Latest news with #Future
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Is Mars really red? A physicist explains the truth.
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Is Mars really as red as people say it is? – Jasmine, age 14, Everson, Washington People from cultures across the world have been looking at Mars since ancient times. Because it appears reddish, it has often been called the red planet. The English name for the planet comes from the Romans, who named it after their god of war because its color reminded them of blood. In reality, the reddish color of Mars comes from iron oxide in the rocks and dust covering its surface. Your blood is also red because of a mixture of iron and oxygen in a molecule called hemoglobin. So in a way, the ancient connection between the planet Mars and blood wasn't completely wrong. Rust, which is a common form of iron oxide found here on Earth, also often has a reddish color. In my current research on exoplanets, I observe different types of signals from planets beyond Earth. Lots of interesting physics goes into how researchers perceive the colors of planets and stars through different types of telescopes. If you look closely at pictures of Mars taken by rovers on its surface, you can see that most of the planet isn't purely red, but more of a rusty brown or tan color. Probes sent from Earth have taken pictures showing rocks with a rusty color. A 1976 picture from the Viking lander, the very first spacecraft to land on Mars, shows the Martian ground covered with a layer of rusty orange dust. Not all of Mars' surface has the same color. At the poles, its ice caps appear white. These ice caps contain frozen water, like the ice we usually find on Earth, but these ice caps are also covered by a layer of frozen carbon dioxide — dry ice. This layer of dry ice can evaporate very quickly when sunlight shines on it and grows back again when it becomes dark. This process causes the white ice caps to grow and shrink in size depending on the Martian seasons. Related: Long, dark 'streaks' spotted on Mars aren't what scientists thought Mars also gives off light in colors that you can't see with your eyes but that scientists can measure with special cameras on telescopes. Light itself can be thought of not only as a wave but also as a stream of particles called photons. The amount of energy carried by each photon is related to its color. For example, blue and violet photons have more energy than orange and red photons. Ultraviolet photons have even more energy than the photons you can see with your eyes. These photons are found in direct sunlight, and because they have so much energy, they can damage the cells in your body. You can use sunscreen to protect yourself from them. Infrared photons have less energy than the photons you can see with your eyes, and you don't need any special protection from them. This is how some types of night-vision goggles work: They can see light in the infrared spectrum as well as the visible color spectrum. Scientists can take pictures of Mars in the infrared spectrum using special cameras that work almost like night-vision goggles for telescopes. The colors on the infrared picture aren't really what the infrared light looks like, because you can't see those colors with your eyes. They are called "false colors," and researchers add them to look at the picture more easily. When you compare the visible color picture and the infrared picture, you can see some of the same features — and the ice caps are visible in both sets of colors. NASA's MAVEN spacecraft, launched in 2013, has even taken pictures with ultraviolet light, giving scientists a different view of both the surface of Mars and its atmosphere. Each new type of picture tells scientists more about the Martian landscape. They hope to use these details to answer questions about how Mars formed, how long it had active volcanoes, where its atmosphere came from and whether it had liquid water on its surface. RELATED STORIES —NASA spots Martian volcano twice the height of Mount Everest bursting through the morning clouds: Space photo of the week —Why does NASA's Perseverance rover keep taking pictures of this maze on Mars? —Turning the Red Planet green? It's time to take terraforming Mars seriously, scientists say Astronomers are always looking for new ways to take telescope pictures outside of the regular visible spectrum. They can even make images using radio waves, microwaves, X-rays and gamma rays. Each part of the spectrum they can use to look at an object in space represents new information they can learn from. Even though people have been looking at Mars since ancient times, we still have much to learn about this fascinating neighbor. This edited article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
IOL News
12 hours ago
- Science
- IOL News
No stings attached: SA buzzes toward national beekeeping association
LOCAL and international experts gathered in the Valley of 1000 Hills for a symposium aimed at formalising a national bee-industry body, and raising awareness about the benefits of apitherapy and honeybee products. Left to right: Sandra Hedges (Midlands), Uwe Jansen (Germany), Hannah Paine (Macnut Farm), Dr Stefan Stângaciu (Romania), and (front) Inge Austin (Mpumalanga). Image: Supplied. AS concerns around food security, climate change, and biodiversity grow louder, South Africa's bee industry is finding its voice, and urgently so. This week, a one-day workshop at Macnut Farm in the Valley of 1000 Hills formed part of a national push to formalise the country's fragmented apitherapy and beekeeping sectors into a united force. Held under the banner 'Bee the Future', the event in KZN was one of several taking place across the country; in Nelspruit, Centurion, Somerset West and 1000 Hills; as part of a 10-day mobile symposium tour aimed at establishing a national bee-industry body and raising awareness about the critical benefits of apitherapy and honeybee products. The event was led by two international authorities: Dr. Stefan Stângaciu (Romania), President of the World Apitherapy Federation, and Uwe Jansen (Germany), Executive Secretary of the International Federation of Apitherapy. They were joined by South African industry experts, health practitioners, academics and beekeepers. Inge Austin, chairperson of the Mpumalanga branch of the Northern Beekeepers Association and board member of the South African Bee Industry Organisation (SABIO) says that bees are not just a 'nice to have' they are essential. 