The ERS-2 satellite, having depleted its fuel, is expected to break apart approximately 50 miles (80 kilometers) above Earth’s surface, with the majority of fragments burning up in the atmosphere. While some fragments may reach the planet’s surface, the ESA assures that they won’t contain harmful substances and are likely to fall into the ocean.

Solar activity, influenced by the sun’s 11-year cycle, known as solar maximum, introduces unpredictability to the exact timing of the satellite’s reentry. The increased solar activity has been accelerating reentries, as witnessed with the ESA’s Aeolus satellite in July 2023.

Launched on April 21, 1995, the ERS-2 satellite, alongside its twin ERS-1, was a groundbreaking Earth-observing satellite, collecting vital data on polar caps, oceans, land surfaces, and monitoring natural disasters. Despite its retirement in 2011, the data gathered by ERS-2 continues to be utilized today.

The ESA’s decision to deorbit the satellite in 2011 aimed to prevent adding to space junk in orbit. ERS-2 underwent 66 deorbiting maneuvers in July and August of that year, depleting its fuel and gradually spiraling closer to Earth. The controlled reentry is expected within 15 years of the satellite’s retirement.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding solar activity, the ESA emphasizes that the risk of an individual being injured by space debris is extremely low, with odds less than 1 in 100 billion per year. This statistic is about 1.5 million times lower than the risk of a person being killed in a home accident, providing reassurance amid the satellite’s imminent reentry.

Despite its modest size, approximately 400 kilometers in diameter, Mimas had concealed its ocean beneath its heavily cratered surface, leaving astronomers surprised. The moon’s recent inclusion in the list of celestial bodies with internal oceans resulted from a meticulous analysis of its tidal interactions with Saturn, unveiling an unexpected irregularity in its orbit.

Dr. Nick Cooper, a co-author of the study and Honorary Research Fellow in the Astronomy Unit of the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences at Queen Mary University of London, underscores the significance of Mimas’s age: “Its ocean is remarkably young, estimated to be only 5 to 15 million years old.” This discovery provides a unique opportunity to observe the early stages of ocean formation and explore the potential for life to emerge.

Data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which extensively studied Saturn and its moons over a decade, played a crucial role in this revelation. By scrutinizing subtle changes in Mimas’s orbit, researchers inferred the presence of a hidden ocean and estimated its size and depth.

Dr. Cooper emphasizes the collaborative effort behind the discovery: “This has been a great team effort, with colleagues from five different institutions and three different countries coming together under the leadership of Dr Valéry Lainey to unlock another fascinating and unexpected feature of the Saturn system, using data from the Cassini mission.”

The revelation of Mimas’s young ocean carries profound implications for our understanding of extraterrestrial life. It suggests that even seemingly inactive and smaller moons can harbor hidden oceans capable of supporting life-sustaining conditions. This discovery opens up exciting possibilities for future exploration, propelling us closer to addressing the age-old question: are we alone in the universe?

Story Source:

Materials provided by Queen Mary University of London. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Multiple pilots, including those on Air Canada and Flair Airlines flights, described the peculiar movements of the lights, ruling out the possibility of satellites due to their distinct behavior. The 13-minute audio clip, condensed from 2.5 hours of raw audio from LiveATC.net, captures the bewilderment of pilots and air traffic controllers between approximately 4:20 a.m. and 6 a.m. CST.

An air traffic controller in Winnipeg relayed information from a company aircraft over Thunder Bay, suggesting satellites as a possible explanation. However, pilots from various flights quickly dismissed this idea, highlighting the lights’ unique behaviors, such as moving side-to-side, separating, and forming triangular patterns.

One pilot on a Flair Airlines flight from Vancouver to Toronto described the lights as being in a “random movement up and down, left, right, all over the place.” Another pilot, flying a Morningstar Air Express cargo flight from Calgary to Toronto, unequivocally stated, “Definitely not satellites. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen in the 15 years of night flying that I’ve done.”

