NASA observatories back up New Horizons in observing Pluto

NASA’s New Horizons is getting more than a little help from its friends — other observatories and spacecraft, if you want to be technical — in studying what was once the ninth planet. When it flies by Pluto on July 14th, Cassini’s eyes will also leave Saturn for a bit to turn them onto the dwarf planet and take photos from a distance. On July 23rd, the Spitzer Space Telescope will start gathering infrared data from the ex-planet for seven days, while Kepler’s turn will begin in October. The Kepler observatory, which usually hunts for exoplanets, will focus on Pluto for three full months, measuring the light that reflects off its surface and off Charon’s (its largest moon).

A couple of other New Horizons allies have already done their jobs: The SOFIA observatory installed aboard a 747 plane, for one, have been analyzing Pluto from here on Earth since June. While the Hubble Space Telescope observed the celestial body for years in preparation for the spacecraft’s arrival: it even discovered four moons in the process. New Horizons has already captured some of the clearest photos of Pluto we’ve ever seen, but it’s slated to take even more close-ups once it flies nearer the ousted planet next week.

[Image credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute]

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Source: NASA

NASA’s Mars Trek is Google Earth for the red planet

Yes, Google Earth and Street View are great for impromptu armchair traveling. But if you prefer taking a virtual jaunt somewhere literally out of this world, you might want to visit NASA’s Mars Trek website instead. It’s exactly what its name makes it sound like: an interactive map of the red planet’s surface made out of images taken by several missions, which you can explore in either 2D or 3D. You won’t see close-up views of its craters and volcanoes, of course, but it does allow you to zoom in and change views (global, north polar and south polar).

The planet’s known locations are clearly marked and can be clicked for additional info, such as their diameters, while a tool called “Layers” lets you layer images from various orbiter cameras on top of the landscape. Another tool called “Bookmarks” has pre-programmed locations with historical significance, like Curiosity’s landing site above. Even better, it has a download link for STL files that you can use to print out 3D models of those places. Mars Trek’s accessible on computers and mobile devices, though you’ll likely need a good connection to be able to thoroughly enjoy your virtual flyby.

Explore the surface of Mars right from your phone or browser http://t.co/lXcvMJ86bh #JourneyToMars #SDCC pic.twitter.com/7y8KWNyU5e

– NASA (@NASA) July 10, 2015

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Source: NASA Mars Trek

Smartphone ‘mode’ can speed up devices and lengthen battery life

Phones, tablets and other devices slow down over time, no matter how expensive or cutting edge they were when you bought them. Now, researchers from Hanyang University in Korea claim a technology they developed can delay the inevitable. It’s called Where’s WALDIO or Write Ahead Logging Direct IO, and according to team leader Professor You-jip Won, it’s a mode that extends battery life and speeds up phones by minimizing the amount of data a device records. “The core of the newly-developed technology is to record a small amount of data,” Won said. “This tech will make it possible to use low-priced flash memory for a long time, like expensive flash memory.”

Electronics’ flash memories get worn down the longer you use them from saving and deleting data over and over again. Won and his team claim that by running in this mode, which allows a device to keep only necessary data, you can make a used phone work up to 20 times faster and extend its battery life expectancy by up to 39 percent. It’s unclear at this point if WALDIO can be feasibly installed on existing devices, or if it will ever be released to the public. But, if you’re prepared to grapple with technical language this weekend, check out the group’s study (PDF) published on Usenix for an in-depth explanation of how it works. The team’s also at the Usenix Annual Technical Conference in Santa Clara, California until July 10th to present the study, if you want to ask them yourself.

