Author Archives: Shane McGlaun

Massive amounts of data are generated by orbiting scientific platforms like the Hubble, and the ESA's Gaia satellite; so much data that it often takes years for researchers to pour through. An international team of astronomers were pouring through Gaia data recently and discovered a massive "ghost" galaxy hiding behind the shroud of the Milky Way's disc. The new galaxy has been named Antila 2 or Ant 2 and is said to be an extremely low-density galaxy.

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Performance cars and the word affordable rarely go together. Hyundai is trying to change that with the introduction of the new Veloster N Performance Package, and the car starts at under $30,000. The exact starting price for the car is $29,000 with an $885 destination charge.

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A team of Chinese researchers has conducted an experiment that is nicknamed the "Chinese artificial sun" using the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) fusion device. The EAST device has been conducting a four-month-long experiment with the goal of seeing how hot the electron temperature inside the fusion device could be. The scientists were able to achieve an electron temperature in the core plasma of over 100 million degrees.

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There are some mundane projects out there that aim to find an alternate way to produce electricity using things like solar power or wind. Then there is the new project that researchers Manu Mannoor and Sudeep Joshi from Stevens Institute of Technology devised that involves a 3D printed network on the cap of a living mushroom to generate electricity. The pair sees their creation as a symbiosis between the mushroom and cyanobacteria.

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The LA Auto Show kicks off this month, and ahead of the official debut at the show, BMW has pulled the wraps off the all-new 2020 BMW M340i and M340i xDrive sedans. Both of these cars represent a "new generation of design, suspension, engine, and technology." BMW says that the vehicles will hit the market in the summer of 2019.

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The ESA is working on a mission that will put another rover on the surface of Mars with launch aiming at 2020. The ExoMars Landing Site Selection Working Grop has now issued its recommendation on a landing site for that mission; the landing site is a location called Oxia Planum. The final step in the selection process is an internal review by the ESA and Roscosmos.

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Any GPS user who has ventured into an area with lots of obstacles that prevent satellites from being seen by their navigation unit knows the woes of satellite-based navigation. Anytime the GPS device on your dash can't see the satellites, you lose your signal. Signal loss happens under heavy tree cover, in mountain canyons, and in cities with tall buildings.

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The cost of major replacement parts for high-performance cars can be staggering. Such is the case with the Ford GT, and if an owner was to destroy a gearbox outside of warranty, they better have deep pockets to replace the transmission. Reports indicate that the gearbox for the Ford GT costs $27,624 plus a $5,000 core charge. That brings the total price to $32,324 for the GT transmission part number HG7Z-7000-A.

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Rocket Lab is another of the private space companies that have promised to make putting satellites into orbit less costly for business around the world. Rocket Lab uses a rocket it calls Electron to put satellites into orbit, and its goal is to make each launch cost about $5.7 million. Saturday marked the first commercial launch for the Electron rocket as it pushed seven spacecraft into orbit.

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Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst have created something that is a breakthrough in powering wearable electronics. The team has figured out a way to create a fabric alternative to batteries for wearable devices. The technique involves embroidering a charge-storing pattern onto any garment.

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The redesigned 2019 Ram 1500 truck was unveiled back in March of this year with pricing starting at a bit under $32,000 for a base model. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has announced that the redesigned Ram 1500 crew cab offers better crash protection for passengers than previous models. IIHS notes that the 2019 model has earned good ratings in all six crashworthiness tests it performs.

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Late last month word of an auction to be held by Christie's surfaced that had many items that were owned by the late Dr. Stephen Hawking. The items were to be auctioned off by the Hawking estate with some of the proceeds going to the Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association; other proceeds went directly to the Hawking estate. One of the biggest sellers at the auction was an old power wheelchair that Hawking had used in the late '80s and early '90s.

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