The estimated altitude of the lights, reportedly as high as 100,000 feet, intrigued aviation professionals and prompted discussions about potential explanations. At least four different aircraft, including Flair and Morningstar jets, as well as two Air Canada flights, reported seeing the lights that morning.

Transport Canada’s online aviation incident database, CADORS, recorded the incident on January 23, acknowledging the unusual sighting. While Transport Canada emphasizes that such reports are preliminary and subject to change, the incident has raised questions about the investigative and follow-up procedures for unexplained aerial phenomena.

Nav Canada, responsible for managing Canada’s civilian air navigation infrastructure, reported the incident to federal transportation officials and military authorities, including the Canadian Air Defence Sector in North Bay, Ont., which monitors the northern approaches as part of Norad, the joint Canada-U.S. defence group.

Military sources typically state that they do not investigate sightings of unknown phenomena unless there is a credible threat or distress situation. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Transport Canada declined to provide additional details on the incident and any potential responses.

Experts and enthusiasts have offered varying opinions on the cause of the lights. Mick West, known for debunking conspiracy theories, attributes the phenomenon to sunlight reflecting off SpaceX Starlink satellites. However, UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) researcher Robert Powell disputes this explanation, emphasizing the momentary nature of satellite flaring.

The incident highlights a broader trend of mysterious aerial sightings, with pilots from other flights reporting similar phenomena over Canada in recent months and years. The lack of systematic investigation and closure for such incidents has sparked concerns among aviation professionals.

Donald “Spike” Kavalench, a retired Transport Canada surveillance pilot, voiced his frustration, questioning the absence of follow-up reports. “It is unacceptable that we seem to have a reporting system with nothing at the other end and no system for investigation and closure,” he remarked.

As the interest in unidentified aerial phenomena grows, the incident on January 19 adds another layer to the ongoing exploration of mysterious encounters in Canadian airspace. The federal government’s Sky Canada Project, aiming to release a public report on Canadian UAP procedures in 2024, underscores the need for a comprehensive approach to understanding and addressing unexplained phenomena in the skies.

Neurons’ activity, described by the National Institute of Health as cells using electrical and chemical signals to transmit information within the brain and to the body, is a key focus of Neuralink’s technology. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted clearance last year for the company to conduct its inaugural trial, a crucial step in Neuralink’s mission to assist patients dealing with paralysis and various neurological conditions.

The human trial, approved for recruitment in September, involves the use of a robot to surgically place a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant in a brain region controlling the intention to move. Neuralink aims to empower individuals to control a computer cursor or keyboard solely through their thoughts. The “ultra-fine” threads of the implants facilitate signal transmission within participants’ brains.

Elon Musk revealed that the first product resulting from Neuralink’s efforts would be named “Telepathy.” The ongoing PRIME Study assesses the safety of Neuralink’s wireless brain-computer interface and the associated surgical robot.

Despite these advancements, Neuralink has faced scrutiny, particularly concerning safety protocols. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the company was fined for violating U.S. Department of Transportation rules related to hazardous material movement. Additionally, concerns were raised about the technology’s safety after veterinary records revealed issues with implants on monkeys, including paralysis, seizures, and brain swelling.

Neuralink, valued at about $5 billion in June, has faced calls for an investigation into whether Musk misled investors about the technology’s safety. Musk addressed concerns in a social media post on September 10, stating that “no monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant” and emphasizing the company’s careful selection of “terminal” monkeys to minimize risks to healthy ones.

OpenAI, headquartered in San Francisco, has been given 30 days to respond to the allegations. The company expressed its intention to collaborate with Italian regulators, asserting that its practices align with GDPR and other privacy laws. OpenAI stated that it actively works to minimize personal data in training systems like ChatGPT and rejects requests for private or sensitive information about individuals.

