Glass Creatures, Time Crystals, Mutant Boars, Vanishing Ice, and Europa

A new Fast Radio Burst theory from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center states that maybe, just maybe, they are used by aliens as a propulsion force for space travel.
The downside of this theory is that the 17 FRB signals received so far would hardly propel a fleet of alien spaceships across the cosmos...and using radio-bursts rather than a steady stream of solar / laser light, seems very impractical.

Yeast

Although synthesized Yeast may not be the sexiest example of cutting - edge science, it is being created with the aid of a software program called ' BioStudio ' , and so far, scientists have replicated 6 of 16 chromosomes .
As yeast shares many similarities to our own DNA, it can be used to improve medicines, etc.
This represents a major advance in the field.

Speaking of DNA , scientists have finally discovered the mechanism which allows Tardigrades to be almost indestructible.
Apparently by some trick of their DNA , they collapse, becoming a form of biological glass , with only a bare minimum of molecules and proteins to keep them in suspended animation.
This obviously has implications for deep space travel.
It is almost certain that elements of 'water bear' DNA will eventually be introduced to humans-
or at least, they will to those who need longevity...suddenly that 4.7 light - year journey to Alpha Centauri seems almost possible.

Regardless of whether Tardigrade DNA is copy/pasted into people , molecular damage has probably already occured in the wild boars that now run wild in Fukushima and its environs.
Moves are afoot to convince people to return to the area, but the hostile, and almost certainly radioactive, boars , are the new owners of the place.
The comments section of the article above is filled with discussion of the best calibre guns to take down the mutant hogs...

Mutant hog spotted...

Further to my recent post about the search for absolute zero , a little box is being taken to the ISS this summer with a view to creating the coldest space in the universe, just a fraction of a degree above absolute zero.
It is expected that quantum phenomena will occur - I am excited - and a little worried for the brave souls in the ISS : after all, quantum is where the normal laws of physics break down.
What could possibly go wrong ?

                                                              Artists impression- Nasa Cold Atom Lab


More quantum strangeness - time crystals have been observed, or at least, have now been peer reviewed - opening new possibilities for quantum computing.
Their magic is the way they create a marker or lattice in time itself : a ' rhythm' maintained in the (alleged) fourth dimension.
Initially, this may sound utterly bizarre - a solid object that vibrates on another plane ?
At a basic level, it is the old idea of  perpetual motion , with a twist.


 Meanwhile,in Siberia...

Melting permafrost gave us a scare story some time ago with a potential TB pandemic unleashed from thawed reindeer bodies , but nothing else until now - as the permafost thaws with increasing speed,  large areas are being uncovered and with them new escapes of gases into the atmosphere , and evidence of volcanic activity

Meanwhile, near Saturn...

Pan            photo : Cassini/ Nasa

Anaglyph 3D Pan

Saturns innermost moon, Pan, is tiny, and looks very odd.

Pan was discovered in 1990 from photographs taken by Voyager 2.
Only approximately 17 miles diameter, it orbits Saturn, in the Encke gap of the ring system, and its weird appearance means it is likened to many things including a doughnut, a walnut , and a ufo.

From Saturns inner-most moon to Jupiters possibly life-supporting moon . With the announcement of a NASA mission called Europa Clipper, a reconnaisance craft which will orbit and assess Europa for the essential building blocks of life .
The mission is scheduled to launch in 2020 , arriving at the Jovian moon a few years later.
It will perform 45 orbits of the moon.
The ultimate goal seems to be the colonisation of  Europa- which, coming from NASA themselves, makes me wonder what they are not telling us.
On the other hand, the fact that it concerns Europa gives enough fuel for conspiracies, anyway.

From Europa to Europe

Luxembourg is keen to establish itself as a trailblazer and a
major player in the field of asteroid mining



Staying in the area of Europe, any budding astro-engineers should consider these vacancies from ESA !



P.S.  I realise that the idea of time as a fourth dimension is contentious , but I don't want to get bogged down with the issue, as this is not really a science forum , and my take on the subject is flexible - personally, I think we should expand our dimensions. At least five, and probably ten. Because quantum . But let's agree to differ ?

