Scientists Say SpaceX Starship Explosion Tore a Hole in the Atmosphere

Science and Health

Temporarily, at least.Holy FailWhen SpaceX’s Starship rocket blew up — again — it punched a hole open in our atmosphere, according to new research.Four minutes after launching from SpaceX’s facility in Boca Chica, Texas on November 18, the Starship’s superheavy booster exploded at an altitude of roughly 56 miles after separating from its second stage.This was followed by another explosion minutes later, when the surviving portion of the spaceship reached an altitude of 93 miles, and then combusted itself.Now, as detailed in a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, it appears that these events combined to create a temporary hole in a region of the upper atmosphere called the ionosphere, where charged particles, stripped of their electrons by solar radiation, form the final boundary between the Earth and the vacuum space.Sounds About RightThe ionosphere spans approximately 50 to 400 miles above the Earth’s surface. According to the researchers, the velocity of the Starship itself, which was traveling faster than the speed of sound, sent cone-like acoustic shock waves through this region.”They had a very large amplitude, but the most unexpected thing was that there were many oscillations and that the waves were propagating in a northerly direction,” study lead author Yury Yasyukevich, an atmospheric physicist at Russia’s Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, told Russian state-owned news agency TASS, translated from Russian. “Usually, when spacecraft are launched, waves are observed to propagate to the south.”Then when the explosions followed, the resulting sound waves caused the electrons to “disappear,” neutralizing the charge of atoms nearby — thus forming the ionospheric hole that spanned up to 1,200 miles. This is noteworthy, because “usually, such holes are formed as a result of chemical processes in the ionosphere due to interaction with engine fuel,” Yasyukevic said.As such, the researchers say this is the first documented detection of a non-chemical hole in the ionosphere formed as the result of a man-made explosion.Ions Be BygonesFortunately, this hole more or less healed after 30 to 40 minutes, the researchers said. Though the circumstances behind this one were unique, these are relatively common events, as the exhaust from rocket launches can cause ionized atoms to recombine and lose their charge. Natural phenomena, like volcanic eruptions, can also create ionospheric disruptions.Starship’s fiery demise actually provided a rare glimpse of how the ionosphere is impacted by such events, especially weaker ones, which can be difficult to detect, Yasyukevich said.And what they’ve learned so far is puzzling: the researchers didn’t expect the size of the disruption to be this big. “It means we don’t understand processes which take place in the atmosphere,” Yasyukevich told Nature. Let that be food for thought.More on the atmosphere: SpaceX’s Starlink May Be Keeping the Ozone From Healing, Research FindsShare This Article

Our Galaxy Appears to Be Touching Another Galaxy, Scientists Say

Science and Health

The “Milky Way and Andromeda are already overlapping and interacting.”Personal SpaceResearchers are suggesting that the outer boundary of our home Milky Way galaxy may stretch much farther into the vastness of space than initially thought — and is in fact already touching its closest neighbor, the galaxy Andromeda.As detailed in a paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the international team of scientists posits a new definition for the boundary between interstellar space and the “circumgalactic medium,” (CGM) the cloud of gas that surrounds galaxies.Until now, this bubble of gases has been elusive to scientists, forcing them to analyze the light absorbed by celestial objects like quasars to study it, despite the CGM accounting for roughly 70 percent of a galaxy’s mass.Previous Hubble observations had predicted that the Milky Way is destined for a “head-on” collision with Andromeda in a matter of four billion years.The latest data, however, suggests that the collision may have techncially already started.”It’s highly likely that the CGMs of our own Milky Way and Andromeda are already overlapping and interacting,” said Swinburne University associate professor Nikole Nielsen in a statement.Galaxies PressedBy using cutting-edge deep space imaging techniques, the team had a far more detailed look, peering some 100,000 light years into space.”We’re now seeing where the galaxy’s influence stops, the transition where it becomes part of more of what’s surrounding the galaxy, and, eventually, where it joins the wider cosmic web and other galaxies,” said Nielsen. “But in this case, we seem to have found a fairly clear boundary in this galaxy between its interstellar medium and its circumgalactic medium.”The conditions inside this cloud of gas surrounding galaxies are surprisingly different than those within the galaxies.”In the CGM, the gas is being heated by something other than typical conditions inside galaxies, this likely includes heating from the diffuse emissions from the collective galaxies in the Universe and possibly some contribution is due to shocks,” Nielsen explained.”It’s this interesting change that is important and provides some answers to the question of where a galaxy ends,” she added.The team used the W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea in Hawaii to make their observation.”It is the very first time that we have been able to take a photograph of this halo of matter around a galaxy,” said Swinburne University professor Emma Ryan-Weber in the statement.The researchers are hoping to shed new light on how galaxies evolve and how they accrete and expel gases.”The circumgalactic medium plays a huge role in that cycling of that gas,” Nielsen said. “So, being able to understand what the CGM looks like around galaxies of different types — ones that are star-forming, those that are no longer star-forming, and those that are transitioning between the two — we can observe [how] changes in this reservoir may actually be driving the changes in the galaxy itself.”More on galaxies: Astronomers Puzzled by Galaxy With No StarsShare This Article

