New ‘eyewear’ to deepen the view of NASA’s Roman Space Telescope

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be able to explore even more cosmic questions, thanks to a new near-infrared filter. The upgrade will allow the observatory to see longer wavelengths of light, opening up exciting new opportunities for discoveries from the edge of our solar system to the farthest reaches of space. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-eyewear-deepen-view-nasa-roman.html…

NASA’s Roman mission will probe galaxy’s core for hot Jupiters, brown dwarfs

When it launches in the mid-2020s, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will explore an expansive range of infrared astrophysics topics. One eagerly anticipated survey will use a gravitational effect called microlensing to reveal thousands of worlds that are similar to the planets in our solar system. Now, a new study shows that the same survey will also unveil more extreme…

China Plans Online Payment Rules That May Hit Ant, Tencent

hackingbear writes: People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, said on Wednesday that any non-bank payment company with half of the market in online transactions or two entities with a combined two-thirds share could be subject to antitrust probes, potentially dealing another blow to financial technology giant Ant Group Co. and its biggest rival Tencent Holdings Ltd. Ant’s Alipay accounts…

Young moon at dusk; meteors after midnight

On November 16, 17, 18 and 19, 2020, enjoy the beautiful presence of a waxing crescent moon covered over in earthshine in the west after sunset. Then, after midnight, watch for meteors in the annual Leonid meteor shower. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/young-moon-at-dusk-meteors-at-night…

Uber Will Now Let Users Book Rides 30 Days In Advance and Pick a Favorite Driver

Uber is rolling out a new feature this week that will let users reserve rides up to 30 days in advance and pick their favorite driver for the trip as the ride-hailing company seeks new ways to attract customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. TechCrunch reports: The new option, called Uber Reserve, which will begin to show up on the app in…

Seeing the Invisible Ones: My Journey to Coursera and Grace Hopper

Hi everyone! My name is Nhu. I’m a recent graduate and a Software Engineer at Coursera. I was also a first-time representative at Grace Hopper. This year, we experienced the conference virtually—there were no free shirts, colorful booth displays, or long lines. We did not get to experience the energy of being in a room […]
The post Seeing the Invisible Ones:…

Google’s Epic Response: Android 12 Will Make It Easier To Install App Stores

Google today announced it will make it easier to install and use third-party app stores with the release of Android 12 next year. From a report: Google also reiterated its existing Payments Policy for in-app purchases of digital goods: Android developers who want to distribute apps and games on Google Play, must use Play’s billing system. Google is offering a 1-year…

Are there more rogue planets than stars in our galaxy?

A new study suggests there are more rogue, free-floating planets – unconnected to any star – than stars in our Milky Way galaxy. NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is expected to begin finding hundreds of them. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/rogue-planets-milky-way-roman-space-telescope…

Pesticides and industrial pollutants found in snow atop Arctic glaciers

The long journey of these compounds – likely originating in the U.S. and Eurasia – shows the far-reaching impacts of industrial pollution. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/pesticides-industrial-pollutants-found-atop-arctic-glaciers…

Fraud Charges, Lost Patents: How an Auto Legend’s China Venture Crashed

“Steve Saleen claims that China has stolen 40 years’ worth of intellectual property from him in launching the Saleen brand in China,” reports the site Carscoops. More information from the Los Angeles Times: Saleen’s Chinese backers have accused his business partner of fraud and embezzlement and taken over the company, freezing its accounts and forcing hundreds of employees out of work….