Science

Researchers have created a new material that will be pivotal in making the next generation of high-power electronics faster, transparent and more efficient.

As air temperatures stay elevated through fall months, people may still want clothes that cool them down while outside, especially if they live in cities that stay warmer than rural landscapes. Researchers who previously demonstrated a cooling fabric coating now report on additional tests of a treated polyester fabric. Fabric treated with the team's chalk-based coating kept the air underneath up to 6 degrees Fahrenheit cooler in warmer urban environments.

Researchers have developed a new precision AI tool to identify hidden cases of long COVID from patient medical records. Their new approach was more accurate than tools that look only at diagnostic codes, and found that 22.8 percent of the population experience symptoms of long COVID, a greater figure than previous estimates that may be less biased and more representative of national trends, according to the study's authors.

The dividing line between stars and planets is that stars have enough mass to fuse hydrogen into helium to produce their own light, while planets aren’t massive enough to produce core fusion. It’s generally a good way to divide them, except for brown dwarfs. These are bodies with a mass of about 15–80 Jupiters, so they are large enough to fuse deuterium but can’t generate helium. Another way to distinguish planets and stars is how they form. Stars form by the gravitational collapse of gas and dust within a molecular cloud, which allows them to gather mass on a short cosmic timescale. Planets, on the other hand, form by the gradual accumulation of gas and dust within the accretion disk of a young star. But again, that line becomes fuzzy for brown dwarfs.

The problem arises in that, if brown dwarfs form within a molecular cloud like stars, they aren’t massive enough to form quickly. If a cloud of gas and dust has enough mass to collapse under its own weight, it has enough mass to form a full star. But if brown dwarfs form like planets, they would have to accumulate mass incredibly quickly. Simulations of planet formation show it is difficult for a planet to form with a mass of more than a few Jupiters. So what gives? The answer may lie in what are known as Jupiter-mass binary objects, or JuMBOs.

The Orion nebula is a stellar nursery. Credit: NASA, ESA, M. Robberto

JuMBOs are binary objects where each component has a mass between 0.7 and 13 Jupiter masses. If they form like planets, they should be extremely rare, and if they form like binary stars, they should have more mass. Recent observations by the JWST of the Orion nebula cluster discovered 540 free-floating Jupiter mass objects, so-called rogue planets. This was surprising in and of itself, but more surprising was the fact that 42 of them were JuMBOs. Far from being rare, they make up nearly 8% of these rogue objects. So how do they form?

One clue lies in their orbital separation. The components of JuMBOs are most commonly separated by a distance of 28–384 AU. This is similar to that of binary stars with components around the mass of the Sun, which typically are in a range of 50–300 AU. Binary stars are extremely common. More common than single stars like the Sun. The environment of stellar nurseries, such as the Orion nebula, is also extremely intense. Massive stars that form first can blast nearby regions with ionizing radiation. Given how common JuMBOs are, it is likely they began as binary stars, only to have much of their masses blasted away by photo-erosion. Rather than being binary planets, they are the failed remnants of binary stars.

This could also explain why so many rogue planets have super-Jupiter masses. The same intense light that would cause photo-erosion would also tend to push them out of star systems.

Reference: Diamond, Jessica L., and Richard J. Parker. “Formation of Jupiter-Mass Binary Objects through photoerosion of fragmenting cores.” The Astrophysical Journal 975.2 (2024): 204.

The post An Explanation for Rogue Planets. They Were Eroded Down by Hot Stars appeared first on Universe Today.

An analysis of thousands of cognitive tests carried out by chimpanzees finds that the number of spectators influenced their performance in different ways depending on the difficulty of the task

Asian elephants at Berlin Zoo show impressive skill when using a hose as a tool, and even appear to sabotage each other by stopping the flow of water

Allowing for moves that create quantum superpositions makes a quantum version of a Rubik’s cube incredibly complex, but not impossible to solve

In order to figure out how something came from nothing, we first need to explore the different types of nothing

A new space-based telescope aims to address a key solar mystery.

A new experiment will explore a region of the Sun that’s tough to see from the surface of the Earth. The solar corona—the elusive, pearly white region of the solar atmosphere seen briefly during a total solar eclipse—is generally swamped out by the dazzling Sun. Now, the Coronal Diagnostic Experiment (CODEX) will use a coronagraph to create an ‘artificial eclipse’ in order to explore the poorly understood middle corona region of the solar atmosphere.

CODEX launched as part of the cargo manifest on SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon this week, on mission CRS-31. CRS-31 arrived at the ISS and docked at the Harmony forward port of the station on November 5th.

CODEX is a partnership between NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center, Italy’s National Institute for Astrophysics (INAE) and KASI (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute). Technical expertise for the project was provided by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL).

CODEX will be mounted on the EXPRESS (Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station) Logistics Carrier Site 3 (ELC-3) on the ISS.

