Beyond Earth's blue skies stretches a universe full of possibilities, including countless stars with planets that might support life. While Earth is the only known host of life, astronomers have identified several exoplanets that could potentially support it. "An exoplanet is a planet that orbits a star other than our Sun,” explains Michelle Hill, an Earth and planetary science researcher at the University of California, Riverside.One crucial factor in determining a planet's potential for life ...read more
The Hubble telescope, which has served as an incredibly advanced window into the universe for over thirty years, has recently struggled with several less-than-stellar service disruptions.But, NASA officials insist, the telescope’s legacy is far from finished — and it’s projected to remain active well into the next decade.Over the past six months, Hubble has repeatedly experienced technological malfunctions, causing the telescope to enter “safe mode” and temporarily pause viewing as sci ...read more
Dimetrodon was the largest predator of its time, preying on giant amphibians nearly 300 million years ago during the Early Permian period.“They were eating basically whatever they wanted,” says Kirstin Brink, a paleontologist at the University of Manitoba in Canada who studies these creatures.But these ancient sail-finned creatures have often been misunderstood throughout history and were incorrectly classified as dinosaurs for some of the past 150 years. The Dimetrodon were instead more clo ...read more
Quantum computing offers the hope of dramatic increases in computational capabilities. That’s the promise of quantum computers that can handle hundreds of thousands or millions of quantum bits or qubits. But for the moment, the state-of-the-art machines barely manage a few dozen qubits and cannot yet outperform classical computers in any meaningful way. Part of the problem is that quantum algorithms generally require hundreds or thousands of qubits, even for simple problems. So mathematicians ...read more
Europe is in the midst of a heat wave, and while Olympic athletes in Paris for the 2024 Summer Games might be spared the worst of it, the weather will still be hot.As global temperatures have risen, major sporting events like the Olympics and FIFA World Cup have had to adapt to high heat and extreme storms to keep athletes and fans safe and allow the games to go on.Olympic organizers have moved events such as marathons to early mornings and even to cooler cities. FIFA, the governing body for wor ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine