An anonymous reader shares a report: The date was April 20, 1978; the scene, the Great Hall of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art on Astor Place. On the stage where Abraham Lincoln once spoke sat two men, the Italian modernist Massimo Vignelli and the cartographer John Tauranac, constituting two sides of the Great Subway Map Debate….
Tag: Navigation
A Dead Soviet Satellite and An Old Rocket Booster Could Collide In Space Tonight
Space traffic experts are tracking two pieces of orbital garbage that appear to be careening toward each other: A defunct Soviet satellite and a discarded Chinese rocket booster that are expected to nearly miss each other — with a slight chance of colliding — Thursday evening. CNN reports: No one knows for sure if the objects will collide, and near-misses happen…
Two old spacecraft may be about to catastrophically collide in orbit
A defunct navigation satellite and an old rocket booster are on a collision course. If they hit each other, it would create two orbiting clouds of hazardous shrapnel that could threaten other satellites Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2257525-two-old-spacecraft-may-be-about-to-catastrophically-collide-in-orbit/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Twitter Is Building ‘Birdwatch,’ a System To Fight Misinformation By Adding More Context To Tweets
Twitter is developing a new product called “Birdwatch,” which the company confirms is an attempt at addressing misinformation across its platform by providing more context for tweets, in the form of notes. TechCrunch reports: Tweets can be added to “Birdwatch” — meaning flagged for moderation — from the tweet’s drop-down menu, where other blocking and reporting tools are found today. A…
Image: Simulated satellite rendezvous
A camera closes in on a detailed model satellite, to simulate the extreme “guidance navigation and control” (GNC) challenge of rendezvousing with an uncooperative target, such as a derelict satellite or distant asteroid. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-image-simulated-satellite-rendezvous.html…
Why Passenger Jets Could Soon Be Flying In Formation
New submitter ragnar_ianal writes: Looking at the V-shaped formations of migrating ducks, scientists have long surmised that there are aeronautical efficiencies at play. Airbus is examining this in a practical manner to see if fuel efficiency can be enhanced. “Building on test flights in 2016 with an Airbus A380 megajet and A350-900 wide-body jetliner, [the Airbus fello’fly] hopes to demonstrate and…
Scientists Say a Mind-Bending Rhythm In the Brain Can Act Like Ketamine
In mice and one person, scientists were able to reproduce out-of-body experiences often associated with ketamine by inducing certain brain cells to fire together in a slow-rhythmic fashion. The findings have been published in the journal Nature. NPR reports: “There was a rhythm that appeared and it was an oscillation that appeared only when the patient was dissociating,” says Dr. Karl…
Android 11 Go Could Make Cheap Phones Up To 20% Faster
Following the official release of Android 11 earlier this week, Google also has some updates in store for the stripped-down version of Android designed for phones with lower specs. From a report For Android 11 (Go Edition), the most important upgrade is just generally speedier performance, with Google claiming that apps will launch 20% faster in Android 11 Go compared to…
Huawei Finally Launches Brilliant Google Alternative
Since Huawei’s latest smartphones have no access to Google’s Play Store, many crucial apps aren’t available. David Phelan from Forbes reports that TomTom Go Navigation has launched on Huawei’s own “AppGallery” app store, filling the void of navigation apps and making AppGallery a potent alternative to Google’s Play Store. Phelan writes: TomTom […] is an unquestionable big beast in the world…
Follow the Perseverance rover in real time on its way to Mars
Keep track of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance is right now, on its journey through space towards its February 18, 2021 landing on Mars. This web app shows you where spacecraft is right now. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/follow-perseverance-rover-real-time-mars-journey-app…