Andrew Yang Wants a Thorium Reactor By 2027

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: To transition the United States from fossil fuels to green energy, [Democratic Presidential candidate Andrew Yang] wants the government to invest $50 billion in the development of thorium molten-salt nuclear reactors — and he wants them on the grid by 2027. “Nuclear isn’t a perfect solution, but it’s a solid solution for now,”…

What’s the source of the ice at the moon’s south pole?

A new study from Brown University suggests that different deposits of south polar moon ice not only have different sources, but also vary greatly in age. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/different-sources-ice-moons-south-pole…

NASA Engineer’s ‘Helical Engine’ May Violate Laws of Physics

NASA engineer David Burns posted a paper describing the concept of his “helical engine,” which could take humans to the stars by exploiting mass-altering effects known to occur at near-light speed. Unfortunately, it’s been met with skepticism from those who say it violates the conservation of momentum, a core physical law. New Scientist explains: To get to grips with the principle…

Cold-blooded mammals roamed Earth for tens of millions of years

Two protomammals from the dinosaur era were still cold-blooded like their reptile ancestors, even though their skeletons and brains were mammal-like Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2219467-cold-blooded-mammals-roamed-earth-for-tens-of-millions-of-years/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Scientists start mapping universe’s hidden web

Maps of the long filaments of gas that hold the universe together might one day help trace and unveil dark matter. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/map-universe-hidden-web-dark-matter…

Cosmic web fuels stars and supermassive black holes

Astronomers probed the cosmic web, a large-scale structure composed of massive filaments of galaxies separated by giant voids. They found the filaments also contained significant amounts of gas, believed to help fuel the galaxies’ growth. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/cosmic-web-gas-reservoir-fuel-galaxies-growth…

Juno prepares to jump Jupiter’s shadow

NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter has now successfully executed a 10.5-hour propulsive maneuver. It’ll keep Juno – a solar-powered spacecraft – out of a mission-ending shadow due to have been cast by Jupiter onto the craft in November. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/juno-maneuver-sept-avoids-jupiter-shadow-nov…