Saturday, 30 May 2026

Re: Exploding rocket overshadows future moon steps, 'Doomsday Glacier' faces big loss, and war deepens Iran's water crisis

Keep’emPeeled. Click link below please? 



On Saturday, May 30, 2026, 12:07 pm, Live Science <livescience@smartbrief.com> wrote:

Live Science
Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles
Created for zvagoman@yahoo.com | Web Version
 
May 30, 2026
CONNECT WITH LIVESCIENCE  X Facebook YouTube Instagram
 
LiveScienceSR
SIGN UP ⋅   SHARE
 
Science news this week
 
Science news this week
Three uncrewed missions targeted for later this year will involve private companies carrying payloads to the lunar surface ahead of astronauts' return by 2028. Nonetheless, some experts have voiced skepticism about NASA's highly ambitious timeline, with the gigantic detonation of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket during a static "hotfire" test likely prompting significant delays.
In other space news, the solar system's largest moon, Jupiter's Ganymede, may be heating up due to a unique and mysterious process linked to the planet's inexplicable magnetic field, an unexpected effect is squeezing Mars' atmosphere like toothpaste, and bizarre, scratch-like patterns on Venus' surface have scientists scratching their heads.

If that's not exotic enough for you, we reported on the far-out mystery of the controversial "JuMBO" planets discovered by the James Webb telescope, alongside the telescope's discovery of a "naked" black hole that's heavier than its host galaxy.

But you don't need to go to space to find new ways of looking at the universe, as you can see in this fascinating interview on the uses of radio astronomy in space exploration and the search for aliens. Indeed, you can gain that sense of awe by watching this new footage of a brilliant-green fireball meteor exploding over an erupting volcano in the Philippines.
 
 
 
 
 
Fresh findings
 
Scientists trained an AI model using an IBM quantum computer — and it answered questions correctly that the base model couldn't
Live Science
Today's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are notoriously prone to getting things wrong.

To get more accurate, large language models historically  (LLM) had to get bigger, using ever more parameters and thus gobbling up more compute time.  Now, however, scientists have found a way around this seemingly inevitable tradeoff — and they did it by inserting a quantum computing component into the AI.

The result led to a small reduction in the perplexity score — used to quantify the inaccuracies LLMs make in predicting their next tokens — and an improvement in the questions the hybrid AI could answer compared with a base model.

Discover more technology stories

 
 
Read more
 
 
 
 
Life's Little Mysteries
 
What is jetlag, and how can you avoid it?
What is jetlag, and how can you avoid it?
If you've taken a long-haul flight before, you're likely well aware of what jet lag feels like — the enervating feeling of temporal discombobulation that lingers for days after hopping into a new timezone. But what's going on in our bodies to cause it? And can it be prevented?

 
 
Read More
 
 
 
 
Latest research
 
'Poised to disintegrate': Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' is set to lose its ice shelf this year
Live Science
Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier is nicknamed the "Doomsday Glacier" because its collapse would raise global sea levels by 2.1 feet (65 centimeters) and flood coastal communities worldwide. 

This week, we reported that a key shelf buttressing the glacier  is set to fall apart this year. 

It sounds depressing, but that doesn't necessarily spell immediate doom. While scientists can't put an exact timeline on Thwaites Glacier's collapse, they don't think it will be anytime soon. That at least gives people living in cities such as New York, Boston, and Miami a little time to consider moving inland.

Discover more planet Earth news

 
 
Read more
 
 
 
 
Also in the news this week
 
 
Chinese chemists test 'self-cleaning' fabric coating that can remove stains without laundry detergent
 
 
1,200-year-old gold hoard discovered in Saudi Arabia may have been buried by a medieval pilgrim
 
 
The Romans and Vikings left few genetic traces of their occupations of Britain, research suggests
 
 
Diagnostic dilemma: Whiplike rashes appeared on a woman's back after she ate shiitake mushrooms
 
 
A new test could flag people at risk for anemia by filming their eyeballs — no needles required
 
 
It's illegal to repair most of our devices. There's a surprising reason for that.
 
 
 
 
Science Spotlight
 
War has brought Iran's water crisis to a breaking point: 'Things will collapse unless there is meaningful structural change'
Live Science
The U.S.-Israeli war has come at a price measured not just in military expenditures but in human lives, key infrastructure and rising energy prices.

But some costs of the war aren't immediately apparent. One of the less-publicized tolls, for example, is the effect on Iran's water system, which was already collapsing before the current war. In this Science Spotlight, Live Science staff writer Sascha Pare walks us through how the water crisis originated, how the war made things worse, and whether the situation can be turned around. 
 
 
Read more
 
 
 
 
Something for the weekend
 
 
 
 
 
Photo of the week
 
Mars looks blue and bruised in surreal new images from Psyche spacecraft — Space photo of the week
Live Science
This snapshot of the bruised-blue Martian surface was taken by NASA's Psyche spacecraft as it passed within 2,864 miles (4,609 kilometers) of the Martian surface on May 15.

The image — a close-up of the double-ringed Huygens crater and the cratered southern highlands that surround it — was captured by the probe to test its multispectral cameras before it arrives at the metal-rich asteroid 16 Psyche in 2029. The enhanced-color processing in the photos revealed veins of hidden mineral deposits, hence the blue. 
 
 
See more
 
 
 
 
 
This week's newsletter was written by Ben Turner
 
This week's newsletter was written by Ben Turner
Ben Turner is a U.K. based staff writer at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, among other topics like tech and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist. When he's not writing, Ben enjoys reading literature, playing the guitar and embarrassing himself with chess.
 
 
 
 
Follow Live Science on social media
 
Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp, we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.
 
 
Future Follow LiveScience X Facebook YouTube Instagram
Contact Us: Feedback | Advertise
Sign Up | Update Profile | Unsubscribe
Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms and Conditions
When you purchase through links in our content, we may earn an affiliate commission.
 
Future US LLC ©
Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036

No comments:

Post a Comment