Football has a habit of borrowing the language of space. Players become stars, matches are described as astronomical, and careers are measured by how brightly they shine. Every so often, though, the comparison drifts into something more literal. More than a decade ago, astronomers studying one of the earliest known galaxies in the universe chose…
Archaeologists have deciphered a 1,700-year-old inscription at an ancient Roman temple in Turkey that offers rare written evidence of the shift from Mithraism to Christianity during the Roman period.The inscription was found at an underground Temple of Mithras inside Zerzevan Castle, a Roman fortification about 40 miles from the Syrian border. It was written in…
Picture credit: True Anomaly For decades, space battles have belonged to the world of Star Wars and science fiction. But as more satellites fill Earth’s orbit, military powers are now preparing for a future where satellites may have to track, approach and respond to rival spacecraft in orbit.That idea moved a step closer to reality…
Carl Jung (Image: Wikipedia) Carl Jung is widely credited with this line: “The first half of life is devoted to forming a healthy ego, the second half is going inward and letting go of it.” It splits a human life into two very different jobs. In your younger years, the task is building a self,…
Sea ice melts on the Franklin Starait (AP file photo) Scientists have tested an idea that could help reduce the melting of Arctic sea ice, and the initial results are promising. The method involves spraying of seawater onto existing sea ice in winter and letting it freeze into a new layer.The on-site experiment took place…
For most people, asteroids are distant objects that remain hidden behind telescope lenses and scientific instruments. That will briefly change in April 2029, when one of the best-known near-Earth asteroids is expected to become visible without specialist equipment across large parts of the world. The object, called Apophis, has attracted scientific attention for more than…
Quote of the day by John Locke (AI-generated image) You cannot know something you have never actually encountered in some form. That is the whole idea behind John Locke’s line, “No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience.” He wrote it in 1689, in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, while arguing against the idea…
Representational photo of Voyager When NASA launched Voyager 1 in September 1977, it was expected to explore the outer planets before continuing its journey into deep space. Nearly 49 years later, the spacecraft is still continues to send information back to Earth from about 25 billion kilometres away, making it the most distant human-made object…
Among the many industries that China and the USA are competing in, space is a rising battleground. The two countries that have tried their best to form a bond in trade and truth but remain contentious in spirit. China is rapidly advancing its lunar exploration program and is expected to eventually send taikonauts to the…
Artificial intelligence is driving an unprecedented surge in demand for computing power. Still, the data centres behind today’s most advanced AI models face a growing challenge: keeping millions of processors cool without consuming vast amounts of energy and water. On Earth, cooling systems can account for a significant share of a facility’s electricity use while…
