Space weather can cause both beautiful auroras and infrastructure challenges – 5 essential reads on protecting life and technology

Most days, you can look up and see the Sun shining above. Even if it’s hidden behind clouds, you know it’s there, lighting up the sky. But while the Sun’s light might be relatively constant, its surface is surprisingly active. If you hopped on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe for a closeup view of the Sun, you might see spurts of charged gas called solar flares coming off its surface, or dramatic explosions called coronal mass ejections. These events travel outward from the Sun through space, and sometimes they interact with Earth’s magnetic field, causing space weather.

More…

Jülich Backs European Satellite for Space Photosynthesis

The European Space Agency’s FLEX mission marks the beginning of a new era of plant research from space. The satellite, which was specifically developed to observe photosynthesis, will track how plants react to drought, heat, and other environmental stresses. The insights could help to develop climate-resilient agriculture, better protect natural ecosystems, and increase food security in the long term. Forschungszentrum Jülich operates the German FLEX project office, contributes its scientific expertise to the mission, and supports researchers in using the freely available satellite data.

More…

What happens when quantum mechanics and relativity meet?

Almost a hundred years ago, physicists theorized out what free fall should do to a quantum wave. If the solution they came up with is wrong, quantum mechanics and Einstein’s theory of gravity flatly contradict each other. But testing it has been impossible because nobody has managed to build an interferometer that could perform the necessary measurement.

More…

Tau.Neutrino said:

Space weather can cause both beautiful auroras and infrastructure challenges – 5 essential reads on protecting life and technology

Most days, you can look up and see the Sun shining above. Even if it’s hidden behind clouds, you know it’s there, lighting up the sky. But while the Sun’s light might be relatively constant, its surface is surprisingly active. If you hopped on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe for a closeup view of the Sun, you might see spurts of charged gas called solar flares coming off its surface, or dramatic explosions called coronal mass ejections. These events travel outward from the Sun through space, and sometimes they interact with Earth’s magnetic field, causing space weather.

More…

Or a Tesla.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Space weather can cause both beautiful auroras and infrastructure challenges – 5 essential reads on protecting life and technology

Most days, you can look up and see the Sun shining above. Even if it’s hidden behind clouds, you know it’s there, lighting up the sky. But while the Sun’s light might be relatively constant, its surface is surprisingly active. If you hopped on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe for a closeup view of the Sun, you might see spurts of charged gas called solar flares coming off its surface, or dramatic explosions called coronal mass ejections. These events travel outward from the Sun through space, and sometimes they interact with Earth’s magnetic field, causing space weather.

More…

Friendly tip: don’t look up at the sun. You can tell it is there without looking at it…

furious said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Space weather can cause both beautiful auroras and infrastructure challenges – 5 essential reads on protecting life and technology

Most days, you can look up and see the Sun shining above. Even if it’s hidden behind clouds, you know it’s there, lighting up the sky. But while the Sun’s light might be relatively constant, its surface is surprisingly active. If you hopped on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe for a closeup view of the Sun, you might see spurts of charged gas called solar flares coming off its surface, or dramatic explosions called coronal mass ejections. These events travel outward from the Sun through space, and sometimes they interact with Earth’s magnetic field, causing space weather.

More…

Friendly tip: don’t look up at the sun. You can tell it is there without looking at it…

Yes.

furious said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Space weather can cause both beautiful auroras and infrastructure challenges – 5 essential reads on protecting life and technology

Most days, you can look up and see the Sun shining above. Even if it’s hidden behind clouds, you know it’s there, lighting up the sky. But while the Sun’s light might be relatively constant, its surface is surprisingly active. If you hopped on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe for a closeup view of the Sun, you might see spurts of charged gas called solar flares coming off its surface, or dramatic explosions called coronal mass ejections. These events travel outward from the Sun through space, and sometimes they interact with Earth’s magnetic field, causing space weather.

More…

Friendly tip: don’t look up at the sun. You can tell it is there without looking at it…

but that is where the fun is!

