It took six months of intense research on paper and then 20 hours at a telescope, for a scientist from Montreal and another from India to capture a signal from the most distant galaxy found so far. The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope in Pune is an array of 30 massive steerable antennae. It played a …
At 400 km from the surface of Earth, a very different rulebook for physics kicks in. PREMIUM Take fire. On Earth, gravity helps shape a typical flame. Away from Earth’s atmosphere, small flames tend to be rounder. (NASA) {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} In the absence of gravity and oxygen, fire behaves differently, as does water. …
The idea was straight out of science-fiction: A post-Cold War US and Russia working on a joint mission to build a giant, rotating, Earth-orbiting laboratory in space. PREMIUM A view of the International Space Station in orbit around Earth. (NASA) The International Space Station (ISS) remains the largest manmade object outside Earth. It has hosted …
There’s a rather endearing idea laid out in the sci-fi classic The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and it is this: Maybe the universe is full of life, aliens zipping about, stopping at intergalactic cafés. And they’re all just waiting for Earth to stop being the remote tribe of the universe, and …
A children’s poster of planets, stars and moons and a typo — sometimes, that’s all it takes to shake up our understanding of the solar system. PREMIUM The poster depicting Zoozve that hangs in Latif Nasser’s home. It was created by artist Alex Foster. (Image: @latifnasser on X) That’s what happened when LA-based writer and …
There’s a sense of suspense around smartphones today. What’s coming next? PREMIUM Humane’s AI Pin links with the user’s phone, and follows voice instructions. It can also project visuals onto the user’s palm. Well, the new phone for the age of artificial intelligence will likely be a wearable, AI-led device that looks nothing like what …
Images of babies nestled in purple roses, folded hands against saffron skies, CGI diyas on a CGI lake… the templated Good Morning message can be the bane of the WhatsApp group. PREMIUM One of the messages posted on the Instagram page, and included in the book. ‘So many of these are… a complete mishmash of …
There’s a tale that residents of Leonia, New Jersey, will likely share with their grandchildren. In 2018, police had to erect “Do Not Enter” signs on streets here, and hand out special passes to locals, as part of a crackdown on motorists flooding the town’s peaceful lanes. For months, the little enclave had become a …
Passwords go at least as far back as armed sentries, fortified towns and invasions on horseback. “Who goes there,” was a question that had to be answered in a very specific way, if one wished to see another dawn. PREMIUM Google’s Titan Security Keys can be plugged into a USB port to act as two-factor …
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} We know fashion, as it exists today, is one of the most polluting industries. So, what should we wear? PREMIUM Prototypes of Biogarmentry, an algae-based textile that ‘breathes’ as it is worn and turns greener over time. (Biogarmentry) If we are to start with the raw materials – as we should …