030. In 2023 alone, specially modified drones were used to distribute more than six million seeds.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Webb captures direct image of a temperate superjupiter orbiting Epsilon Indi A

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Astronomers Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) The image was taken of Epsilon Indi Ab, a gas giant several times the mass of Jupiter, located about 12 light years from Earth.

This image of Epsilon Indi Ab was taken with a coronagraph on Webb’s MIRI instrument. Image courtesy NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / STScI / E. Matthews, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.

Of the 25 planets that have been directly imaged to date, all are less than 500 million years old, and all but six are less than 100 million years old.

The newly imaged planet orbits Epsilon Indi A (HD 209100, HIP 108870), a K5V type star that is roughly the age of the Sun (3.7 to 5.7 billion years).

“Previous observations of this system have been more indirect measurements of the star, which gave us advance knowledge that there is likely to be a giant planet in the system tugging at the star,” said Dr Caroline Morley, an astronomer at the University of Texas at Austin.

“That’s why our team chose this system as our first observational system at Webb.”

“This discovery is fascinating because the planet is very similar to Jupiter – it’s a little warmer and more massive, but it’s more similar to Jupiter than any other planet imaged so far,” said Dr Elizabeth Matthews, astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.

“The cold planet is very dark and most of its radiation is in the mid-infrared. Webb is ideal for mid-infrared imaging, but it’s very difficult to do from the ground.”

“We also needed good spatial resolution to distinguish planets from stars in the images, and the large Webb mirror helps a lot in this regard.”

Epsilon Indi Ab is one of the coolest exoplanets ever directly detected, with an estimated temperature of 2 degrees Celsius (35 degrees Fahrenheit). This makes it the coolest planet ever imaged outside the solar system, and cooler than all but one free-floating brown dwarf.

The planet is only about 100 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the gas giants in our solar system.

This provides astronomers with a rare opportunity to study the atmospheric composition of a true solar system analogue.

“Astronomers have imagined there could be planets in this system for decades, and fictional planets orbiting Epsilon Indi have been the setting for Star Trek episodes, novels and video games such as Halo,” Dr Morley said.

“It’s exciting to actually see the planet out there and start measuring its properties.”

Epsilon Indi Ab is the 12th closest exoplanet currently known to Earth and the closest planet with a mass greater than Jupiter.

Astronomers chose to study Epsilon Indi A because the system suggested the possibility of planets, using a technique called radial velocity, which measures the back and forth wobble of the host star along the line of sight.

“We expected there to be a planet in this system because the radial velocity suggested its presence, but the planet we found was different to what we expected,” Dr Matthews said.

“It’s about twice as massive, it’s a little farther from its star, and its orbit is different from what we would expect. We don’t yet know what causes this discrepancy.”

“The planet’s atmosphere also seems to differ slightly from what the models predict.”

“So far, only a few atmospheric photometry measurements have been made, making it difficult to draw any conclusions, but the planet is fainter than expected at shorter wavelengths.”

“This could mean that there is a lot of methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the planet’s atmosphere, absorbing shorter wavelengths of light. It could also suggest a very cloudy atmosphere.”

a paper The findings were published in the journal. Nature.

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E.C. Matthews othersA temperate superjupiter photographed in mid-infrared by JWST. NaturePublished online July 24, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07837-8

This article has been edited based on the original NASA release.

Source: www.sci.news

Hubble Space Telescope Captures Close-Up of NGC 5238

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Astronomers have released a beautiful photo of the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 5238 taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 5238, 14.5 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. The color image is composed of observations in the near-infrared and visible portions of the spectrum by the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Two filters were used to sample different wavelengths. The colors are achieved by assigning a different hue to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image courtesy of NASA / ESA / Hubble / F. Annibali.

NGC 5238 It is located in the constellation Canes Venatici, about 14.5 million light years from Earth.

Also known as Mrk 1479 or UGC 8565, the galaxy resembles an outsized star cluster rather than a galaxy due to its unremarkable, blob-like appearance.

“NGC 5238 is theorized to have had a close encounter with another galaxy recently, within the last billion years,” Hubble astronomers said in a statement.

“The evidence for this is the tidal distortion of NGC 5238's shape, caused by the two galaxies interacting and tugging on each other.”

“Since there are no nearby galaxies that could have caused this disruption, it is hypothesized that the culprit is a small satellite galaxy that has been swallowed by NGC 5238.”

“By studying the stars of NGC 5238 closely, we may be able to find traces of an earlier galaxy. The Hubble Space Telescope gives astronomers the perfect tool for this purpose.”

“Two telltale signs are groups of stars with properties that seem out of place compared to most other stars in the galaxy, indicating that they originally formed in another galaxy; or stars that appear to have formed suddenly, almost simultaneously, occurring during the merger of galaxies.”

“Despite their small size and inconspicuous appearance, dwarf galaxies like NGC 5238 are not uncommon in advancing our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution,” the astronomers said.

“One of the leading theories about the evolution of galaxies is that they formed hierarchically, 'bottom-up'. Star clusters and small galaxies first formed from gas and dark matter, which then gradually gathered together through gravity into clusters and superclusters, explaining the shape of the largest structures in the Universe today.”

“The merger of a dwarf irregular galaxy like NGC 5238 with an even smaller companion galaxy is exactly the type of event that could have initiated the process of galaxy formation in the early universe.”

