Sci-Tech

Mapping our galaxy: The Milky Way revealed

by Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — The European Space Agency will unveil on Wednesday a three-dimensional map of a billion stars in our galaxy that is 1,000 times more complete than anything existing today. A space-based probe called Gaia, launched in December 2013, has been circling the Sun 1.5 million kilometers (nearly a million miles) beyond Earth’s orbit and has been discreetly snapping pictures of the Milky Way. The satellite’s billion-pixel camera, the largest […]

French terror investigators grapple with Telegram app

by Pauline TALAGRAND PARIS, France (AFP) — Smartphone app Telegram, favored by the Islamic State group thanks to the encrypted messaging it offers, is proving a headache for French anti-terror investigators. The free-to-download instant messenger, which allows people to exchange messages, photos and videos in groups of up to 5,000 people, has attracted some 100 million users since its launch in 2013. And there are a couple of features that make it particularly attractive to […]

Odds of mega-quake rise at high tide: study

by Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — The same gravitational force that creates high tides when the Moon and Sun align may also play a role in triggering major earthquakes, according to a study released Monday. Better understanding of this mechanism could help predict when known faults are more likely to produce killer quakes, researchers said. “Large earthquakes are more probable during periods of high tidal stress,” the scientists concluded in the peer-reviewed journal Nature […]

Amazon’s chief Jeff Bezos unveils new rocket design

MIAMI, United States (AFP) – Amazon founder Jeff Bezos unveiled plans Monday for a massive rocket called New Glenn designed to launch people to space and propel satellites into orbit, raising the ante in the US commercial space industry. Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post, said the rocket has been in the works for the past four years, and will be launched by decade’s end. At 270 feet (82 meters) high for the two-stage […]

Sony unveils new Playstation 4 PRO

Sony reveals two new Playstation 4 video game consoles and provides details on its Playstation VR system before the headset hits shelves next month. The stage is set for the battle over which video game console will dominate this holiday season. Both models will hit store shelves in time for December’s holiday season, but it’s the PRO version that will give Sony a technological head start over rival Microsoft. The pro will play games in […]

US warns against using Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on planes

  WASHINGTON, United States  (AFP) — The US Federal Aviation Administration strongly urged passengers Thursday not to turn on or charge Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on aircraft following recent reports of explosions from faulty batteries. The South Korean smartphone maker last week suspended sales of the “phablet” and recalled 2.5 million units following the reports. “In light of recent incidents and concerns raised by Samsung about its Galaxy Note 7 devices, the Federal Aviation Administration […]

International Space Station

An American astronaut who set the US record for cumulative time in orbit safely returned to Earth early Wednesday along with two Russian cosmonauts after a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. https://youtu.be/JVSpjf6Huqc  

Apple unveils iPhone 7 but some still waiting for iPhone 8

  (REUTERS)  Apple Inc unveiled an iPhone 7 with high-resolution cameras and no headphone jack at its annual launch event Wednesday, though the biggest surprise was the debut of a three-decade-old Nintendo game franchise, Super Mario Bros, on the smartphone. While shares of Apple barely budged, Nintendo’s U.S.-listed shares jumped 29 pct on investors’ hopes that Super Mario would be another mobile gaming hit for the Japanese company akin to the wildly popular Pokemon Go. […]

Apple unveils iPhone 7; ditches the audio jack

Apple unveiled its new water and dust-resistant iPhone 7 with high-resolution cameras at its fall product event on Wednesday (September 7). The world’s best-known technology company said the iPhone 7, starting at $649, would have one, zooming 12-megapixel camera. The ‘Plus’ edition, starting at $769, would feature two cameras. It also removed the analog headphone jack, as was widely expected. The new headphones supplied by Apple with the phone will plug into the same port […]

Astronaut prepares for five month mission to the ISS

REUTERS — NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough discussed his upcoming mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday (September 6) and contingency plans if SpaceX rockets are unable to resupply the space station. Kimbrough and his crewmates cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhikov of the Russian Space agency will launch on September 23 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The team will conduct nearly 250 experiments during the five-month expedition with varied emphasis, including: life […]

Missing comet lander Philae spotted at last: ESA

by Pascale MOLLARD Mariëtte Le Roux PARIS, France (AFP) — Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft has finally spotted its tiny lander Philae, thought to be lost forever, stuck in a ditch on the surface of a comet hurtling through space, ground controllers said Monday. “THE SEARCH IS OVER! I’ve found @Philae2014!!” the European Space Agency (ESA) tweeted on behalf of Rosetta, orbiting comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at some 682 million kilometers (424 million miles) from Earth. The agency released […]