Latest news with #DOE
New York Times
5 hours ago
- Science
- New York Times
How Astronomers Will Deal With 60 Million Billion Bytes of Imagery
It was not that long ago that astronomers would spend a night looking through a telescope, making careful observations of one or a few points of light. Based on those few observations, they would extrapolate broad generalizations about the universe. 'It was all people could really do at the time, because it was hard to collect data,' said Leanne Guy, the data management scientist at the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Rubin, located in Chile and financed by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, will inundate astronomers with data. Each image taken by Rubin's camera consists of 3.2 billion pixels that may contain previously undiscovered asteroids, dwarf planets, supernovas and galaxies. And each pixel records one of 65,536 shades of gray. That's 6.4 billion bytes of information in just one picture. Ten of those images would contain roughly as much data as all of the words that The New York Times has published in print during its 173-year history. Rubin will capture about 1,000 images each night. As the data from each image is quickly shuffled to the observatory's computer servers, the telescope will pivot to the next patch of sky, taking a picture every 40 seconds or so. It will do that over and over again almost nightly for a decade. The final tally will total about 60 million billion bytes of image data. That is a '6' followed by 16 zeros: 60,000,000,000,000,000. Rubin's 3.2 Gigapixel Camera At the heart of the Rubin observatory is the largest digital camera in the world, a supercooled grid with hundreds of high-resolution sensors. See how the camera works. By The New York Times PERU BOLIVIA BRAZIL ANDES MTS. PARAGUAY Vera C. Rubin Observatory URUGUAY Santiago ARGENTINA CHILE Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean By The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Gizmodo
a day ago
- Science
- Gizmodo
A Game-Changing Telescope Is About to Reveal Its First Images. Here's How to Watch
A state-of-the-art telescope nearly 25 years in the making will finally reveal its first images on Monday, June 23, and you can watch the event in realtime. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, perched atop a mountain in the Chilean Andes, boasts the largest digital camera ever built for astronomy. The telescope, overseen by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE), will use this car-sized, 3.2-gigapixel camera to capture ultra-high-definition images and videos of the cosmos. During Monday's event, the NSF and DOE will display Rubin's first images to the public and screen one of the observatory's high-resolution time-lapse 'movies' of the visible sky. You can participate by tuning into a livestream or attending one of the in-person watch parties at museums, universities, and planetariums around the world. The observatory will begin livestreaming the event at 11 a.m. ET, and you can watch it right here. You can also use the interactive map on the observatory's website to find a watch party near you. More than two decades after the Rubin observatory was first conceived in a 'back-of-the-napkin' sketch, construction on this huge telescope is finally nearing completion. Monday's event marks the beginning of the observatory's ambitious science operations. Later this year, Rubin will kick off the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST)—an unprecedented decade-long survey of the night sky. This endeavor will produce 60 petabytes of data that will help scientists uncover the true natures of dark matter and dark energy, catalog the solar system, explore the changing sky, and understand the structure and function of our Milky Way galaxy. Rubin will use its 27.6-foot (8.4-meter) Simonyi Survey telescope—whose unique three-mirror design includes the largest convex mirror ever made—to observe the cosmos on an automated schedule. Each 30-second exposure will cover an area about 45 times the size of the full moon. The enormous LSST camera will capture wide-field images and stitch them together to create a complete view of the southern sky every three nights. Dedicated computer facilities will process Rubin's data in real time and issue global alerts of changes in the sky within minutes of detection. The observatory's findings will be funneled into a massive archive that will vastly increase the amount of data available to scientists. Researchers led by astronomer Meg Schwamb at Queen's University Belfast recently estimated that Rubin could triple the number of known near-Earth objects (NEOs) from about 38,000 to 127,000, detect ten times more trans-Neptunian objects than currently cataloged, and provide colorful, detailed observations of more than 5 million main-belt asteroids—up from roughly 1.4 million. Papers describing these predictions and the software Schwamb and her colleagues developed to make them, called Sorcha, are currently available on the preprint server arXiv. 'With this data, we'll be able to update the textbooks of solar system formation and vastly improve our ability to spot—and potentially deflect—the asteroids that could threaten Earth,' said Mario Juric, a member of the team and an astronomer at the University of Washington, in a university statement. In many ways, the Rubin observatory will carry on the legacy of its namesake, astronomer Vera Rubin. Her work helped prove the existence of dark matter, a paradigm-shifting finding for the field of astronomy. What's more, she published over 100 scientific papers, conducted groundbreaking research on spiral galaxies and galaxy rotation, and served as a trailblazer for women in science. Like Rubin the astronomer, the Rubin observatory will help usher the field into a whole new era of exploration and discovery. With its cutting-edge capabilities, Rubin's first images are sure to dazzle. Monday's event is only the beginning of this observatory's mission to map the cosmos in unprecedented detail, unlocking new insights into the secrets of the universe.
