In brief: The Solar Orbiter's ongoing mission to the Sun has unlocked invaluable information for researchers during its spiral around our star. The mission has already transformed our understanding of solar physics and its implications for our planet and space exploration. The probe's latest scientific contributions are some stunning, high-resolution composite images. The European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter mission has captured the highest-resolution full views of the Sun's visible surface. The images, taken in March 2023, provide a multilayered perspective from the Sun's visible surface to its outer atmosphere. The photos reveal intricate details of the Sun's magnetic field and plasma movements, shedding new light on solar phenomena.Launched in 2020, the Solar Orbiter has six advanced imaging instruments, each designed to observe different aspects of the Sun. The Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) and the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) are two key instruments responsible for these latest images.The PHI captures images in visible light, measures the direction of the magnetic field, and maps the speed and direction of surface movements. The EUI images the Sun in ultraviolet light, revealing the structure of the Sun's outer atmosphere, known as the corona.The images are composites of 25 individual captures taken on the same day. They include a visible light image showing the Sun's photosphere in unprecedented detail, a magnetic field map revealing complex patterns of the Sun's surface magnetic field, a plasma flow map illustrating the movement of plasma on the Sun's surface, and an ultraviolet image displaying the Sun's corona with superheated plasma extending from sunspots along magnetic field lines.The Solar Orbiter captured the images at approximately 74 million kilometers from the Sun, a relatively close distance for solar observation."The Sun's magnetic field is key to understanding the dynamic nature of our home star from the smallest to the largest scales," said Solar Orbiter Project Scientist Daniel Mller. "These new high-resolution maps from Solar Orbiter's PHI instrument show the beauty of the Sun's surface magnetic field and flows in great detail. At the same time, they are crucial for inferring the magnetic field in the Sun's hot corona, which our EUI instrument is imaging." // Related StoriesThe Solar Orbiter mission aims to investigate several critical aspects of the Sun, including the mechanism behind solar wind, the complex dynamics of the Sun's magnetic field, and solar eruptions such as flares and coronal mass ejections. These latest images represent a significant step forward in achieving these objectives. Scientists can study the intricate interplay between the Sun's magnetic field and its various layers.They also enable researchers to study small-scale magnetic structures and their evolution, analyze the connection between surface phenomena and coronal activities, and improve models of solar dynamics and space weather predictions. Scientists expect the Solar Orbiter to provide even more detailed observations, particularly during its closest approaches to the Sun.If you're interested, the ESA has a cool image viewer that allows users to zoom in and out of the full-resolution images. Be patient, though. The images can take several seconds to load, depending on the speed of your connection.

When it premiered in late 2022, Andors first season quickly emerged as one of the most critically acclaimed Star Wars titles of Lucasfilms entire Disney-owned era. The show went on to earn eight Emmy nominations, including one for Outstanding Drama Series. According to Andor creator Tony Gilroy, the Rogue One prequelsextremely positive reception has helped him convince Disney and Lucasfilm to follow his vision for its second and final season.Speaking with Empire, Gilroy told the outlet, The critical appreciation of the show was really helpful, if not essential, in helping Disney choke down the price of what this is. Andor season 1 reportedly had a sizable budget of $250 million, and it seems likely, based on Gilroys comments, that the shows second season will end up costing the same amount or more. Unlike some other blockbuster shows of the past few years, though, most Andor fans would argue that its first seasons budget was used well and visible in every one of its episodes.Recommended VideosLucasfilm is known for being heavily involved and too risk-averse in the making of its Star Wars TV shows and movies, but it sounds like Andor season 1s success has made the series the rare exception to that approach. Indeed, Gilroy told Empire that he never got any notes on this show. He added, In terms of creative notes, no-one has come to me and said, No, they shouldnt say that.'LucasfilmGiven how much attention and acclaim Andors storytelling and dialogue received, it makes sense for Lucasfilm to give Gilroy this much creative space. The studio does, however, have a history of micromanaging its Star Wars projects, whether it be extensively reshooting 2016s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story or replacing the directors of 2018s Solo in the midst of its production. Fortunately, when Andor makes its long-awaited return next year, fans of the show will be able to take solace in knowing that at the very least its second season was made with the freedom that its creator deserves.RelatedAndor season 2 premieres April 22, 2025, on Disney+.Editors Recommendations