[Image credit: PhotoAlto/Sigrid Olsson]

Filed under: Cellphones, Science, Mobile

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Via: BusinessKorea, AsiaE

Source: Hanyang University

Say hello to NASA’s first commercial flight astronauts

NASA has selected four veteran astronauts to work with both SpaceX and Boeing in preparation for commercial spaceflights. It’s a major step for both NASA and the US government towards returning space launches to the USA: in recent years it’s had to depend on Russia to get people (and things) into space. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said that the four astronauts will be: “blazing a new trail — a trail that will one day land them in the history books and Americans on the surface of Mars.” Astronauts and test pilots Robert Behnken, Eric Boe, Douglas Hurley and Sunita Williams will help develop the commercial company’s crew transport systems, and help take astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

At the moment, contracts with both Boeing and SpaceX require at least one crewed flight test, with at least one NASA astronaut on-board to help verify the vehicle. At the same time, both companies also need to provide training to its commercial crew to get them ready in time. Once tests are passed, the companies will send between two and six crew rotation missions to the ISS, delivering four NASA crew members and at least 200.5 pounds of cargo in shuttle journeys.

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Source: NASA

Sky’s latest fibre broadband deal is free for an entire year

Broadband providers typically try to attract new customers by offering attractively low prices for an introductory period. Eventually, the monthly cost of these contracts shoot up to compensate for the discounted rate you’ve been paying up until then, but this is where Sky’s latest fibre broadband deal is a little bit different. As of today, Sky’s basic fibre package (usually £10 per month) is now free for an entire year; and, better yet, the minimum contract term is 12 months, which effectively means you can pay nothing for broadband for the entire length of the contract. We know what you’re thinking: hang on a second, where’s the catch?

Well, there isn’t one — not one that’s likely to send you running, anyway. Firstly, it’s a time-sensitive deal, though Sky hasn’t volunteered an end date for the promotion. Also, if you want to take Sky up on the offer, you’ll have to take out a Sky landline at £16.40 per month; broadband and landlines usually come as pair, though, so that’s not exactly unusual. One thing you’ll definitely need to keep in the back of your mind, however, is the up to 38Mbps line comes with a 25GB monthly usage cap, which you can remove if you plump for the unlimited tier that’s now £10 per month (normally £20). But, if you’re more of a browser than a chronic downloader, that’s still a fair few gigs to work with. Oh, and one last thing: you’ll need to pay £6.95 for router delivery.

All in all, it looks like a pretty sweet deal, especially since you can move on when your year is up having paid nothing for broadband during the entire contract. Sky would prefer you didn’t, of course, instead hoping to tempt you in with the offer, and make you stay with the quality of service. That’s the plan, anyway.

[Image Credit: Barta IV, Flickr]

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Source: Sky

Music releases move from Monday to Friday in the UK

The weekend is often the perfect time to listen to new music. Maybe you’re getting ready for a night on the town, or sitting in the garden soaking up some rare summer sunshine. Whatever your plans, wouldn’t it make the most sense if new music was released on Friday? Well, until today most albums and singles were released on Monday in the UK. Which was always a little confusing, given the date fluctuated depending on where you were in the world. Australia? Friday. The US? Tuesday. Thankfully, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has pulled the record labels, artists and retailers together to settle on a new, global release date: Friday. So now, when the next big album drops, there shouldn’t be a scenario where it’s available in the US version of iTunes and not the UK. To coincide with the shift, the UK is also moving its official charts (including the popular charts show on BBC Radio 1) to Friday, rather than Sunday. So say hello to “New Music Fridays” and wave goodbye to “Not Very Convenient Music Mondays.”

[Image Credit: stevecoleimages/Getty Images]

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Source: New Music Fridays

Flying R2-D2 will grace the skies over this year’s Comic-Con

Otto Dieffenbach is famous for crafting drones that look like pop culture icons, and this one is no exception. Just in time for this year’s Comic-Con, the self-described creator of “Identifiable Flying Objects” has created an R2-D2 model that can fly. From a distance, it looks just like everybody’s favorite beeping pedal bin, but in fact it’s just a hollowed-out casing for a quadcopter that’ll hover over the skies of San Diego. So, if you’re hanging out at the show, look up every now and again — you might see something that’ll bring back your memories of Attack of the Clone… actually, no, don’t do that.

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