Tau.Neutrino said:

furious said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Space weather can cause both beautiful auroras and infrastructure challenges – 5 essential reads on protecting life and technology

Most days, you can look up and see the Sun shining above. Even if it’s hidden behind clouds, you know it’s there, lighting up the sky. But while the Sun’s light might be relatively constant, its surface is surprisingly active. If you hopped on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe for a closeup view of the Sun, you might see spurts of charged gas called solar flares coming off its surface, or dramatic explosions called coronal mass ejections. These events travel outward from the Sun through space, and sometimes they interact with Earth’s magnetic field, causing space weather.

More…

Friendly tip: don’t look up at the sun. You can tell it is there without looking at it…

Yes.

Looking at the sun can cause eye damage.

I think its fairly well known.

But just in case.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Jülich Backs European Satellite for Space Photosynthesis

The European Space Agency’s FLEX mission marks the beginning of a new era of plant research from space. The satellite, which was specifically developed to observe photosynthesis, will track how plants react to drought, heat, and other environmental stresses. The insights could help to develop climate-resilient agriculture, better protect natural ecosystems, and increase food security in the long term. Forschungszentrum Jülich operates the German FLEX project office, contributes its scientific expertise to the mission, and supports researchers in using the freely available satellite data.

More…

What kinds of analyse using AI could be achieved with so much free data?

thanks

SCIENCE said:

thanks

No worries.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Jülich Backs European Satellite for Space Photosynthesis

The European Space Agency’s FLEX mission marks the beginning of a new era of plant research from space. The satellite, which was specifically developed to observe photosynthesis, will track how plants react to drought, heat, and other environmental stresses. The insights could help to develop climate-resilient agriculture, better protect natural ecosystems, and increase food security in the long term. Forschungszentrum Jülich operates the German FLEX project office, contributes its scientific expertise to the mission, and supports researchers in using the freely available satellite data.

More…

What kinds of analyse using AI could be achieved with so much free data?

AI could find and catalogue all plants with high enough definition to see shapes and color ranges.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Jülich Backs European Satellite for Space Photosynthesis

The European Space Agency’s FLEX mission marks the beginning of a new era of plant research from space. The satellite, which was specifically developed to observe photosynthesis, will track how plants react to drought, heat, and other environmental stresses. The insights could help to develop climate-resilient agriculture, better protect natural ecosystems, and increase food security in the long term. Forschungszentrum Jülich operates the German FLEX project office, contributes its scientific expertise to the mission, and supports researchers in using the freely available satellite data.

More…

What kinds of analyse using AI could be achieved with so much free data?

AI could find and catalogue all plants with high enough definition to see shapes and color ranges.

From there you could count all the different species of plants, count each species, keep track of declining numbers and map where they all are.

Welsh actor Matthew Rhys won two Emmys today, one for Widow’s Bay and one for The Beast In Me. Which is certainly unusual.

Physicists zoom into the birth of cosmic rainstorms with new CERN study

Every second, particles zip through your body at nearly the speed of light. They rain down from a storm high in the sky, where cosmic rays, a powerful type of interstellar matter, are constantly striking atoms in Earth’s atmosphere. The impacts break them apart into a shower of particles that rain to the ground.

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LOL

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/16/uk-mathematician-debunks-myth-parthenon-optical-illusions

we saw something recently that was either along the debunk lines, or presented the myths unquestioningly but in a way that made us think it really didn’t make physical / cognitive / mathematical sense

SCIENCE said:

LOL

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/16/uk-mathematician-debunks-myth-parthenon-optical-illusions

we saw something recently that was either along the debunk lines, or presented the myths unquestioningly but in a way that made us think it really didn’t make physical / cognitive / mathematical sense

unless it was this, which we saw recently in geologic time but not really that recently relative to our biochemical lifetime

SCIENCE said:

SCIENCE said:

