We have some incredibly powerful telescopes that have given us spectacular views and allowed us to look back to the early days of the universe. But what if we could access an even better telescope that already exists? Using a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, it might be possible to use the sun as a gigantic telescope to peer deep into the cosmos. Space.com has more: https://flip.it/yH22Ur #Science#Space#SpaceExploration#Sun#JWST#Telescope
An experiment here on Earth has just replicated one of the most extreme astrophysical processes in miniature. Physicists at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have succeeded in creating collimated jets that resemble those that erupt from baby stars and feeding black holes. @ScienceAlert shows us what the results say: https://flip.it/jKRcEE #Science#Space#BlackHoles#SpaceExploration
Most cultures have stories and myths detailing the end of days, from the eventual fate of humans to what will happen to our world and any other realms inhabited by their respective deities. But @ScienceFocus@Flipboard tells us how the demise of our species will (probably) go down. Read for yourself: https://flip.it/YAMsL_ #Science#Humans#Earth#Extinction
What a cool image! "Ryan Imperio has been named the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year for a photograph that captures the progression of Baily’s beads during the 2023 annular eclipse."
From the BBC: "Baily’s beads are formed when sunlight shines through the valleys and craters of the Moon’s surface, and are only briefly visible when an eclipse is beginning or ending."
Scientists who discovered mammals can breathe through their anuses receive Ig Nobel prize.
CNN reports: "The awards – which have no affiliation to the Nobel Prizes – aim to 'celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative – and spur people’s interest in science, medicine, and technology' by making 'people laugh, then think.'"
SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission crew completed the first all-civilian spacewalk.
NBC News reports: "Billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis ventured out into the vacuum of space early Thursday and made history."
Few things mesmerize like photos of space. And this year’s batch of winners from the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition certainly don’t disappoint. Ryan Imperio was named the overall winner for his stunning image that captured the progression of Baily’s beads. See all 11 winners at CNN: https://flip.it/m_9NXQ #Science#Space#Astronomy#Photography#OuterSpace#Sky
The earliest evidence of alcohol dates back to 7000 BCE. And we’ve been raising pints, sipping cocktails and chugging shots ever since. This is all to illustrate that human culture and alcohol have a deep, entangled relationship. But the relationship might be about to change. @sciencefocus gives us an understanding of what alcohol really does to our bodies, explores the value of abstinence, and more: https://flip.it/fiAmj- #Science#Health#Human#Alcohol#Drinking#Cocktails#Booze#Beer
A popular prescription drug that is used to treat type 2 diabetes or to manage weight in adults seems to be both safe and effective for weight loss in children — at least in the short term, according to new results. A phase 3 clinical trial among 82 participants has now provided initial results that liraglutide, combined with other lifestyle interventions, is both safe and effective as a weight loss drug for children as young as six years old. That’s not at all controversial, is it? Read more from @ScienceAlert
A team of scientists in Spain and Japan has found live fungi, bacteria and viruses thousands of meters in the Earth’s atmosphere. For their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group chartered a plane and collected air samples over Japan at altitudes of 1,000 to 3,000 meters. The team ended up finding 266 types of fungi and 305 types of bacteria up in the atmosphere. Read more from Phys.org.
For the first time, astronomers have recorded the motions of giant gas bubbles on the surface of a star 180 light-years away in the Dorado constellation. The star, which is named R. Doradus, is so massive that the surface bubbles alone are 75 times bigger than our sun. Read more from CNN.
Four astronauts on the Polaris Dawn mission have now traveled farther into outer space than any human has since NASA’s Apollo era ended more than 50 years ago. Two of the astronauts, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, share the distinction of traveling father from Earth than any woman has before. The crew, commanded by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, is on day two of a five-day itinerary which includes a spacewalk. Read more from USA Today.
Spacewalking is the new domain of the rich as billionaire attempts first private spacewalk.
From AP: "The stage is set for the first private spacewalk Thursday. Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman will pop out of the hatch of his orbiting SpaceX capsule, two days after blasting off from Florida on a chartered flight that lifted him and his crew higher than anyone since NASA’s moonwalkers. He partnered with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to buy a series of rocket rides and help develop brand new spacesuits."
Does fidgeting really help you focus? According to science, it depends.
From @popsci: "Both children and adults diagnosed with ADHD who engage in more intrinsic movements (measured with devices placed on the wrists and ankles) during a task perform better, based on two separate studies involving dozens of participants."
"SpaceX’s latest mission — a bold and risky trek into Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts by a four-person crew of civilians who will also aim to conduct the first commercial spacewalk — just took flight."
The 2022 eruption of the underwater Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano unleashed a powerful tsunami that destroyed homes and caused four deaths throughout Tonga. It also launched 150 metric tons of water vapor into the stratosphere. Live Science tells us how the explosion has affected the Southern Hemisphere's climate ever since: https://flip.it/grvkap #Science#Volcano#Climate#Tonga#Eruptions#Ocean
A food dye that helps give certain sodas and snacks (like Doritos) their hallmark orange hue can temporarily turn biological tissue transparent to the naked eye. Scientists have used the dye, called tartrazine, to see the organs in a mouse’s intact abdomen, glimpse the pulsing vessels surrounding a rodent skull, and to get an exceptionally clear view of muscle tissue through a microscope. Could this method spur new scientific findings? Popular Science has more: https://flip.it/wm.9iW #Science#Research#FoodDye#Doritos#Laboratory#Mice
We curate the latest science news, including climate change, space exploration, health and more. All posts are written by Flipboard’s editorial team.Boosts do not imply endorsement, but are used to highlight posts we think the community might find interesting.#Science #ClimateChange #SpaceHeader photo: Students observe a solar eclipse on March 20, 2015, in London. Photo by Rob Stothard/Getty Images.