Our Galaxy Appears to Be Touching Another Galaxy, Scientists Say

Science and Health

The “Milky Way and Andromeda are already overlapping and interacting.”Personal SpaceResearchers are suggesting that the outer boundary of our home Milky Way galaxy may stretch much farther into the vastness of space than initially thought — and is in fact already touching its closest neighbor, the galaxy Andromeda.As detailed in a paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the international team of scientists posits a new definition for the boundary between interstellar space and the “circumgalactic medium,” (CGM) the cloud of gas that surrounds galaxies.Until now, this bubble of gases has been elusive to scientists, forcing them to analyze the light absorbed by celestial objects like quasars to study it, despite the CGM accounting for roughly 70 percent of a galaxy’s mass.Previous Hubble observations had predicted that the Milky Way is destined for a “head-on” collision with Andromeda in a matter of four billion years.The latest data, however, suggests that the collision may have techncially already started.”It’s highly likely that the CGMs of our own Milky Way and Andromeda are already overlapping and interacting,” said Swinburne University associate professor Nikole Nielsen in a statement.Galaxies PressedBy using cutting-edge deep space imaging techniques, the team had a far more detailed look, peering some 100,000 light years into space.”We’re now seeing where the galaxy’s influence stops, the transition where it becomes part of more of what’s surrounding the galaxy, and, eventually, where it joins the wider cosmic web and other galaxies,” said Nielsen. “But in this case, we seem to have found a fairly clear boundary in this galaxy between its interstellar medium and its circumgalactic medium.”The conditions inside this cloud of gas surrounding galaxies are surprisingly different than those within the galaxies.”In the CGM, the gas is being heated by something other than typical conditions inside galaxies, this likely includes heating from the diffuse emissions from the collective galaxies in the Universe and possibly some contribution is due to shocks,” Nielsen explained.”It’s this interesting change that is important and provides some answers to the question of where a galaxy ends,” she added.The team used the W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea in Hawaii to make their observation.”It is the very first time that we have been able to take a photograph of this halo of matter around a galaxy,” said Swinburne University professor Emma Ryan-Weber in the statement.The researchers are hoping to shed new light on how galaxies evolve and how they accrete and expel gases.”The circumgalactic medium plays a huge role in that cycling of that gas,” Nielsen said. “So, being able to understand what the CGM looks like around galaxies of different types — ones that are star-forming, those that are no longer star-forming, and those that are transitioning between the two — we can observe [how] changes in this reservoir may actually be driving the changes in the galaxy itself.”More on galaxies: Astronomers Puzzled by Galaxy With No StarsShare This Article

Ayurveda, Angula & shlokas find mention in new NEP-inspired NCERT Class 6 science textbook

Science and Health

New Delhi: Students of Class 6 are set to study topics based on India’s past scientific marvels as part of their science curriculum. These include Sanskrit shlokas, the ancient measurement system ‘Angula’ (finger breadth), Ayurveda, regional stories associated with stars in constellations, and achievements of Indian scientists, among other facts. 
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) released this year a new Class 6 science textbook along with books for other subjects. 
The new Class 6 science textbook—Curiosity—has been written keeping in mind the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the new National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023, NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani says in the foreword. 