LOL

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/16/uk-mathematician-debunks-myth-parthenon-optical-illusions

we saw something recently that was either along the debunk lines, or presented the myths unquestioningly but in a way that made us think it really didn’t make physical / cognitive / mathematical sense

unless it was this http://www.greece-is.com/the-optical-illusions-that-make-the-parthenon-perfect/ , which we saw recently in geologic time but not really that recently relative to our biochemical lifetime

sorry link included now fixed

SCIENCE said:

SCIENCE said:

SCIENCE said:

LOL

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/16/uk-mathematician-debunks-myth-parthenon-optical-illusions

we saw something recently that was either along the debunk lines, or presented the myths unquestioningly but in a way that made us think it really didn’t make physical / cognitive / mathematical sense

unless it was this http://www.greece-is.com/the-optical-illusions-that-make-the-parthenon-perfect/ , which we saw recently in geologic time but not really that recently relative to our biochemical lifetime

sorry link included now fixed

Yes, it all seemed a bit overstated and perhaps a little far-fetched. Especially as you can clearly see, for example, that the columns are a bit plump, and it doesn’t look to be compensating for any geometric inadequacy if they weren’t. Just making them a bit more satisfyingly substantial.

We may soon be able to read long-lost ancient scrolls damaged by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius

After 25 Years, Physicists Can Finally Measure The ‘Other’ Kind of Quantum Entanglement

Quantum entanglement is one of the most cognitively jarring disconnects between the quantum domain and the macroscopic world.

When fundamental particles such as electrons or photons are entangled, they share a quantum identity and cannot be described as individual entities; they exist in a superposition with no fixed state until at least one is measured.

More…

Electrical technique could help identify signs of life in space

The truth is out there—but identifying signs of life in space involves an intense search for biosignatures within our solar system and beyond. However, developing sensitive yet compact technologies capable of detection has proven to be an out-of-this-world challenge.

Distinguishing living beings from nonliving chemicals and processes relies on amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. The two mirror-image forms of an amino acid have the same chemical formula but can help distinguish the living from the nonliving. For living creatures, almost all amino acids are exclusively in the L-form, with sugars existing in the D-form. By contrast, nonliving chemical and physical processes produce both L- and D-forms in equal abundance.

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Hidden Consciousness Exists in Humans—So Much More Than We Thought, Scientists Say

Human consciousness is one of the great mysteries of science. Many theories ponder its very existence, and a few even wonder if this ineffable cognition could be the result of quantum processes beyond our current understanding. While both scientific and philosophical debates rage, experts have, at the very least, become more adept at detecting consciousness—even if someone shows no outward sign of it.

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New Ways to Convert Sunlight Into Clean Energy Efficiently

Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a new family of materials that use light to produce hydrogen from water, opening the door to new ways of converting the sun’s rays into clean energy.

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Nullarbor caves might hold secrets about life on Mars, research suggests

In short:

New research explores the previously unknown relationship between shallow surface trenches on the Nullarbor Plain and the caves underneath.

Researchers say it could shed light on cave systems in other environments, including on other planets.
What’s next?

The findings could be used to search shallow surface trenches on other planets for extraterrestrial life.

More…

Ball lightning

An Australian-built lunar rover will help unlock secrets to surviving on a drier, warmer planet. (Jason O’BRIEN/AAP PHOTOS)

It can withstand the deepest freeze to heat that can roast a chicken, can hug harsh landscapes in low gravity and it’s going to the moon.

More…

Lightsaber-like plasma antenna uses laser-ionized air to transmit radio waves

Researchers have demonstrated a technique that uses a laser to produce a plasma beam antenna capable of transmitting radio waves. The article, “Laser-Induced-Plasma-Filament Antenna Transmitting 30 MHz VHF,” is published in the IEEE Journal of Microwaves.

More…

Related article

Researchers Demonstrate First Plasma Beam Antenna

Researchers have demonstrated a technique that uses a laser to produce a plasma beam antenna capable of transmitting radio waves.

More…

100 years ago, Schrödinger’s equation shed light on quantum physics – scientists use it today to fine‑tune chemical reactions

The objects you interact with every day are predictable – you can pick up a box, sit down in a chair without falling to the floor, or open a door without your hand passing through the knob. But if you zoom in on these objects all the way to the quantum level – where you look at the individual atoms – you’ll find that things start to behave somewhat strangely.

