The derecho in the U.S. East on June 3, 2020, killed 4 people and left a million without power. A Colorado derecho on June 6 had winds in excess of 100 mph. Europe, Asia and South America also have derechos. Here’s what scientists know about them. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/what-is-a-derecho-storm-system…
Tag: system
China launches final satellite in GPS-like Beidou system
China on Tuesday launched the final satellite in its Beidou constellation that emulates and may seek to compete with the U.S. Global Positioning System, marking a further step in the country’s advance as a major space power. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-06-china-satellite-gps-like-beidou.html…
iOS 14 Will Let You Change Your Default Email and Web Browser Apps
One of the new features available in iOS 14 is the ability to switch default app preferences for the first time. 9to5Mac reports: Details are scarce currently, but one of the slides in the WWDC presentation featured a block that announced users will be able to change their default browser and default email app. This is a long-requested feature, as iOS…
Trump To Expand Coronavirus-Related Immigration Restrictions
The Trump administration will ban entry into the U.S. for foreigners on certain temporary work visas — including high-skilled H-1B visas — through the end of the year, senior administration officials told reporters Monday afternoon. From a report: The highly-anticipated immigration restrictions expand on President Trump’s earlier coronavirus-related immigration ban introduced in late April — which was also extended through the…
Apple Announces macOS Big Sur With a Brand-New Design
Apple has unveiled the next version of macOS: Big Sur. From a report: The new operating system brings the biggest redesign since the introduction of macOS 10, according to Apple. Big Sur borrows a number of elements from Apple’s iOS, including a customizable Control Center, where you can change brightness and toggle Do Not Disturb, and a new notification center, which…
Young giant planet offers clues to formation of exotic worlds
For most of human history our understanding of how planets form and evolve was based on the eight (or nine) planets in our solar system. But over the last 25 years, the discovery of more than 4,000 exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system, changed all that. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-06-young-giant-planet-clues-formation.html…
Experimentally identifying effective theories in many-body systems
One goal of science is to find physical descriptions of nature by studying how basic system components interact with one another. For complex many-body systems, effective theories are frequently used to this end. They allow describing the interactions without having to observe a system on the smallest of scales. Physicists at Heidelberg University have now developed a new method that makes…
Evidence supports ‘hot start’ scenario and early ocean formation on Pluto
The accretion of new material during Pluto’s formation may have generated enough heat to create a liquid ocean that has persisted beneath an icy crust to the present day, despite the dwarf planet’s orbit far from the sun in the cold outer reaches of the solar system. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-06-evidence-hot-scenario-early-ocean.html…
Scientists provide new explanation for the strange asymmetry of the moon
The Earth‐moon system’s history remains mysterious. Scientists believe the system formed when a Mars‐sized body collided with the proto‐Earth. Earth ended up being the larger daughter of this collision and retained enough heat to become tectonically active. The moon, being smaller, likely cooled down faster and geologically froze. The apparent early dynamism of the moon challenges this idea. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-06-scientists-explanation-strange-asymmetry-moon.html…
Saturn’s large moon Titan is drifting away 100 times faster than anyone knew
Saturn’s largest moon Titan is drifting away from the planet 100 times faster than previously thought, according to a new study from researchers in the U.S., France and Italy. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/saturn-moon-titan-drifting-away-100-faster…