Fungoid Zombies, Teleportation and the Monolith on a Martian Moon...

With what appears to be a slowing of development in VR ,  (it's stalling, frankly)...personally I'm greatly fond of AR (Actual Reality), although I understand the desire to experience extreme sports minus the possibility of actual death. 
It seems that people are not entirely convinced of this ground - breaking stuff.
I suspect that it will go the way of 3D, being a nice optional addition for those who don't mind the weird claustrophobia of the headgear.
Personally, I find the immersion of a good gaming world on a large screen to be more than enough.
It requires a little imagination, but then, so do good books.
Rant over...


We hear that scientists have succeeded in the quantum teleportation of data over a seven mile distance. Okay, it's not  quite ' Beam me down, Scotty' , but even so...teleportation gets closer.


As I write this post at the tail-end of September 2016, we hear tantalising news that NASA will reveal  new images of Europa taken by Hubble today (26  09 2016).
Apparently they hint at activity in a subsurface ocean.
Such an announcement has already stirred the denizens of the online conspirati *, and mutterings of the word 'aliens' are spreading far and wide, despite NASA stating categorically : Not aliens.
Still, to the Conspirati*, denial is complicity, or something like that .

Not to be outdone, word is increasing on the mysterious monolith on Martian moon Phobos.
There is a very 'maybe' Canadian orbiter / lander mooted , called 'Prime' ( Phobos Reconnaissance Imager like Mars Express ) which is to examine the monolith, but exactly when is open to speculation.

 

Given the increasing noise surrounding imminent flights to the Red Planet , I imagine it won't be long until DragonX are offering day trips to Phobos , perhaps with overpriced T - Shirts bearing the legend " I Saw The Monolith ", and on the back, " ...It Sucks "
To be worn by blasé youngsters with glazed eyes...

A recent article postulates that the dimming effect we see on ' Tabbys star', is actually just from random comets .
 In the linked article, Valeri Marakov says that deep space may be full of comets -
 '... dark and cold, and travelling from nowhere to nowhere, basically, forever.”
Just like a journey on the M25, then.

Tracks of moon buggy August 8 1971   NASA

The above image was added to this post apropo of nothing, (I just like it,) but is now almost relevant, as it transpires that Russia are planning to get a manned colony on the moon by 2030.
The slightly worrying extrapolation here is that the USA are claiming Mars, with the Soviets as sole proprietors of the Moon
A new Space Race ?
If nothing else, I suppose it redirects efforts away from the Arms Race...

Whilst we toy with the idea of becoming a multi - world species, the recent developments in genetics tell us that we'd be better off as human / animal hybrids
Why am I even saying all this ?
Surely I should be creating a dystopian fiction in which our future genetically- enhanced selves are quietly colonising the fringes of our solar system when suddenly we are attacked by giant Tardigrades who want their DNA back...



NOT SPACE RELATED...

Finally, back in February this year, I got a signed copy of the Girl With All The Gifts , a lurid dystopian sci-fi  featuring telepathic kids and murderous fungoid zombies - like a British version of ' The Last Of Us', on a budget of twenty quid.
It is filming now in gritty London suburbs like Park Royal.
Which isn't Royal.
Or a Park.
 It is dystopian edginess, though...


Don't forget to like, subscribe, share this blog and stay tuned to Invisible Words - finger on the pulse or something like that !
Cheers !


* conspirati is a word I made up to more easily group those who watch ufos on you tube and believe in mind control and robotic Yetis in a fabled land.
That sort of thing.

Distant Galaxies and Nearby Nuts

M60 galaxy, with M60-UCD1 inset.      pic ©NASA,ESA, J. Seth

Far away, on the edge of our galaxy lies a teeny tiny other galaxy - except that this one (M60-UCD1) has a humongous black hole to outshine (in a dark sense) any other.
It has a mass of 21 million suns.
But fear not, it won't be devouring Earth anytime soon - it's 50 million light years distant.
On the other hand, we also know that the light we see from M60-UCD1 is showing us how it was 50 million years ago, so it could already be gone.
And the bottomless time distorting maw of the black hole could be looming ominously overhead, even as we speak.
Which is cheerful.
Sorry...

