Science & TechnologyS


Fire

Video of electric blue flame erupting from a volcano goes viral

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A stunning video of electric-blue flames erupting from a volcano in Indonesia has surprised social media users. The phenomenon is unique, according to photographer Olivier Grunewald, who has been capturing the eruptions from Kawah Ijen volcano. Speaking to National Geographic, he said that the dazzling, blue glow is actually the light from the combustion of sulphuric gases.

The video was captured a few years ago, and has gone viral on social media again. The footage was part of a documentary that Mr Grunewald released with Geneva's Society for Volcanology.

The mesmerising video shows streams of striking blue flames rapidly coming out from the volcano.


Oil Well

If fossil fuels come from fossils, why have scientists found them on one of Saturn's moons?

Saturn's moon, Titan.
© Universe TodaySaturn's moon, Titan.
They didn't tell us, the term "fossil fuels" might be wrong too

Dr Willie Soon unleashes on the failures of climate change and modern science for 40 minutes with Tucker Carlson (see below). As an opening he explained how one of Saturn's moons has more liquid fuel than than all the oil and gas deposits of Earth, which rather pokes a hole in the idea that fossil fuels are only ever made from fossils.

Essentially a frozen, lifeless moon with no dinosaurs, forests or peat bogs, somehow has lakes of methane. Not only does Titan have liquid seas of hydrocarbon fuel — but we've known this for years. In fact even in 2005 a NASA scientist quietly admitted that Titan had methane that wasn't made from fossils. But where was NASA in the 18 years since?

Soon explains that Titan proves that abiotic oil and gas formation is true. In 2009 an experiment showed that when methane is put under great pressure like the kind we find 50-100 miles underground, it can form more complex hydrocarbons. (Kolesnikov). Several papers in the last dozen years find more exotic kinds of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons all over the place, like in Titan's atmosphere and even forming in deep cold interstellar space. (Zhao, Parker, Freissinet) They also found benzene on Mars.

On his CERES sites, Willie Soon explains that in practical terms, we don't know how much of the oil and gas on earth is made without fossils (in an abiogenic process). It could be forming 50 to 100 miles down, but we're only drilling 6 to 8 miles deep. I seems we have little idea. Even if abiotic oil exists on Earth, it may form too slowly to be useful. Though there have been these odd claims out there for years that some oil fields are refilling.

What we do know, says Jo, is that they're not trying to understand this, and they're not trying to tell us the whole truth either. We've taught two generations of children that there is one simple narrative, and if you questioned it you were an idiot. Isn't it time a civilization dependent on these fuels had an honest discussion about where they came from?

There's a lot more in the interview about his experience at Harvard, and climate science and the sun.

Telescope

'Diamond rain' detected on icy planets offers clues into magnetic field mysteries

diamond rain ice planets
© European XFEL"Diamond rain" could provide clues into the origin of the complex magnetic fields of Neptune and Uranus.
An international team of researchers led by researchers from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory gained new insights into the formation of diamonds on icy planets such as Neptune and Uranus. Scientists believe that, following their formation, these diamonds would slowly sink deeper into the planetary interior in response to gravitational forces, resulting in a 'rain' of precious stones from higher layers.

The results, published today in Nature Astronomy, suggest that this "diamond rain" forms at even lower pressures and temperatures than previously thought and provide clues into the origin of the complex magnetic fields of Neptune and Uranus.

"'Diamond rain' on icy planets presents us with an intriguing puzzle to solve," said SLAC scientist Mungo Frost, who led the research. "It provides an internal source of heating and transports carbon deeper into the planet, which could have a significant impact on their properties and composition. It might kick off movements within the conductive ices found on these planets, influencing the generation of their magnetic fields."

Cassiopaea

Astronomers solve mystery of 'Green Monster' in Cassiopeia A

'We've never had this kind of look at an exploded star before.'
supernova remnant Cassiopeia A
© X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; IR: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Milisavljevic et al., NASA/JPL/CalTech; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt and K. ArcandThis image of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A combines data from NASA's Chandra, James Webb, Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes.
The bizarre, grinch-like wisp of green light dubbed the Green Monster, first seen last year snaking through the glowing remnants of an exploded star, belongs to a blast wave bordering the debris field, a new study reveals.

Last April, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST or Webb) photographed the unusual "wall of emission" in front of Cassiopeia A (or Cas A), an expanding shell of hot gas roughly 11,000 light-years from Earth whose light first reached us 340 years ago. For the past year, astronomers have been trying to explain its origin and presence in the well-studied supernova remnant.

The new image, unveiled on Monday (Jan. 8) at the American Astronomical Society conference being held in New Orleans and online, combines the observing powers of Webb, as well as NASA's Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra space telescopes, to feature Cas A in unprecedented detail. The ball of light, which stretches for 10 light-years, appears infused with red clouds, revealing dust likely warmed as it resides within gas that was heated up to millions of degrees. White, green and orange light streaks sprinkled throughout offer a cosmically messy, breathtaking new view of the stellar debris.