The Sun
a day ago
- Business
- The Sun
RM500 million worth of illegal e-waste seized in nationwide raid
KUALA LUMPUR: Authorities have raided 57 illegal e-waste processing premises across the country under the integrated Hazard 2.0 operation, conducted from June 16 until 2pm today, with total seizures estimated at RM500 million. Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Department director Datuk Seri Azmi Abu Kassim said the operation involved the police (PDRM) in collaboration with the Department of Environment (DOE), Inland Revenue Board (LHDN), and nine other agencies. According to LHDN, the operators of these premises are believed to have evaded taxes amounting to more than RM500 million. 'The seizures include RM240 million in e-waste, RM182 million in components, RM50 million in scrap items, and RM32 million involving other offences. The estimated tax evasion amounts to RM500 million,' he told a press conference at Bukit Aman here today. A total of 916 individuals were questioned during the raids, leading to the arrest of 453 people – 382 men, 70 women, and one teenager – aged between 16 and 70. Azmi said seven of the 57 premises had valid licences to process e-waste, but the owners will still be investigated as the licences only allow for the processing of locally generated waste. He also revealed possible information leaks before the operation, which may have prompted some operators to shut down in advance. 'Initial intelligence pointed to more targets, but many premises had closed before we arrived. This raises the possibility of leaked information,' he said, adding that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) may be involved in future investigations to identify any breach. Since the first e-waste operation began on Jan 1, a total of RM5.18 billion worth of e-waste has been seized, with 1,061 arrests and 167 investigation papers opened. Azmi added that Malaysia is a signatory to the Basel Convention, which prohibits the import of electronic waste for processing. Investigations are ongoing to determine whether the seized waste was sourced locally or brought in illegally. Meanwhile, DOE enforcement director Rosli Zul said there are currently 156 licenced e-waste processing facilities nationwide, all of which are only permitted to handle waste generated domestically. 'Malaysia continues to be targeted by foreign countries for illegal e-waste disposal. To date, 600 containers have been detained at Port Klang for entering without proper authorisation,' he said, adding that port enforcement is handled by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department.