Its no secret that Volkswagen has been facing a huge slump in sales in Europe and China, forcing it to close plants in Germany.But unlike other European automakers who have stuck to producing high-end electric vehicles (EVs), the German automaker keeps on reaffirming its commitment to bringing affordable EVs to market, including in the U.S.Recommended VideosAnd that commitment starts with VWs most affordable EV model to date, the ID.2. Volkswagen remains committed to launching the EV by the end of 2025 or early 2026, Kai Grnitz, head of tech development, told Autocars at the Los Angeles Auto Show.RelatedLast year, the automaker launched the ID.2all concept, promising an entry-level EV with prices starting under $27,000.For long-time VW fans, the EV is being promoted as being spacious as a Golf and affordable as a Polo. Its also expected to allow up to 279 miles on a full battery.The design and the interior of the ID.2 promises a trip down memory lane, including driver displays straight out of the VW Beetle and Golf eras.In addition, an ID.2 SUV is slated to be unveiled in September 2025, while a GTI version is also being developed.Meanwhile, its clear that Volkswagen wants to hammer in that affordable is the keyword for its EV strategy. VW CEO Larry Blume has also hinted at a sub-$22,000 EV to be released after 2025. All in all, the automaker says its planning to release eight new affordable EVs by 2027.The price of batteries is one of the main hurdles to reducing EV production costs and lowering sale prices. To that end, VW is developing its own unified battery cellin several European plants, as well as one plant in Ontario, Canada.Yet, now that Chinese-made EVs, known as global leaders in terms of affordability, are facing 100% tariffs both in North America and Europe, only a few automakers seem to be interested in selling ever-cheaper EVs in the U.S.General Motors has already put out its Chevy Equinox EV ata price of $27,500, including federal tax credits.Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has recently put a floor on expectations for a regular Tesla model ever selling for $25,000.Editors Recommendations

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What's that smell? After Russian ship docks to space station, astronauts report a foul smell Cosmonauts aboard the Russian segment of the station donned protective equipment. Eric Berger Nov 24, 2024 6:12 pm | 25 A Progress spacecraft is seen departing the space station in February 2023. Credit: NASA A Progress spacecraft is seen departing the space station in February 2023. Credit: NASA Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreIt should have been a routine mission to ferry about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the International Space Station, but when Russian cosmonauts opened the hatch to a cargo spacecraft on Saturday, they got a surprisea toxic smell."After opening the Progress spacecraft's hatch, the Roscosmos cosmonauts noticed an unexpected odor and observed small droplets, prompting the crew to close the Poisk hatch to the rest of the Russian segment," NASA said in a statement on Sunday.According to the space agency, air scrubbers and contaminant sensors on board the orbiting laboratory monitored the stations atmosphere following the observation of the aberrant smell. By Sunday, flight controllers in Mission Control in Houston determined air quality inside the space station was at normal levels.However, the US space agency may be slightly downplaying the seriousness of the event. According to Anatoly Zak of Russian Space Web, a reliable independent website, the smell was "toxic" and prompted the Russian cosmonauts to immediately close the hatch leading to the Progress spacecraft that launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday.Russian space program faces ongoing challengesZak reported that the cosmonauts aboard the Russian segment of the station donned protective equipment, and activated an extra air-scrubbing system aboard their side of the facility. On the US segment of the station, NASA astronaut Don Pettit said he smelled something akin to "spray paint."As of Sunday afternoon, NASA said there were no concerns for the crew, and that astronauts were working to open the hatch between the Poisk module and the Progress spacecraft. Attached to the space station in 2009, Poisk is a small element that connects to one of four docking ports on the Russian segment of the station.It was not immediately clear what caused the foul odor to emanate from the Progress vehicle, however previous Russian vehicles have had leaks while in space.Most recently, in February 2023, a Progress vehicle attached to the station lost pressurization in its cooling system.Facing financial and staffing pressures due to the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine, the main Russian space corporation, Roscosmos, has faced a series of technical problems as it has sought to fly people and supplies to the International Space Station in recent years.Eric BergerSenior Space EditorEric BergerSenior Space Editor Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX; and Reentry, on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. 25 Comments Prev story