 Our night sky (viewed away from big cities and their light pollution), contains 4000 stars.
Which is quite a lot, if you ask me - but M60-UCD1 contains 140 million stars, of which 1 million  are visible simultaneously (if there was an Earthlike world there, and you looked to the night sky).

This is an artists impression of the galaxy M6 UCD1

On the similar but opposite end of the spectrum, we have Triangulum II , a really tiny ghost galaxy with a paltry 1000 stars - but the largest detectable quantity of dark matter.


To put the old space race in perspective, there was a nuclear powered spacecraft that was considered for travel to Saturn - in 1958 . It was known as the Orion project, and would have been propelled by exploding hundreds of atomic bombs ....

Oddly enough, the current craft for Mars is also known as the Orion, although its proposed use of nuclear fuel is a little less dynamic...
NASA have revealed their reluctance , however, to engage in deep space travel -
which, given the proposed 2030 manned landing on Mars gives cause for concern - personally I think the journey will be made by a commercial firm - SpaceX and Blue Origin seem capable, although almost certainly with a rather more cavalier attitude towards health and safety...
Recent announcements state the terrible risks involved, apart from issues like loneliness and 'cabin fever', the very real threat of meteor impact, cancer and fatal irradiation.

Recent revelations tell us that the humble water bear or Tardigrade has no less than 17.5 % of  its DNA adapted from other species ; the process by which it does so is unknown, but it surely makes them the prize candidates for deep space travel , with their resistance to extremes of temperature and lethal doses of radiation - they have already been to space (and seem decidedly alien after all) ...
On the other hand, shouldn't we be concentrating on Terraforming, right now ?
Certainly the Moon needs a makeover, what with all that greyness and corrosive moondust.

There is a new mission called Luna 27 which aims to establish a presence in the lunar South Pole  in 2020, so we should spruce it up a little...at least a shiny shopping mall or two.
Perhaps with Holsts Planet Suite as piped muzak.
I'm joking of course, but seriously - recent laws passed Stateside allow for the mining and possession of minerals occuring in asteroids.
This piece of unilateral granting of rights strikes me as a tad premature.
Do we know of any other body perhaps laying claim to mining rights or even ownership of our asteroid belt ?
I'm getting into Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy territory here, but let me pause to show this -

Bill passed recently in the U.S.A.

In my slightly naive way, I'm amazed that this is a real document .
Funny how reality is mimicking fiction on an almost daily basis now.
Just this morning , I was ruminating on the fact that we live in a world where The Man In The High Castle is a popular media show.

Original edition cover . Fair Use is invoked.

That such an obscure work by Phillip K. Dick should be fêted, restores my faith in humanity.
Then I get a rude awakening with endless news from the GOP rallies in the US, and I think how bizarre that reality Trumps fiction - in a cartoon way, almost.

To my mind, the evil spectre of modern Nazism was effectively lampooned in the film Iron Sky, in which a thinly veiled Sarah Palin - lookalike aims to lead the exiled Nazis from their hidden moonbase , on a warpath back to reclaim Earth.
Which was darkly funny.
Because it would never really happen...


Meanwhile, back in space...

The buzz at the moment seems to be around black holes - what they look like, how they grow, their potential for swallowing entire planetary systems, that sort of thing.
With this in mind, I share this download and print DIY  black hole game!
Fun for all the family - unless you lose the game and have to watch 'Event Horizon', with its grand guignol horrors , in which deep space exploration invokes a hellish reality . .literally.

In Closing...

 I am UK based and have been attempting to ignore the encroaching 'Black Friday' consumer thing - but Cards Against Humanity won the day for me, with their 'Nothing' sale, in which they sold absolutely nothing at five dollars a go, and raised over $70, 000 !
An admirable response to the lure of pure consumerist greed , except that I am also annoyed at my own failure to see the potential wealth inherent in exploiting irony. dammit.