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Saklani adds, “The content seamlessly weaves together concepts from physics, chemistry, biology, and earth science, along with cross-cutting themes like environmental education, value education, inclusive education, and Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS). The textbook aims to engage learners through an integrated approach by including multiple activities and thoughtful use of technology.”NEP 2020 and NCF-SE 2023 emphasise that the school curriculum should be “rooted in the Indian and local context and ethos”.Curiosity has 12 chapters, three of which begin with Sanskrit teachings on a healthy body, diversity and a Sanskrit treatise on alchemy. One chapter starts with a quote by Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar on water and rainfall, and another begins with a saying by 15th century Indian mystic poet Kabir Das. In the third chapter, annena jātāni jīvanti—a quote from the Taittiriya Upanishad—has been included as the ‘thought of the day’.
A quote from the Taittiriya Upanishad in chapter 3 | By special arrangement
School teachers ThePrint spoke to confirmed that the previous Class 6 science textbook did not delve much on ancient knowledge systems, and were mostly limited to social sciences.“This marks the first time a science book has referenced the ancient Indian knowledge system. And it is good that it has not replaced the modern content. It (ancient knowledge system) has just been incorporated with it (modern content),” said a science teacher at a private school in Delhi who did not wish to be named.
Also Read: Meghalaya university which grew from 6 to 6,000 students sees dip in enrollments after Sarma’s attack
Angula to Ayurveda 
In its fifth chapter, which is on measurements, Curiosity mentions how India has a rich history of measurement systems that dates back to ancient times. It mentions Angula, dhanusa (an ancient Indian measure of length equivalent to four hands), and yojana (a Vedic measure of distance that is exactly equal to 7.64 miles).The chapter also explains how measurement systems were mentioned in ancient Indian  literature and were used in architecture, town planning and to measure artefacts.
“The angula is still used by traditional craftspeople like carpenters and tailors. Several objects with ruled markings which could be scales have been excavated from sites of the Harappan Civilisation,” the book says.Mention of ancient measurement systems in Chapter 5 of NCERT’s new Class 6 science textbook | By special arrangement
At several places, Curiosity carries references to Ayurveda. The ninth chapter—Methods of Separation in Everyday Life—says that in the traditional Indian system of holistic health and medicine called Ayurveda, herbs or parts of plants are prescribed as remedies. “These ingredients like roots, leaves, flowers or seeds of various medicinal plants are often dried in the shade. This practice facilitates the evaporation of excess water, leaving behind the important part of the medicine.”The sixth chapter talks about how a classification system of grouping things was mentioned in Ayurveda, and includes a shloka that explains properties used to describe all physical matters in Ayurveda. The properties include guru (heavy), manda (slow), hima (cold) and mridu (soft), among others.Chapter 6 of Curiosity mentions Ayurveda | By special arrangement
Regional and Sanskrit names of stars and planets
In the 12th chapter—Beyond Earth—the textbook mentions that in Indian astronomy, the term nakshatra is used to denote either a certain star or a group of stars, such as Ardr (Betelgeuse star in Orion constellation) and Krittika (a group of stars called Pleiades in Taurus constellation). Aldebaran, a star in Taurus, is known as Rohini in Sanskrit. 
The chapter also includes ancient names that have been used across India for the planets visible to the naked eye. Examples include Budha (Mercury), Shukra (Venus), Prithvi (Earth), Mangala (Mars), Brihaspati or Guru (Jupiter) and Shani (Saturn).Curiosity’s chapter 6 talks about ancient Indian astronomy | By special arrangement
Regional stories associated with stars in the constellations are also part of the book. “For example, the four stars in the Big Dipper that approximately form a rectangle, are viewed by tribes in Central India as the ‘grandmother’s cot’ with the three thieves (other three stars) stealing it. Fishermen along the Konkan coast imagine the four stars as a boat, with the last three stars as the neck of the boat,” the 12th chapter says.It adds that in Sanskrit and a few other Indian languages, a comet is called Dhumaketu. “Various tribes in India also call it Pucchya-Taro (star with a tail) or Zendya-Taro (star like a flag).”Introducing children to India’s rich knowledge is a welcoming idea, Anand Prakash, assistant professor of chemistry in Delhi University, told ThePrint. “It is good that children should know the language and words used by people in rural India even now. People in the village use Shukra and budha instead of Venus and Mercury, respectively. However, while including Indian context, the accuracy and relevance should also be kept in mind.”
Indian scientists and their contributions 
Curiosity also mentions Indian scientist Coluthur Gopalan, who is credited with initiating nutrition research in India. “He led surveys on the nutritional status of the Indian population, identifying widespread deficiencies in protein, energy, and other food components. This led to the implementation of the Mid Day Meal Programme in 2002, now a PM POSHAN initiative, to provide balanced food in the government-run and government-aided schools of our country,” it reads.The book talks about Indian plant physiologist and physicist Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, explaining his contributions in building a machine known as a crescograph, which records how plants respond to stimuli such as light, heat, electricity and gravity. “With this machine, he could measure how fast plants grow. He also showed that plants can sense and respond to stimuli.”(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
Also read: UK’s University of Southampton is coming to Gurugram, 1st foreign university in India under UGC

