Author: David

In 1992, humanity’s effort to understand the Universe took a significant step forward. That’s when astronomers discovered the first exoplanets. They’re named Poltergeist (Noisy Ghost) and Phobetor (Frightener), and they orbit a pulsar about 2300 light-years away. Even though we thought there must be other planets around other stars, and entire science fiction franchises were built on the idea, we didn’t know for sure and couldn’t just assume it to be true. A quick glance at human history shows how wrong our assumptions about nature can be. Since then, thanks largely to NASA’s Kepler and TESS missions, a flood of exoplanet…

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), located in China, is currently the world’s largest and most sophisticated radio observatory. While its primary purpose is to conduct large-scale neutral hydrogen surveys (the most common element in the Universe), study pulsars, and detect Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), scientists have planned to use the array in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Integral to this field of study is the search for technosignatures, signs of technological activity that indicate the presence of an advanced civilization. While many potential technosignatures have been proposed since the first surveys began in the 1960s, radio transmissions are still considered the most…

A Russian Satellite Has Broken Into Pieces, Littering Debris in Space A Russian KOSMOS 2499 satellite broke up last month — for a second time — according to the Space Force’s 18th Space Defense Squadron. In a recent tweet, the Space Force said they are currently tracking 85 individual pieces of debris at an altitude of 1,169 km (726 miles). The breakup occurred on January 4, 2023, but the reason for the disintegration remains unknown. At this high altitude, it will take decades for the debris to deorbit and burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere, and presence of this debris…

Another day, another static fire test, another milestone on the road to space! For months, crews at the SpaceX Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas, have been conducting static fire tests of the B7 Super Heavy booster prototype. In previous tests, the ground crews test-fired 7 to 14 of the B7s Raptor 2 engines for periods lasting 7 to 13 seconds. Today, the crews prepped the BN7 Booster for the first static fire test, where all thirty-three engines would fire simultaneously. While two of its Raptors did not fire, the test was a success and set a new record for the amount of thrust produced in a single…

For over 20 years, One Piece has given fans multiple arcs that are filled with unforgettable adventures. While not every story lands perfectly, it’s more than worthwhile when a saga like Water 7 comes together. However, several of One Piece’s arcs aren’t beloved by fans. There are some arcs that are controversial with fans, whether it was due to character choices, designs, or overall pacing. One Piece’s tendency to off-screen information further worsened those sentiments. Even Marineford had its controversies, and fans consider it to be one of the best arcs in One Piece. 10 Levely Didn’t Amount To Much The Levely Arc let fans see…

Since the beginning of One Piece, Luffy has aspired to become the king of the pirates. However, his goals were frequently ridiculed for their difficulty and with good reason. So far, he’s faced many extremely difficult opponents in his pursuit of Roger’s treasure, with many nearly even killing him. Whether winning or losing, Luffy’s battles have demanded an unimaginable amount of exertion. Although consistently attempting to surpass his limits, he is not always successful in defeating his opponents. Regardless, his perseverance and optimism provided an example for his crew to follow, which delivers an even greater asset than their captain’s most…

If there is one thing that the Straw Hat Pirates’ journey through the Grand Line has proven, it’s that the world of One Piece is chockfull of different cultures and characters. This diversity generates a lot of the appeal that has kept the franchise relevant for over 25 years. However, one aspect of the series doesn’t seem to receive enough love from fans — its fashion. There are tons of well-dressed pirates along the Grand Line, many of whom are also major players in the One Piece narrative. While they may be better known for the actions that made them infamous, these pirates deserve…

In One Piece, the concept of justice is rather vague. Every high-ranking member of the marines seems to have their own notion about the type of justice that should be implemented in the world. They believe that because they are in a position of authority, they must punish the ones doing wrong. Although One Piece fans regard them as antagonists, they believe they are in the right, only doing what’s best for the world — even if that very “duty” entails killing innocent people, even defenseless children. They have committed several atrocious acts to uphold their justice (Ohara and Florence are simply two…

In 1977, the Big Ear Radio Telescope at Ohio State University picked up a strong narrowband signal from space. The signal was a continuous radio wave that was very strong in intensity and frequency and had many expected characteristics of an extraterrestrial transmission. This event would come to be known as the Wow! Signal, and it remains the strongest candidate for a message sent by an extraterrestrial civilization. Unfortunately, all attempts to pinpoint the source of the signal (or detect it again) have failed. This led many astronomers and theorists to speculate as to the origin of the signal and what type of…

The Perseverance rover has begun exploring a region that looks a little like Monument Valley in Arizona and Utah in the US, or perhaps like a set on an old sci-fi movie. The rover’s science team has nicknamed the area “Hogwallow Flats,” and the rock formations in this area on Mars are stunning in their varied and sometimes absurd shapes and structures. One wonders what took place here eons ago to create the weird variety of formations. From earlier, distant views, my team nicknamed this area “the bacon strip.” (My overhead map shows why.) Now that I’m up on top,…

