What’s the birthstone for December?

If you were born December, you’ve got 2 birthstones, turquoise and zircon. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/december-birthstone-zircon-turquoise…

Jeff Bezos Shares Blue Origin Engine Test Footage

Friday on Instagram Jeff Bezos shared footage from NASA’s test of Blue Origin’s BE-7 engine, which he described approvingly as “a high-performance, additively manufactured liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen lunar landing engine with 10,000 lbf [pound-force] of thrust — deep throttling down to 2,000 lbf for a precise landing on the Moon.” The test brings the program’s cumulative test time up to 1,245…

A surprising find of fast-moving gas from a young star

Fast-moving gas from a young star – located in a star-forming region 400 light-years away – is giving astronomers insight into how planets form. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/no-lup-surprising-find-outflowing-gas-young-star…

Engineers Are Building Huge Salt Caves To Store Huge Amounts of Hydrogen

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Popular Mechanics: Scientists are going back to the salt mines, literally, to find a revolutionary new way to store large quantities of hydrogen for energy. Proponents say this could be a step toward unlocking hydrogen for renewables — something that could change the energy landscape if it were resolved. “The project would initially have…

An Earth-like stellar wind for Proxima Centauri c

Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the Sun, and its planet, Proxima Cen b (“Proxima b”), lies in its habitable zone (the distance range within which surface water can be liquid), making the planet a prime target for exoplanet characterization. The star is an M- dwarf with a mass of only 0.12 solar-masses and an effective surface temperature of about…

Armoured liquid marbles connected together in a chain 1.7 metres long

Liquid marbles that can be picked up and handled have now been linked together in a 1.7-metre-long chain – and could be used as chemical microreactors Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2261104-armoured-liquid-marbles-connected-together-in-a-chain-1-7-metres-long/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

The fluid in between your cells could help reveal health problems

The liquid between your cells accounts for around a quarter of all of your bodily fluid. A patch consisting of tiny needles could monitor this liquid to check for health conditions like diabetes Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2260866-the-fluid-in-between-your-cells-could-help-reveal-health-problems/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Curiosity rover spots signs of ancient megafloods on Mars

We already know that Gale Crater on Mars used to hold a lake or series of lakes a few billion years ago. Now, NASA’s Curiosity rover has found evidence for ancient giant floods that washed through the region as well. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/megafloods-gale-crater-mars-life-curiosity-rover…

Is Mars still volcanically active?

A new study of geologically young lava flows in Elysium Planitia suggests that Mars might still have residual volcanic activity below its surface. The finding could also correlate with seismic activity detected by the InSight lander in the same region and may have implications for possible martian life. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-cerberus-fossae-young-lava-flows-volcanic-activity…

Werner Herzog On Asteroids, Star Wars, and the ‘Obscenity’ of a City On Mars

78-year-old filmmaker Werner Herzog shared some interesting thoughts before the release of his new documentary on asteroids, Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds now available on Apple TV+. From Herzog’s new interview with the science site inverse: Herzog tells Inverse he’s less concerned than ever that a meteorite will destroy the Earth, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still be worried about…