As Virgin Galactic gets swept up in GameStop mania, it gets back to flying
Company says its next window for a test flight opens on February 12. Enlarge / VMS Eve carries VSS Unity for its first captive-carry flight over Mojave. (credit: Virgin Galactic) At a time when non-traditional investors are buying up heavily.....»»
Kenya"s devastating floods expose decades of poor urban planning and bad land management
Floods in Kenya killed at least 169 people between March and April 2024. The most catastrophic of these deaths occurred after a flash flood swept through a rural village killing 42 people. Death and destruction have also occurred in the capital, Nair.....»»
Researchers explore an old galactic open cluster
Using data from ESA's Gaia satellite, astronomers from Turkey and India have investigated NGC 188—an old open cluster in the Milky Way. Results of the study, published April 19 on the pre-print server arXiv, deliver important insights into the para.....»»
Watch this famous musician fly in a car with wings
The legendary French synth musician Jean-Michel Jarre has just become the first passenger to take to the skies in KleinVision’s incredible flying car......»»
Black hole "traffic jams" discovered in galactic centers by astronomers
An international study, led by researchers from Monash University, has revealed crucial insights into black hole dynamics within massive disks at the centers of galaxies......»»
A key gene helps explain how the ability to glide has emerged over-and-over during marsupial evolution
People say "When pigs fly" to describe the impossible. But even if most mammals are landlubbers, the ability to glide or fly has evolved again and again during mammalian evolution, in species ranging from bats to flying squirrels. How did that come a.....»»
Daily Telescope: The ambiguously galactic duo
Hubble continues to deliver the goods. Enlarge / This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features NGC 3783, a bright barred spiral galaxy about 130 million light-years from Earth. (credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. C. Ben.....»»
Pulsating Snake: First millisecond pulsar discovered in the galactic center
Astronomers from the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) report the discovery of a new millisecond pulsar in the "Snake"—a radio filament in the galactic center. It is the first millisecond pulsar detected in the center of our galaxy. The.....»»
Giant galactic explosion exposes galaxy pollution in action
A team of international researchers studied galaxy NGC 4383, in the nearby Virgo cluster, revealing a gas outflow so large that it would take 20,000 years for light to travel from one side to the other......»»
This AI-controlled jet fighter has now flown against human pilots
After flying against simulated opponents, the AI agent has taken on humans. Enlarge / The X-62A VISTA Aircraft flying above Edwards Air Force Base, California. (credit: Kyle Brasier, U.S. Air Force) An AI test pilot has.....»»
Baby white sharks prefer being closer to shore, scientists find
Remember #BabyShark? And no, this was not the very catchy song for kids that took the internet by storm. Earlier this year, social media was abuzz with stunning footage of a newborn great white shark, captured by a flying drone......»»
How insects control their wings: The mysterious mechanics of insect flight
Many of us would love the superpower to fly, and for good reason: Flight offers a crucial evolutionary advantage. Flying enables an animal to travel large distances quickly, in search of food and new habitats, while expending far less energy than wal.....»»
NASA gives green light to mission to send car-sized drone to Saturn moon
NASA’s Mars helicopter mission is now officially over, but following it is an even more complex flying machine destined to explore Saturn’s largest moon......»»
NASA green-lights mission to send car-sized drone to Saturn moon
NASA’s Mars helicopter mission is now officially over, but following it is an even more complex flying machine destined to explore Saturn’s largest moon......»»
Women kicking goals on the field but still tackling entrenched sexism
New research shows that despite "Matildas soccer mania" gripping the nation during the 2023 World Cup, women footballers in general face an uphill battle gaining widespread acceptance in Australia and overcoming entrenched sexism......»»
Birds of a feather flocking together: Research shows storks prefer to fly with conspecifics during migration
With long legs and large wings, the white stork is a prominent star of the pageant that is animal migration. Flying from Europe towards Africa in autumn, and then back again in spring, birds can be seen taking to the sky in conspicuous flocks that he.....»»
Astronomers inspect open cluster Berkeley 50
Using the Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT), astronomers from the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, have observed a young Galactic open cluster known as Berkeley 50. Results of the observational campaign, presented April 5 on the preprint serv.....»»
Formation-flying spacecraft could probe the solar system for new physics
It's an exciting time for the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology. Thanks to cutting-edge observatories, instruments, and new techniques, scientists are getting closer to experimentally verifying theories that remain largely untested. Th.....»»
Words are flowing out like endless rain: Recapping a busy week of LLM news
Gemini 1.5 Pro launch, new version of GPT-4 Turbo, new Mistral model, and more. Enlarge / An image of a boy amazed by flying letters. (credit: Getty Images) Some weeks in AI news are eerily quiet, but during others, gett.....»»
Video: Total solar eclipse seen from space
A total solar eclipse swept across North America yesterday, blocking out the sun momentarily with parts of the continent plunged into darkness. Geostationary satellites orbiting 36,000 km away captured images of the rare celestial event......»»
The first views of the eclipse are coming in, and they’re stunning
Eclipse mania is gripping swaths of the U.S. today as a total solar eclipse passes across the country from Texas to Maine......»»