After successfully launching Thursday night, NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) spacecraft is in orbit for a first-of-its-kind mission to study a region of space where changes can disrupt communications and satellite orbits, and even increase radiation risks to astronauts. A Northrop Grumman Stargazer L-1011 aircraft took off at 8:31 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air […]
Prehistoric AC
Newswise–Tyrannosaurus rex, one of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs on the planet, had an air conditioner in its head, suggest scientists from the University of Missouri, Ohio University and University of Florida, while challenging over a century of previous beliefs. In the past, scientists believed two large holes in the roof of a T. rex‘s skull — […]
NASA invites students to name next Mars rover
Starting this week, K-12 students in U.S. public, private and home schools can enter the Mars 2020 Name the Rover essay contest. One grand prize winner will name the rover and be invited to see the spacecraft launch in July 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Name the Rover contest is […]
The SunCAVE, The World’s Highest Resolution Walk-in Virtual Reality Environment, Turns Two
(Newswise)–Tucked into a cozy-feeling room on the first floor of the UC San Diego’s Qualcomm Institute are 70 screens, bundles of cables and 35 computer nodes that make up a powerful system that can process massive amounts of data transmitted over the Internet from researchers all over the US or even Antarctica. It can also […]
San Diego Wins International Award For Use Of GIS Technology
SAN DIEGO–The City of San Diego is joining the ranks of other high-profile organizations in winning an international award for its use of geographic information systems (GIS). The Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) presented the city with its 2019 President’s Award at its annual User Conference. “We’re using technology in new and innovative ways to […]
San Diego Successfully Completes First Half Of Drone Pilot Program
SAN DIEGO–The City of San Diego has reached the half-way mark of a pilot program that aims to safely and successfully integrate drones into the national airspace. Selected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation, San Diego was among 10 agencies nationwide chosen to participate in the Unmanned Aircraft System […]
NASA Selects Flying Mission To Study Titan For Origins, Signs Of Life
NASA has announced that their next destination in the solar system is the unique, richly organic world Titan. Advancing their search for the building blocks of life, the Dragonfly mission will fly multiple sorties to sample and examine sites around Saturn’s icy moon. Dragonfly will launch in 2026 and arrive in 2034. The rotorcraft will […]
Borrowing From Astronomy To Rob The Twinkle From Brain Imagery
Video courtesy of David Kleinfeld, UC San Diego LA JOLLA–For decades, astronomers have solved the problem of removing the “twinkle” from images of stars in the night sky. They use a process called “adaptive optics” (AO) to correct for changes in the density and moisture of air in the atmosphere that scatters the incoming star […]
Running May Have Made Dinosaurs’ Wings Flap Before They Evolved To Fly
(Newswise)–Before they evolved the ability to fly, two-legged dinosaurs may have begun to flap their wings as a passive effect of running along the ground, according to new research by Jing-Shan Zhao of Tsinghua University, Beijing, and his colleagues. The findings, published in PLOS Computational Biology, provide new insights into the origin of avian flight, which […]