(07-18-2018, 10:07 AM)robkelk Wrote: Astronomers announce they've discovered another twelve moons orbiting Jupiter.

Because Jupiter didn't have enough moons already.

Of the two stories I've about this found so far, The Register has the more intelligent one overall, while CBC goes into more depth.

Quote:Works of speculative fiction can obviously reflect the society and time in which they were created, but they also help to shape and contour the world in which we live, challenging us to look at that world in different ways, encouraging us to push the boundaries and defy and critique the norms of the societies and age into which we have been born.

Creative thinking is a powerful, necessary and vital force in the creation of truly functioning societies. Speculative fiction plays a seminal role in helping us to question received versions of our contemporary world, and to dream of new worlds and new ways of thinking. It affords us a space to look beyond the immediate and utilitarian, to engage in a long form of thinking which places no limits on our curiosity.

Quote:But if anyone is hoping for a snapshot of the new planet, they'll have to wait. The discovery was made using the 50-inch Dharma Endowment Foundation Telescope, atop Mt. Lemmon in southern Arizona using non-visual spectroscopy

Quote:Researchers isolated at remote research stations during the Antarctic winter enter a zombie-like state of "psychological hibernation" to deal with those long, dark, and isolated winter months.

And the team of psychologists who discovered this phenomenon think their finding could give important insights into what it might be like if humans ever embark on long space missions.

Quote:The Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV) concept is designed to be flexible depending on the destination; the pressurized cabin can be used both for in-space missions and for surface exploration of planetary bodies, including near-Earth asteroids and Mars. The surface exploration version of the SEV has the cabin mounted on a chassis, with wheels that can pivot 360 degrees and drive about 10 kilometers per hour in any direction. It's about the size of a pickup truck (with 12 wheels) and can house two astronauts for up to 14 days with sleeping and sanitary facilities. Likewise, the in-space version of the SEV would have the same pressurized cabin on a flying platform; it too would allow two astronauts to stay on-site for 14 days.

(02-17-2019, 07:03 PM)classicdrogn Wrote: Also, if the blue is supposed to be solar panels that's approximately the least efficient configuration possible...