The alien megastructure surrounding Tabby’s Star was just dust

One of the mysterious stars ever observed by scientists also brought some crazy explanations for its unusual behavior. The star, called KIC 8462852, appeared to have some occasional dips in its brightness, and researchers first thought an alien megastructure was blocking its light. Now, studies revealed the matter surrounding it is rather transparent, resembling dust.

The star was obscured by something more massive than an exoplanet

The star is also nicknamed Tabby’s Star after the scientist who led most studies on it, Tabetha Boyajian. Most details on the star have been collected with the help of the Kepler Space Telescope. The tool is actually the perfect instrument to detect any small changes in the brightness of stars, as this is one of the best ways to spot new exoplanets.

However, researchers immediately knew the dips surrounding this star were not caused by an exoplanet. It remained overshadowed for an average period of 80 days, while exoplanets only rob them of their light for a few hours. Also, even the biggest planets reduce the brightness of a star by one percent. In our case, the brightness was cut down by one fifth.

The alien megastructure turned out to be just dust

This explains why the alien megastructure hypothesis came into being. However, the most interesting thing about this star is the fact that computers didn’t notice the dips at first. Then, a team of clever citizen scientists who overlooked the scanning process discovered the algorithms really missed some data.

Therefore, a group of scientists specialized in looking for alien signs joined the team. The SETI Institute looked for radio signals which could have been released by a potential alien megastructure, and found nothing. The observations continued, and the dips were found to be produced by a transparent material, and not an opaque one. Therefore, the source of blocking might have been dust, after all.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

The tiny meteor appeared in various hues and colors from Massachusetts to Maine

On the second day of Christmas, a bright flash of light appeared in the night sky, traveling across New England. The breathtaking view left the stargazers speechless, as they started making suppositions on what the cosmic object might be. Soon afterwards, the astronomers confirmed it was a small meteor which appeared in the sky.

The meteor shone in different colors, depending on the location of its viewing

People spotted the meteor traveling from Massachusetts to Maine. Astronomers from Boston University explained it reached different speeds, increasing from 10 to 30 miles per second. This caused people from different locations to see it in other ways. Some viewed it as glowing in a green hue, while others saw how it flashed in blue colors.

The astronomers explained that the meteor must have already been burned up at the moment it entered the atmosphere of our planet. If this wouldn’t have happened, then the object must have blazed into a spectacular explosion.

Although it left a shiny trace on the sky, the object was extremely small. It wasn’t bigger than a golf ball, but it still fell alone. This means it wasn’t part of any shooting star display. In fact, no such event was predicted in this period.  The last meteor shower occurred 10 days ago, while the next one is scheduled for January.

The lucky ones captured some images of the meteor

As mentioned above, the tiny meteor was extremely fast. This means it was relatively easy to spot it on the sky, but a lot harder to capture the moment in photos. The best images have been captured by an advanced webcam at the Mount Agamenticus Conservation Program in Maine, which also recorded other falling meteors or auroras.

There are several photos on social media as well, displaying the bright light as traveling quite far away from Earth. Astronomers revealed that, in fact, it didn’t travel further than 10 to 25 miles above the surface.

Meteor spotted over York County, Maine at 5:52 PM on the Mt. Agamenticus webcam. #meteor #fireball pic.twitter.com/JX4XmE6JBr

— Ryan Breton (@RyanBretonWX) December 26, 2017

Image Source: Flickr

Facebook wants to protect your privacy by accessing your face data

Facebook is planning to make use of some new facial recognition features to help you protect your privacy. The update will let you allow the platform gain access to data regarding your appearance and face. Once this is done, you will be given some tools which should keep your account safer.

Facebook will soon make use of facial recognition

If you want to make sure only you can access your Facebook account, the platform will promote these facial recognition features which should pick up data on your face. They can be activated and deactivated with the help of a switch, and will offer you some more tools to work with and protect your privacy.

For instance, Facebook will let you know whenever a photo of you gets uploaded. This happens for photos you haven’t been tagged in, so you can avoid that possible unwanted images should go public. The alert applies even if the person who uploaded the photo is not friends with you, as long as their privacy settings allow you to see the image.

The social media giant claims this is done to prevent photo abuse

Sometimes, your face might end up in a profile picture without your consent. Facebook is quite a widely used medium for revenge porn, where intimate photos of a person are made public without the knowledge of the victim. The attackers can create fake profiles of a person so, in case something similar happens to you, you will be able to report it.

However, allowing Facebook to access your face data is, again, a bit dangerous for your privacy. Security experts are a bit skeptical about allowing big companies to access such sensitive data. However, the social media giant claims everything is done for the benefit of users, as this method helps them keep intruders away from their accounts.
Image Source: Flickr

Researchers managed to prove the existence of excitonium

About 50 years ago, scientists theorized the existence of a completely new form of matter. However, they lacked the evidence to prove its existence until now, when they finally managed to reach the closest stage science offered them to prove the new matter real. The object of the discovery is called excitonium, and was first introduced as a concept by Bert Halperin, a theoretical physicist from Harvard, in the 1960s.

The existence of excitonium hasn’t been proved until now

Researchers say their latest findings are the closest thing to proving that science makes possible. Peter Abbamonte, the scientist who came up with these findings, said this was still a huge achievement.

“You can never really ‘prove’ anything, but, well, people find it convincing.”