Jupiter is composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. The amounts of each closely conform to the theoretical quantities in the primordial solar nebula. But it also contains other heavier elements, which astronomers call metals. Even though metals are a small component of Jupiter, their presence and distribution tell astronomers a lot. According to a new study, Jupiter’s metal content and distribution mean that the planet ate a lot of rocky planetesimals in its youth. Ever since NASA’s Juno spacecraft reached Jupiter in July 2016 and started gathering detailed data, it’s been transforming our understanding of Jupiter’s formation and evolution.…

Earlier this year, astronomers used microlensing and the Hubble Space Telescope to detect, for the first time, a rogue black hole that is about 5,000 lightyears away from Earth. Now, with more precise measurements, they have been able to determine an approximate mass of this hard-to-detect object. However, the surprisingly low mass means there’s a chance this object may not actually be a black hole. The newly detected wandering object lies about 5,000 light-years away, in the Carina-Sagittarius spiral arm of our galaxy. Two large international teams used Hubble data in their investigations to find out more about the object, OGLE-2011-BLG-0462/MOA-2011-BLG-191 or…

We’re all familiar with the famous opening of the TV show “The Big Bang Theory”. It’s a song that begins with the verse: “The whole Universe was in a hot dense state…” performed by the BareNakedLadies band. Turns out it’s not just a cute line. The Ladies are right—it describes exactly what was going on with the Universe a long time ago. After the Big Bang, the cosmos was an intensely hot, dense, rapidly expanding soup of plasma. It was also in a cosmic “dark age” because there were no sources of light. It was just… well… dark. And hot. A schematic idea…

NASA has dipped into the debate over UFOs for decades, but today the space agency said it’s commissioning an independent study team to survey a wide range of what are now known as unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs. “The most exciting things in science are things we don’t understand, and my starting point — I think all our starting points for this — is that there are phenomena that we don’t understand,” astrophysicist David Spergel, who’ll lead the study team, told reporters. “How do we start to make progress? We have a very limited set of observations right now with these…

As most everyone knows, Venus is called Earth’s twin, though its scorching temperatures and extreme surface pressure are more like an evil twin. For a twin and our closest planetary neighbour, we don’t know it very well. Venus’ dense clouds keep the planet’s surface hidden in visible-light observations. It wasn’t until NASA’s Magellan spacecraft visited the planet in the early 1990s that we obtained a radar map of the surface. The survey showed almost 1,000 craters on the planet’s surface, finally visible through the sulphuric acid clouds that shroud the planet. The leading image shows the Dickinson Crater, a 69-kilometres (43 mi)…

When stars die they’re often not alone, and for the first time astronomers have found a companion to a supernova, lingering long after its sibling destroyed itself. Winds of Change In the last moments of a massive star’s life, its interior consists of onion-like layers of elements. At the center sits iron and nickel, the last elements a star can fuse before it goes supernova. Its outermost layers are the lightest elements, hydrogen and helium. When the star finally explodes, all those elements get mixed together. Astronomers can study the resulting wreckage to figure out what the star was made of.…

Ever since 1997, One Piece has created a benchmark for anime, and the stellar world of the franchise makes the series all the more captivating. For a series to run for well over two decades, there has to be a number of references and inspirations to influence the author, and One Piece’s creator Oda Eiichiro is no exception. He draws inspiration from mythologies across various cultures and incorporates them into the story to enrich the world of One Piece. The series is based on myths and legends derived from ancient paganism, which includes Greek mythology. All these inspirations together form the expansive world-building that’s…

The world of One Piece is full of characters of many different shapes and sizes. One unique group of characters in Eiichiro Oda’s story are those who ate a Devil Fruit. As such, these people are called Devil Fruit users. A Devil Fruit is a mysterious fruit that, when wholly ingested, gives the eater supernatural abilities, but at the cost of becoming weak to anything from the sea, and can drown when fully submerged in seawater. Although there are many Devil Fruit users in One Piece, there are also many characters who never ate Devil Fruit. Some fans argue that these characters are intriguing because…

The Straw Hat Pirates have officially been recognized as one of the strongest pirate crews in the world of One Piece. Given that they can survive the harsh seas with relatively few numbers, they obviously have what it takes to defeat the majority of other pirate crews. Even so, not every Straw Hat is equal in power. When it comes to raw power, their captain Monkey D. Luffy should be the strongest among them. He has proven that on various occasions. There are, however, certain situations where he doesn’t seem to be the case. Even after being proclaimed Emperor, he still receives a…

One Piece is a shonen action/adventure series well regarded for its world-building, dynamic movement, and a few silly jokes here and there. However, if there was ever something oddly absent in the series as both an anime and shonen franchise, it would be the slight hints of romance or attraction between characters or, as the fandom devotees like to put it, shipping. Eichiiro Oda himself has admitted that romance would be something that he would be avoiding near its entirety. He’s just not into it. Despite this, his fans are very much into it. The One Piece side of the internet is flooded with…

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Here are some of the most impressive chυrches aпd moпasteries iп Greece Kipiпa Moпastery Chυrch of Paпagia Kakaviotissa Chυrch of Agios Nikolaos of Poυria Chυrch of Agios Nikolaos Chυrch of Agia Fotiпi Chυrch of Agios Pavlos Agia Roυsali Broυstioυ Cave of Zoodochos Pigi Chυrch of Paпagia Spiliotissa Moпastery of Agios Dimitrios of Avgo

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