without warning Survivors mark 20th anniversary of deadly 2004 tsunami NatGeo's documentary, Tsunami: Race Against Time, revisits the devastating disaster that killed nearly 230,000 people. Jennifer Ouellette Nov 24, 2024 9:33 am | 5 The 2004 tsunami flooded sea-front houses, destroying everyone in its path in Maddampegama, Sri Lanka. Credit: The Associated Press/Gemunu Amarasinghe The 2004 tsunami flooded sea-front houses, destroying everyone in its path in Maddampegama, Sri Lanka. Credit: The Associated Press/Gemunu Amarasinghe Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreIn the wee hours of December 26, 2004, a massive 9.2 earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean, generating an equally massive tsunami that caused unprecedented devastation to 14 countries and killing more than 230,000. Twenty years later, National Geographic has revisited one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history with a new documentary: Tsunami: Race Against Time. The four-part series offers an in-depth account of the tsunami's destructive path, told from the perspectives of those who survived, as well as the scientists, journalists, doctors, nurses, and everyday heroes who worked to save as many as possible.Geophysicist Barry Hirshornnow with Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diegowas on duty at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii that day (3 PM on Christmas Day local time). His pager went off, indicating that seismic waves had set off a seismometer in Australia, and Hirshorn rushed to the control room to locate the quake's epicenter with his colleague, Stuart Weinstein.They initially pegged the quake at 8.5 magnitude. (It was later upgraded to 8.9 and subsequently to a whopping 9.2 to 9.3 magnitude.) But despite its strength, they initially did not think the quake would generate a tsunami, at least in the Pacific. And such events were incredibly rare in the Indian Ocean.Hirshorn and Weinstein also lacked any real-time sea level data that would have told them that a massive amount of water had been displaced by the movement of two key tectonic plates (the India and Burma plates). Four hours later, the first tsunami waves hit Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, leaving a path of destruction and death in their wake. Geophysicist Barry Hirshorn on the lack of an tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean. Credit: National Geographic What sets this new documentary apart is the emphasis on the survivors' harrowing stories. Veteran surfer David Lines, for example, was living in Banda Aceh at the time with his wife Nurma. They managed to outrun the tsunami by car, but Nurma lost 30 family members. Journalist and videographer Denny Montgomery faced a similar situation, racing against time to rescue his mother. Zenny Suryawan watched his family get swept away by the tsunami, surviving by clinging to debris. A young mother in Khao Lan was separated from her infant son and had nearly given up hope when she finally found him alive at a nearby hospital.Brothers Theo and Louis Mullanthen 11 and 15 years old, respectivelywere on holiday with their parents in Khao Lan, Thailand when the tsunami hit. The brothers tried to hold hands and run to safety, but were swept away and separated. They later reunited, but lost both parents in the disaster. Several tourists and beachgoers ended up stranded on a day trip to Emerald Cave in Ko Muk Thailand, including Olivia Soo and her entire family, who were still inside the cave when the tsunami hit; her mother later succumbed to her injuries. In Sri Lanka, the tsunami hit a southbound coastal train and knocked it off its rails in what became one of the deadliest train disasters of all time. Eranthie Mendie lost her mother on that train.There are also plenty of inspiring stories of everyday heroes rising to the occasion at great risk to themselves. For instance, a group of locals helped rescue an infant from the water in Banda Aceh. Cut Putri recalled filming the raging tsunami from the second floor of her home and helping save a man who was washed into the house the force of the flow. A police lieutenant risked his life to set on a jet ski to rescue the Emerald Cave tourists, including Olivia Soo and her family. A bellboy in a Thai hotel rescued several hotel guests from the rushing waters, while a tourist in Phuket rescued an elderly man whose wife had been swept away. And a Sky News cameraman named Phil Hopper helped rescue a young boy in Indonesia who survived on his own for 21 days in the aftermath of the tsunami. Survivors walk across debris in the aftermath of the tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Hotli Simanjuntak Survivors walk across debris in the aftermath of the tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Hotli Simanjuntak Water and debris surround Banda Aceh's Grand Mosque. Hotli Simanjuntak Water and debris surround Banda Aceh's Grand Mosque. Hotli Simanjuntak Charles "Chip" McCreery, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, cut his Christmas holiday short when the devastation hit. National Geographic/Brandon Widener/Nick Kubrick Charles "Chip" McCreery, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, cut his Christmas holiday short when the devastation hit. National Geographic/Brandon Widener/Nick Kubrick Water and debris surround Banda Aceh's Grand Mosque. Hotli Simanjuntak Charles "Chip" McCreery, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, cut his Christmas holiday short when the devastation hit. National Geographic/Brandon Widener/Nick Kubrick A resort in Phuket, Thailand, on January 11, 2005leveled by the December 26 tsunami. The Associated Press/Richard Vogel A survivor clears debris from a destroyed building in Sri Lanka. The Associated Press/Ed Wray Holiday houses destroyed on Phi Phi Island, Thailand. Picture-Alliance/dpa/The Associated Press Hundreds of lanterns are released during a January 19, 2005, memorial service in southern Thailand. The Associated Press/Apichart Weerawong Then there were the overwhelmed doctors and hospital stuff working tirelessly to save as many victims as they could. A nurse and her doctor husband were on a research boat when they heard about the tsunami; that boat quickly became a makeshift hospital for the injured in Koh Phi Phi. Cici Romain was on holiday with his girlfriend, Rachel Hearson, and the two were separated by the