An animation of CODEX on the ISS. NASA Why Use Coronagraphs

Coronagraphs work by blocking out the Sun with an occulting disk. The disk used in CODEX is about as wide as an orange. Though coronagraphs can work on Earth, placing them in space is an easy way to eliminate unwanted light due to atmospheric scattering.

The solar corona, as imaged by the High Altitude Observatory’s coronagraph. UCAR/NCAR.

Targeting the middle region of the corona is crucial, as it’s thought to be the source of the solar wind. But what heats this region to temperatures actually hotter than the surface below? This rise is in the order of a million degrees, versus 6000 degrees Celsius for the solar photosphere. The same unknown process accelerates particles to tremendous speeds of over a million kilometers an hour.

CODEX seeks to address this dilemma, and will measure Doppler shifts in charged particles at four filtered wavelengths. The instrument will need to center and track the Sun from its perch on the exterior of the ISS. To this end, this must occur while speeding around the Earth once every 90 minutes. CODEX will be able to see the Sun roughly half of the time, though seasons near either solstice will allow for near-continuous views.

CODEX will work with NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and ESA’s Solar Orbiter (SolO) in studying this coronal heating dilemma. In addition, it will also join the Solar Heliospheric (SOHO’s) LASCO C2 and C3 coronagraph in space. Another new coronagraph instrument in space is the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s CCOR-1 (Compact Coronagraph) aboard the GOES-19 satellite in geosynchronous orbit.

A Solar Wind Riddle

“CODEX measures the plasma’s temperature, speed and density around the whole corona between 3 and 10 solar radii, and will measure how those parameters evolve in time, providing new constraints on all theories of coronal heating,” Niicholeen Viall (GFSC-Solar Physics Laboratory) told Universe Today. “Parker Solar Probe measures these plasma parameters in the upper corona (getting as close as 10 solar radii) in great detail, but it makes those measurements in situ (from one one location in space and time) and only briefly that close to the Sun.”

The CODEX team with the instrument, ahead of launch. Credit: CODEX/NASA.

The goal of CODEX is to provide a holistic view of solar wind activity. “In contrast, CODEX provides a global view and context of these plasma parameters and their evolution,” says Viall. “Additionally, CODEX extends the measurements much closer to the Sun than Parker Solar Probe (PSP), linking the detailed measurements made at PSP at 10 solar radii through the middle corona, down to ~3 solar radii, closer to their source. This is important because most of the coronal heating has already taken place by 10 solar radii, where PSP measures.”

A Dual Mystery

Two theories vie to explain the solar heating mystery. A first says that tangled magnetic fields are converted into thermal power. These are in turn fed into the corona as bursts of energy. Another says that oscillations known as Alfvén waves inject energy in a sort of feedback loop in the lower corona.

“Solar Orbiter has (an) EUV (Extreme ultraviolet) and white light imager that could be used to connect the CODEX measurements to their sources on the Sun,” says Viall.

Understanding this region and the source of the solar wind is crucial to predicting space weather. This is especially vital when the Sun sends powerful corona mass ejections our way. Not only can these spark low latitude aurorae, but these can also impact communications and pose a hazard to satellites and astronauts in space.

“CODEX is similar to all coronagraphs, in that they block light out from the photosphere to see the much fainter corona.” Says Viall. CODEX’s field of view has overlap with, but is different than SOHO’s coronagraphs and CCOR. The largest difference though, is that CODEX has special filters that can provide the temperature and speed of the solar wind, in addition to the density measurements that white light coronagraphs always make.”

The Past (and Future) of Coronagraphs in Space

Furthermore, there’s also a history of coronagraphs aboard space stations. This goes all the way back to the white-light coronagraph aboard Skylab in the early 1970s.

Looking to the future, more coronagraphs are headed space-ward. ESA’s solar-observing Proba-3 launches at the end of November. Proba-3 will feature the first free-flying occulting disk as part of the mission. PUNCH (the Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere) will feature four micro-sat orbiters. The mission will rideshare launch with NASA’s SPHEREx mission early next year.

“PUNCH is a white light coronagraph and set of heliospheric imagers that together image from six solar radii out through the inner heliosphere.” Says Viall. PUNCH will be able to watch the structures that CODEX identifies as they as they evolve and are modulated father out in the heliosphere.”

Fianlly, astronomers can also use coronagraph-style instruments to image exoplanets directly. The Nancy Grace Roman Space telescope (set to launch in 2027) will feature one such instrument.

It will be exciting to see CODEX in action, as it probes the mysteries of the solar wind.

The post CODEX Coronagraph Heads to the ISS on Cargo Dragon appeared first on Universe Today.

We are in dire need of photos, dear readers. If you have good wildlife snaps, please send them in. Thanks! Today we have a contribution on falconry (or rather, “hawkery”) from ecologist Susan Harrison of UC Davis. Her notes and captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.

