Space

The future of energy: Why fusion power is always ’30 years away’

Space / /

Nuclear fusion power promises to revolutionize the world’s energy production infrastructure and combat climate change head-on. In the 1970s, physics researchers confidently proclaimed that nuclear fusion power was “30 years away.” The phrase has been parroted time and time again, reverberating through popular science, but as time moved forward, the 30-year estimate remained constant — […]

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Could a “planet-killer” actually make its way towards Earth?: NASA’s real-life approaches to deflecting an asteroid

Space / /

An apocalypse: the end-all-be-all of Earth as we know it. Various pieces of literature and films have attempted to capture the concept, fueling a fear of the end of the world. Suitably, the collapse of society is quite frightening and not easily acceptable. For centuries, humans have tried to rationalize and control this unease through

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Creation and destruction: Investigating the disappearance of antimatter

Space / /

In 1980, astronomer Carl Sagan stated, “We’re made of star stuff.” Around 13.8 billion years ago, the Big Bang occurred and created the “star stuff” that forms the universe we know today. However, that explosion created more than just matter; it created antimatter too. Always produced as a pair, antimatter and matter are very similar.

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Picking up on some strange energy: The mysterious space object baffling astronomers

Space / /

On October 12, 2021, a team of Australian researchers, led by PhD student Ziteng Wang, reported the discovery of a possible new object in space. The mysterious source of energy has been labeled ASKAP J173608.2−321635. The catch? It doesn’t fit into a category of anything scientists have ever seen before.  ASKAP J173608.2−321635 was first noticed

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How to fix debris from taking up too much space — in space

Environment, Space / /

Humans produce a lot of trash. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, for example, has accumulated plastic and other kinds of waste from all over the world’s oceans. While the problem of polluting the seas is fairly well known, another territory is also feeling the effects of human interference: space. It is estimated that there are

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A new space race is underway, and it’s explosive

Physics, Space, Technology / /

The past ten years have seen an explosion of small-lift rocket companies. Ranging from 30 to 100 feet tall, these liquid-propellant rockets aim to launch up to two tons of payload — equivalent to the weight of a large car — into orbit. Instead of focusing on humans and large space telescopes, they’re launching smaller

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