waters. He used his minimal medical experience to lead a triage station with fellow survivors while Hearson searched for him.From a scientific standpoint, there were several factors that contributed to the devastation of the 20024 tsunami. NOAA had just deployed six Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) buoys, but only three were operational. So the scientists at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, including Hirshorn, had no real-time sea level data, and hence no way of knowing that tectonic plate movement in the Indian Ocean had triggered a powerful tsunami. So Hirshorn and his colleagues failed to release an early warning to the affected areas. Most notably, there was no warning system in place for Indonesia, Thailand, the Maldives, and Sri Lankaonly in the Pacific Basin. Even if the scientists had been able to issue an early warning, there was nobody to send it to.Also, back in 2004, scientists typically estimated a tsunami's strength by the magnitude of the triggering earthquake. That turned out to be incorrect: a bigger earthquake does not necessarily produce a bigger tsunami. It also requires huge amounts of data in order to model tsunamis correctly and there isn't much time to do so when seconds matter. The tragedy fueled global investment in tsunami research. There are now 60 DART buoys worldwide and with more data, tsunami models can run in seconds, before a tsunami can hit, thereby saving many lives. Barry Hirshorn explains why an 8.5 quake is so much more powerful than an 8 magnitude quake. Credit: National Geographic We're come a long in the last 20 years, according to Hirshorn. "This event produced a revolution in seismology," he told Ars. "Now we can say that we have a magnitude towards the beginning. There's more and more stations. So instead of an eight-minute page like we had back then, we have a page at two or three minutes. Plus we're supposed to always have someone now on duty at the warning center who's supposed to be in the operations room. They will come in, locate the earthquake, using much more data, better results to estimate the magnitude."Hirshorn is one of several scientists who worked to develop a new method of estimating magnitude that incorporates Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data as well as seismic data. "It's called a focal mechanism," he said. "So we'll know if we're dealing with a strike slip, sideways-slipping earthquake, or a tsunami-producing thrust event that moves water above the upward bound plate. That information is critical to add to the magnitude. It's being implemented now. This method will tell you that it's a 9.1 within two minutes. Instead of waiting for 24 hours to know it's greater than a nine, they'll know in five minutes."The tsunami models are also much better because there is so much more data. "They give you much more accurate results and they've been modified so they can tell you what's going on when they hit dry land," said Hirshorn. "It's always been a little difficult to determine how far a tsunami is going to 'run up' onto the coast given certain coastal bathymetry." Hirshon was on duty at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii when the 20024 earthquake hit. Credit: National Geographic/Charlie Laing/Alec Davy The other major advance in the last two decades is much, much better and faster finite fault solutions, per Hirshon. "The tendency is to think of an earthquake as a point source, which is a bad assumption, especially when you're close to it," he said. "When you get close enough to an earthquake, if you're like, for example, Sumatra, maybe you're 50 or 100 kilometers away from the trace that slipped, but it slipped over a thousand kilometers. It slipped over a length the size of California. You're getting your tsunamis not from that point, but from all the points along the fault that slipped. That kind of information is very helpful and with the GPS data combined with the seismic data, we're getting this information within 10 minutes."Hirshorn admits that marking the 20th anniversary of such devastation is deeply sobering, but finds solace in the fact that such milestones tend to make people more receptive than usual to helpful messaging concerning safety. While earthquake early warning systems have come online the US along the west coast, he has some advice for people living in coastal areas prone to earthquakesand hence risk of tsunamis."The earthquake early warning should get to you before the shaking, but if you don't get that, take the shaking as your warning," Hirshorh said. "But remember the shaking may not be strong, so look for duration. If it's not strong and you're there on the coast, look for long periods that last 30 seconds or more. If you feel that again, go inland. It might be real, it might not be, but there's a chance, so just head inland and start walking uphill. I'm not dissing warning systems, but if you've got an earlier warning, why not take it and potentially save your life?"Tsunami: Race Against Time premieres on National Geographic on November 24, 2024, and will also stream on Disney+.Tsunami: Race Against Time provides a 360-degree view into the heart-stopping events of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Jennifer OuelletteSenior WriterJennifer OuelletteSenior Writer Jennifer is a senior reporter at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 5 Comments Prev story

