ASTRONOMY - Shadows of Mountain and Moon

 2024 January 22

Shadows of Mountain and Moon
Image Credit & Copyright: Enzo Massa Micon

Explanation: Can the Moon and a mountain really cast similar shadows? Yes, but the division between light and dark does not have to be aligned. Pictured, a quarter moon was captured above the mountain Grivola in Italy in early October of 2022. The Sun is to the right of the featured picturesque landscape, illuminating the right side of the Moon in a similar way that it illuminates the right side of the mountain. This lunar phase is called "quarter" because the lit fraction visible from Earth is one quarter of the entire lunar surface. Digital post-processing of this single exposure gave both gigantic objects more prominence. Capturing the terminator of this quarter moon in close alignment with nearly vertical mountain ridge required careful timing because the Earth rotates once a day.

BIOMIMETISME - Innovations inspirées par la Nature - La soie super-résistante des araignées

La soie produite par les araignées est connue depuis longtemps pour sa résistance. On dit qu'elle est 5 fois plus résistante que l'acier, tout en étant plus légère et plus élastique. De telles propriétés ont forcément intéressé l'armée pour en faire des gilets pare-balles, ou pour renforcer les ceintures de sécurité dans les voitures. Mais produire suffisamment de soie d'araignée est un véritable challenge. Il faut plusieurs milliers d'araignées pour obtenir à peine 500 grammes de soie ; de ce côté-là, les vers à soie sont plus rentables.

C'est pour cela que des fibres artificielles inspirées de la soie d'araignée sont en développement dans de nombreux domaines, comme la création de fils chirurgicaux, de textiles balistiques ou encore à mémoire de forme. Malgré tout, la création de ces fibres reste onéreuse.

© Fir0002, Wikimedia Commons, GNU Free Documentation License version 1.2

FuturaSciences

LE JARDIN MERVEILLEUX DES EPICES - Le cumin une épice forte en goût

Le cumin est une épice de la famille du persil. Il est originaire du Proche-Orient et il est utilisé en cuisine depuis plusieurs milliers d'années. Le goût du cumin est puissant, un peu terreux. Parfois légèrement poivré. Une combinaison de notes chaudes qui relèvent un plat, mais dont il ne faut pas abuser.

Et si le cumin est apprécié depuis si longtemps, c'est aussi pour ses vertus digestives et sa capacité à soulager tant les infections intestinales que les maux d'estomac. Il se dit également qu'il aiderait à soulager les règles douloureuses.

Les Romains, quant à eux, avaient pour coutume d'accrocher des sachets de cumin au-dessus de leur lit afin de chasser les mauvais rêves.

© Dionisvera, Fotolia ; avoferten, Fotolia

FuturaSciences

ASTRONOMY - The Upper Michigan Blizzard of 1938

2024 January 21

The Upper Michigan Blizzard of 1938
Image Credit: Bill Brinkman; Courtesy: Paula Rocco

Explanation: Yes, but can your blizzard do this? In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan's Storm of the Century in 1938, some snow drifts reached the level of utility poles. Nearly a meter of new and unexpected snow fell over two days in a storm that started 86 years ago this week. As snow fell and gale-force winds piled snow to surreal heights, many roads became not only impassable but unplowable; people became stranded, cars, school buses and a train became mired, and even a dangerous fire raged. Two people were killed and some students were forced to spend several consecutive days at school. The featured image was taken by a local resident soon after the storm. Although all of this snow eventually melted, repeated snow storms like this help build lasting glaciers in snowy regions of our planet Earth. 

MUSIQUE CLASSIQUE - Massenet - La vierge

"La vierge"

ASTRONOMY - Falcon Heavy Boostback Burn

 2024 January 20

Falcon Heavy Boostback Burn
Image Credit & Copyright: Dennis Huff

Explanation: The December 28 night launch of a Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida marked the fifth launch for the rocket's reusable side boosters. About 2 minutes 20 seconds into the flight, the two side boosters separated from the rocket's core stage. Starting just after booster separation, this three minute long exposure captures the pair's remarkable boostback burns, maneuvers executed prior to their return to landing zones on planet Earth. While no attempt was made to recover the Falcon Heavy's core stage, both side boosters landed successfully and can be flown again. The four previous flights for these side boosters included last October's launch of NASA's asteroid-bound Psyche mission.