A fisherman’s trash, a scientist’s treasure

Science and Health

While most eyes were glued on gargantuan fish during the Boothbay Harbor Tuna Challenge, some were focused on what’s inside. A team of researchers from the UMaine Pelagic Fisheries Laboratory gathered at Atlantic Edge Lobster to collect stomach, inner ear and other donated and discarded parts to better understand the fishery and inform the agencies managing it.  Based in Portland, the lab group samples fish caught across the Gulf of Maine. It’s part of the group’s stated aims to better understand highly migratory species in order to help improve management practices and reduce stock assessment uncertainties. For the scientists, tournaments represent a valuable opportunity to develop relationships with fishermen and collect high-quality samples otherwise unavailable. 
“Being at tournaments, it’s great because, when we’re getting fish that we collect from dealers, which are also really valuable, we lack information like the weight of the fish, the full length of the fish. We’re sometimes lacking stomach samples, liver samples. And being at tournaments, we can collect all of those things on site,” researcher Mackenzie O’Donnell said. 
According to O’Donnell, researchers sample around 1,000 of the up to 6,000 tuna caught in the Gulf of Maine during the summer, including from tournaments and dealers. Like an autopsy, scientists can study different parts of the fish for insight into its life. Using the heads, they conduct genetic analyses and, when the whole fish isn’t available, estimate its size. The inner ear bones, or otoliths, have seasonal bands that can tell age like tree rings. Researchers even can uncover where the fish spawned by using isotope analysis, a laboratory procedure that can match the fish to chemical patterns of water. 
Combined with information from tag tracking, they can better understand fish habits. For example, management agencies accept that tuna hatcheries exist in either the Gulf of Mexico or Mediterranean Ocean according to lab manager Sammie Nadeau. It was once thought the fish didn’t cross a line between the two, but she said scientists discovered that isn’t the case by figuring out where fish came from and where they travel.  
“We now have a better understanding that the two stocks do mingle quite a bit,” she said. “There is a substantial amount, and they’re not to be treated as necessarily independent stocks.” 
In fact, researcher John Carlucci said data suggests tuna may not spawn every year, opening up new lines of discovery. He said some go to either spawning ground, but others will stay in the Gulf of Maine or travel around the eastern seaboard. “I think the next question there is, ‘What are they doing there? Is it possibly a spawning ground?’ There are other proposed spawning grounds that haven’t really been proven.” 
Researchers also look inside fish stomachs to see what they have been eating, and livers to get a long-term picture of their diets. Nadeau said the information also provides insight into the changing foraging ecology in the Gulf of Maine. She said Atlantic herring have traditionally been a primary food, but pogies, or menhaden, are becoming a more prevalent meal. She said it suggests tuna are making use of the Gulf of Maine’s prolific foraging opportunities and adapting by switching to other lipid-rich species.  
A large reason for the work is to inform agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who manage the fisheries. Although the lab is not involved in management decisions, researchers said their work can help inform those making them. On a smaller scale, the information can be useful to fishermen. O’Donnell said one tuna that happened to be caught using squid had a lot of whiting in its stomach. So, she let the fisherman know he could switch.  
“That’s just a snapshot of what it’s eaten probably within like a one to two-day digestion period. But it gives them an indication of maybe what to use for bait,” she said.  
The anecdote is an example of small interactions that scientists say help build relationships with an industry that isn’t always the most trusting of management or science. Nadeau said providing the samples isn’t mandatory, and researchers have to ask fishermen essentially for their trash. In the process, they can talk about their work, the state of the fisheries and how their research can help. She said it’s led to some long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships.
“A lot of other fisheries, there can be a lot of tension between the science and the fishing, but I think being able to come down too and just casually chat with people about what we’re doing and why we’re taking the samples also really helps because they learn stuff too,” Nadeau said. She later added that trust requires follow up on her end, too. “The fishermen understand that what they’re doing and providing, there’s a point to it and it is going somewhere. They’re not just giving us heads and never hear about anything ever again.” 