“This means that this tiny galaxy could help test some of the most fundamental predictions in astrophysics.”

Source: www.sci.news

Drone camera captures Lion’s historic swim across Channel

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Brothers Jacob and Tiv in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

Alex Blaczkowski

A pair of lion brothers have completed the longest recorded swim of their kind, crossing waters infested with hippos and crocodiles for around 1.5km.

The swim, the equivalent of an Olympic triathlon, was the duo’s fourth attempt to cross the Kazinga Channel in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park and was recorded at night with a thermal camera mounted on a drone.

The lions had to abandon an earlier attempt after encountering a larger animal, possibly a hippopotamus or Nile crocodile, which was also seen on footage.

What makes the effort even more amazing is that one of the lions, named Jacob, only has three legs.

Jacob says he’s had a very difficult life. Alexander Bratskovsky While at Griffith University in Australia, he was gored by a buffalo, his family was poisoned to sell lion parts, he was caught in a poacher’s trap and eventually lost his leg to a poacher’s iron trap.

Catching the swimming scene on film was unexpected, as Braczkowski and his colleagues were actually keeping an eye on the two lions to determine whether Tibu, Jacob’s brother, was feeding and supporting his sibling.

“The brotherhood of lions goes far beyond the limitations of an injury like losing a leg,” Blaczkowski said.

The researchers believe the brothers probably crossed the strait to reach a lioness whose roaring they had heard two kilometers away. They say the crossing was a straight line of 1.1 kilometers, but taking into account maneuvers, they estimate the lions swam closer to 1.5 kilometers.

“It’s amazing to see the individual capabilities and courage of different species in passing on their genes,” Blaczkowski said. “A human being can’t swim across that channel in the middle of the night, but a lion, even a three-legged lion who has had almost everything taken from him, will jump in.”

Braczkowski said the lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park were under huge pressure from as many as 60,000 people living within its boundaries, as well as cattle farming, wildlife poaching and the occasional agricultural crop cultivation.

“The lion population in the park has almost halved from 72 to 39 in the past five years, so male lions are spending a lot of their time searching for new females,” he said.

Females are more vulnerable because they tend to congregate in larger groups, and leaving the poisoned carcasses increases the risk of multiple deaths, he added.

“The ratio in the park is currently one female to two males, but in a healthy population it should be one male to two females.”

Team Members Duane Biggs Researchers from Northern Arizona University say long-term solutions need to be found to protect both people and lions in the park.

“The three-legged lion swimming through crocodile-infested waters in search of a mate and caught in a poacher’s trap is a symbol of a protected area in distress,” he said.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Mark Aitken Captures Collie’s Struggle to Herd Lambs in Stunning Mobile Phone Photos

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debtMark Aitken has been working on a photo series in Lapland for the past two years. The Presence of Absence“The work explores the delicate, sometimes eerie, boundary between life and death experienced by people living in this extreme climate and landscape,” he says.

Aitken, who was born in New Zealand, grew up in South Africa and has lived in London for many years, took the photo on a sheep farm this spring. “Kukkola is a small village on the Finnish-Lapland border on the Tornio River close to Sweden. The farm has been running for 20 years and this lamb is one of around 100 born in March and April,” Aitken says.

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The lamb doesn’t have a name, but the inquisitive collie does: “He’s a lively young male called Possu, which means piglet. I saw the two animals interacting when I went into the barn to find Jaana, one of the farm owners, and arrange a time to take her portrait.”

Aitken usually shoots on 35mm film and likes to take his time preparing to take a photograph, especially when working with people. “When the right atmosphere, light and mood is achieved, I press the shutter. I like this discipline. This process also applies to printing in the darkroom. Only then does the memory of that moment become associated with the photograph.”

That day, he didn’t have his camera with him, but he did have his iPhone SE, and before his eyes the theme of his series was playing out in a whole new way: “I was amazed and intrigued by the inter-species relationships. The possu were trying to herd the lambs, but they were failing. The lambs hadn’t yet learned fear.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Juno captures the reddest object in the solar system: Amalthea

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NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured these views of the small red moon Amalthea and its parent planet during a flyby on March 7, 2024.

These views of Jupiter, captured by Juno on March 7, 2024, during its 59th flyby of the giant planet, offer a good look at Jupiter’s colorful bands and swirling storms, including the Great Red Spot. can. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstädt.

Amalthea, also known as Jupiter V, is Jupiter’s third moon in order of distance from the gas giant.

Discovered in 1892 by American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard, the Moon is irregular and measures approximately 250 x 146 x 128 km (155 x 91 x 80 miles).

Amalthea orbits Jupiter at a distance of 181,400 km (112,717 miles) and takes 0.498 Earth days to complete one orbit.

Each time it orbits Jupiter, it rotates once on its axis, always keeping the same side facing the planet.

Amalthea is the reddest object in the solar system and appears to emit more heat from the Sun than it receives.

This is likely due to the fact that the moon’s core contains electrical currents as it orbits within Jupiter’s strong magnetic field.

Alternatively, the heat could be due to tidal forces.

These images from Juno show Jupiter’s small moon Amalthea. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstädt.

“Amalthea is potato-shaped and lacks the mass to pull it into a sphere,” the Juno scientists said.

“In 2000, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft revealed several surface features, including impact craters, hills, and valleys.”