More…

Tau.Neutrino said:

An Australian-built lunar rover will help unlock secrets to surviving on a drier, warmer planet. (Jason O’BRIEN/AAP PHOTOS)

It can withstand the deepest freeze to heat that can roast a chicken, can hug harsh landscapes in low gravity and it’s going to the moon.

More…

why go all the way to the Moon to study this. There’s plenty of arid and semi arid lands in Australia that’s just a few hours drive away from any major capital.

Tau.Neutrino said:

An Australian-built lunar rover will help unlock secrets to surviving on a drier, warmer planet. (Jason O’BRIEN/AAP PHOTOS)

It can withstand the deepest freeze to heat that can roast a chicken, can hug harsh landscapes in low gravity and it’s going to the moon.

More…

… but is it faster than a speeding bullet?
More powerful that a locomotive?
Can it leap tall buildings in a single bound?

I have questions, everything from a missing word to sexually transmitted diarrhoea… 🤔

Divine Angel said:

I have questions, everything from a missing word to sexually transmitted diarrhoea… 🤔

was it written by a human

SCIENCE said:

Divine Angel said:

I have questions, everything from a missing word to sexually transmitted diarrhoea… 🤔

was it written by a human

Probably by the monkey who gave up on Hamlet.

Divine Angel said:

I have questions, everything from a missing word to sexually transmitted diarrhoea… 🤔

The diarrhoea..

Link

A train was delayed by a solar storm. But something didn’t add up.

Scientists have cracked a 178-year-old mystery surrounding a train delayed by a solar storm, revealing that the famous incident happened in 1848 rather than 1841. The discovery rewrites the early history of space weather and highlights a threat that still endangers modern power grids, satellites, and communication systems.

More…

Tau.Neutrino said:

A train was delayed by a solar storm. But something didn’t add up.

Scientists have cracked a 178-year-old mystery surrounding a train delayed by a solar storm, revealing that the famous incident happened in 1848 rather than 1841. The discovery rewrites the early history of space weather and highlights a threat that still endangers modern power grids, satellites, and communication systems.

More…

delayed by 7 years damn what a commute

Cambridge scientists create a $10 chip that could put a medical lab on your wrist

Cambridge researchers have created a groundbreaking $10 optical sensor that delivers the precision of laboratory equipment in a device small enough for wearable technology. It identified foods, plastics, and medicines with 100% accuracy in tests and demonstrated the ability to monitor blood glucose, alcohol, and other health markers without invasive procedures.

More…

Tau.Neutrino said:

Cambridge scientists create a $10 chip that could put a medical lab on your wrist

Cambridge researchers have created a groundbreaking $10 optical sensor that delivers the precision of laboratory equipment in a device small enough for wearable technology. It identified foods, plastics, and medicines with 100% accuracy in tests and demonstrated the ability to monitor blood glucose, alcohol, and other health markers without invasive procedures.

More…

what would elizabeth anne holmes do

Tau.Neutrino said:

Cambridge scientists create a $10 chip that could put a medical lab on your wrist

Cambridge researchers have created a groundbreaking $10 optical sensor that delivers the precision of laboratory equipment in a device small enough for wearable technology. It identified foods, plastics, and medicines with 100% accuracy in tests and demonstrated the ability to monitor blood glucose, alcohol, and other health markers without invasive procedures.

More…

Seems too good to be true. I sincerely hope it comes to fruition.

Scientists Discovered an Amazing Practical Use For The World’s Leftover Coffee Grounds

Charred coffee grounds could make concrete up to 30 percent stronger,

More…

2,000-year-old Archimedes’ screw inspires motor that boosts electricity 100 times

By linking a molecule between two gold tips, researchers have uncovered a new way to control motion at the smallest possible scale.

More…

Tiny 22-lb Hydrogen Engine May Replace the Traditional Combustion Engine

Israel-based Aquarius Engines unveiled a new hydrogen engine that it says could do away with the global reliance on hydrogen fuel cells and fossil fuels, the company explained in a press statement via PR Newswire.

