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Rocket launches seem to have become a bit mundane for many these days yet the odd launch captures peoples imagination. One such launch took place on 29th December when a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carried an uncrewed and autonomous craft into orbit. The configuration of the Falcon Heavy was such that the boosters landed safetly but the central booster was setup as expendable to carry the plane to its heighest altitude yet but its mission remains a mystery. 

The Falcon Heavy lifted off from NASA’ Kennedy Space Centre on Friday morning at 01:07 GMT, its payload, the US military X-37B space plane. It resembles a space shuttle but with one rather obvious visual difference, there are no windows. This space plane was never designed to carry passengers indeed it is entirely automated. 

The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle taxiing on the flightline on March 30th, 2010, at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Florida. Credit: USAF

Besides its strange appearance, the X-37B’s missions have been shrouded in mystery with much speculation about its activities. Previous flights have seen research into collecting solar energy from space and relaying it to Earth and studying how radiation effects seeds to inform future space travel logistics. 

This latest mission looks to be even more intriguing due to the use of the Falcon Heavy, the most powerful of all rockets. With its extra lift capability there is even speculation that the space plane might be destined for the Moon or maybe even Mars. Unfortunately with the higher altitude destination it is going to be more difficult for sky watchers like the team at COMSPOC who track space objects to determine what its up to.

Regardless of its purpose, X-37B gives the US the opportunity to test space operations to inform future missions. One such test enables NASA to develop ways to sustain astronauts on long duration deep space trips. If humans are ever to conquer deep space, even long term planetary exploration then we must learn how to grow food successfully in the soilless environment of space. Called ‘Seeds-2’, seeds will be exposed to the radiation and harsh environment of long term space flight.

Just how long this latest mission will last or what altitude it is destined for is unknown but one thing is for sure, whatever it is up to, some exciting developments in space exploration can be expected. 

Source : SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches X-37B plane, one of the US military’s most fascinating secrets

The post Falcon Heavy Launches Space Force’s Mysterious X-37B Space Plane appeared first on Universe Today.

Today’s batch of photos (we have more!) comes from reader Leo Glenn of western Pennsylvania, who also pays tribute to another contributor. Leo’s text and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them. Note the felid lagniappe at the bottom.

It’s been a while since I contributed wildlife photos. I’m no Mark Sturtevant, but here are a few photos of insects I’ve taken this year, mostly on the daily dog walks.

Bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) on goldenrod (Solidago sp.). Not a true hornet, which are in the genus Vespa, bald-faced hornets are a species of yellowjacket wasps. According to Wikipedia, they produce colonies of 400-700 workers, which is the largest colony size in its genus. They construct large paper nests, which they aggressively defend, a fact to which I can personally, and regrettably, attest:

Imperial moth caterpillar (Eacles imperialis), in its fifth and final instar, undoubtedly look for a place to pupate. They are polyphagous, feeding on many tree species, including pine, maple, oak, sassafras and sweetgum:

Another imperial moth caterpillar (Eacles imperialis) in its fifth instar, showing their color variability:

The aptly named pale beauty moth (Campaea perlata). They are in the family Geometridae, derived from Ancient Greek and meaning to measure the earth, as their larvae, also called inchworms, appear to be measuring as they perambulate along:

Splendid earth boring beetle (Geotrupes spendidus) And splendid it is. They are named earth boring because they make burrows to lay their eggs. They prefer fungi, but will also feed on dung, carrion, and feathers:

Spotted cuckoo spider wasp (Ceropales maculata) on Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota). Members of the spider wasp family (Pompilidae) are nearly all solitary. They are so named because the female captures and paralyzes spiders, transports them to its underground lair, and lays an egg in the abdomen of the spider. The hatched larva then consumes the spider from the inside. The spotted cuckoo spider wasp, as its name implies, does things a little differently. The female seeks out a female from another spider wasp species which already has a spider, follows her, and when she drops the spider momentarily to prepare her lair, the spotted cuckoo spider wasp dips in, lays her egg in the spider, and flies off. The unsuspecting spider wasp then places the spider in her lair and lays her own egg. But the spotted cuckoo wasp spider egg has evolved to hatch first and eat the other egg, before moving on to consume the spider.

Zabulon skipper butterfly (Lon zabulon), sipping nectar from a red clover flower (Trifolium pratense). Its proboscis is considerably longer than its body:

Giant leopard moth (Hypercompe scribonia). I had to move it to my palm to get a decent photo:

Common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) on mint flower (Mentha sp.):

Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus). It was long thought to be an example of Batesian mimicry due to its strong resemblance to the monarch butterfly (It can be distinguished from the monarch by the black lines transversing its hind wings.). However, after it was discovered to also be distasteful to predators, it is now considered an example of Müllerian mimicry, which, to quote Wikipedia, is when “two or more well-defended species, often foul tasting and sharing common predators, have come to mimic each other’s honest warning signals, to their mutual benefit.”

One of my personal favorites, a lovely dogbane beetle (Chrysochus auratus) on its host plant, dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum). You can see my reflection, and my dog’s reflection, in its elytra.

Felid lagniappe: And finally, a few photos of our neighbor’s orange tabby, whose name is Moses. Moses likes to sit perfectly still in our driveway for long periods of time and stare at our house. My family call him the spy cat. He also likes to come up to the sliding door on our back deck and harass our cats (which are strictly indoor cats), causing them to hurl themselves into the glass with a resounding bong, He seems to prefer to do this in the predawn hours when the humans are still asleep. The first time it happened, I thought someone was breaking in.(Now we just yell, “Moses!” and try to go back to sleep.)  My repeated attempts to befriend him failed, until recently, when persistence paid off, and I was finally able to get him to come to me. The photos capture that first successful encounter. Now we’re best buds, of course.

Based on a recently published study using improved criteria for determining long term COVID-related health problems, it looks like kids are less likely to be negatively impacted than previously thought.

The post A Bit of Good News: Kids Appear to Have Lower Risk of Post-COVID Conditions Than Previously Thought first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.

Cosmology has transformed our understanding of time past and the aeons to come, pointing to a deep future in which life may morph into incredible forms, says Astronomer Royal Martin Rees

Naomi Alderman on the tech billionaires at the heart of her new novel The Future, the latest pick for the New Scientist Book Club – and the 1974 book that inspired her

In this tantalising extract from Naomi Alderman's new novel The Future, the latest pick for the New Scientist Book Club, a tech chief executive discovers the end of the world is nigh

Military veterans with traumatic brain injury saw drastic reductions in depression and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after using the psychedelic drug ibogaine

Knot theory is linked to many other branches of science, including those that tell us about the cosmos

With a split-second muscle contraction, the greater blue-ringed octopus can change the size and color of the namesake patterns on its skin for purposes of deception, camouflage and signaling. Researchers have drawn inspiration from this natural wonder to develop a technological platform with similar capabilities for use in a variety of fields, including the military, medicine, robotics and sustainable energy.

An analysis of photos taken by Voyager 2 in the 1980s shows that Neptune and Uranus have a similar pale blue hue as perceived by the human eye