A Vatican astronomer has come to the help of NASA with a historic mission to study an asteroid. Meteorite expert and Vatican astronomer, Jesuit Brother Bob Macke, came to the aid of the US space agency after building a custom device that would allow the study of material of a sample collected from an asteroid. The mission is that of the unmanned spacecraft, Osiris-Rex, which was launched in 2016 in order to collect samples on an asteroid named Bennu. Bennu is located close to Earth and Osiris-Rex successfully collected a cup of material from the asteroid in 2020. Now, the vessel is approaching Earth and is due to release the sample in a return capsule on 24 September before continuing its orbit of the sun. Macke was contacted by the lead of the mission’s sample analysis working group, Andrew Ryan, who asked him to build the device that was needed in order to analyse the sample of the Bennu asteroid. The device has been devised so that it can analyse the density and porosity of the samples to help identify the make up of the asteroid surface. It is known as a pycnometer and NASA has strict requirements for the device, though other companies contacted were not willing to custom make one. Macke, however, took up the task and was able to build it in five weeks thanks to the assistance of students at the University of Arizona who collaborate with the Vatican Observatory’s advanced technology telescope in Tucson. In March it was delivered to the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston for a test run and is hoped to be used for the real thing when the sample arrives from space. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

UTRECHT, the Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 2023--

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2023--

TAIPEI Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker and a major supplier for Apple, said on Tuesday

A leading global supplier of zippers discovered PFAS, per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances, in the paint used on some

FORT MILL, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 5, 2023--

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 21, 2023--

BRUSSELS Europe's second-top court on Wednesday rejected Meta Platforms' challenge against EU antitrust regulators. The European Commission had

Sony has announced the PS5 slim, a smaller version of its PlayStation 5 console. The long-rumoured, new PS5 is more than 30 per cent smaller than its predecessor, the company said. It has also added Otherwise it keeps the same specs – including the option of a disc drive – as well as a largely similar design. That initial look, which relied on a bright white, swooping look for the console, proved divisive when it was first released. But the PlayStation 5 was incredibly popular, remaining sold out for months after it first went on sale. Now Sony says that it created the new console to “address the evolving needs of players”. “Our engineering and design teams collaborated on a new form factor that provides greater choice and flexibility,” it said. That meant cutting down its volume by more than 30 per cent, and its weight by 18 per cent and 24 per cent depending on the model. As with the existing PlayStation 5, customers will be able to choose between an “digital” edition and one with a disc drive, though an external Blu-Ray reader can also be used. The PS5 will remain on sale for now, PlayStation said. But when all of that inventory has sold out, the new one will become the only model, and despite months of rumours referring to it as a “PS5 slim”, Sony only called it the “new PS5 model”. It will go on sale in the US in November. It will then continue to “roll out globally in the following months”. Though Sony said that the console was being redesigned ready for the “holiday season”, that suggested that it may not be available in all countries before the end of the year. The recommended retail price of the new PS5 remains the same as the existing model it replaces. It will cost $499, €549, or £479 for the version with the disc drive, or $449, €449 or £389 for the “digital edition” without one. Read More ChatGPT founder says bitcoin is ‘super logical’ next step for tech Google to trial AI in UK traffic light systems to reduce stop-and-go emissions Viral WhatsApp warning of cyberattack targeting Jewish people is fake

A stark new discovery has revealed that cannibalism was a common practice in Europe to commemorate the dead 15,000 years ago. Research from London’s Natural History Museum (NHM) found human remains at a famed Paleolithic site in Cheddar Gorge that appeared to have bite marks across 100 of the bones. Scientists believe this is sufficient evidence of cannibalism in the Magdalenian group. "We interpret the archaeological evidence that cannibalism was practised on multiple occasions across northwest Europe over a short period of time as an indication that such behaviour was part of a funerary behaviour among Magdalenian groups, and not simply practised out of necessity," Dr Silvia Bello, paleoanthropologist and principal researcher said in a statement. Postdoctoral researcher William Marsh went on to say that the study contextualised the area by reviewing all sites "attributed to the Magdalenian culture." "During the terminal time period of the Palaeolithic, you actually see a turnover in both genetic ancestry and funerary behaviour, indicative of population replacement as Epigravettian groups migrated northwards," he said, as per IFL Science. "We believe that the change in funerary behaviour identified here is an example of demic diffusion where essentially one population comes in and replaces another population and that brings about a change in behaviour." Fast forward to 2023, and now people are having their bodies frozen in hopes they can "wake up" in the future. Cryonics "is the practice of preserving humans and animals at cryogenic temperatures in the hope that future science can restore them to a healthy living condition as well as rejuvenate them," according to the National Library of Medicine. "At present cryonics can only be performed after pronouncement of legal death of the cryonics subject." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 2, 2023--

Some Amazon corporate workers have announced plans to walk off the job next week over frustrations with the company's return-to-work policies, among other issues, in a sign of heightened tensions inside the e-commerce giant after multiple rounds of layoffs.