Last year, OpenAI claimed to have fulfilled conditions set by Garante to lift the ChatGPT ban. The ban was imposed due to concerns about exposed user messages and payment information, the lack of age verification, enabling inappropriate responses for children, and uncertainties regarding the legal basis for collecting massive amounts of data to train ChatGPT.

Generative AI systems like ChatGPT are facing increased regulatory scrutiny globally. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission recently launched an inquiry into the relationships between OpenAI, Anthropic, and tech giants Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. EU and UK competition regulators are also examining Microsoft’s investments in OpenAI. Additionally, the EU is finalizing the AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive rulebook for artificial intelligence, expected to be endorsed by member states.

In new research published in the journal Science Advances, a team led by UCLA and The University of Oslo shows that at some point, the crater filled with water, depositing layers of sediments on the crater floor.

The lake subsequently shrank and sediments carried by the river that fed it formed an enormous delta.

As the lake dissipated over time, the sediments in the crater were eroded, forming the geologic features visible on the surface today.

The periods of deposition and erosion took place over eons of environmental changes, the radar indicates, confirming that inferences about the Jezero crater’s geologic history based on Mars images obtained from space are accurate.

“From orbit we can see a bunch of different deposits, but we can’t tell for sure if what we’re seeing is their original state, or if we’re seeing the conclusion of a long geological story,” said David Paige, a UCLA professor of Earth, planetary and space sciences and first author of the paper.

“To tell how these things formed, we need to see below the surface.”

The rover, which is about the size of a car and carries seven scientific instruments, has been exploring the 30-mile-wide crater, studying its geology and atmosphere and collecting samples since 2021.

Perseverance’s soil and rock samples will be brought back to Earth by a future expedition and studied for evidence of past life.

Between May and December 2022, Perseverance drove from the crater floor onto the delta, a vast expanse of 3 billion-year-old sediments that, from orbit, resembles the river deltas on Earth.

As the rover drove onto the delta, Perseverance’s Radar Imager for Mars’ Subsurface Experiment, or RIMFAX, instrument fired radar waves downward at 10-centimeter intervals and measured pulses reflected from depths of about 20 meters below the surface.

With the radar, scientists can see down to the base of the sediments to reveal the top surface of the buried crater floor.

Years of research with ground-penetrating radar and testing of RIMFAX on Earth have taught scientists how to read the structure and composition of subsurface layers from their radar reflections.

The resulting subsurface image shows rock layers that can be interpreted like a highway road cut.

“Some geologists say that the ability of radar to see under the surface is kind of like cheating,” said Paige, who is RIMFAX’s deputy principal investigator.

RIMFAX imaging revealed two distinct periods of sediment deposition sandwiched between two periods of erosion.

UCLA and the University of Oslo report that the crater floor below the delta is not uniformly flat, suggesting that a period of erosion occurred prior to the deposition of lake sediments.

The radar images show that the sediments are regular and horizontal — just like sediments deposited in lakes on Earth.

The existence of lake sediments had been suspected in previous studies, but has been confirmed by this research.

A second period of deposition occurred when fluctuations in the lake level allowed the river to deposit a broad delta that once extended far out into the lake, but has now eroded back closer to the river’s mouth.

“The changes we see preserved in the rock record are driven by large-scale changes in the Martian environment,” Paige said. “It’s cool that we can see so much evidence of change in such a small geographic area, which allows us extend our findings to the scale of the entire crater.”

Story Source:

Information courtesy of the University of California – Los Angeles. Originally authored by Holly Ober. Please note that the content may be subject to editing for style and length.

One of the significant discoveries revolves around multiple sclerosis (MS). The research indicates that Northern Europeans exhibit relatively higher rates of MS due to a gene introduced by the Yamnaya people approximately 5,000 years ago. These ancient herders migrated through Russia, Bulgaria, and Romania, settling in Northwestern Europe. The gene variants linked to MS were likely advantageous for protection against diseases affecting their livestock, despite increasing the risk of developing MS.