“Amalthea orbits Jupiter inside the orbit of Io. Io is the innermost of Jupiter’s four large moons and takes 0.498 Earth days to orbit.”

“At the time the first of these two images was taken, Juno was approximately 265,000 kilometers above Jupiter’s clouds and at a latitude of approximately 5 degrees north of the equator,” the researchers added.

“Citizen scientist Gerald Eichstedt created these images using raw data from Juno’s JunoCam instrument and applied processing techniques that enhance the clarity of the images.”

Source: www.sci.news

Webb captures stunning image of the Horsehead Nebula

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Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have captured the most detailed images ever of the Horsehead Nebula, one of the most distinctive objects in our sky.

At the bottom of this Web/NIRCam image, a small portion of the Horsehead Nebula is visible up close as a curved wall of thick, smoky gas and dust. Above the nebula, various distant stars and galaxies can be seen all the way to the top of the image. Image credits: NASA / CSA / ESA / Webb / K. Misselt, University of Arizona / A. Abergel, IAS, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS.

The Horsehead Nebula is located in the constellation Orion, about 1,500 light-years from Earth.

Also known as Barnard 33, this nebula is visible only because its indistinct dust is silhouetted against the brighter nebula IC 434.

The Horsehead Nebula is just one small feature of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, with the glowing Flame Nebula dominating the center of this view.

The nebula was first recorded by Scottish astronomer Williamna Fleming on February 6, 1888.

The object is formed by a collapsing cloud of interstellar matter and shines in the light of a nearby hot star.

The gas cloud surrounding the horsehead has now disappeared, but the protruding columns are made of stronger material that is less erodible.

Astronomers estimate that the Horsehead Formation has about 5 million years left to collapse.

The new image from the web focuses on the upper illuminated edge of the nebula’s characteristic dust and gas structures.

This Webb/MIRI image is more than half filled from bottom to top with a small section of the Horsehead Nebula. Image credits: NASA / CSA / ESA / Webb / K. Misselt, University of Arizona / A. Abergel, IAS, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS.

“The Horsehead Nebula is well known. photodissociation region (PDR),” astronomer Webb said.

“In such regions, ultraviolet light from young massive stars creates a region of warm, nearly neutral gas and dust between the fully ionized gas around the massive star and the clouds they are born into. .”

“This UV radiation has a strong effect on the gas chemistry in these regions and acts as the most important heat source.”

“These regions occur where the interstellar gas is concentrated enough to remain neutral, but not dense enough to prevent the transmission of deep ultraviolet light from massive stars.”

“Light emitted from such PDRs will be used to study the physical and chemical processes that drive the evolution of the interstellar medium in our galaxy and throughout the universe from the early days of active star formation to the present day. We provide unique tools for

“The Horsehead Nebula, due to its close proximity and near-edge-on geometry, provides an opportunity for astronomers to study the physical structure of the PDR and the evolution of the chemical properties of gas and dust within their respective environments and transition regions. is an ideal target for “among them. “

“This is considered one of the best objects to study how radiation interacts with the interstellar medium.”

“Thanks to Mr. Webb. mm (mid-infrared measuring instrument) and NIRCam “We used (near-infrared camera) equipment to reveal for the first time small-scale structures at the end of an illuminated horsehead,” they said.

“We also detected a network of stripes extending perpendicular to the PDR front and containing dust particles and ionized gas entrained in the nebula's photoevaporative flow.”

“These observations allowed us to investigate the effects of dust attenuation and ejection, and to better understand the multidimensional shape of the nebula.”

“Next, we will study the spectroscopic data obtained from the nebula to demonstrate the evolution of the physical and chemical properties of the material observed throughout the nebula.”

of result appear in the diary astronomy and astrophysics.

_____

A. Abergel other. 2024. His JWST observations of the horsehead photon-dominated region I. First results from multiband near-infrared and mid-infrared imaging. A&A, in press. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202449198

Source: www.sci.news

Hubble Space Telescope Captures Stunning Image of the Magellanic Spiral Galaxy

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NASA has released a surprising new image of the little-known dwarf galaxy LEDA 42160 taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

This Hubble image shows dwarf galaxy LEDA 42160 located 53.5 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / M. Sun.

LEDA 42160 Located approximately at 53.5 million light years It is located in the constellation Virgo, far from Earth.

Also known as MCG+02-32-161, VCC 1725, ALFALFA 3-327, or AGC 220849, this galaxy is a member of a massive galaxy cluster called the Virgo Cluster.

“LEDA 42160 is one of many astronomers to force their way through the relatively dense gas in the Virgo cluster,” Hubble astronomers said.

“The pressure exerted by this intergalactic gas, known as the Ram pressure, has a dramatic effect on star formation in LEDA 42160, which is currently being studied using Hubble.”

“LEDA 42160 falls into the following categories.” magellanic spiral galaxyIn the de Vaucouleurs galaxy classification system, it is abbreviated as Sm. ”

“Magellanic spiral galaxies can be further classified as barred galaxies (SBm), barred galaxies (SAm), and weakly barred galaxies (SABm), where the ‘bar’ refers to the elongated bar at the center of the galaxy. ”

“Generally speaking, the Magellanic Spiral Galaxy is a dwarf galaxy with only one spiral arm.”

“They are named after their prototype SBm galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud.”

“The Magellanic Spiral Galaxy is an interesting example of how the classification of galaxies is actually more nuanced than just spiral, elliptical, irregular, etc.”

