Matt Williams, Author at Universe Today

July 16, 2019July 16, 2019 by Matt Williams

First Ever Image of Quantum Entanglement

Credit: Science Advances (2019). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw2563

During the 1930s, venerable theoretical physicist Albert Einstein returned to the field of quantum mechanics, which his theories of relativity helped to create. Hoping to develop a more complete theory of how particles behave, Einstein was instead horrified by the prospect of quantum entanglement – something he described as “spooky action at a distance”.

Despite Einstein’s misgivings, quantum entanglement has gone on to become an accepted part of quantum mechanics. And now, for the first time ever, a team of physicists from the University of Glasgow took an image of a form of quantum entanglement (aka. Bell entanglement) at work. In so doing, they managed to capture the first piece of visual evidence of a phenomenon that baffled even Einstein himself.

July 16, 2019July 16, 2019 by Matt Williams

NASA is Building Robots That Can Climb Rock and Ice Cliffs

The climbing robot LEMUR rests after scaling a cliff in Death Valley, California. The robot uses special gripping technology that has helped lead to a series of new, off-roading robots that can explore other worlds.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA has pioneered the development of all kinds of robots and robotic systems. Beyond its0 orbiters and satellites, which have been exploring the planets and bodies of the Solar System for decades, there’s also the growing army of landers and rovers that have been exploring planetary surfaces. Aboard the ISS, they even have floating robots (like CIMON) and humanoid robot helpers – a la Robonaut and Robonaut 2.

Looking to the future, NASA hopes to build robots that can do even more. While the current generation of rovers can drive across the plains and craters of Mars, what if they could explore cliffs, polar ice caps and other hard-to-reach places? That is the purpose behind the Limbed Excursion Mechanical Utility Robot (LEMUR) that is currently being developed by engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

July 15, 2019July 15, 2019 by Matt Williams

Hubble Spots “Impossible” Debris Disk Around a Black Hole

The Hubble Space Telescope is like an old dog that is constantly teaching the astronomical community new tricks. In the course of its almost thirty years in operation, it has revealed vital data about the expansion of the Universe, its age, the Milky Way, supermassive black holes (SMBHs), other star systems and exoplanets, and the planets of the Solar System.

Most recently, an international team of researchers using Hubble made a discovery that was not only fascinating but entirely unexpected. In the heart of the spiral galaxy NGC 3147, they spotted a swirling thin disk of gas that was precariously close to a back hole that is about 250 million Solar masses. The find was a complete surprise since the black hole was considered too small to have such a structure around it.

July 12, 2019July 12, 2019 by Matt Williams

Researchers May Have Found the Missing Piece of Evidence that Explains the Origins of Life

Structure of DNA — Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the genetic material for all known life on Earth. DNA is a biopolymer consisting of a string of subunits. The subunits consist of nucleotide base pairs containing a purine (adenine A, or guanine G) and a pyrimidine (thymine T, or cytosine C). DNA can contain nucleotide base pairs in any order without its chemical properties changing. This property is rare in biopolymers, and makes it possible for DNA to encode genetic information in the sequence of its base pairs. This stability is due to the fact that each base pair contains phosphate groups (consisting of phosphorus and oxygen atoms) on the outside with a net negative charge. These repeated negative charges make DNA a polyelectrolyte. Computational genomics researcher Steven Benner has hypothesized that alien genetic material will also be a polyelectrolyte biopolymer, and that chemical tests could therefore be devised to detect alien genetic molecules. Credit: Zephyris

The question of how life first emerged here on Earth is a mystery that continues to elude scientists. Despite everything that scientists have learned from the fossil record and geological history, it is still not known how organic life emerged from inorganic elements (a process known as abiogenesis) billions of years ago.

One of the more daunting aspects of the mystery has to do with peptides and enzymes, which fall into something of a “chicken and egg” situation. Addressing this, a team of researchers from the University College London (UCL) recently conducted a study that effectively demonstrated that peptides could have formed in conditions analogus to primordial Earth.

July 12, 2019July 12, 2019 by Matt Williams

Virgin Orbit Tests its Satellite-Delivery Rocket for the First Time

The OrbitOne rocket deploying from a 747. Credit: Virgin Orbit

Since 2015, Virgin Orbit has been developing a launch system that will send satellites into space using a rocket launched from a modified 747. This is part of Sir Richard Branson’s plan to crack the burgeoning market of cost-effective satellite deployment. This market is especially lucrative considering how many satellites are expected to be launched into orbit in the coming years.

