“It’s not enough to slash greenhouse gas emissions,” warns a new article in IEEE Spectrum (shared by schwit1). “Experts say we need direct-air capture of atmospheric carbon.” West Texas is a hydrocarbon hot spot, with thousands of wells pumping millions of barrels of oil and billions of cubic feet of natural gas from the Permian Basin. When burned, all that oil…
Tag: hot
The sun in 2020
See a whole year of sun images, an image a day for 2020, taken by ESA’s Proba-2 satellite. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/sun-in-2020-movie-images…
Is a solar flare the same thing as a CME?
Solar Cycle 25 is here, and that means – in the years ahead – more solar flares and more coronal mass ejections, or CMEs. People sometimes use the words interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing. Here’s the difference. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/is-a-solar-flare-the-same-thing-as-a-cme…
Speculation Grows As AMD Files Patent for GPU Design
Long-time Slashdot reader UnknowingFool writes:
AMD filed a patent on using chiplets for a GPU with hints on why it has waited this long to extend their CPU strategy to GPUs. The latency between chiplets poses more of a performance problem for GPUs, and AMD is attempting to solve the problem with a new interconnect called high bandwidth passive crosslink. This new…
See Boston Dynamics’ Robots Bust Freakishly Good Moves On the Dance Floor
MojoKid summarizes an article from Hot Hardware: Boston Dynamics made news recently when 80% of the company was acquired by Hyundai. The company’s family of robots is always impressive and now it appears they’re having some fun to celebrate the close of 2020. Boston Dynamics’ robot dog, Spot and its humanoid-like Atlas bot friend, were joined by their oddball sibling Handle…
Famous Earthrise photo taken on Christmas Eve
A Christmas Eve photograph showed humans their home world from a whole new perspective. This is the photo that’s said to have launched the environmental movement. It’s “Earthrise,” the iconic photo taken by astronaut William Anders on the 4th orbit of the moon aboard Apollo 8 on December 24, 1968. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/apollo-8-earthrise-december-24-1968-new-simulation…
Bull’s head: The Hyades star cluster
Meet the bright star Aldebaran, part of a V-shaped pattern of stars called the Hyades. This easy-to-find star cluster represents the face of Taurus the Bull. Source: https://earthsky.org/favorite-star-patterns/v-shaped-hyades-star-cluster-easy-to-find…
KFC Launches 4K, 240FPS Gaming Console With a Built-In Chicken Warmer
KFC unveiled what they’re calling the KFConsole — a VR-ready high-end gaming PC that comes with a built-in chicken warmer. GamesRadar reports: Back in June, just after the PS5 reveal, KFC released a ridiculous trailer for the KFConsole, but everyone just figured they were joking. Turns out, they were dead serious. KFC, the chicken place, has teamed up with Cooler Master…
Space weather in Proxima’s vicinity dims hopes of habitable worlds
Astronomers used radio waves to study conditions in the vicinity of Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our sun. The results suggest Proxima’s 2 known planets are likely bathed in intense radiation from this star, casting doubt on the planets’ potential for life. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/proxima-centauri-space-weather-planets-uninhabitable…
After 44 Years, China Becomes the Third Country To Return Moon Samples To Earth
Long-time Slashdot reader cusco writes:
In the first return of a lunar sample since the Soviets in 1976, the Chang’e 5 spacecraft landed Thursday in Inner Mongolia with 2 kilograms of material drilled from as much as two meters below the surface… On December 3, the ascent stage took off from the moon with the sample, docking with the orbiter three days…