Color images of LEDA 42160 consist of observations from. Hubble’s advanced survey camera (ACS) in the near-infrared and optical portions of the spectrum.

Two filters were used to sample different wavelengths. Color is obtained by assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.

Source: www.sci.news

Photo of a polar bear snoozing on an iceberg captures attention and admiration

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Nima Sarikani/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

As midnight approaches in Svalbard, a young polar bear climbs onto an iceberg, makes himself a makeshift bed, and falls asleep. This year’s winner, Nima Sarikani, captured this peaceful moment that captures the essence of Earth’s fragility. Wildlife Photographer of the Year, People’s Choice Awarddecided by public vote.

Sarikani, from the UK, spent three days exploring Norway’s Svalbard archipelago in hopes of catching a glimpse of these iconic arctic animals. After the expedition vessel decided to change course, he was finally able to see both the older and younger males. Salikhani seized the opportunity to photograph a young bear dozing on an iceberg. This scene not only evokes the bond between animals and their habitat, but also the need to act against global challenges such as climate change and habitat loss.

These days, the sight of a lone polar bear on melting ice has become a familiar symbol of the effects of climate change. But there are good reasons for this. Global warming is affecting the Arctic particularly rapidly, where temperatures are rising three times faster than the global average. Bears are among the hardest hit, and are increasingly threatened by the loss of sea ice on which they depend for hunting and raising their young.

Salikhani is optimistic that while his shots are meant to stir the emotions of viewers, they will ultimately give polar bears hope that if they do the right thing, it’s not too late.The image will appear like this exhibition It will run until June 30th at the Natural History Museum in London, with four runners-up in the competition.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

The Hubble Space Telescope captures a distorted spiral galaxy

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Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have obtained a surprising new perspective of spiral galaxy UGC 3912.

This Hubble image shows UGC 3912, a small spiral galaxy located 63 million light-years away in the constellation Canis Major. Image credit: NASA / ESA / C. Kilpatrick, Northwestern University / Gladys Kober, NASA and The Catholic University of America.

UGC 3912also known as IRAS 07315+0439 or LEDA 21303, lies. 19.3 megaparsecs It is located in the constellation Canis Minor (63 million light years) from Earth.

“UGC 3912 is classified as a spiral galaxy, but you wouldn't know it from this detailed Hubble image,” said Hubble astronomers.

“This galaxy's distorted shape typically indicates a gravitational encounter with another galaxy.”

“When galaxies interact, meaning they bump into or collide with each other's gravitational fields, their stars, dust, and gas can be pulled into new paths.”

“UGC 3912 may have once been an organized-looking spiral, but now it appears to have been bent out of shape by a giant thumb.”

“Fortunately, when galaxies interact, individual stars and objects orbiting them remain intact, even though their orbits change dramatically and the shape of the galaxy as a whole changes.”

“That's because the distances between stars in galaxies are so great that they simply keep moving along new orbits without colliding with each other.”

Astronomers are studying UGC 3912 as part of their investigation into supernova activity. Supernova activity is when a star at least eight times the size of the Sun explodes at the end of its life.

“Hubble studies hydrogen-rich phenomena known as supernovae, one of several types of supernovae. Type II supernova” they explained.

“Although enough Type II supernovae have been observed, they exhibit highly variable properties in brightness and spectroscopy and are not well understood.”

Source: www.sci.news

Hubble Captures Images of Irregular Galaxy LEDA 6430

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NASA has released a stunning new image of the irregular galaxy LEDA 6430 captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

This Hubble image shows LEDA 6430, an irregular galaxy about 15 million light-years away in the constellation Phoenix. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / M. Messa.

LEDA6430 It is located in Phoenix, a small constellation in the south, about 15 million light years from Earth.

This galaxy, also known as ESO 245-5 or HIPASS J0145-43, 15,000 light years Across.

“The Hubble image of LEDA 6430 shows a dense starry sky over a background of dust, gas, and light from more distant objects,” Hubble astronomers said in a statement.

“In the image, the stars take up most of the field of view, so it's a little difficult to realize that you're actually looking at a large portion of the galaxy.”

“Another reason why LEDA 6430 is probably a bit difficult to tell is a galaxy is its apparent lack of structure,” the astronomers added.

“We frequently enjoy Hubble's spectacular images of spiral galaxies, which are extremely interesting to watch, in part because the stars, gas, and dust appear to be arranged in an unusually orderly manner. .”

“In contrast, the LEDA 6430 de vaucouleurs system”

“The IB(s)m designation specifically means that the galaxy is irregular (I), banded (B), has a slight spiral structure (s), and is Magellanic (m). ”

“Irregularity is very intuitive in this context; galaxies do not appear to have a regular, ordered structure,” the researchers said.

“In fact, the entire landscape here is covered in stars from this galaxy.”

“The second term means there is a bar-like shape at the center of the galaxy, which is a dense expanse of stars across the center of this image.”

“Paragraph 3 says there are hints of a helical structure, but nothing clear or definitive (hence the 's' in parentheses).”

“Finally, the last term shows that LEDA 6430 is similar to the Magellanic Clouds, two dwarf galaxies that flank the Milky Way.”

Color images of the LEDA 6430 were created from separate exposures taken in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared regions of the spectrum. Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) Equipment.