Researchers found excitonium in a solid form, as a condensate, and is made up of smaller particles called excitons. What is even more interesting about the substance is the way in which it is created. Regular particles, such as hydrogen, are created from protons and electrons, but excitons have an only an electron.

The condensate is an unusual substance with a strange behavior

Also, this electron has escaped from the regular particle, while also leaving a space behind it like a hole. This hole behaves even more oddly, as it works just like a proton would. As a result, the electron and this hole orbit each other.

To prove excitonium was real, scientists decided to scatter some electrons through a special technique. This way, they managed to observe the excitons as they were forming the condensate. From a vacuum, they scattered these electrons into waves. While studying the waves, they observed the electrons that escaped, thus forming excitonium.

Now, the researchers have to find out more about the condensate, as they are not aware of its properties. Some say it’s not able to carry energy or momentum, like an insulator, while others say it can, like a superfluid.
Image Source: Flickr

Valve stopped the Bitcoin payment method on Steam

Bitcoin might be a sure way for some people to get rich quickly, but it’s not as pleasant for companies. The value of cryptocurrency can go from high to low anytime, which is quite problematic for those businesses that accept it. As a result, many of them have started refusing it as a method of payment, and Steam is now one of them.

Bitcoin is a volatile method of payment

Steam is a platform owned by Valve where people can buy games in a digital format. Until now, players could use various methods of payment, including Bitcoin. However, cryptocurrency has been extremely volatile lately, with fluctuating values which were unpleasant for business owners. This, combined with the high fees, made Valve stop accepting it.

For instance, in April 2016, most transactions involving cryptocurrency brought fees of only 20 cents. Now, they reached $20, which are not profitable to pay for relatively cheap games. This happened mostly because Bitcoin had to deal with a huge number of transactions, making it hard for it to keep up with all of them. As a result, it increased the fees. The higher the fees, the quicker could it process the transaction.

You can no longer pay with Bitcoin on Steam

Both the fee and the value of the game itself was supported by the Steam customer. However, it still got quite a long time for the cryptocurrency to be processed. Until everything was over, there also was the risk that its value might drop. This was extremely unpleasant for Valve, who either had to offer refunds to the customers or ask them to pay some additional costs.

Therefore, the most suitable solution was to strike down Bitcoin from the list of payment methods. Even if some users might be disappointed, Valve explained this was only for their benefit.
Image Source: Pixabay

NASA found the recipe for the perfect Martian rover tires

NASA decided it was time to upgrade its rovers and make them more suitable for the harsh terrains they will have to face, so it started a collaboration with a tire company to improve the wheels of these rovers. The new tires can last longer and are a lot more suitable for the deranged surfaces present on the moon or on Mars.

The space agencies tried different kinds of wheel designs for the lunar rovers

NASA and ROSCOSMOS, the Russian Space Agency, looked at the wheel models used for the rovers during the first lunar mission. The model developed by ROSCOSMOS consisted of a wire mesh placed around the wheels, which had bicycle spokes. These were available on the lunar rover between 1969 and 1977.

In 1971, NASA used different wheels for the Apollo 14 rover. They were made of smooth rubber, but they had some inner canals filled with nitrogen. During the third NASA exploration mission on the moon, the wheels of the rover also had a wire mesh on them, but the frames were hard.

The new tires are more flexible and suitable for both rocks and sand

The brand new tires are an upgraded version of the old tires, but with plenty of improvements and adaptations to fit the lunar and Martian soil. After the collaboration with Goodyear, NASA came up with the Spring Tire, which is made of steel coils inserted within a soft mesh. The flexibility allows it to support even heavy weights, and the soft material is suitable both for sandy and for rocky surfaces.

NASA was convinced to rethink the wheels of its rovers after Curiosity faced a lot of damage during its expeditions on Mars. The Martian surface was covered in rocks, which put in danger the future of Curiosity’s established missions. Therefore, NASA understood it was time to rethink the design of the wheels. The next step is to produce more Spring Tires to add to the future rovers which are to explore the Martian surface.
Image Source: NASA

Blue whales roll on the left side when feeding near the surface

Blue whales might not have hands, but they can be right- or left-handed. A new study explored this possibility, and revealed the way they feed highlighted the fact they were right-handed. However, there is one situation when they express a different behavior, and they tend to go to the left instead of right.

Blue whales are right-handed

Blue whales feed on small crustaceans called krill. Since they are so big, they get the prey just by opening their mouths and plunging forward into water. This way, they get plenty of water in their mouths besides the krill, so they filter the food through long baleen plates.

A team of researchers decided to study the feeding techniques of the blue whales, and attached a series of cameras on the backs of 63 specimens living on the Californian coast. For a period of six years, they studied the movements and habits of the whales.

From time to time, they also roll on the left side

With the help of these cameras, researchers discovered that, whenever the blue whales plunged for krill, they rolled 90 degrees to the right. However, this didn’t always happen. Whenever they saw an appetizing group of krill swimming near the surface, they did 360-degree rolls, but not on the right side, but on the left.

As an explanation, researchers argued they must be doing so to keep their right eye towards the surface, so towards their prey. The right eye is connected to the opposite side of the brain, which controls routine or automatic actions. Also, the krill from the surface is surrounded by plenty of light, which requires the whales to see.

At bigger depths, the blue whales cannot see as well, so their priority is not to offer a good perspective to the right eye. As a result, they act as right-handed beings and roll on the right side. All the details on the study have been published in the journal Current Biology.
Image Source: Flickr