One of the largest human-made permanent magnets in space resides on the International Space Station (ISS), and it’s helping scientists better understand the origins of our universe. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is an observatory that is collecting data from measurements of cosmic rays, nuclei from hydrogen up to iron, as well as electrons and positrons that pervade all of our…
Tag: alpha
Hamal is an ancient equinox star
It’s not a super-noticeable star, but Hamal is the brightest star in Aries the Ram and can be found fairly easily. Plus Hamal has a special place in the history of the Earth and sky. Source: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/hamal-ancient-equinox-star…
Brief but potent meteor outburst expected November 21-22
Exciting news! Some lucky observers may catch a brief outburst of alpha Monocerotid meteors this Thursday night (or Friday morning). And we do mean brief. Peak activity – a rate of 400 meteors per hour – is expected to last 15 to 40 minutes. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/possible-meteor-outburst-alpha-monocerotids-nov-21-22-2019…
Watch spacewalk on Friday November 15
Watch 2 International Space Station astronauts perform the 1st in a series of spacewalks NASA is calling the most complex in a decade. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/watch-iss-spacewalk-nov-dec-2019…
Luca to lead most challenging spacewalks since Hubble repairs
The date is set for ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano’s first spacewalk of his Beyond mission. Friday 15 November marks the start of a series of complex spacewalks to service the cosmic-particle-hunting Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02). Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-11-luca-spacewalks-hubble.html…
Python Adopts a 12-month Release Cycle
The steering council of Python said it is adopting a 12-month release cycle as it seeks to bring more consistency to schedule. In their mailing list they announced the change would mean developers would: 1. Know when to start testing the beta to provide feedback.
2. Know when the expect the RC so the community can prepare their projects for the final…
Facebook Is Launching a News Section — and Will Pay Some Publishers Millions
Facebook is planning to launch its news section on Friday, “which will give users a way to scan headlines and read some news stories — and which will give some publishers, like News Corp, millions of dollars a year for making their journalism available to Facebook,” reports Recode. From the report: News Corp CEO Robert Thomson and his boss, News Corp…
Zoom in on the Ghost Nebula
Nebula IC 63 – in the direction of our constellation Cassiopeia – is slowly dissipating under the influence of ionizing ultraviolet radiation from a hot, luminous variable star known as Gamma Cas. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/cassiopeia-ghost-nebula-ic-63-hubble-image…