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Study shows people overestimate hill steepness based on their eye level

People’s perceptions of the world are easily impacted by the angle at which they view objects in it, suggests a new study.

This finding, made by researchers from The Ohio State University, was revealed by testing people’s ability to estimate the steepness of a hill. The study, recently published in the journal Perception, showed that most people, regardless of their visual orientation — or line of sight — will consistently overestimate its steepness.

Dennis Shaffer, lead author of the study and a professor of psychology at The Ohio State University’s Mansfield campus, said his team’s research aimed to understand why this may be, as well as how manipulating a person’s gaze might result in notable differences in their perception.

Seismic activity on the moon could pose risk to long-term lunar infrastructure

A new paper reveals that ground acceleration from moonquakes, rather than meteor impacts, was responsible for shifting lunar landscapes at the moon’s Taurus-Littrow valley, where Apollo 17 astronauts landed in 1972. The study also pinpointed a possible cause for those surface changes and assessed damage risk using new models of the quakes—findings that may impact the safety of future lunar missions and the establishment of long-term bases on the moon.

The paper, authored by Smithsonian Senior Scientist Emeritus Thomas R. Watters and University of Maryland Associate Professor of Geology Nicholas Schmerr, is published in the journal Science Advances.

The scientists analyzed evidence from the Apollo 17 landing site, where NASA astronauts collected samples from boulder falls and landslides that were likely triggered by moonquakes. By studying the geological evidence left behind, the researchers were able to estimate the strength of these ancient moonquakes and identify their most probable source.

James Dyson reveals the future of farming

How do you grow 2.5x more strawberries? James Dyson reveals how engineers designed and built a unique way to increase Dyson Farming’s strawberry output.

Strawberries available in the UK from:
@Ocado
@marksandspencer
@sainsburys

Discover more about Dyson Farming:
dysonfarming.com.
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