Five filters were used to sample different wavelengths. Color is obtained by assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.

Source: www.sci.news

Hubble captures the stunning collision of two spiral galaxies in Arp 122

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This cosmic encounter is known as Arp 122, and here: NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

Two spiral galaxies, NGC 6040 and NGC 6039, have merged on the right side of this Hubble image. NGC 6039 is circular when viewed from the front. NGC 6040 appears to be before the first one. In the lower left corner of the frame, elliptical galaxy NGC 6041, the central member of the galaxy cluster in which Arp 122 resides, is visible as light emanating from a point. This color image was created in both the visible and infrared regions of the spectrum using Hubble's Altitude Survey Camera (ACS) and the Dark Energy Camera mounted on NSF's Victor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter. Created from separate exposures taken in the area. -American Observatory of Chile. Four filters were used to sample different wavelengths. Color is obtained by assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credits: NASA / ESA / Hubble / J. Dalcanton / Dark Energy Survey / DOE / FNAL / DECam / CTIO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / L. Shatz.

Alp 122 It is located in the constellation Hercules, approximately 570 million light years from Earth.

This system consists of two galaxies: a tilted and distorted spiral galaxy; NGC6040 and the spiral galaxy in front of me NGC6039.

“Galaxy collisions and mergers are highly energetic and dramatic events, but they occur on very slow timescales,” Hubble astronomers said in a statement.

“For example, our Milky Way galaxy is on a colliding orbit with its nearest galactic neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, but it will still be four billion years before these two galaxies actually meet. ”

“The process of collision and fusion will not end soon either; it may take hundreds of millions of years to unfold.”

“These collisions take a very long time because they have very long distances.”

“Galaxies are composed of stars and their solar systems, dust and gas,” the researchers added.

“Over time, the structures of two (or more) colliding galaxies may change completely, eventually forming a single, merged galaxy.”

“That could be the result of the collision seen in this image.”

“Galaxies resulting from mergers are thought to have regular or elliptical structures because the merger process destroys more complex structures (such as those observed in spiral galaxies).”

“It will be interesting to see what Arp 122 will look like once this collision is complete, but that won't happen for a long time.”

Source: www.sci.news

Juno spacecraft captures incredibly detailed image of Jupiter’s moon Io

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This image of Io was taken by the Juno spacecraft.

NASA/SwRI/MSSS

Thanks to NASA's Juno spacecraft, which passed the moon on December 30, we had the closest look at Jupiter's volcanic moon Io in decades.

Juno, which has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016, has increasingly taken images of Io's vicinity in recent months as its orbit around Jupiter changes.

This latest image was taken just 1500 kilometers above the moon's surface. In it, you can see some of Io's hundreds of towering mountains, some of which can exceed 10 kilometers in height, and their long, sharp shadows.

Io is thought to be the most volcanically active body in the solar system, with hundreds of active volcanoes. These volcanoes tend to be smaller than the largest mountains, averaging only 1 to 2 kilometers in height, and are difficult to see in images.

But by comparing the data with images from Juno's previous 56 lunar passes, astronomers are starting to understand how these volcanoes have changed over time and why they are so active. You can know.

Juno has also been exploring Jupiter's other moons, including Europa and Ganymede, collecting data and taking the closest images. NASA's Galileo spacecraft In February, Juno will again fly very close, about 1,500 kilometers above Io's surface.

Juno will fly close to Io seven more times before leaving orbit for Jupiter at the end of 2025, but that won't be the end of learning about Jupiter's moons. NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft, scheduled to launch in October this year, is designed to fly just 25 kilometers above the surface of Europa, considered one of the most promising sites for life on Earth. This will provide important information about the mysterious inland sea. Solar system. The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at Europa in 2030.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

1.5 Billion Pixel Masterpiece Captures The Running Chicken Nebula

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The Running Chicken Nebula is made up of several clouds, all of which can be seen in this expansive image from the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) hosted at ESO’s Paranal Site. His 1.5 billion pixel image spans an area of ​​the sky the size of about 25 full moons. The cloud, marked by a wispy pink plume, is filled with gas and dust and lit by young, hot stars within it. Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ Team. Acknowledgment: CASU

of ESO has released a detailed image of the Running Chicken Nebula, located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Centauri. This 1.5 billion pixel image of his captured by VST highlights young stars and regions such as IC 2948 and IC 2944, providing a cosmic treat for the eyes.

Many holiday traditions include a feast of turkey, buckwheat, latkes, or pan de pascua, but this year the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is bringing you the holiday chicken. The so-called Running Chicken Nebula, home to the birth of young stars, is revealed in stunning detail in this 1.5 billion pixel image captured by the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at ESO’s Paranal Site in Chile. It has become.

This vast stellar nursery is located in the constellation Centaurus, about 6,500 light-years from Earth. Young stars in this nebula emit intense radiation that makes the surrounding hydrogen gas glow pink.

The Running Chicken Nebula is actually made up of several regions, all of which can be seen in this vast image spanning an area of ​​the sky the size of about 25 full moons.[1] The brightest region in the nebula is called IC 2948, where some people can see the head of a chicken, while others can see the back end. The wispy pastel outlines are fantastic plumes of gas and dust. His IC 2944 is characterized by a bright vertical, almost columnar structure towards the center of the image. The brightest sparkle in this particular area is lambda centauria star visible to the naked eye that is much closer to us than the nebula itself.

