List of All Articles with Tag 'pace'

Russian scientists have warned that powerful solar flare activity on Monday may cause significant disruption for satellite and radio communications. Three solar flares observed on Sunday by the Fedorov Institute of Applied Geophysics in Moscow lasted up to 14 minutes, signalling abnormally large geomagnetic disturbances on Earth. The institute forecasted the arrival of class X flares for Monday, which are the most energetic type of solar radiation, capable of damaging electronics. Earlier this month, a giant sunspot named AR3354 grew to a size roughly 10 times larger than Earth, unleashing an X-class flare aimed directly at Earth that triggered radio blackouts in some parts of the US. The latest solar activity is expected to interfere with short-wave radio communications, used by military, maritime and emergency operators. Increased solar storm activity in recent years has led to fears of an impending solar superstorm, which some astronomers warn could lead to an “internet apocalypse”. Such powerful storms occur approximately once every 100 years, with the last major one taking place in 1921. Nasa predicts that the next peak in the Sun’s 11-year activity cycle will arrive at some point in 2025, though it is not clear yet whether this will be the once-in-a-century event that some astronomers fear. The worst on record, referred to as the Carrington Event, took place in 1859 and resulted in fires at telegraph stations. “If the Carrington Event happened today, it would have even more severe impacts, such as widespread electrical disruptions, persistent blackouts, and interruptions to global communications,” the US space agency warned in a recent blog post. “Such technological chaos could cripple economies and endanger the safety and livelihoods of people worldwide.” Research published in 2021 assessed the robustness of internet and communications infrastructure against severe space weather events The study found that coronal mass ejection events could risk disconnecting Europe from the US, with the authors urging more to be done to improve the resilience of global telecommunication networks. In March this year, Nasa announced a new artificial intelligence model capable of predicting where on Earth a solar storm may strike, giving scientists up to 30 minutes of advanced warning. Vishal Upendran, from the Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics in India, who was involved in the AI’s development, said: “With this AI, it is now possible to make rapid and accurate global predictions and inform decisions in the event of a solar storm, thereby minimising – or even preventing – devastation to modern society.” Read More Once-in-a-century solar superstorm could plunge the world into ‘internet apocalypse’, study says Powerful solar flare responsible for blackout in US What to expect from India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission to Moon’s south pole India launches historic mission to Moon’s south pole

By Sam Tobin LONDON Singer Elton John appeared by videolink in a London court on Monday to give

(Refiles to fix paragraph 7 to say Chandrayaan-2 mission was launched in 2019, not 2020) By Nivedita Bhattacharjee BENGALURU (Reuters)

By Sam Tobin LONDON Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey said on Friday he "definitely misread the signs" when he

“Ghost” stars are aligned in beautiful structures near the centre of our galaxy, scientists say – and they might finally be getting to know why. Researchers discovered the unusual alignment of these planetary nebulae ten years ago, when Manchester doctoral student Bryan Rees spotted them. But it has remained a mystery how they came to be that way. Now scientists have been able to confirm that unusual alignment. But they have also made a breakthrough in finding out why they are there, after they found that a particular group of stars known as binary stars is responsible. Planetary nebulae are gas clouds that are thrown out from stars when they come to the end of their life. Our own star, the Sun, will do the same in about five billion years. Those ejected clouds are like ghosts of their dying stars, and assemble themselves in beautiful shapes, researchers say, such as an hourglass or butterfly. Researchers studied a range of planetary nebulae that are near the centre of our Milky Way. Though they are not related and come from different stars and different times, many of their shapes are similar, lining up in the same way and on the same plane. In the new study, scientists found that the alignment happens when those ghosts have a close companion star. The companion orbits around the main star, at the centre of the planetary nebulae, at a very close orbit. Without such a companion star, the nebulae do not line up in the mysterious pattern. That suggests that the alignment is linked to the splitting of the binary components when the star is born. “This finding pushes us closer to understanding the cause for this mysterious alignment,” said Albert Zijlstra, co-author and professor in astrophysics at The University of Manchester. “Planetary nebulae offer us a window into the heart of our galaxy and this insight deepens our understanding of the dynamics and evolution of the Milky Way’s bulge region. “The formation of stars in the bulge of our galaxy is a complex process that involves various factors such as gravity, turbulence, and magnetic fields. Until now, we have had a lack of evidence for which of these mechanisms could be causing this process to happen and generating this alignment. “The significance in this research lies in the fact that we now know that the alignment is observed in this very specific subset of planetary nebulae.” Researchers looked at 136 confirmed planetary nebulae in the galactic bulge, or the thickest section of our Milky Way. They used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, and then looked at 40 more of them using images from the Hubble Space Telescope. The findings are reported in a new paper, ‘When the Stars Align: A 5 σ Concordance of Planetary Nebulae Major Axes in the Centre of our Galaxy’, in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Read More Euclid: UK-backed mission ready to uncover mysteries of the dark universe Jeff Bezos’ rocket exploded and he didn’t tell anyone Nasa unveils ‘astrovans’ to carry Artemis moon mission astronauts Jeff Bezos’ rocket exploded and he didn’t tell anyone Nasa unveils ‘astrovans’ to carry Artemis moon mission astronauts Nasa releases James Webb telescope image on one-year anniversary

North Korea has continued regular missile tests, including a new solid-fuel ballistic missile.

Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey told a court in London Thursday in his ongoing sexual assault trial that he touched the complainant -- who is one of four men who made allegations against the actor -- in a "romantic and intimate" way.

Virgin Galactic Holdings said on Thursday that the space tourism startup will launch its second commercial flight in

Gerry and Elizabeth Paulus love taking road trips across the United States, and soon they’ll be preparing for

The Toronto Raptors are open to moving Pascal Siakam before the season. These five teams should get involved.Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors front office have not been the most willing trade negotiators in recent years. Despite a torrential downpour of rumors involving Kyle Lowry, OG Anunoby...

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON It is a planet astronomers say probably should not even exist. Researchers said on

SpaceX has broken its own record for launching reused rockets after successfully completing a mission to deliver its Starlink satellites into orbit. The company launched 22 of its internet satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Sunday night, before landing the first stage booster on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the 16th launch and landing for the B1058 Falcon 9 rocket booster, with SpaceX hoping it can achieve another four launches before finally being scrapped. The Starlink satellites were deployed into low-Earth orbit roughly one hour after lift-off, further boosting SpaceX’s space-based internet network. There are now more than 4,000 active Starlink satellites in orbit around Earth, delivering high-speed internet to users. The latest Starlinks are V2 Minis, which despite the name are larger than SpaceX’s previous generation Starlinks. The upgraded satellites include “4x more capacity per satellite than earlier iterations”, according to SpaceX. They are “mini” versions of the V2 Starlink satellites, which are set to launch aboard SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket as soon as it is operational. SpaceX recently completed a six engine static fire test of its Starship rocket at its Starbase facility in Texas, having failed in its first ever orbital mission earlier this year. The private space company has already secured multi-billion dollar contracts with Nasa to use the rocket as part of its Artemis lunar program, while SpaceX plans to use a fleet of the rockets to establish a permanent human colony on Mars before 2050. Shortly after the latest satellites were deployed, SpaceX boss Elon Musk provided an update for its next-generation space craft, which is the biggest rocket ever built. “Looks like we can increase Raptor thrust by ~20 per cent to reach 9,000 tons (20 million lbs) of force at sea level... And deliver over 200 tons of payload to a useful orbit with full and rapid reusability,” he wrote on Twitter. “Fifty rockets flying every three days on average enables over a megaton of payload to orbit per year – enough to build a self-sustaining city on Mars.” There is no fixed date for the next major orbital flight test of the Starship rocket, though Mr Musk has previously said that it will likely take place before September. Read More ‘It’s becoming like an airport’: How SpaceX normalised rocket launches New Meta app Threads ‘first credible threat’ to Twitter Euclid: UK-backed space mission takes off to uncover mysteries of dark universe SpaceX Starship completes six-engine static test fire at base in Texas