Three astronomers from Leiden University (the Netherlands) have shown that some asteroids that are considered harmless for now can collide with the earth in the future. They did their research with the help of an artificial neural network. The results have been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-02-astronomers-potential-earth.html…
Tag: Netherlands
Welfare Surveillance System Violates Human Rights, Dutch Court Rules
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: A Dutch court has ordered the immediate halt of an automated surveillance system for detecting welfare fraud because it violates human rights, in a judgment likely to resonate well beyond the Netherlands. The case was seen as an important legal challenge to the controversial but growing use by governments around the world…
Only Three of the Top 100 International Airports Pass Basic Security Checks
Only three of the world’s Top 100 international airports pass basic security checks, according to a report published last week by cyber-security firm ImmuniWeb. From a report: The three are the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands, the Helsinki Vantaa Airport in Finland, and the Dublin International Airport in Ireland. According to ImmuniWeb, these three “may serve a laudable example not…
Will February’s full moon be a supermoon?
The full moon on February 9, 2020, ranks as the 4th-closest (and therefore the 4th-largest) full moon of 2020, but is it a supermoon? Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/will-februarys-full-moon-be-a-supermoon…
Fitbit and Garmin Are Under Federal Investigation For Alleged Patent Violations
U.S. trade regulators said on Friday they will investigate wearable monitoring devices, including those made by Fitbit and Garmin, following allegations of patent violations by rival Koninklijke Philips and its North America unit. Reuters reports: The U.S. International Trade Commission, in a statement, said the probe would also look at devices by made by California-based Ingram Micro as well as China-based…
Astronomers say SpaceX’s satellites are too bright in the sky. Friday’s launch will try to fix that
They were seen sparkling across the skies of Montana right around Christmas: a tidy row of lights that some mistook to be UFOs. The glowing celestial train has been spotted in California, Texas, in the Netherlands and even Chile. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-01-astronomers-spacex-satellites-bright-sky.html…
The Missing 99%: Why Can’t We Find the Vast Majority of Ocean Plastic?
What scientists can see and measure, in the garbage patches and on beaches, accounts for only a tiny fraction of the total plastic entering the water. From a report: Every year, 8m tons of plastic enters the ocean. Images of common household waste swirling in vast garbage patches in the open sea, or tangled up with whales and seabirds, have turned…
Top 9 EarthSky images of 2019
Wow! This was a tough choice. Thank you to all who submitted photos in 2019! Here are a few of our favorites. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/favorite-earthsky-images-photos-2019…
Enormous Methane Leak From Ohio Gas Well Was One of Worst In American History, Satellites Reveal
A new study has determined that a gas well blowout in Belmont County, Ohio last year was one of the most significant ever to occur in the country. Newsweek reports: In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of scientists estimated that the gas well — owned by ExxonMobil — leaked around 120 metric…
‘Apocalyptic’ sky sounds heard in Netherlands
Valkenswaard residents have been hearing loud ominous trumpet sounds seemingly coming from the sky. The unnerving phenomenon was recorded on the eveni… Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/333037/apocalyptic-sky-sounds-heard-in-netherlands…