Lifeboat Foundation

Jupiter is a giant hot gaseous planet situated after the asteroid belt at a distance of 365 million miles when it is the closest w.r.t Earth and 601 million miles when it is the farthest. It was just a few years back when Jupiter’s moon Europa was reported as a potential planet that can hose life. Europa headlined on the internet in 2016 after scientists were able to see water vapor like plumes erupting from its crust. But, as a part of new research at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Europa might have liquid water flowing beneath its 10-kilometer deep ice crust. The researchers used data extracted the data from an analogous location on Earth and found that life is sustainable in even the harsh environment that Europa offers as it has a huge liquid ocean under its crust.

Douglas Galante is the part of the research team that stretched towards the Mponeng Gold Mine in Johannesburg, South Africa in such as evidence. During the research, they found that bacterium Candidatus Desulforudis Audaxviator survives inside the mine at the depth of 2.8 km without any sunlight. It uses the method of water radiolysis where the water molecules are dissociated with the help of ionizing radiation. The analysis of the mine highlighted the cracks that run throughout the mine filled with cracks that supply water containing radioactive uranium which in turns, helps the bacterium to break down water molecules and consume the free radicals produced.

Once the free radicals are generated, these subatomic molecules attack rocks in the surrounding which produces sulfate. This is what these bacteria utilize to synthesize energy and store it without even interacting with the sunlight. One of a kind findings confirmed that it was the very first time when scientists were able to explore a living organism using nuclear energy to survive directly. Galante stated that this ecosystem is analogous to that of Europa’s ocean which has a great amount of thermal energy and absolute zero temperature.

Continue reading “Europa may have hidden liquid ocean to sustain life, new study reveals” »

Bigelow Aerospace announced plans for sending soft-bodied modules that are compressed during launch but expand once they reach space.

The mysterious object could be the first moon found beyond our solar system—or something else entirely.

• By Nola Taylor Redd, SPACE.com on February 21, 2018

Bigelow Aerospace — the Las Vegas-based company manufacturing space habitats — is starting a spinoff venture aimed at managing any modules that the company deploys into space. Called Bigelow Space Operations (BSO), the new company will be responsible for selling Bigelow’s habitats to customers, such as NASA, foreign countries, and other private companies. But first, BSO will try to figure out what kind of business exists exactly in lower Earth orbit, the area of space where the ISS currently resides.

Bigelow makes habitats designed to expand. The densely packed modules launch on a rocket and then inflate once in space, providing more overall volume for astronauts to roam around. The company already has one of its prototype habitats in orbit right now: the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, which has been attached to the International Space Station since 2016. The BEAM has proven that Bigelow’s expandable habitat technology not only works, but also holds up well against the space environment.

How do IBM scientists keep qubits colder than outer space?

IBM quantum physicists Dr. Stefan Filipp and Dr. Andreas Fuhrer (pictured) will be discussing quantum computing live from the IBM Zurich Research Lab, and will demonstrate how they keep qubits so cold, explain why, and take your questions.

Join us on Friday, Feb. 23 at 16:00 Paris time / 10:00 am EST.

Continue reading “IBM Research Photo” »

These house plants would make a lovely addition to your home and would filter the toxins out of your air.

The study of exoplanets has advanced by leaps and bounds in the past few decades. Between ground-based observatories and spacecraft like the Kepler mission, a total of 3,726 exoplanets have been confirmed in 2,792 systems, with 622 systems having more than one planet (as of Jan. 1st, 2018). And in the coming years, scientists expect that many more discoveries will be possible thanks to the deployment of next-generation missions.

These include NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and several next-generation ground based observatories. With their advanced instruments, these and other observatories are not only expected to find many more exoplanets, but to reveal new and fascinating things about them. For instance, a recent study from Columbia University indicated that it will be possible, using the Transit Method, to study surface elevations on exoplanets.

Last year, Irish astronomy took a leap forward with the construction of the LOFAR radio telescope in Birr, Co. Offaly. Sean Mooney, who was involved in the telescope’s construction, reports on its significance for the future of astronomy.

Last year, Birr was thrust to the forefront of astronomy. What may seem a quaint and unassuming town, Birr, Co. Offaly, is steeped in astronomical history and it has regained its scientific prominence with the construction of a new telescope.

In 1842, William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, began construction of a telescope on his estate, Birr Castle demesne, which would colloquially come to be known as The Leviathan. Not only was it the largest telescope in the world, it held this title for a staggering 72 years. This fact can be appreciated most in the current era of rapid technological improvements where the best of anything in the world holds the title for weeks rather than years before a better model comes along.

Continue reading “The Next Generation of Radio Astronomy” »

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6WRNqdOMXmc

This month, the power of artificial intelligence will be coming to more augmented reality developers as a leader in the game and 3D software development space and a major force behind the current school of cloud-based AI have officially announced a new partnership.

In a post on Unity’s website on Tuesday, the company revealed a partnership with computing giant IBM to launch the IBM Watson Unity SDK. This programming interface will open up new cloud-based AI services for developers to use in their applications. And, with AR and AI having become increasingly intertwined technologies, this is only good news for AR developers.

Continue reading “Dev Report: IBM & Unity Partner to Offer AI Tool That Could Make Augmented Reality Apps Smarter” »