Astronomers spy a nearby, blazing hot super-Earth

Most exoplanets orbiting close to their stars don’t have atmospheres. But Gliese 486b – orbiting a red dwarf star only 24 light-years away – does. It’s close enough to see well. Astronomers will be watching it! Source: https://earthsky.org/space/gliese-486b-hot-super-earth-with-atmosphere…

Asteroid dust in Chicxulub crater seals deal on dino extinction

Scientists examined rock cores taken from the Chicxulub crater in Mexico, site of the asteroid impact that triggered dinosaur extinction, and found iridium, a telltale sign of asteroids. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/asteroid-dust-iridium-chicxulub-crater-dinosaur-extinction…

Launching Academies: Accelerate Digital Transformation with Job-Based Learning

Over 100 SkillSets help employees develop exact skills needed for their role By Shwetabh Mittal, Senior Director, Product Management This past year, as the pandemic forced companies to move online, digital transformation that may have required years took mere months. According to the World Economic Forum, the double disruption caused by automation and the pandemic […]
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Best observing targets for binoculars

What are the best solar system and deep-sky objects to view to get the most out of your binoculars? From moon-encircled worlds to starry knots in the Milky Way, our list makes the sky’s wonders easy to find. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/best-targets-for-binoculars-moon-planets-nebula-clusters…

Apple Is Going To Make It Harder to Hack iPhones With Zero-Click Attacks

Apple is going to make one of the most powerful types of attacks on iPhones much harder to pull off in an upcoming update of iOS. From a report: The company quietly made a new change in the way it secures the code running in its mobile operating system. The change is in the beta version of the next iOS version,…

Martin Scorsese Argues Streaming Algorithms Devalue Cinema into ‘Content’

In a new essay for Harper’s magazine, Martin Scorsese argues the art of cinema is being systematically devalued and demeaned by streaming services and their algorithms, “and reduced to its lowest common denominator, ‘content.'” “Content” became a business term for all moving images: a David Lean movie, a cat video, a Super Bowl commercial, a superhero sequel, a series episode. It…

‘7 minutes of terror’: Perserverance rover’s nail-biting landing phase

Seven months after blast-off, NASA’s Mars 2020 mission will have to negotiate its shortest and most intense phase on Thursday: the “seven minutes of terror” it takes to slam the brakes and land the Perseverance rover on a narrow target on the planet’s surface. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-minutes-terror-perserverance-rover-nail-biting.html…

‘7 minutes of terror’: Perseverance rover’s nail-biting landing phase

Seven months after blast-off, NASA’s Mars 2020 mission will have to negotiate its shortest and most intense phase on Thursday: the “seven minutes of terror” it takes to slam on the brakes and land the Perseverance rover on a narrow target on the planet’s surface. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-minutes-terror-perserverance-rover-nail-biting.html…

How To Fall 35,000 Feet and Survive

Massachusetts-based amateur historian Jim Hamilton, who developed the Free Fall Research Page — an online database of nearly every imaginable human plummet, documents one case of a sky diver who, upon total parachute failure, was saved by bouncing off high-tension wires. Contrary to popular belief, water is an awful choice. Like concrete, liquid doesn’t compress. Hitting the ocean is essentially the…

Perseverance rover is on target for Mars landing

NASA’s car-sized rover is currently lined up perfectly for its nail-biting and dramatic descent onto Mars tomorrow. Hot on the heels of China’s Tianwe… Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/343959/perseverance-rover-is-on-target-for-mars-landing…