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Ops Hazard 2.0: Seven premises licensed to process e-waste probed for smuggling materials from overseas
KUALA LUMPUR: Seven premises licensed to process e-waste are being investigated for allegedly bringing in e-waste from overseas illegally. Department of Environment (DOE) enforcement division director Rosli Zul said that based on investigations conducted on 57 premises raided in Ops Hazard 2.0, seven of them had legitimate licenses to process e-waste. "However, we discovered that there were some e-waste materials believed to have been smuggled from overseas. "We have to investigate further. If it is true, then it is a very serious violation," he told a press conference in Bukit Aman on Thursday (June 19). He said Malaysia was one of the countries targeted by international syndicates as a destination to send illegal e-waste. "More than 600 containers have been detected in Port Klang. The items were declared as recyclable items, but it is instead e-waste. "Most of the illegal e-waste factories in the country do not use environmental control mechanisms; thus, the pollution permitted from the processing is highly dangerous," he added.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
California decarbonization projects are among two dozen eliminated by Trump's Department of Energy
California Democrats are denouncing the Trump administration's decision to terminate $3.7 billion in funding for two dozen clean energy projects, including three in the Golden State. The 24 awards recently canceled by the U.S. Department of Energy were issued by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations under the Biden administration and primarily focused on carbon capture and sequestration and decarbonization initiatives. Trump officials said the projects do not 'advance the energy needs of the American people' and would not generate a positive return on investment for taxpayers. 'While the previous administration failed to conduct a thorough financial review before signing away billions of taxpayer dollars, the Trump administration is doing our due diligence to ensure we are utilizing taxpayer dollars to strengthen our national security, bolster affordable, reliable energy sources and advance projects that generate the highest possible return on investment,' DOE Secretary Chris Wright wrote in his announcement about the terminations. One of the largest cuts was a $500-million award for the National Cement Company of California, whose first-of-its-kind Net-Zero Project in Lebec was geared toward developing carbon-neutral cement. Cement production is notoriously emission-intensive, accounting for as much as 8% of planet-warming greenhouse gases due to both the high heat needed in the process and its byproducts. National Cement Company officials said the project would capture up to 1 million tons of CO2 per year — effectively the entire emissions profile of its cement plant near the border of Los Angeles and Kern counties — but also would act as a roadmap for the cement industry as a whole. 'As we understand the new priorities of the U.S. Department of Energy, we want to emphasize that this project will expand domestic manufacturing capacity for a critical industrial sector, while also integrating new technologies to keep American cement competitive,' the company said in an email. It is now exploring options to keep the project alive. The funding cuts arrive amid sweeping changes driven by Trump's orders to rein in federal spending and 'unleash American energy.' The president has removed barriers for fossil fuel companies, such as regulations that limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, and called for increased oil and gas drilling and natural resources mining. California, meanwhile, has set some of the nation's most ambitious decarbonization goals, including its aim to reach carbon neutrality by 2045. Environmental experts, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, say capturing and storing carbon will be essential for slowing global warming, in addition to efforts to reduce overall carbon emissions. In a letter to Wright dated Tuesday, California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla said the terminations 'run counter to our shared interest in boosting energy production, innovation, and economic vitality.' They urged Wright to reinstate the projects. 'The United States cannot afford to halt our progress and hinder American companies' efforts to move beyond outdated technologies if we hope to remain competitive and truly energy dominant around the globe,' the senators wrote. 'These irrational cancellations will increase energy prices, hamper innovation, and set us backwards as we strive toward a clean energy future.' The cement project wasn't the only one canceled in California. The DOE also terminated a $270-million award for an air-cooled carbon capture and sequestration facility at the Sutter Energy Center, a natural gas power plant in Yuba City. Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing CO2 and preventing it from entering the atmosphere by storing it underground, in aquifers or other geologic formations. The Sutter project was projected to reduce emissions from the plant by up to 95% and capture and store up to 1.75 million metric tons of CO2 each year, according to its federal project page. The federal government also canceled $75 million for a project at the Gallo Glass Company in Modesto, which would have demonstrated the viability of replacing gas-powered furnaces with a hybrid electric melter, reducing natural gas use by as much as 70%, the federal database shows. Schiff and Padilla said all of the awards were provided through legally binding contract agreements between the recipients and the federal government, and so cannot be canceled 'on a political whim.' For its part, the DOE said it arrived at its decisions following a thorough and individualized financial review of each project, which found that they 'did not meet the economic, national security or energy security standards necessary to sustain DOE's investment.' However, the terminations also appear to run counter to the administration's own public commitments. The White House on Earth Day said Trump seeks to promote energy innovation 'by supporting cutting-edge technologies like carbon capture and storage, nuclear energy, and next-generation geothermal.' The DOE eliminated funding for projects across the country, including in Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Wyoming, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Ohio, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington, Arizona and Nevada. But the cancellations in California mark yet another affront to the climate conscious state, which has in recent weeks also seen the Trump administration overturn its ability to set strict tailpipe emission standards and eventually ban the sale of new gas-powered gars. The state is suing the administration over that decision.