More…

Tau.Neutrino said:

Scientists Discovered an Amazing Practical Use For The World’s Leftover Coffee Grounds

Charred coffee grounds could make concrete up to 30 percent stronger,

More…

The Rev D.

The Rev D.

Paging: The Rev D.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tiny 22-lb Hydrogen Engine May Replace the Traditional Combustion Engine

Israel-based Aquarius Engines unveiled a new hydrogen engine that it says could do away with the global reliance on hydrogen fuel cells and fossil fuels, the company explained in a press statement via PR Newswire.

More…

If it’s true, then…

…it’ll just disappear somehow and never be heard of again.

captain_spalding said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tiny 22-lb Hydrogen Engine May Replace the Traditional Combustion Engine

Israel-based Aquarius Engines unveiled a new hydrogen engine that it says could do away with the global reliance on hydrogen fuel cells and fossil fuels, the company explained in a press statement via PR Newswire.

More…

If it’s true, then…

…it’ll just disappear somehow and never be heard of again.

nah they’ll sabotage all the battery systems

SpaceX to build world’s largest spaceport in Louisiana

The new Space Age looks to be shifting into top gear as SpaceX signs an agreement with the state of Louisiana for the company to invest US$100 billion to build the world’s largest spaceport that could conduct over 10,000 launches per year.

More…

Radio waves drive a fusion plasma current that could help reactors run continuously

For the first time, a team of physicists in the U.S. has clearly demonstrated a “helicon current drive” in a nuclear fusion experiment. Led by Jeff Lestz at General Atomics, San Diego, the team took advantage of the latest advances in tokamak technology to show that radio waves steered to travel around the donut-shaped device can be absorbed by its confined plasma, driving an electric current inside it.

More…

Tau.Neutrino said:

Radio waves drive a fusion plasma current that could help reactors run continuously

For the first time, a team of physicists in the U.S. has clearly demonstrated a “helicon current drive” in a nuclear fusion experiment. Led by Jeff Lestz at General Atomics, San Diego, the team took advantage of the latest advances in tokamak technology to show that radio waves steered to travel around the donut-shaped device can be absorbed by its confined plasma, driving an electric current inside it.

More…

Thirty years?

This thread subject is vague as fuck.

dv said:

This thread subject is vague as fuck.

we’re quite well defined as is our sexgender thank yous very much

Your Brain May Be Switching Between Two Realities 15 Times a Second

How grounded do you feel in the present moment? It may be a little less than you think.

Even as you fix your gaze on the screen in front of you to read these words, your brain may be flickering between what you’re consciously taking in and other visual information that never quite reaches your awareness.

More…

BBC clip

How a zeptoverse breakthrough could unlock the secrets of dark matter

Physicists step closer to the ‘Zeptoverse’ after 42-year particle search

Physicists have found evidence of a particle decay so rare that it is expected to occur only around once in every 10 billion “beauty” particles. The result, from the upgraded LHCb experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), follows a search spanning more than 40 years and brings physicists closer to exploring the “Zeptoverse“—an unexplored world that exists at distances of a billionth of a trillionth of a meter, or a “zeptometer,” where new particles and forces of nature may be hiding.

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Robot successfully builds space structure in first autonomous construction demo

A robotic truss builder that was conceived, designed and built by Caltech researchers has successfully built a structure in space—without the help of astronauts—for the first time. The truss builder, part of DARPA’s Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D) program, consists of an autonomous manipulator that picks up struts and joints held in nearby dispensers to repeatedly assemble identical sections, or bays, of a perimeter truss.

More…

Tau.Neutrino said:

Robot successfully builds space structure in first autonomous construction demo

A robotic truss builder that was conceived, designed and built by Caltech researchers has successfully built a structure in space—without the help of astronauts—for the first time. The truss builder, part of DARPA’s Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D) program, consists of an autonomous manipulator that picks up struts and joints held in nearby dispensers to repeatedly assemble identical sections, or bays, of a perimeter truss.

