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2019 was Earth’s second-warmest year on record
If the melting ice caps and recent wildfires didn't tip you off, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have hard data showing that the effects of climate change are only getting worse. According to the agencies, 2019 was the second hottest year since record keeping began in 1880, and was only topped by 2016's temperatures. The trend is clear: Every decade since the '60s has, on average, been warmer than the one before it. Even more alarming is the fact that the past five years have been the hottest five on record.
NASA's terrifying visualization of atmospheric aerosols
Heatwaves, hurricanes and other extreme weather might be the "face of climate change," but it's not the only sign. A grim new visualization from NASA shows another problem caused indirectly by global warming: airborne particles and droplets. These "aerosols," shown on a single day on August 23rd, come from dust, volcanic ash and other sources. They're particularly brutal this year because of fires in California, British Columbia and the southern part of Africa.
ICYMI: Robot tattoo artist and healing coral reefs
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Scientists were able to program soft materials to shift their shape on digital command, which is only a precursor to our biggest tech news of this episode: That an industrial robot normally used to put together cars was repurposed to delicately give tattoos to human beings. Considering the robotic arm is large and heavy enough to lift car doors easily, we'd like to invite you all to give this tattoo artist a try first, please.
NASA is making a small carbon nanotube telescope for CubeSats
A team of NASA Goddard scientists are developing a lightweight and low-cost telescope small enough to fit inside CubeSats. Those mini satellites provide the agency an inexpensive means to send various experiments to outer space. By creating a small telescope sensitive to ultraviolet, visible and infrared wavelength bands that can fit inside a CubeSat, NASA will be able to explore space for cheap. Obviously, the images it sends back won't be as high-res as the photos taken by Hubble or by one of the humongous ground-based telescopes. However, the team says it could be a great "exploratory tool for quick looks that could lead to larger missions." It will also likely be the first one to use the new carbon nanotube mirror the team designed.
NASA installs the first mirror on the Hubble's replacement
NASA announced on Wednesday that it had successfully installed the first of 18 mirrors on the new James Webb space telescope. The work took place at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland earlier this week.
Bezos tests first prototype rocket, not available with "one-click"
Amazon's Jeff Bezos has been keeping his Blue Origin space venture under tight wraps since its founding in 2000, but the company has now finally decided to show its progress off to the public, announcing that its first prototype rocket recently underwent a successful test flight and providing the pics and video to prove it. The craft, dubbed Goddard, took off from Blue Origin's launch site in Texas on November 13th, with the entire flight lasting less than a minute but apparently going off without a hitch. Bezos also seems to be hoping this latest development will fuel another recruiting drive, with the company taking the opportunity to announce that it has about 15 new job openings to fill. Check out another pic of the craft in mid-flight after the break, then click through on the link below for the grin-inducing video. No word if Bezos and crew engaged in a life-sized game of Lunar Lander after everybody else went home.[Via CNET]