Sun

India's landmark Sun probe Aditya-L1 reaches final destination

India Aditya-L1 solar observatory
© ISROIndia's Aditya-L1 solar observatory
The spacecraft will undertake a comprehensive study "for the benefit of entire humanity," according to New Delhi

India's first solar observatory, Aditya-L1, has been successfully placed into orbit, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced on Saturday.

The mission, which was launched by the ISRO last September, is carrying seven different payloads to observe the light from the Sun and measure the plasma and magnetic fields.

The spacecraft reached Lagrange Point 1 (L1), a relatively stable location for the mission to make observations of the Sun for the next five years.

Blue Planet

Megalodon tooth found on unexplored seamount 10,000 feet below the ocean's surface

megalodon tooth
© Katherine KelleyThe tooth after researchers scraped off a ferromanganese layer it was encased in.
A remotely operated submarine was collecting samples on a previously unexplored deep sea mountain when it scooped up a rare megalodon tooth.

The gold-colored tooth, which is 2.7 inches (6.8 centimeters) long, was discovered more than 10,000 feet (3,090 meters) below the surface near the Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, around 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) south of the Hawaiian Islands.

Researchers described the find in a study published Dec. 14 in the journal Historical Biology. The Ocean Exploration Trust, which led the 2022 expedition that found the tooth, has now released video detailing the events.

Jupiter

Juno probe reveals closest-ever view of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io

io jupiter moon
© NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS, Image processing by Ted StrykThis infrared image was derived from data collected by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard Juno. In this image, the brighter the color the higher the temperature recorded by JIRAM.
Images unveil ongoing volcanic activity in stunning detail

NASA explores outer space and the Solar System through crucial missions, closely monitoring the Jupiter mission's 56 flybys and close encounters with three moons.

Recently, the American space agency shared a captivating image of Jupiter's moon Io from the Juno spacecraft flyby, revealing volcanic activity and providing a detailed view of the surface. This exploration holds potential for unraveling Solar System mysteries, and experts share insights on the Juno spacecraft's recent encounter.

Comment: More from social media




Frog

Physics and chemistry could not give rise to biology

green leaves photosynthesis
© Olena Shmahalo/Quanta Magazine
The laws of nature provide stable conditions and physical boundaries within which biological outcomes are possible. Laws are, in effect, a chessboard. They provide a stable platform and non-negotiable boundaries. But they do not determine the movement of pieces or the outcome of the game.

Or do they? Rope Kojonen, a theologian at the University of Helsinki, argues for the compatibility of design and evolution. My colleagues Steve Dilley, Brian Miller, Casey Luskin, and I published a review of Kojonen's thoughtful book, The Compatibility of Evolution and Design, in the journal Religions. In a series at Evolution News, we have been expanding on our response to Dr. Kojonen. Here, I will shift gears to analyze his claims about the laws of nature and their role in the origin of biological complexity and diversity.

Water

How tomato plants adapt to drought conditions

research tomato drought conditions adaptation
© TJ Ushing/UC DavisAlex Cantó-Pastor, a postdoctoral scholar working with Siobhan Brady, used mutant tomato plants to understand suberin’s role in drought tolerance.
When water supplies are low, tomato roots produce suberin — the molecule that gives wine corks and waxy potato skins their water-repellant qualities — to control water flow

Plants have to be flexible to survive environmental changes, and the adaptive methods they deploy must often be as changeable as the shifts in climate and condition to which they adapt. To cope with drought, plant roots produce a water-repellent polymer called suberin that blocks water from flowing up towards the leaves, where it would quickly evaporate. Without suberin, the resulting water loss would be like leaving the tap running.

In some plants, suberin is produced by endodermal cells that line the vessels inside the roots. But in others, like tomatoes, suberin is produced in exodermal cells that sit just below the skin of the root.

Quenelle - Golden

China reveals next-gen multi-target electronic warfare weapon design

china
© rancho_runner/iStockIllustrative image to show a fighter jet with an electronic warfare pod.
Researchers at the Southeast University in Nanjiang China have revealed the design of their new generation electronic warfare (EW) weapon in a peer-reviewed journal. Unlike other EW weapons known so far, the Chinese-developed weapon can allegedly launch multiple beams of electromagnetic waves from a single antenna and target multiple objects simultaneously.

Electronic warfare is widely accepted as the next frontier of warfare which is seeing intense technological development. Failure to dominate the deployment of the technology is seen as a precursor to losing territorial ground. Advanced EW weapons are capable of suppressing weapons, and radars as well as adversarial ability to communicate, navigate and collect information in contested areas.

Comment: It's perhaps no coincidence that China is releasing this information so publicly, and putting it up for scrutiny, at this rather turbulent time on our planet; and this is just the technology that they're choosing to make public: