Lmao: What AI Actually Is.

Close up of Space Shuttle Atlantis docked to the ISS. 🚀✨

Planet Rotation Periods & Axial Tilts

Cosmology’s Biggest Conundrum Is A Clue, Not A Controversy

“This is not some fringe idea, where a few contrarian scientists are overemphasizing a small difference in the data. If both groups are correct — and no one can find a flaw in what either one has done — it might be the first clue we have in taking our next great leap in understanding the Universe. Nobel Laureate Adam Riess, perhaps the most prominent figure presently researching the cosmic distance ladder, was kind enough to record a podcast with me, discussing exactly what all of this might mean for the future of cosmology.

It’s possible that somewhere along the way, we have made a mistake somewhere. It’s possible that when we identify it, everything will fall into place just as it should, and there won’t be a controversy or a conundrum any longer. But it’s also possible that the mistake lies in our assumptions about the simplicity of the Universe, and that this discrepancy will pave the way to a deeper understanding of our fundamental cosmic truths.”

In science, if you want to know some property of the Universe, you need to devise a measurement or set of measurements you can make to reveal the quantitative answer. When it comes to the expanding Universe, we have many different methods of measuring light that fall into two independent classes: using the imprint of an early relic and using the cosmic distance ladder. These two techniques each give solid results that are mutually inconsistent: the distance ladder teams find results that are higher than the early relic teams by about 9%. Since the errors are only about 1-2% on each measurements, this has been dubbed cosmology’s biggest controversy.

But perhaps it’s not about “who is right,” but rather about “what is the Universe doing?” Perhaps it’s a clue, not a controversy. Come learn about the cutting-edge science behind this fascinating and unexpected result.

Hematite Quartz

Locality: Jinlong hill, Longchuan Co. (Lungchuan Co.), Heyuan, Guangdong, China

Size:14.5 cm

Hubble Space Telescope Image of Globular Cluster NGC 6397

Credit: NASA, ESA, and H. Richer (University of British Columbia)

finished a 4 hour html homework now i gotta study math and programming im gonna kms i swear

How much is known about Neptune's atmosphere, more precisely about "raining diamonds"?

The atmosphere of Neptune is, in many ways, similar to that of Uranus. However, its dynamics are presented in a complex configuration of strong winds that sweep the planet, besides the formation of cyclonic storms and clouds, with clearly visible visual characteristics. 

The upper atmosphere of Neptune is made up of 79% hydrogen, about 18% helium and most of the remaining methane, the presence of which imparts the blue-indigo color of the planet by absorbing the incident red radiation.

The diamond rain on Neptune and Uranus was predicted long ago, because of the pressure inside the planet that could be formed by carbon and hydrogen. But now it was virtually confirmed by an experiment conducted by an international team of scientists, this “diamond rain” was recreated under laboratory conditions for the first time, giving us the first glimpse into what things could be like inside ice giants.

At about 10,000 km below the surface of these planets, hydrocarbon compression is thought to create diamonds. To recreate these conditions, the international team submitted a polystyrene plastic sample to two shock waves using an intense optical laser in the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) instrument, which were then paired with X-ray pulses from Linac Coherent Light Source SLAC (LCLS).

Polystyrene is made from a mixture of hydrogen and carbon, key components of the general chemical composition of the ice giants. In the experiment, the team was able to see that almost all of the carbon atoms in polystyrene were embedded in small diamond structures up to a few nanometers wide.

However, in Uranus and Neptune, scientists predict that diamonds would become much larger, perhaps millions of carats by weight.

2°image: (This false color photograph of Neptune was made from Voyager 2 images taken through three filters: blue, green, and a filter that passes light at a wavelength that is absorbed by methane gas. Thus, regions that appear white or bright red are those that reflect sunlight before it passes through a large quantity of methane). 1°image, 3°image & 4°image.

Here are two links if you want to read about it: Click here and here.

A 5.5 hour time lapse I made of Mercury transiting the Sun the other week, shot from my apartment roof [OC]