The Running Chicken Nebula is made up of several clouds, the most prominent of which are labeled in this expansive image from the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) hosted at ESO’s Paranal Site. The bright star, named Lambda Centauri, is actually much closer than the nebula itself and can be seen with the naked eye. The cloud, marked by a faint pink plume, is filled with gas and dust and lit by young, hot stars within it. In total, this image spans an area of ​​about 25 full moons in the sky, one of which is shown to scale for reference. Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ Team. Acknowledgment: CASU

But IC 2948 and IC 2944 themselves are full of young stars. And while they may be bright, they are definitely not cheerful. They tear through the environment like chickens, spewing massive amounts of radiation. Some regions of the nebula, known as Bok globules, can withstand the intense assault of ultraviolet radiation that spreads through this region. If you zoom in on the image, you may see small, dark pockets of dense dust and gas scattered throughout the nebula.

Other areas pictured here include gums 39 and 40 in the upper right and gum 41 in the lower right. In addition to the nebula, the sky is filled with countless orange, white, and blue stars like fireworks. Overall, this image is a wonder that cannot be explained. Zooming in and moving around the screen can be a feast for the eyes.

This 3D animation of the Running Chicken Nebula imagines what it would be like to fly near a swirling cloud of gas and dust. This video is based on real images from the VLT Survey Telescope hosted on his Paranal site in ESO. However, the 3D positions of the stars shown here are for reference only. Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ Team. Acknowledgment: CASU

This image is a large mosaic made of hundreds of individual frames carefully stitched together. Individual images are taken through filters that pass different colors of light and combined into the final result shown here.Observations were made with a wide-field camera omega cam in VSTis a telescope owned by the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) and hosted by ESO at the Paranal site in Chile’s Atacama Desert, perfect for mapping the southern sky in visible light. The data used to create this mosaic were acquired as part of his VST photometric Hα survey of the Southern Galactic Plane and Bulge (VPHAS+), a project aimed at better understanding the life cycle of stars.

This diagram shows the location of the Running Chicken Nebula (IC2944) in the large constellation south of the constellation Centaurus (Centaurus). This map shows most of the stars visible to the naked eye under good conditions, and the location of the nebula itself is marked with a red circle. Although the star cluster associated with this nebula, IC 2948, is easily seen with small telescopes, the nebula is very faint and was only discovered in photographs in the early 20th century. Credits: ESO, IAU, Sky & Telescope

Note

  1. This image spans 270 light years from edge to edge. It takes the average chicken almost 21 billion years to run through it. That’s a long time since our universe has existed.

Access full size 3.9 GB image here.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Uncommon footage captures killer whale guiding its calf in hunting and launching a dolphin high into the air

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A rare video was captured this week by a whale-watching trip off the coast of San Diego, showing an orca teaching its baby how to hunt by headbutting a dolphin and flipping it over multiple times in the air.

Wildlife filmmaker Domenic Biagini, who shot the footage, described the scene, saying: “The killer whale catches the dolphin, but when the dolphin slows down, he releases it after it is subdued and brings the baby killer whale with him to catch it himself.” “Seeing that level of communication and understanding was like watching a family.”

Biagini owns Gone Whale Watching, one of several companies that spotted a pod of six orcas off the coast of San Diego on Monday. He said the orca hunt took about 30 minutes, which was much longer than the average orca hunt because he was teaching orca pups.

According to marine biologist Alisa Shulman Janiger, killer whales are among the ocean’s apex predators and are known to incorporate their large size and speed into their hunting strategies. She added that it is common for orcas to slow down the prey and show the children how to hunt.

Shulman-Janiger explained that the killer whales in the video are so young that their eye patches are yellow instead of white, a color that eventually fades as they get older.

Where do whales come from?

Shulman Janiger said the whale in Biagini’s footage is an eastern tropical Pacific orca, which typically lives in waters off Mexico and Central America. They are rarely seen in the relatively warm, calm waters of Southern California.

Speaking about the hunting behavior, Biagini said, “We try to explain to our guests that while what whales do to dolphins can sometimes be very gruesome, this is normal and healthy.”

Biagini also mentioned that after Monday’s hunt, the killer whales approached the boat to see what was going on and began to poke their heads out of the water, which is a behavior known as spy hopping.

‘Remember us at your Thanksgiving feast’: Killer whales celebrate the hunt

Biagini said the killer whales often celebrate after a successful hunt and zigzag back and forth through the water. He compared it to the feeling of happiness and smiling after a Thanksgiving meal.

Additionally, Biagini expressed concern about the increasing number of boats getting close to orcas to film social media videos, urging people to film animals in the most ethical way.

Danger of flocking to whale watching

Biagini also raised concerns about the number of boats surrounding the pod of killer whales, stating that too many boats with inexperienced operators could interfere with their hunting behavior or lead to collisions.

In a video he shot, a man driving a boat by himself abandons the wheel to lean out onto the deck to record the video.

Overall, Biagini emphasized the importance of being stewards of animals and approaching them in an ethical way.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

JWST Captures Spectacular Image of Uranus Revealing 13 Rings and 9 Moons

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Uranus showing all its rings and 9 of the planet’s 27 moons

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

This amazing shot of Uranus taken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) gives us the most complete view of Uranus yet, revealing its rings and turbulent atmosphere in stunning detail .

In April, JWST used infrared sensors to image Uranus, revealing more of the ice giant’s rock and dust rings, which have only been directly imaged twice before, by the Voyager 2 spacecraft and by Earth’s Keck Observatory. Now it can be observed clearly. Eleven of Uranus’s 13 known rings were visible in this image, but the last two were too dark to see.

JWST has now followed up on these observations using a wider field of view and more wavelengths of infrared light, revealing the rings in even more detail and showing us the elusive final two rings.

The diagram above also shows nine of Uranus’ 27 moons. These are all tilted away from the Sun at her 98 degree angle, the same as the planet itself. Another new image from JWST below shows five more moons (Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel, Miranda, and Titania) shining like blue stars, bringing the total shown to 14.

This JWST photo of Uranus shows five more moons, shining like blue stars around the planet. They are (clockwise from top) Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel, Miranda, and Titania.

STScI Copyright: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

The planet’s tilt causes long stretches of sunlight and darkness on different sides of Uranus, with each season lasting 21 Earth years and producing polar caps and atmospheric storms. Both can be seen more clearly in this picture. The storm lies just below the southern edge of the broad white polar cap, appearing as a white wisp against a blue background.

Although it takes Uranus 84 years to orbit the Sun, it only takes 17 hours to complete its rotation, allowing its atmosphere and moons to travel faster than standard telescopic exposures. Astronomers created the image above by combining long and short exposure times with JWST to smooth out the changing features.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

NASA captures starscape as Sun releases powerful X2.8 flare

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NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of a solar flare on December 14 (as seen by the bright flash in the top right).

This image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the very hot material within the flare, color-coded teal. Credit: NASA/SDO

NASA observed a significant X2.8 solar flare on December 14, 2023, with potential impacts on Earth’s technological systems. NOAASpace Weather Forecast Center.

The sun emitted a strong solar flare, reaching its peak at 12:02 p.m. EST, December 14, 2023. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which constantly monitors the Sun, captured images of the event.

A solar flare is a powerful explosion of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can affect radio communications, power grids, and navigation signals, posing a danger to spacecraft and astronauts.

This flare is classified as an X2.8 flare. The X class indicates the most powerful flare, and the numbers provide more information about its strength.

Solar flares like this one, captured by NASA satellites orbiting the sun, emit large amounts of radiation. Credit: NASA

Solar flares are intense bursts of radiation emitted from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots. These are among the most powerful phenomena in the solar system and can have significant effects on Earth’s space environment.

These flares are classified according to their intensity. The classification is as follows.
X class flare: The most intense flare. They can cause global radio interference and long-term radiation storms that can affect satellites and astronauts. X-class flares are further classified by number, with higher numbers indicating more powerful flares. For example, an X2 flare is twice as strong as an X1 flare and four times as strong as an X0.5 flare.
M class flare: Medium intensity flare. In polar regions, it can cause short-term radio interference and small radiation storms. While not as powerful as an X-class flare, they can still have a noticeable impact on Earth’s space weather.
C class flare: These are small flares that have little noticeable impact on Earth. These are more common than M-class and X-class flares, but are usually too weak to significantly affect space weather.
B class and A class flares: These are even smaller flares and are often undetectable without specialized solar observation equipment. They have minimal, if any, impact on the planet.

This classification is based on the peak luminous flux (number of photons) in watts per square meter measured in Earth’s orbit by the GOES spacecraft. This system allows you to quickly and easily communicate the strength of solar flares and their potential impact on space weather and Earth.

Artist’s concept for the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is a pivotal mission in the study of the Sun, playing a key role in understanding our closest star. Launched on February 11, 2010, SDO is specifically designed to observe and understand solar activity that influences weather on Earth and in space.

The primary goal of SDO is to better understand the Sun’s influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the solar atmosphere simultaneously at small space and time scales and at many wavelengths. This is very important for understanding the influence of the Sun on the Earth, especially the magnetic field and the space environment.

The SDO is equipped with a range of advanced equipment. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) acquires high-resolution images of the solar atmosphere, the Solar Seismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) studies the solar magnetic field and the dynamic motion of the Sun’s interior, and the Extreme Ultraviolet Fluctuations Experiment (EVE) studies the solar magnetic field. Measure. UV output.

One of SDO’s most important contributions is its ability to continuously observe the Sun in detail at multiple wavelengths. These observations provide a comprehensive view of solar activity, including flares, coronal mass ejections, and changes in the solar magnetic field. Data from SDO has helped advance our understanding of the Sun’s complex and dynamic magnetic field, its energy output, and how these factors interact to drive space weather.

In summary, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory is a key asset in solar science, providing valuable data that helps scientists better understand the behavior of the Sun and its effects on space weather and Earth.


Source: scitechdaily.com

Google’s AI demo was fake, Grand Theft Auto VI captures attention, Spotify reduces workforce

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Welcome to the Week in Review (WiR)

Welcome everyone to Week in Review (WiR). This is TechCrunch’s regular newsletter that recaps the past few days in technology. AI is back in the headlines, with tech giants from Google to X (formerly Twitter) taking on OpenAI for chatbot supremacy. But so much more happened. In this issue of WiR, Google fakes a demo of a new AI model (and handed out an offensive note to Black Summit attendees), defense startup Anduril unveils fighter jet weapons, and the latest from the 23andMe hack The Continuing Aftermath and Grand Theft Auto VI trailer. Other stories include patient scans and health records leaked online, Meta’s new AI-powered image generator, Spotify layoffs, and self-driving truck startup pulling out of the US. There’s a lot to do, so don’t delay. But before that, if you haven’t already, here’s a reminder to subscribe here so you can receive her WiR in your inbox every Saturday.

