Capturing the Sun, Lunar Flashlights and Mirror Magic

The Stellarator - limitless power ?

Research into Nuclear Fusion is making great leaps forward as news comes in of the generation of hydrogen plasma which reached 80 million° C for a quarter of a second .
That may not seem a big deal, but for a brief time, we emulated the sun .
In the Max Planck Institute in Germany, they have achieved the beginnings of what could be limitless fuel from a source that is little more than salt water.
News to ponder.
This gives us a huge insight into future power.
MIT in the U.S.A. have also made inroads into this research although it's being detailed with reference to 'Tony Stark'.
I doubt whether it has anything to do with Iron Man (personally, in my childhood, I preferred Daredevil, but hey ho ) .
The point is that ultimately we get closer to a real alternative to fossil fuels and the resultant pollutants.

Could we see the return of the lightbulb ?

Staying with the MIT thread, they have been busy redefining lightbulbs - I don't know about you, but part of me was sad to see the decline of the familiar lightbulbs in favour of the energy efficient but colder LEDs.
Apparently, MIT have found a way to reflect wasted energy back into filament bulbs as even more light !
It may not be up there with potential limitless energy, but it's still a move in the right direction.
So yay, for all those who are working for the good of humanity .

Elsewhere - in Barcelona, Spain to be exact, scientists have created a wormhole (in a bathtub, apparently)
The article states that this wormhole is more like the ' cloak of invisibility' , as though people can't digest accurate scientific information without populist allegories, but I have wandered off topic - the point is that the wormhole is capable of moving information in the form of a magnetic shield from one place to another.
For me, the relevant parallel is that it could be used to remotely assess brain / body issues without the need for an MRI scan - anyone unfortunate enough to have endured this claustrophobic machine will know what a bonus that would be.

Scientists following genomes and DNA have discovered a possible overhaul of history, with not one, but two apparent population upsets - one approximately 50,000 years ago, and one 15,000 years ago just after the last ice age, when indigenous hunter-gatherers were supplanted by a sudden influx from an unknown populace.
It's early days yet, but this could seriously upset the apple cart.


The James Webb Telescope has had all of its mirrors attached, and is nearing completion.
Due for launch in French Guiana in 2018, it will afford unprecedented views of ancient galaxies, possibly right back to the purported ' Big Bang' - well, a couple hundred million years after, but who's counting ?

Artists impression of the 'Lunar Flashlight'    pic © NASA

Space Launch System / Orion is basically a rocket full of hitchhikers (well, 13 CubeSats, TBH ) and is due to launch soon-ish.
One of its payloads is shown above .
It's a cubesat with a hovering flashlight, for exposing those dark craters on the moon - specifically hidden areas of frozen water ice, although I'm sure that many will hope for hidden alien bases and such.
The Lunar Flashlight will also boast a Solar Sail, which , as well as powering the CubeSat flight to the moon, will be used to reflect sunlight into the dark craters.
On an almost serious level though - did anyone wonder how we managed to name all the moons in our solar system except our own ?
Just asking.

2,274 satellites overhead...

 An 'overseer' satellite , part of the EDRS initiative was recently launched (29th Jan 2016) and is now dutifully logging information from all the other satellites currently orbiting the Earth.
 It's good to know that at least there is an attempt to centralise information from the ever-increasing number of satellites (2,274 at last count) around our globe.


...and finally, a recent picture of the North polar vortex at Saturn, taken by Cassini. The explorer will next flyby Titan on Feb 16 2016.

NASA / JPL / Caltech

Limpets, Rubber Ducks and Cookies in Space

After my recent 'Dismaland' diversion, it's back to outer space - a new photo of Ceres reveals the mysterious mountain in greater detail.
The frustration increases, however, as we realise that this is the only close-up view we currently have, taken from some 900 miles above.
The strange mountain is also bizarre because it really is alone in an otherwise flat landscape, which is surely suggestive of an artificial origin.
I find this both fascinating and totally frustrating.
Frustrating because we won't get any more detailed images until December, when spacecraft Dawn enters a much lower orbit , taking closer shots from just 275 miles above.
Theories abound as to the nature of the 'mesa', with some saying it's material excavated from the nearby crater, and others declaring the 'spurs'  to be ice water.
The site has already been dubbed 'lonely mountain' by some Tolkien - lovers :
and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a dragon guarding treasure there...

A mountain or a space limpet ?                                   ©NASA/Caltech/JPL

Conjecture is all we have until further evidence arrives - I think it's amazing, especially given that our initial interest in Ceres was piqued by the highly reflective areas in what is now called the 'Occator' crater  - also still a mystery -
infact there has been a dearth of new information on that front, which has allowed exotic theories to abound.
There is conjecture that the mysterious 'reflections' are atop tall pillars which project above the crater edge ( giving us pillar / structures some two miles high)
An abandoned city / mining site has also been mooted - this is no longer such an outlandish idea , don't forget that we already have companies in place gearing up for offworld mining, after all.

New System tests             NASA jpg

Personally, I wonder if such ideas are being encouraged, purely to keep people interested in the otherwise quite 'dry' science of 'space-geography'.
Speaking of which, is there such a thing?
There should be, with the incoming data helping to create a database - after all, surely many of the oddities we are seeing arise because we try to make otherworld  geology match our own:
but our own knowledge is limited to this little blue planet.
Oh, and the moon.
Mars can be partly included as well, with Curiosity continuing its examination of ancient sedimentary rock and the like.
The recent flypast of Pluto / Charon gave us dramatic new geology with flowing water / methane ice, and changing, active landscapes.
The next focus for New horizons will be a Kuiper Belt object , 2014 MU69, about a billion miles beyond Pluto.

As we speak, tests are being run for Orion, NASAs next big thing, which will launch into lower Earth - orbit on December 4th as a test prelude to manned deep space missions, ultimately using a module which will facilitate deep space missions, but hasn't been created yet !
I'm a little dubious, given that the new Orion craft will be capable of  twenty- one days in space - surely not long enough to go anywhere meaningful - or is there some as yet unexplained quantum secret ?
As well as this, rather strangely, objects to be carried include a rubber duck, and a giant cookie - I kid you not !
So the next 'big' proposal from NASA involves astronauts circumnavigating the moon with the munchies and toys...

A giant cookie for space, obviously...          © NASA jpg

Surely the widespread legalisation of pot in the U.S.A. has affected hitherto serious decisions ?
Good to know then, that in this new space race, priorities are suitably warped...