Feedback is in awe of the authors of a new study in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, and how they handled requests from peer reviewers 20 November 2024 Josie FordRevenge on refereesOur news colleagues Jacob Aron and Michael Le Page have drawn Feedbacks attention to a post on social media site BlueSky, which highlighted a scientific paper in awed tones.The study in question was recently published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. There are seven authors. It is about the ways hydrogen atoms can infiltrate certain metal alloys and make them brittle. It focuses on calculating exactly where the hydrogen atoms place themselves in the crystal structure of the metal, in order to understand the mechanism of this embrittlement.At this point, you may be wondering what this piece of research is doing in Feedback. Well, the introduction concludes with the following paragraph: As strongly requested by the reviewers, here we cite some references [[35], [36], [37], [38], [39], [40], [41], [42], [43], [44], [45], [46], [47]] although they are completely irrelevant to the present work.AdvertisementFor anyone who hasnt worked in academia, the best way we can explain this is that the authors are being gloriously petty. Their article has been examined by anonymous peer reviewers, who (among other suggestions) have urged them to cite the 13 older studies in the list. The authors, left with no choice but to insert the supposedly irrelevant studies, have refused to incorporate them into their actual text, but instead included them while simultaneously drawing attention to their irrelevance.Or, as BlueSky user @Dave n=2dsin :protein: put it: Absolute shots fired. By the way, kudos to @Dave n=2dsin :protein: for having a username that pushed New Scientists font to its limits and sent Feedback to a search engine. The little equation in the middle is, we discovered, Braggs law, which describes how crystal lattices scatter incoming waves.Anyway, once Feedback had stopped having flashbacks to our brief time in academia, in which this kind of thing happened to us but we didnt have the nerve to kick back in print, we did our due diligence and looked up all 13 references.All are concerned with alloys and other composite materials, but none of them seems to be about hydrogen embrittlement. Most are so technical that Feedback was rather defeated in our attempt to fully comprehend them: any readers more familiar with composite materials are welcome to weigh in at the usual address. Still, even with our poor understanding, none of the references seems directly relevant.However, Feedback did notice something curious. Again and again, the same authors appear in the 13 studies author lists and one author was involved in all of them.Feedback doesnt want to put on a tinfoil hat, especially if it has been embrittled by hydrogen. But we wonder if we might have identified the anonymous peer reviewer. Our question now is: how did this get into print? Did the editors not notice the prank or did they allow it for reasons of their own? Enquiring minds want to know.A fishy taleSpeaking of taking ideas from colleagues, assistant news editor Sam Wong flagged an intriguing study in Water Resources Research. This journal is not, we confess, one of Feedbacks daily reads, but we seem to have been missing out.The study is about the biblical miracle of loaves and fishes, in which Jesus apparently fed 5000 people using five loaves and two fish. The authors propose a naturalistic explanation: a seiche or standing wave. The idea is that waves blowing over a lake sometimes create a standing wave, causing deep water to rise to the surface. In Lake Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee from the Bible, this deep water is low in oxygen so if it rises to the surface, it can cause fish to asphyxiate en masse.The authors document two such events in Lake Kinneret in 2012. They also note that they seem to be quite rare: there hasnt been one since 2012. That means most people may not have been aware of the possibility, especially if they had travelled to listen to a charismatic speaker and lacked local knowledge.Feedback is adding this to the long list of scientific explanations for apparent supernatural events, like the manna from heaven being crystallised honeydew from scale insects and the tendency of infrasound to cause spooky sensations that can be interpreted as hauntings. We have also removed our tinfoil hat, as we worry it might act as a conductor for a divine lightning bolt.Moon of UranusNews reaches us from the front of this issue that Voyager 2s visit to Uranus in 1986 came when the planet wasnt its usual self, thanks to a gust of solar wind. As a result, many of our ideas about Uranus will have to be rethought and some believe it is even possible there is life on one or more of its moons.Life on Uranus, you say? Actually, life on Uranuss moon? We hope it isnt Klingons. Or as writer Tess Stenson put it: NASA, get your ass to Uranus.Feedback spent more time than we should trying to think of puns, but our slate has been wiped clean. Some bright spark, conscious of jokes about the planets name, decided to name all Uranuss moons after Shakespeare characters, choosing respectable names like Rosalind and Oberon. This does mean we can rule out life on one of the moons: Juliet is definitely lifeless, there was a play about it. Meanwhile, astronomers urgently need to find some more satellites so Uranus can be orbited by Bottom.Got a story for Feedback?Send it to feedback@newscientist.com or New Scientist, 9 Derry Street, London, W8 5HYConsideration of items sent in the post will be delayedYou can send stories to Feedback by email at feedback@newscientist.com. Please include your home address. This weeks and past Feedbacks can be seen on our website.

Nature, Published online: 21 November 2024; doi:10.1038/d41586-024-03784-6Researchers say the social-media platform an alternative to X offers more control over the content they see and the people they engage with.