'The South African economy is pretty much dependent upon bees,' she said. While the statement may sound extreme, experts say that without bees, many of the crops South Africans depend on would fail, thereby triggering a collapse across farming, logistics, trade and retail. That's because pollinators are essential to agriculture and food production. Globally, bee populations are in decline, placing food systems and ecosystems at risk. Beyond their pollination role, bees offer six raw hive products: honey, pollen, beeswax, royal jelly, propolis, and venom — all with medicinal and therapeutic properties central to apitherapy. Austin pointed out that these products are not yet fully recognised or utilised in South Africa. 'Many of these commodities are undervalued by both beekeepers and consumers alike. Utilizing the apitherapy values of these products could provide a more continuous income source for beekeepers who are currently only dependent on honey sales — which are usually only harvested once or twice a year. Pollen and propolis, for instance, could be harvested much more regularly providing continuous income for the beekeeper,' she said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Right now, beekeepers, holistic practitioners, and producers are working in isolation, something that the 'Bee the Future' initiative is pushing hard to change. Sandra Hedges, holistic health practitioner from Nottingham Road says,'Currently our industry is segregated. Hedges who is training in apitherapy under Dr. Stângaciu, is helping spearhead efforts to launch a South African Apitherapy Association. 'The symposia are working towards practitioners uniting, sharing resources and skills and learning about best practices and trends globally. We are formalising a national body to join other organisations globally. We all see the value and potential of working together, lobbying and educating,' she said. Hedges said they want to engage more with western medical doctors, farmers, rural beekeepers and naturopathic integrated practitioners. "... we want to standardise qualifications and get them globally recognised and have open discussions about potential business opportunities and market outlets for bee products.' The KZN workshop which was attended by 25 participants, focused on Farm-to-Hive Sustainability and showcased Macnut Farm's pioneering beehive air immersive therapy room, believed to be one of the first in the country. Macnut also produces and sells honey, mead and bee-based products. Experts say that South Africa's bee sector stands at a crossroads and with global momentum building around apitherapy and natural health, and mounting threats to biodiversity, the time to organise, educate, and act, is now.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Expert asserts Mario Kart World is a 'fake HDR' Nintendo Switch 2 title — ‘Mario Kart World reveals that even the highest caliber of developers aren't taking HDR seriously'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Mario Kart World on the Switch 2 is guilty of implementing 'fake HDR,' according to recent heated reactions by a number of TechTubers. We are well aware of social media rage farming, but a coolly considered, in-depth new technical blog by Alexander Mejia, agrees that Mario Kart World was developed using 'an SDR-first content pipeline with a last-minute HDR tonemap that limits the color and dynamic range.' Mejia is probably one of the leading authorities on creating HDR visual experiences, based on his experience in delivering 'the world-leading Dolby Vision HDR experience to Xbox Series X and Unreal Engine.' In fairness, the developers of Mario Kart World have set themselves up for this stinging criticism, as the flagship launch title is marketed with boasts of it supporting 4K resolution at 60FPS refresh with HDR visuals (4K60 HDR for short). However, 'Mario Kart World reveals that even the highest caliber of developers aren't taking HDR seriously,' reckons Mejia. That tripping up over HDR isn't uncommon, though. Rather, Mejia admits that 'If you're finding it tricky to make your game's HDR look right, you're not alone.' The most important thing to do, to make the most of the HDR capabilities present in most TVs and monitors sold in the 2020s, is 'embracing HDR from day one, not as an afterthought,' suggests the HDR pipeline consulting expert. Image 1 of 2 Image 2 of 2 If you are curious about how Mejia captured, reviewed, and assessed the Mario Kart World on Switch 2, he shares the full details of his hardware and capture path, the procedure, and tips for home users wishing to achieve similar insight. Moving on to the findings, the HDR expert's images, charts, and stats make the HDR quality deficiencies in Mario Kart World glaringly obvious. A particularly stark result comes from image brightness peak measurement. 'Nintendo's own test image peaks at only ~500 nits even if you set 10,000 nits peak brightness,' noted Mejia. 'Not a good sign that they took HDR seriously.' Also, it was observed that, even if the console brightness is cranked to 10,000 nits, 'captured peaks in game never exceed ~950 nits.' That's quite a discrepancy. It is also quite a shame, given the game art's colorful and bright style being chained to an SDR-like color space (likely Rec.709), making no use of the extended color gamut afforded by the Rec.2020 standard. Above: Both Godfall Ultimate Edition on XBOX Series X (left), and Mario Kart World on Nintendo Switch 2 (right) are captured in HDR, with 10,000 nits max brightness. To conclude, Mejia repeats the sentiment from some of the tastiest quotes we have included above. In short, it looks like even the best developers are not taking HDR seriously, seem to follow an SDR-first workflow, and are thus squandering the possibilities of modern consoles and TVs (or monitors). The HDR expert finishes up by cannily touting his studio consultancy, offering help with 'HDR first rendering pipelines, Dolby Vision integration, and dynamic tone-mapping strategies.' Keep that in mind as you ponder his findings. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Gulf Today