More…

For maintenance, a continuous rail would be handy to have.

I don’t think he deserves his own thread.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Robot successfully builds space structure in first autonomous construction demo

A robotic truss builder that was conceived, designed and built by Caltech researchers has successfully built a structure in space—without the help of astronauts—for the first time. The truss builder, part of DARPA’s Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D) program, consists of an autonomous manipulator that picks up struts and joints held in nearby dispensers to repeatedly assemble identical sections, or bays, of a perimeter truss.

More…

For maintenance, a continuous rail would be handy to have.

Building in power, comms and diagnostics would be handy too.

Scientists achieve record-breaking low temperature on China’s space station, paving the way for new physics experiments

Matter starts to behave differently at extremely low temperatures, creating conditions ideal for studying quantum physics and new states of matter. Now, researchers from China have achieved a new low-temperature record aboard their Tiangong space station. Their research, recently published in Science, might lead to a new generation of experiments in quantum physics and precision measurements in space.

More…

Scientists Discover Chimpanzees Making Weapons

9.7 picokelvin: China Space Station creates artificial matter a hundred billion times colder than deep space, setting a world record

Chinese scientists aboard the China Space Station have used all-optical trap cooling to chill a cloud of rubidium atoms to 9.7 picokelvin, 14 orders of magnitude below room temperature and nearly 300 billion times colder than the background temperature of deep space, breaking the previous record of 38 picokelvin set in 2021 and making it the coldest known artificial matter.

More…

Tau.Neutrino said:

9.7 picokelvin: China Space Station creates artificial matter a hundred billion times colder than deep space, setting a world record

Chinese scientists aboard the China Space Station have used all-optical trap cooling to chill a cloud of rubidium atoms to 9.7 picokelvin, 14 orders of magnitude below room temperature and nearly 300 billion times colder than the background temperature of deep space, breaking the previous record of 38 picokelvin set in 2021 and making it the coldest known artificial matter.

More…

we grow more certain that replacing silly prefixes is actually useful

What is science? Even scientists can’t agree

Scientists spend their careers trying to understand the world, but a new study suggests they have surprisingly different ideas about what science itself is. The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, found that scientists disagree about the meaning and purpose of science even more than the general public does. Of the 18 descriptions of science examined, few received unqualified endorsement from scientists, who often expressed reservations even about ideas they generally agreed with.

More…

Tau.Neutrino said:

What is science? Even scientists can’t agree

Scientists spend their careers trying to understand the world, but a new study suggests they have surprisingly different ideas about what science itself is. The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, found that scientists disagree about the meaning and purpose of science even more than the general public does. Of the 18 descriptions of science examined, few received unqualified endorsement from scientists, who often expressed reservations even about ideas they generally agreed with.

More…

fail

SCIENCE said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

What is science? Even scientists can’t agree

Scientists spend their careers trying to understand the world, but a new study suggests they have surprisingly different ideas about what science itself is. The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, found that scientists disagree about the meaning and purpose of science even more than the general public does. Of the 18 descriptions of science examined, few received unqualified endorsement from scientists, who often expressed reservations even about ideas they generally agreed with.

More…

fail

You are telling us you don’t know what SCIENCE is?

The Rev Dodgson said:

SCIENCE said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

What is science? Even scientists can’t agree

Scientists spend their careers trying to understand the world, but a new study suggests they have surprisingly different ideas about what science itself is. The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, found that scientists disagree about the meaning and purpose of science even more than the general public does. Of the 18 descriptions of science examined, few received unqualified endorsement from scientists, who often expressed reservations even about ideas they generally agreed with.

More…

fail

You are telling us you don’t know what SCIENCE is?

SCIENCE said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

SCIENCE said:

fail

You are telling us you don’t know what SCIENCE is?

We all know what SCIENCE is. We’re just too polite to say it.

captain_spalding said:

SCIENCE said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

You are telling us you don’t know what SCIENCE is?

We all know what SCIENCE is. We’re just too polite to say it.

True.