A fisherman’s trash, a scientist’s treasure

Science and Health

While most eyes were glued on gargantuan fish during the Boothbay Harbor Tuna Challenge, some were focused on what’s inside. A team of researchers from the UMaine Pelagic Fisheries Laboratory gathered at Atlantic Edge Lobster to collect stomach, inner ear and other donated and discarded parts to better understand the fishery and inform the agencies managing it.  Based in Portland, the lab group samples fish caught across the Gulf of Maine. It’s part of the group’s stated aims to better understand highly migratory species in order to help improve management practices and reduce stock assessment uncertainties. For the scientists, tournaments represent a valuable opportunity to develop relationships with fishermen and collect high-quality samples otherwise unavailable. 
“Being at tournaments, it’s great because, when we’re getting fish that we collect from dealers, which are also really valuable, we lack information like the weight of the fish, the full length of the fish. We’re sometimes lacking stomach samples, liver samples. And being at tournaments, we can collect all of those things on site,” researcher Mackenzie O’Donnell said. 
According to O’Donnell, researchers sample around 1,000 of the up to 6,000 tuna caught in the Gulf of Maine during the summer, including from tournaments and dealers. Like an autopsy, scientists can study different parts of the fish for insight into its life. Using the heads, they conduct genetic analyses and, when the whole fish isn’t available, estimate its size. The inner ear bones, or otoliths, have seasonal bands that can tell age like tree rings. Researchers even can uncover where the fish spawned by using isotope analysis, a laboratory procedure that can match the fish to chemical patterns of water. 
Combined with information from tag tracking, they can better understand fish habits. For example, management agencies accept that tuna hatcheries exist in either the Gulf of Mexico or Mediterranean Ocean according to lab manager Sammie Nadeau. It was once thought the fish didn’t cross a line between the two, but she said scientists discovered that isn’t the case by figuring out where fish came from and where they travel.  
“We now have a better understanding that the two stocks do mingle quite a bit,” she said. “There is a substantial amount, and they’re not to be treated as necessarily independent stocks.” 
In fact, researcher John Carlucci said data suggests tuna may not spawn every year, opening up new lines of discovery. He said some go to either spawning ground, but others will stay in the Gulf of Maine or travel around the eastern seaboard. “I think the next question there is, ‘What are they doing there? Is it possibly a spawning ground?’ There are other proposed spawning grounds that haven’t really been proven.” 
Researchers also look inside fish stomachs to see what they have been eating, and livers to get a long-term picture of their diets. Nadeau said the information also provides insight into the changing foraging ecology in the Gulf of Maine. She said Atlantic herring have traditionally been a primary food, but pogies, or menhaden, are becoming a more prevalent meal. She said it suggests tuna are making use of the Gulf of Maine’s prolific foraging opportunities and adapting by switching to other lipid-rich species.  
A large reason for the work is to inform agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who manage the fisheries. Although the lab is not involved in management decisions, researchers said their work can help inform those making them. On a smaller scale, the information can be useful to fishermen. O’Donnell said one tuna that happened to be caught using squid had a lot of whiting in its stomach. So, she let the fisherman know he could switch.  
“That’s just a snapshot of what it’s eaten probably within like a one to two-day digestion period. But it gives them an indication of maybe what to use for bait,” she said.  
The anecdote is an example of small interactions that scientists say help build relationships with an industry that isn’t always the most trusting of management or science. Nadeau said providing the samples isn’t mandatory, and researchers have to ask fishermen essentially for their trash. In the process, they can talk about their work, the state of the fisheries and how their research can help. She said it’s led to some long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships.
“A lot of other fisheries, there can be a lot of tension between the science and the fishing, but I think being able to come down too and just casually chat with people about what we’re doing and why we’re taking the samples also really helps because they learn stuff too,” Nadeau said. She later added that trust requires follow up on her end, too. “The fishermen understand that what they’re doing and providing, there’s a point to it and it is going somewhere. They’re not just giving us heads and never hear about anything ever again.” 

