Science news of the week: Fast Radio Burst, space solar plant and black holes

Mysterious fast radio burst detected for the second time in history.

Astronomers detected a signal from a galaxy thought to be nearly 3 billion light-years away called Fast Radio Burst (FRB). This Fast Radio Burst (FRB 20190520B) is said to be “co-located with a compact and persistent radio source and associated with a specific high star-forming dwarf host galaxy.” FRBs are brief, intense flashes of radio frequency emissions that typically last for milliseconds. These are usually repeated several times. Scientists have yet to fully understand the phenomenon that was first detected in 2007. This is the second time it has been detected. A prime candidate for generating these FRBs is a magnetar, which is a neutron star with a very strong magnetic field that emits radio waves.

china space solar plant

According to recent reports, China plans to have an orbiting solar power plant starting in 2028, two years ahead of its original previously proposed timeline. In 2028, the space nation will launch a test project on a satellite that will be at an altitude of 400 kilometers. The best of Express PremiumTop quality'Expecting more direct taxes than expectations this fiscal;  watching cry...PremiumGirlfriend and without prejudicePremiumThe shot of Rajiv Gandhi being beaten: history in a paintingPremium This satellite would convert solar energy into electricity and then convert that electricity into microwave radiation that can be transmitted to various fixed targets on our planet. From there, the microwave radiation can be converted back to electricity for use. The pilot project will only generate about 10 kilowatts, which is only enough to power a few homes. But this proof of concept can later be scaled up to become a significant power source.

Using Apophis to prove our defense

Named after the Egyptian god of chaos and darkness, Apophis was identified as one of the most dangerous asteroids that could impact Earth shortly after its discovery in 2004. For at least another 100 years. But to test the operational readiness of planetary defense systems, astronomers used Apophis’s close approach as a simulated encounter with a potentially dangerous new asteroid. They removed Apophis data from an asteroid data clearinghouse to see if international systems would successfully detect the asteroid. Apophis was not only “rediscovered” by various astronomical studies, but the risk of collision was also ruled out soon after.

Artemis I Moon Mission wet dress rehearsal scheduled

After multiple failed attempts, NASA is scheduling the wet dress rehearsal for the Artemis I mission on June 20 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The team will rehearse operations to load propellant into the rocket tank and perform a full simulated countdown. You will also drain tanks and practice the timing and procedures used in launch. The wet dress rehearsal will take place over two days and can be viewed along with live commentary on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the NASA website. Once successfully completed and tested, the SLS rocket that will carry the Artemis missions will be the most powerful rocket ever built.

Hubble Space Telescope detects mass of isolated black hole in the Milky Way

The Hubble Space Telescope has provided direct evidence of a lone black hole moving through space through precise measurements, for the first time in history. Until now, measurements of black holes have generally been inferred statistically or through their interactions in a binary system or in the nucleus of a galaxy. Because of this, large black holes are usually discovered together with companion stars, making the newly discovered “wandering” black hole an exception. It is located about 5,000 light-years from Earth, in the Carina-Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way. With their discovery, astronomers estimate that the closest isolated stellar-mass black hole could be as close as 80 light-years away. To put that into perspective, the closest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri, is about 4.2 light-years away.

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