Eske Willerslev, a researcher with expertise in ancient DNA analysis, emphasized the far-reaching implications of this finding for our understanding and treatment of multiple sclerosis today. The study challenges existing perspectives on the causes of MS, highlighting the complex interplay between genetic legacies and environmental factors.

The research extends beyond MS, offering insights into various aspects of modern health:

• Height: The genetic legacy of the Yamnaya people also plays a role in the height differences observed between Northern and Southern Europeans.
• Disease Risks: Southern Europeans, with a concentration of ancient farmer DNA, may face a higher risk of bipolar disorder. Eastern Europeans may be genetically predisposed to increased risks of Alzheimer’s disease and Type 2 diabetes.
• Lactose Tolerance: The ability to digest milk after childhood likely emerged in Europe around 6,000 years ago, showcasing the evolution of lactose tolerance.
• Dietary Habits: An intriguing revelation is the emergence of an ability and tolerance to live solely on a vegetarian diet around 5,900 years ago in Europe.

Evan Irving-Pease, lead author of one of the studies, highlighted the profound impact of the Eurasian region’s lifestyles over the last 10,000 years on the genetic legacy influencing both physical appearance and disease risks in present-day descendants. These findings underscore the intricate interplay between ancient lifestyles and the genetic makeup of contemporary populations, emphasizing the enduring legacy of our ancestors on our health and well-being.

As the studies challenge and reshape our understanding of the evolution of diseases and physical traits, they open new avenues for exploring the complex relationship between genetics and environment throughout human history.

Find out more about ancient genetics in a study published last year in Nature Medicine.

The issue arose approximately seven hours after the liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where Astrobotic’s lander, Peregrine, was launched atop United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket. The rocket’s upper stage successfully freed the lander on a trajectory toward the moon, but the propulsion system problem jeopardizes its lunar descent.

Astrobotic, vying to be the first private business to achieve a successful moon landing, had received millions from NASA for the lunar lander project. The space agency aims to use privately owned landers to scout the moon before astronauts arrive and deliver tech, science experiments, and other cargo for various entities.

Late Monday, Astrobotic released a photo showing a disturbance in a section of thermal insulation, aligning with the identified problem. The company had secured a $108 million contract with NASA for the Peregrine lander and has additional projects in the pipeline.

NASA acknowledged the added risk associated with using private companies for lunar deliveries, emphasizing that success and setbacks are opportunities to learn and grow. The last U.S. moon landing mission occurred in December 1972, and the Artemis program, NASA’s initiative to return astronauts to the moon, is underway.

While Astrobotic’s setback poses a significant challenge, another lunar lander from a Houston-based company is scheduled to launch next month. The independent commission appointed by Maine Gov. Janet Mills is investigating all aspects of the incident, focusing on potential warning signs related to the shooter’s deteriorating mental health that may have been overlooked.

The space agency’s commitment to utilizing private companies for lunar deliveries is seen as a cost-effective and quicker approach, but it comes with added risks. The unfolding situation highlights the complex nature of space exploration and the continuous need for adaptation and improvement.

Dr. Takafumi Tsukui, the lead author of the study, emphasized the importance of ALMA’s advanced capabilities in scrutinizing this ancient galaxy in unprecedented detail. The primary focus of the investigation was to unravel the intricate dynamics of gas movement within BRI 1335-0417, a critical factor influencing star formation and providing crucial clues about a galaxy’s fueling mechanisms.

The observations not only captured the intricate dance of gas surrounding BRI 1335-0417 but also detected the formation of a seismic wave—a remarkable first for galaxies of this early epoch. The galactic disk, comprising a flat assembly of rotating stars, gas, and dust, exhibited a vertical oscillating motion akin to ripples spreading across a pond. This motion, as Dr. Tsukui explained, is likely induced by external influences, such as the influx of new gas into the galaxy or interactions with smaller neighboring galaxies.

