Lifeboat Foundation

Some truly beautiful images!

Our cosmos is freaking wonderful. And a few talented and patient photographers have managed to capture all of its glory. It’s time to celebrate them, by ogling some of their most brilliant photos.

Every year, the Royal Observatory Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition picks the best photos by astrophotographers. And now, a new book collects the most incredibly gorgeous images from the past several years, bringing the cosmos to your coffee table. We’re happy to be able to share some of the pictures from the book Astronomy Photographer of the Year: Prize-winning Images by Top Astrophotographers with you.

Continue reading “Some of the Most Beautiful Astronomy Photos That Anyone Has Ever Seen” »

Calculations show that if the wormhole’s throat is orders of magnitude longer then the width of its mouth, it does indeed create Casimir energy at its centre.

Cambridge Physicists Find Wormhole Proof:-Physicists at the University of Cambridge have established a theoretical groundwork for the reality of wormholes, which are pipes that join two different points in space-time. If a part of information or physical object could pass through the wormhole, it might open the door to time travel or immediate communication through huge distances. “But there’s a problem: Einstein’s wormholes are extremely unsteady, and they don’t stay open long enough for something to pass over.” In 1988, physicists reached the deduction that a type of negative energy called Casimir energy might keep wormholes open.

The hypothetical solution established at Cambridge has to do with the properties of quantum energy, which conveys that even vacuums are teaming by means of waves of energy. If you visualize two metal plates in a vacuum, some waves of energy would be excessively big enogh to fit between the plates, meaning that the space-time among the plates would have negative energy. “Under the right circumstances, could the tube-like shape of the wormhole itself generate Casimir energy? Calculations show that if the wormhole’s throat is orders of magnitude longer then the width of its mouth, it does indeed create Casimir energy at its centre.”

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Stanford engineers have developed a transparent silicon overlay that can increase the efficiency of solar cells by keeping them cool. The cover collects and then radiates heat directly into space, without interfering with incoming photons. According to a local HVAC Spokane, WA company, “If mass-produced, the development could be used to cool down any device in the open air – for instance, to complement air conditioning in cars.”

After a full day in the sun, solar cells in California can approach temperatures of 80° C (175° F), even in winter months. Excessive heat can pose problems because, while the cells need sunlight to harvest energy, they also lose efficiency as they heat up. A standard silicon cell, for example, will drop from 20 to 19 percent efficiency by heating up just 10° C (18° F) or so.

Laptops address the overheating problem with the help of carefully engineered fans and heat sinks, but for solar panels and other devices that work in the open air, space itself could serve as heat sink par excellence. The coolness of space, approaching absolute zero, would negate the need for elaborate and expensive heat dissipation contraptions – if only we had a way to access it from the ground.

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https://youtube.com/watch?v=uK9ijZeHWjI

You’ve probably seen a few attempts at recreating worlds in game engines, but never at this level of detail. Artist Jason B is working on the Enterprise-D Construction Project, an Unreal Engine-based virtual tour that aims to reproduce all 42 decks in the Enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generation. While it’s not quite photorealistic, the attention to detail in this digital starship is already uncanny — the bridge, shuttle bay and other areas feel like lived-in spaces, just waiting for the crew to return. Jason is drawing on as much official material as he can to get things pixel-perfect, and he’s only taking creative liberties in those areas where there’s no canonical content.

The project is currently just a hobby, but there might be more in the cards if everything goes smoothly. Jason is considering populating the ship, offering a chance to explore the outsides of other locations (such as Deep Space Nine) and even introducing game mechanics. Whether or not those happen will depend on many things falling into place, however. The creator is thinking about crowdfunding campaigns to help with his work, and there’s the looming question of licensing: he’ll likely need CBS’ approval to release anything, especially if he wants to charge for it. Even if it amounts to little more than some screenshots and video, though, it’s an impressive feat.

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Right now, Mars is a frozen, lifeless, and entirely inhospitable place.

Yet the Red Planet holds great promise, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently discussed its future with comedian and television host Stephen Colbert.

Continue reading “The best way to colonize Mars is crazier than Elon Musk’s idea of dropping nukes on the planet” »

Astronauts typically try to avoid starting fires in space, but new research on the behavior of flames in orbit could have benefits closer to home. In fact, this fiery research could lead to more-efficient car engines that contribute less pollution to the environment, according to a new study.

A series of experiments aboard the orbiting complex is investigating “cool-burning” flames in space — a type of fire that burns at lower temperatures than ordinary flames on Earth. Blazes on this planet typically burn at between 2,240 degrees and 3,140 degrees Fahrenheit (1,225 degrees and 1,725 degrees Celsius). Cooler flames produced in microgravity burn at temperatures of between 440 degrees and 980 degrees Fahrenheit (227 degrees and 527 degrees Celsius).

In the space station experiments, researchers ignited droplets of heptane fuel. These types of fires are possible on Earth, but they are typically short-lived, flickering out almost immediately, the researchers said. In microgravity, though, the flames burned for several minutes. [7 Everyday Things that Happen Strangely In Space].

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A graphic showing all 8 planets in our solar system, Mercury through to Neptune, to scale where one pixel = 279.6 km. Scales were worked out with this very useful solar system scale calculator. Find out more about the planets on the Planet Facts page.

Get the poster!

Feel free to embed the graphic on your site using this code:

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This is Oleg Artemyev. In his hand is a tiny satellite, known as a nanosatellite, called Chasqui 1—and he’s about to throw it into the wilds of space.

Well, throw might not be quite the right word—Artemyev would favor “deploy”—but it’s not far off. Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev conducted a 5-hour spacewalk on Monday, and part of that involved letting the satellite drift slowly into orbit, as well removing and installing some new scientific equipment.

You can see pictures of Artemyev releasing the satellite below—and choose your own word for the process. [Oleg Artemyev via NASA via Gizmodo ES].

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Scientists have split light into a ring of multiple beams to form a pipe like an optical fibre. This allows them to transmit light through air without losing intensity. It could one day be used for long distance communication in space: http://ab.co/1xff8r2 via ABC Science.

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