This week, the Virgin Orbit team achieved a major milestone by flying the LauncherOne rocket into the air and releasing it over the Mojave desert for the first time. This drop-test not only validated the design of the modified 747 (named Cosmic Girl) that serves as its flying launchpad, it also demonstrated the effectiveness of the launch system – which can rely on regular airstrips instead of launch pads to send satellites into space.

July 11, 2019July 11, 2019 by Matt Williams

Two NASA Heads Demoted, Possibly as Part of a Shake-Up to Get Back to the Moon.

An artist's illustration of lunar lander that can carry humans to the surface of the Moon. Image Credit: NASA

On March 26th, 2019, during the fifth meeting of the reestablished National Space Council, Vice President Mike Pence challenged NASA to land astronauts on the Moon within the next five years. This represented an order to expedite Space Policy Directive-1 signed by President Trump on December 11th, 2017, which directed NASA to take all the necessary steps to send astronauts back to the Moon.

This announcement suggested that some shake-up might be taking place within the agency to make things happen. However, it appears that this now involves the demotion of two longtime NASA heads who have dedicated much of their lives to the advancement of human space exploration. Whether or not this decision came from the White House is unclear, but it is in keeping with the direction recently issued by VP Pence.

July 10, 2019July 10, 2019 by Matt Williams

New Study Shows How Breaching “Carbon Threshold” Could Trigger Mass Extinction in Earth’s Oceans

This view of Earth’s horizon was taken by an Expedition 7 crewmember onboard the International Space Station, using a wide-angle lens while the Station was over the Pacific Ocean. A new study suggests that Earth's water didn't all come from comets, but likely also came from water-rich planetesimals. Credit: NASA

Between the scientific community, governments, humanitarian organizations, and even military planners, climate change is considered to be the single greatest threat facing humanity today. Between the increases in famine, disease, flooding, displacement, extreme weather, and chaos that result, it is clear that the way we are causing our planet to get warmer is having dire consequences.

But there a number of scenarios where the harm being done now could result in a runaway effect leading to mass extinctions. This possibility was illustrated in a recent study conducted by MIT professor Daniel Rothman with the support of NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF). According to Rothman, we are in danger of breaching a “carbon threshold” that could lead to a runaway effect with Earth’s oceans.

July 9, 2019July 9, 2019 by Matt Williams

Skywatcher and Satellite Tracker Photographs US Air Force’s Secret Space Plane in Orbit!

The U.S. Air Force's X-37B robotic space plane in orbit, as photographed by satellite tracker Ralf Vandebergh. Credit: © Ralf Vandebergh

Ever since it started taking to space, there has been a lot of mystery and controversy surrounding the USAF’s X-37B space plane. Despite the fact that this militarized-version of NASA’s orbital vehicle has conducted several spaceflights since its first in 2010, we still have no idea what its true purpose is. But so far, the smart money appears to be on it being an advanced spy plane.

Hoping to gather clues to this question, skywatcher and satellite tracker Ralf Vandebergh of the Netherlands has spent the past few months hunting for this space plane in the night sky. Recently, he was fortunate enough to not only locate the elusive X-37B in the sky but also managed to snap some photographs of it. Given its diminutive size and secretive-nature, this was no small feat!

July 9, 2019July 9, 2019 by Matt Williams

LightSail 2 Mission is Going Strong and Sending Mission Info Home!

On June 25th, 2019, The Planetary Society‘s cubesat spacecraft known as LightSail 2 lifted off from the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket. This was the second solar sail launched the Society, the first (LightSail 1) having been sent into space in 2015. Like its predecessor, the purpose of this spacecraft is to demonstrate the technology that would allow for solar sails operating within Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

Since reaching orbit, the LightSail 2 has been indicated that it is in good working order, as indicated by the Mission Control Dashboard recently introduced by The Planetary Society. In addition to establishing two-way communications with mission controllers and passing a battery of checkouts, the spacecraft also took its first pictures of Earth (and some selfies for good measure).

July 9, 2019July 9, 2019 by Matt Williams

Is NASA Sacrificing Sending Astronauts to Mars in Order to Get to the Moon Sooner?

Artist's impression of the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway. Credit: NASA

On December 11th, 2017, President Trump issued Space Policy Directive-1, a change in national space policy which tasked NASA with the creation of an innovative and sustainable program of exploration that would send astronauts back to the Moon. This was followed on March 26th, 2019, with President Trump directing NASA to land the first astronauts since the Apollo era on the lunar South Pole by 2024.

Named Project Artemis, after twin sister of Apollo and goddess of the Moon in Greek mythology, this project has expedited efforts to get NASA back to the Moon. However, with so much focus dedicated to getting back to the Moon, there are concerns that other projects being neglected – like the development of the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, a central part of creating a sustained human presence on the Moon and going on to Mars.