Hunting with the Sky Wolves  

One sunny October morning, I accompanied two expert falconers and their Harris’s Hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus) on a jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) hunt.   I’d met Don and Pete when they displayed their hawks at at a native seed farm open house last spring.  As leaders of the California Hawking Club they work to educate the public about falconry. It’s a demanding and highly regulated sport, practiced by only about 4,000 licensed falconers in the US.  Here is poignant advice from the CHC’s website: “Will you, can you, commit part of your waking hours to a creature who at the very best of times will merely tolerate your presence, is as affectionate as a stone, and at the worst of times will cause you heartache and puncture wounds?”

Harris’s Hawks are favored for falconry because they are unusually social raptors. Uniquely, they hunt in groups and have thus been nicknamed “wolves of the sky.” Our expedition involved a trio of different-aged siblings, although Harris’s Hawks need not be kin to hunt together.

Released from their travel crates, Jenny, Zeva, and Shooter quickly flew to a power line and began scouting the fields:

Jenny wears orange jesses (leg straps).  Note that she also sports a GPS transmitter, as do the other hawks, enabling the falconers to follow them on foot guided by a smartphone app.   Unlike true falcons, Harris’s Hawks do not typically fly many miles in the course of a hunt.

Jenny:

Cooperative hunting by the ‘wolves of the sky’ is thrilling to watch.  The hawk who first spots the prey chirps to alert the other hawks and initiates the chase. (If the falconers happen to see the animal first, they helpfully call ‘hoo-hoo-hoo’ to the hawks.) The other hawks then see the speeding prey and fly ahead, coordinating their paths to intercept it.  Female Harris’s Hawks are larger than males and will often make the killing pounce.

The first rabbit was killed so quickly that we didn’t see it happen.  Don and Pete bagged the rabbit so the hunt could continue.  Note the hawks resting in the shade at lower left:

The falconers then raised a T-perch and two hawks hopped aboard, allowing them to sit and look for prey as the group moved around.  As we traversed orchards and fields, the hawks frequently came and went from the perch, as well as pausing in trees:

A second rabbit soon rocketed out of the orchard, which was a fatal decision on its part.  Moving far faster than me or my camera, the hawk trio took it to the ground a few hundred yards away:

After handing the hawks meat treats from a bag, Don took the rabbit to the car to serve up lunch:

Spritzing their meal with water helps the hawks stay hydrated:

The hawk on the left, Abby, is a young trainee on a lightweight tether called a creance.   She didn’t get to hunt this time, but did get to join in the feast:

Their hunt and meal finished, the hawks permitted themselves to be returned to their travel crates:

The rewards of being a falconer, again from the CHC website:

“Are you ready to be one of that elite band of hunters in the most awesome sport on the face of the earth? Are you ready to have people see you with awe, amazement and sometimes anger? Are you ready to be the absolute center of attention whenever you carry your hawk on your fist? Are you ready for that incredible rush when that wild creature first returns to you, on its own and able to fly free but decides to come to you instead?”

Some falconers and their birds are not sport hunters but pest-control professionals, whose job is to keep away nuisance birds such as starlings. The most famous of these is Rufus the Hawk, who for 16 years has kept pigeons off the Wimbledon tennis courts.

Rufus the Hawk (from The Telegraph; photo credit: Getty):

Dangerous radiation reaches Mars at levels we aren't exposed to on Earth, which makes the Red Planet a particularly dangerous place to be during pregnancy

Doctors who are concerned about members of our profession enabling powerful anti-vaxx disinformation agents should speak up before it's too late. But its probably too late already.

The post Robert Kennedy Jr. & His Doctor Friends May Just Be Getting Started first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.

Chemists break down barriers between labs and institutions to join forces for a new way of doing organic synthesis.

Mechanical engineers have developed a system of artificial cilia capable of monitoring mucus conditions in human airways to better detect infection, airway obstruction, or the severity of diseases like Cystic Fibrosis (CF), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) and lung cancer.

Mechanical engineers have developed a system of artificial cilia capable of monitoring mucus conditions in human airways to better detect infection, airway obstruction, or the severity of diseases like Cystic Fibrosis (CF), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) and lung cancer.

Scientists are developing a formula for success -- by studying how a new type of battery fails. The team's goal is the design for long-term storage of wind and solar energy, which are produced intermittently, enabling their broader use as reliable energy sources for the electric grid.

An AI model could accurately identify goats in pain, opening up better treatment opportunities for animals and non-verbal patients.

Researchers now reveal how various physical manipulations of graphene, such as layering and twisting, impact its optical properties and conductivity.

Scientists have created a robot that can learn tasks like cleaning a washbasin just by watching humans. A special sponge with sensors is used to show the robot how to clean. Using an advanced machine learning system, the robot learns how it is supposed to behave and can apply this knowledge to cleaning different washbasins.

Scientists have created a robot that can learn tasks like cleaning a washbasin just by watching humans. A special sponge with sensors is used to show the robot how to clean. Using an advanced machine learning system, the robot learns how it is supposed to behave and can apply this knowledge to cleaning different washbasins.