21 hours ago
- Business
- Gulf Today
Sheikh Khaled attends Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit
His Highness Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, has attended the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit (ADIS), hosted by the Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre (ADPIC) over two days at the Abu Dhabi Energy Centre, under the theme Future Cities: Rethinking Infrastructure for Better Lifestyles. During a tour of the ADIS exhibition, Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed reviewed the latest global innovations and technologies in sustainable infrastructure. More than 25 participating entities showcased both local and international best practices in adopting smart urban planning principles and sustainability-driven approaches to modern city development, aimed at enhancing quality of life for communities. Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed underscored the importance of leveraging advanced technologies in urban planning to ensure the long-term sustainability of infrastructure that meets the aspirations of current and future generations and enhances societal well-being, by investing in integrated, future-ready infrastructure, including facilities powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and other smart solutions. During the summit, the Department of Municipalities and Transport launched its AI-powered Binaa platform, aimed at streamlining the construction permitting process. By reducing transaction processing times by up to 70 per cent, the platform enables permits to be issued within 24 hours. It also identifies over-designs, helping avoid redundancy and minimising environmental impacts. The system enables more than 15 government entities to access blueprints and other relevant documents, creating a unified platform for all stakeholders. The summit gathered more than 2,000 experts, leading engineers, urban planners, decision-makers, senior officials and representatives of international organisations from around the world. Attendees engaged in high-level panel discussions focused on sustainability and innovation in the development of infrastructure for modern cities. ADPIC showcased a portfolio of strategic initiatives aimed at creating an integrated urban environment, which are enhancing community wellbeing across Abu Dhabi. ADPIC is currently overseeing the implementation of 600-plus projects valued at more than Dhs200 billion, spanning key sectors such as housing, public parks, education, tourism and other vital government services. These efforts highlight ADPIC's pivotal role in driving comprehensive development and reinforcing Abu Dhabi's position as a global leader in infrastructure quality. During the visit, Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed was accompanied by Jassem Mohamed Bu Ataba Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Department of Finance – Abu Dhabi; Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Department of Municipalities and Transport; Saif Saeed Ghobash, Secretary-General of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Office of the Crown Prince; and Eng. Maysarah Mahmoud Eid, Director-General of Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre. WAM
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump tells ICE to hit blue cities, spare farms, hotels
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. President Donald Trump has directed immigration agents to pause workplace raids at hotels, farms and restaurants, several news organizations reported over the weekend. But he said on social media Sunday night he was ordering ICE to "expand efforts to detain and deport" undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and other large cities that "are the core of the Democrat power center." Trump conceded in a post Thursday that his "very aggressive" immigration policy had been depriving "our great farmers" and hotel owners of "very good, long time workers" who are "almost impossible to replace." Later that day, senior ICE official Tatum King emailed colleagues nationwide to "hold on all work site enforcement" on "agriculture (including aquaculture and meatpacking plants), restaurants and operating hotels," according to The New York Times and Axios. Trump was "persuaded" to shield the agriculture and hospitality industries by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who "relayed a growing sense of alarm from the heartland," and by "influential Trump donors" who urged him to "include the restaurant sector," the Times said Saturday. "Top White House officials were caught off guard — and furious" at Rollins — over the easing of the "hard-line approach" designed by top aide Stephen Miller. Late last month, Miller reprimanded ICE leaders for failing to arrest enough immigrants, telling them to "just go out there and arrest illegal aliens," The Wall Street Journal said. "Miller said, 'What do you mean you're going after criminals? … Why aren't you at Home Depot? Why aren't you at 7-Eleven?'" an official told The Washington Examiner. Miller then tripled their daily arrest quota to 3,000 migrants. It "remains to be seen how effective" Trump's new order will be and whether he "will stick with his decision," the Times said.