Scientists Discover Mosquitoes Are Using Infrared to Track Humans Down

Science and Health

There’s something about us that mosquitoes just love. In addition to our smell, and our breath, our exposed skin acts as a kind of neon sign advertising that this blood bar is open for business.

That’s because mosquitoes use infrared sensing in their antennae to track down their prey, a new study has found.

In many parts of the world, mosquito bites are more than an irritation, capable of spreading pathogens like dengue, yellow fever, and Zika virus. Malaria, spread by the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, caused more than 600,000 deaths in 2022, according to World Health Organization statistics.

To avoid serious disease, or even just a case of maddening itchiness, we humans are pretty keen to find ways to prevent mosquito bites.

Research led by scientists from the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) found that mosquitoes use infrared detection – along with other cues we already knew about, like a nose for the CO2 in our breath, and certain body odors, to seek out hosts.

“The mosquito we study, Aedes aegypti, is exceptionally skilled at finding human hosts,” says UCSB molecular biologist Nicholas Debeaubien.

But mosquitoes’ vision isn’t too good, and smells can be unreliable if it’s windy or the host is moving. So the team suspected infrared detection might offer the insects a reliable aid in finding food.

Only female mosquitoes drink blood, so the researchers presented cages each containing 80 female mosquitoes (around 1-3 weeks old) with a variety of dummy ‘hosts’ represented by combinations of thermoelectric plates, CO2 at the concentration of human breath, and human odors, and recorded five minute videos to observe their host-seeking behaviors.

They defined these as “a mosquito landing, walking and extending its proboscis through the mesh of the cage, which is reminiscent of a female landing on a human and then walking while sampling the skin surface with its labellum.”

Some of the mosquitoes were presented with a thermoelectric plate set to the average temperature of human skin of 34 degrees Celsius (93 °F), which also served as a source of infrared radiation. Others were set to an ambient temperature of 29.5 °C – a temperature mosquitoes are known to enjoy, but emits no infrared.

Each cue on its own – CO2 , odor, or infrared – failed to pique the mosquitoes’ interest. But the insect’s apparent thirst for blood increased twofold when a setup with just CO2 and odor had the infrared factor added.

“Any single cue alone doesn’t stimulate host-seeking activity. It’s only in the context of other cues, such as elevated CO2 and human odor that IR makes a difference,” says UCSB neurobiologist Craig Montell.

The team also confirmed the mosquitoes’ infrared sensors lie in their antennae, where they have a temperature-sensitive protein, TRPA1. When the team removed the gene for this protein, mosquitos were unable to detect infrared. Loose fitting clothing lets through less IR. (DeBeaubien and Chandel et al.)The findings help explain why mosquitoes seem particularly drawn to exposed skin, and why loose-fitting clothing – through which infrared is dissipated – is such an effective invisibility cloak against them.

It might also lead to some slightly more high-tech defenses against mosquitoes, like the potential to create traps that employ skin-temperature thermal radiation as a lure.

“Despite their diminutive size, mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths than any other animal,” DeBeaubien says.

“Our research enhances the understanding of how mosquitoes target humans and offers new possibilities for controlling the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases.”This research is published in Nature.