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…
Tag: University of Texas at Austin
Are the US Military’s GPS Tests Threatening Airline Safety?
Long-time Slashdot reader cusco quotes a new report from IEEE Spectrum: In August 2018, a passenger aircraft in Idaho, flying in smoky conditions, reportedly suffered GPS interference from military tests and was saved from crashing into a mountain only by the last-minute intervention of an air traffic controller. “Loss of life can happen because air traffic control and a flight crew…
Texas astronomers revive idea for ‘Ultimately Large Telescope’ on the moon
A group of astronomers from The University of Texas at Austin has found that a telescope idea shelved by NASA a decade ago can solve a problem that no other telescope can: It would be able to study the first stars in the universe. The team, led by NASA Hubble Fellow Anna Schauer, will publish their results in an upcoming issue…
‘Why Modeling the Spread of COVID-19 Is So Damn Hard’
Slashdot reader the_newsbeagle writes: At the beginning of the pandemic, modelers pulled out everything they had to predict the spread of the virus. This article explains the three main types of models used: 1) compartmental models that sort people into categories of exposure and recovery, 2) data-driven models that often use neural networks to make predictions, and 3) agent-based models that…
Complain Like the French To Boost Health Or Spiral Into the Negative?
“In France, a complaint is an appropriate and frequent conversation starter — but the appropriateness of when, to whom and about what to complain is a delicate art,” writes Emily Monaco via the BBC. Slashdot reader omfglearntoplay shares excerpts from the report: Many a conversation in France begins with a sigh and a lament. The French attitude towards complaining is uncomfortable…
Sustained planetwide storms may have filled lakes, rivers on ancient Mars
A new study from The University of Texas at Austin is helping scientists piece together the ancient climate of Mars by revealing how much rainfall and snowmelt filled its lake beds and river valleys 3.5 billion to 4 billion years ago. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-08-sustained-planetwide-storms-lakes-rivers.html…
Studying radioactive aluminum in stellar systems unlocks formation secrets
An international team of astronomers including Stella Offner of the University of Texas at Austin has proposed a new method for the formation of aluminum-26 in star systems that are forming planets. Because its radioactive decay is thought to provide a heat source for the building blocks of planets, called planetesimals, it’s important for astronomers to know where aluminum-26 comes from….
Researchers Use DNA to Store ‘The Wizard of Oz’ – Translated Into Esperanto
“DNA is millions of times more efficient at storing data than your laptop’s magnetic hard drive,” reports Popular Mechanics. “Since DNA can store data far more densely than silicon, you could squeeze all of the data in the world inside just a few grams of it.” In a new paper published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy…
New study says dinosaur-dooming asteroid struck Earth at ‘deadliest possible’ angle
“For the dinosaurs, the worst-case scenario is exactly what happened … because it put more hazardous debris into the upper atmosphere and scattered it everywhere, the very thing that led to a nuclear winter.” Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/dinosaur-killing-asteroid-struck-earth-deadliest-angle…
New tricks from old data: Astronomer uses 25-year-old Hubble data to confirm planet Proxima Centauri c
Fritz Benedict has used data he took over two decades ago with Hubble Space Telescope to confirm the existence of another planet around the Sun’s nearest neighbor, Proxima Centauri, and to pin down the planet’s orbit and mass. Benedict, an emeritus Senior Research Scientist with McDonald Observatory at The University of Texas at Austin, will present his findings today in a…