O FUTURO NO PRESENTE - O carro voador - Pal-V Liberty Pioneer Edition

Esta formação ajudará os novos donos a obterem as suas licenças de piloto particular. Este compromisso que a empresa tem com a segurança e a capacitação revela-se uma parte fundamental da divisão da empresa de tornar a mobilidade aérea acessível a todos os interessados.

Este veículo permite que se façam grandes deslocações a uma boa velocidade. Além de conseguir atingir os 160 km/h (velocidade máxima) em deslocações por terra, ele tem alcance de voo de 480 km, com alcance terrestre de 1200 km. O carro pode voar a uma altitude de 11 mil pés (3.350 metros).

Portanto, é possível percorrer uma quantia significativa de território. Para se compreender ainda mais o seu alcance, importa dizer que basta uma única paragem para reabastecimento. Isso é suficiente para dobrar o potencial de exploração.

A sua circulação em vias públicas foi autorizada. No entanto, atualmente, a empresa encontra-se a aguardar a certificação de aviação. Segundo Robert Dingemanse, que é CEO e fundador da startup holandesa: “Os carros voadores não são mais um sonho distante, eles estão aqui, são reais e estão prontos para revolucionar a forma como viajamos”.

Ncultura

BIOMIMETISME - Innovations inspirées par la Nature - La cape d'invisibilité des seiches inspire les roboticiens

La cape d'invisibilité d'Harry Potter semble bien pratique. Peut-être que l'auteure, J.K Rowling, s'est inspirée des seiches pour l'inventer. Si les seiches ne disparaissent pas, elles sont capables de se fondre dans leur environnement, tout comme les pieuvres, pour devenir pratiquement invisibles. Cela est possible grâce à leur peau qui est constituée comme un feuillet de trois couches de cellules pigmentaires : les leucophores qui prennent une teinte blanche, les iridophores qui réfléchissent la lumière et prennent un aspect iridescent, et enfin, une dernière couche de chromatophores qui peuvent changer de couleur rapidement.

Cette peau de « caméléon » a inspiré les scientifiques du milieu de la robotique : en 2017, une équipe a conçu une cape d'invisibilité en s'inspirant de la peau des seiches. La peau synthétique en silicone peut être programmée pour réaliser des formes et des motifs complexes.

© Hans Hillewaert, Wikimedia Commons, CC by-sa 4.0

FuturaSciences

ASTRONOMY - Jupiter over 2 Hours and 30 Minutes

 2024 January 19

Jupiter over 2 Hours and 30 Minutes
Image Credit & License: Aurélien Genin

Explanation: Jupiter, our Solar System's ruling gas giant, is also the fastest spinning planet, rotating once in less than 10 hours. The gas giant doesn't rotate like a solid body though. A day on Jupiter is about 9 hours and 56 minutes long at the poles, decreasing to 9 hours and 50 minutes near the equator. The giant planet's fast rotation creates strong jet streams, separating its clouds into planet girdling bands of dark belts and bright zones. You can easily follow Jupiter's rapid rotation in this sharp sequence of images from the night of January 15, all taken with a camera and small telescope outside of Paris, France. Located just south of the equator, the giant planet's giant storm system, also known as the Great Red Spot, can be seen moving left to right with the planet's rotation. From lower left to upper right, the sequence spans about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

ASTRONOMY - Northern Lights from the Stratosphere

 2024 January 18

Northern Lights from the Stratosphere
Image Credit & Copyright: Ralf Rohner

Explanation: Northern lights shine in this night skyview from planet Earth's stratosphere, captured on January 15. The single, 5 second exposure was made with a hand-held camera on board an aircraft above Winnipeg, Canada. During the exposure, terrestrial lights below leave colorful trails along the direction of motion of the speeding aircraft. Above the more distant horizon, energetic particles accelerated along Earth's magnetic field at the planet's polar regions excite atomic oxygen to create the shimmering display of Aurora Borealis. The aurora's characteristic greenish hue is generated at altitudes of 100-300 kilometers and red at even higher altitudes and lower atmospheric densities. The luminous glow of faint stars along the plane of our Milky Way galaxy arcs through the night, while the Andromeda galaxy extends this northern skyview to extragalactic space. A diffuse hint of Andromeda, the closest large spiral to the Milky Way, can just be seen to the upper left.