technical updates

Scientists have cracked a long-standing chemistry problem, creating nanocrystals from tough metal nitrides that were previously extremely difficult to produce at this scale. The breakthrough could turn familiar materials used in LEDs, implants, and superconductors into building blocks for flexible electronics, printable devices, and other technologies. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/nhlG3zm

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A new era of astronomy is about to begin after NASA's newest flagship observatory leaped from the terrestrial bounds of Earth into the vastness of space this morning. NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched today (Aug. 30) on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center here in Florida. Liftoff occurred at 7:26 a.m. EDT (1126 GMT) at Launch Complex-39A (LC-39A). Roman is NASA's newest orbital observatory designed to add to the wealth of research and discoveries we've received from the Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope . "The scope is extraordinary," Roman senior scientist Julie McEnery said during live commentary. "We will do a survey of our own Milky Way galaxy and find 20 billion stars. That would make it the largest catalog of astronomical objects that's ever been produced." A SpaceX F...

A new flagship observatory is about to launch to space and join the ranks of its powerful predecessors, like the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. NASA's groundbreaking new Nancy Roman Grace Space Telescope is ready to lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. It's scheduled to depart from Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, bound for a gravitationally stable spot in space called Lagrange Point 2, or L2, nearly 1 million miles (1.6 million km) from Earth . The spacecraft's first window for launch is tomorrow (Aug 30) at 7:26 a.m. EDT (1126 GMT). Mission managers and launch administrators held a prelaunch briefing on Saturday (Aug. 29), confirming NASA and SpaceX's "go" to proceed toward tomorrow's lift off. Weather tomorrow currently poses a 50% chance of favorable launch conditions, according to launch weather officer Ju...

The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is one of the best telescopes for beginner-to-intermediate stargazers who want to view deep-sky objects and appreciate assistance in manually locating the targets. Right now, the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is 17% off, down to just $414.99 , its cheapest since Prime Day in June. In our Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ review , our expert tester Damian Peach awarded it an impressive 4 out of 5-star. Damian noted that it was an exquisite telescope for the beginner and added that the StarSense Explorer telescope was fully equipped, supplied with just about everything the skywatcher needs for a successful observing session under the stars. It only missed out on the perfect score as Damian felt it would benefit from additional high-powered eyepieces to achieve more detailed views. However, at this discounted price, it's one of the best begi...

The United States will soon have a new service academy — or something like it, anyway. President Donald Trump today (Aug. 28) signed an executive order creating the U.S. Space Academy, an institution of higher learning that will train students for a career studying, exploring, exploiting or helping to protect the final frontier. "It'll serve both the United States Space Force as well as NASA and the civilian spaceflight industry, and it'll attract, train and graduate the very very best of our nation," Trump said today during a ceremony at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, at which he awarded the Artemis II moon astronauts the nation's highest space honor. President Donald Trump awarded the four astronauts of NASA's Artemis II moon mission the Congressional Space Medal of Honor at Johnson Space Center on Aug. 28, 2026. They, in turn, gave him a flight jacke...

Warning: Potential "Silo" Spoilers Ahead! Get back in the Silo if you aren't up to date! Apple TV's " Silo" season 3 is nearing its final two episodes, depicting the Before Times’ doomsday silo project as well as the shakeup inside Silo 18 with Juliette’s memory returning. The ongoing tempest includes Camille Sims (Alexandria Riley) having to prevent a Safeguard extermination as the new Head of IT this year, and the revelation of ex-security chief Robert Sims (Common) regarding Bernard (Tim Robbins). With the married couple of Robert and Camille Sims careening off onto very different moral trajectories, Camille must confront troubling truths as her conscience plummets into the pits of Hades, while Robert is on a profound journey of salvation. "The writers are incredible on this show, and we were so excited when we first saw what they were going to do," Rile...