Google fakes a new AI model (and hands out an offensive note to Black Summit attendees)

Google this week announced a new flagship AI model called Gemini. However, the complete model Gemini Ultra was not released, only a “lite” version called Gemini Pro. Google touted Gemini’s coding and multimodal capabilities in press conferences and blog posts, claiming the model can understand not only text but also images, audio, and video. However, because Gemini Pro is strictly text input and text output, it has proven to be error-prone. And to make matters worse for Google, the company was caught faking the Gemini demo by adjusting the text prompts with still images taken away from the camera. In another Google PR failure, people who attended the company’s K&I Black Summit in August were given third-party notebooks containing extremely insensitive language. My colleague Dominique Madri wrote that the inside of the notebook had the phrase “I was just now” printed on it. cotton That was the moment, but I came back to take your notes” (emphasis on our notes). Needless to say, this would not have been well-received by the mostly black audience in attendance. Google promises to “avoid similar situations.”

Anduril’s new weapons

Anduril, the controversial defense company co-founded by Oculus founder Palmer Lackey, has developed a new product designed to counter the proliferation of low-cost, high-powered aerial threats. A modular, twin-jet-powered, autonomous vertical take-off and landing aircraft (one version of which can carry warheads), called the Roadrunner, can take off from, track, and destroy targets, as well as intercept them. If there is no need, you can intercept the target. autonomously maneuver back to base, refuel and reuse. More 23andMe victims: Last Friday, genetic testing company 23andMe announced that hackers had accessed the personal data of 0.1% of its customers, or about 14,000 people. But the company initially declined to say how many other users may have been affected by the breach, which 23andMe first disclosed in October. In all, 6.9 million people had their name, year of birth, relationship label, percentage of his DNA shared with relatives, ancestry reports, and self-reported location exposed.

Grand Theft Auto VI trailer goes viral

The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI reached 85 million views in just 22 hours, breaking the MrBeast video’s record for most YouTube views in 24 hours. The excitement for Grand Theft Auto VI continues for his decade. The previous installment in Rockstar Games’ long-running series, Grand Theft Auto V, remains the same. second best selling Best video game of all time, not even close to Minecraft.

Patient records leaked

A security weakness in a decades-old industry standard designed for storing and sharing medical images has led to thousands of exposed servers exposing the medical records and personal health information of millions of patients. I am. This standard, known as Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM), is an internationally recognized format for medical images. However, as German-based cybersecurity consultancy Aplite has discovered, security flaws in DICOM are allowing many healthcare facilities to unintentionally make their personal data accessible from the open web.

Meta generates images

Not to be outdone by the launch of Google’s Gemini, Meta has launched a new standalone generative AI experience, Imagine with Meta AI, on the web. This allows users to create images by describing them in natural language. Similar to OpenAI’s DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion, Imagine with Meta AI leverages Meta’s existing Emu image generation model to create high-resolution images from text prompts.

Spotify makes layoffs

Spotify will cut around 1,500 jobs, or about 17% of its workforce, in its third round of layoffs this year as the music streaming giant aims to “increase both productivity and efficiency.” It’s a schedule. In a memo to employees on Monday, Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek cited slowing economic growth and rising costs of capital, saying the company needs more employees to face “the challenges ahead.” He stated that it is important to set an appropriate size of staff.

TuSimple will exit

When TuSimple went public in 2021, it was emerging as the leading self-driving truck developer in the U.S., but now, after a series of internal disputes and the loss of a key partnership with truck manufacturer Navistar, TuSimple is completely removed from the U.S. We are withdrawing. TuSimple says:

ZestMoney will shut down

ZestMoney, a buy-now-pay-later startup that can underwrite small loans to first-time Internet customers and has attracted a number of high-profile investors, including Goldman Sachs, has found a buyer. Efforts failed and it was closed. At its peak, the Bangalore-based startup employed around 150 people and raised more than $130 million during its eight-year run.

TechCrunch’s latest podcast episodes

TechCrunch’s list of podcast episodes continues to grow, just in time for your weekend listening. capital We featured a retrospective conversation from TechCrunch Disrupt 2023. Alex is the founder of Trible, a no-code app builder that helps you build online courses. He spoke with Serhii Bohoslovskyi. The two talked about the current state of the creator economy, the state of use of no-code tools today (and how it’s being embraced by non-technical creators), and the safety of startups with Ukrainian roots. . It’s over found, the crew spoke to David Rogier, CEO and founder of MasterClass, a streaming platform where you can learn from world experts on a variety of topics. Before Rogier launched his MasterClass, he worked as a VC, and through those connections he secured a $500,000 seed round before the company even had an idea. and, Chain reaction, Jacqueline interviewed David Packman, Managing Partner and Head of Venture Investments at Coinfund. Prior to CoinFund, David worked at venture capital firm Venrock where he worked for 14 years. He also led the Series A and B rounds of Dollar Shave Club, which was acquired by Unilever for $1 billion. And he co-created Apple Music in 1991, when David was in Apple’s Systems Software Product Marketing Group.

Source: techcrunch.com