Furthermore, the study unveiled a bar-like structure within the galactic disk, representing the most distant example of such a feature. Galactic bars can disrupt gas and channel it toward the central regions of a galaxy, influencing star formation processes. These findings collectively indicate the dynamic evolution of a young galaxy.

Due to its immense distance, the light from BRI 1335-0417 takes an extensive journey to reach Earth, offering a glimpse into the galaxy’s formative years when the universe was merely 10% of its current age. Despite its similarity in mass to the Milky Way, BRI 1335-0417 exhibits a star formation rate several hundred times faster than modern galaxies.

Associate Professor Emily Wisnioski, a co-author of the study, highlighted the galaxy’s rapid star formation and the need to understand the mechanisms supplying the necessary gas to sustain such intense activity. While direct observation of the galaxy’s evolution is impossible due to the nature of snapshots provided by telescopic observations, computer simulations can aid in reconstructing the story of BRI 1335-0417’s early existence, offering valuable insights into the cosmic processes shaping galaxies in the early universe.

Content from the Australian National University. Note: The content may have been edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. Takafumi Tsukui, Emily Wisnioski, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Yifan Mai, Satoru Iguchi, Junichi Baba, Ken Freeman. Detecting a disc bending wave in a barred-spiral galaxy at redshift 4.4. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2024; 527 (3): 8941 DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stad3588

January
In the United States, California faced floods, mudslides, and power outages, claiming at least 21 lives. Iowa experienced its first January tornadoes in over 50 years, affecting around 50 million people. Meanwhile, New Zealand saw flash floods and landslides, resulting in four fatalities.

February
Cyclone Freddy, one of the longest-lasting and deadly storms on record, caused widespread destruction. It re-intensified seven times, leaving a devastating impact on Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique, and other regions, with an estimated death toll of at least 1,400.

March
Spain faced its driest March in 20 years, leading to long-term drought conditions. Turkey experienced flash flooding and landslides, causing 16 deaths. In Western Australia, Tropical Cyclone Ellie triggered “one-in-100-year” floods, forcing evacuations and causing extensive damage.

April
Europe endured a heatwave, with temperatures soaring up to 20C higher than average. Spain recorded its hottest-ever April temperature, reaching 38.8C. Tornadoes in the U.S. South and Midwest claimed at least 11 lives.

May
Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Myanmar and Bangladesh, causing widespread devastation and leaving hundreds dead or missing. Flash floods in the Democratic Republic of Congo resulted in over 400 deaths. Fires escalated in Canada, marking the worst wildfire season in its history.

June
Canada faced an unprecedented wildfire season, displacing thousands and claiming firefighters’ lives. Haiti experienced heavy rain, strong winds, floods, and landslides, leading to over 40 deaths.

July
Europe endured record-breaking temperatures, with the Copernicus Climate Change Service declaring it the hottest month ever recorded. Southern Europe grappled with high temperatures and wildfires, while floods and landslides affected parts of Asia.

August
Maui, Hawaii, witnessed deadly wildfires, with over 100 reported deaths and 850 people missing. Storm Hilary brought California’s first tropical storm in 84 years, causing warnings of life-threatening conditions.

September
Mediterranean Storm Daniel caused catastrophic flooding in Libya, resulting in thousands of deaths. Severe flooding and landslides affected parts of East Africa, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

October
Storm Babet brought extreme conditions, including torrential rain, to northern and western Europe. Parts of the UK experienced flooding, and daily rainfall records were broken.

November
The UK faced Storm Ciaran, comparable in severity to the Great Storm of 1987. Australia experienced record-breaking heat, with temperatures reaching 43.5C at Sydney Airport.

December
Floods and landslides in northern Tanzania killed 47 people, causing extensive damage. Australia faced record-breaking heat, with Sydney Airport recording its highest temperature since 1929.

The year 2023 concludes as one of the most challenging in recent history, emphasizing the urgent need for global action on climate change. Extreme weather events continue to intensify, underscoring the importance of addressing environmental concerns on a worldwide scale.