Sunday Space Reads

Because we all need a little space on Sunday.

Using Sandia National Laboratory’s “Z machine,” researchers have generated powerful X-rays to observe their effects on mock asteroids. Credit: Sandia National Laboratory/Randy Montoya

• Don’t ask Oppenheimer to back this up, but according to a new study, nuclear weapons could actually be used for good in space. After firing X-rays at a series of coffee bean-sized pseudo-asteroids, physicists in New Mexico have concluded that such rays – produced from a nuclear explosion – could probably divert an incoming asteroid. 

• If you know anything about galaxy M87, it’s probably its central supermassive black hole. But what you might not know is that one of the colossal particle jets originating from that black hole may be causing a clustering of nova explosions, according to new research. 

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This edition of Sunday Space Reads is brought to you by the Space Resources program at the Colorado School of Mines.

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• Doomsday preachers have warned us that there’d come a time when the sun would explode and we’d all turned to toast. In reality, we’re looking at another six billion years, which is when astronomers predict the sun will become a red giant, consuming its surrounding planets and incinerating Earth. But a distant, rocky world orbiting a white dwarf suggests that Earth could perhaps survive the violent transition – albeit, an uninhabitable Earth. 

• In the wake of Hurricane Helene’s devastation in the Southeastern United States, we are reminded of the importance of forecasting storm paths. Of course, Earth-observation satellites are a key part of this process, as is – for better and for worse – artificial intelligence. The Smithsonian’s interview with computer scientist and meteorologist Amy McGovern illuminates where A.I. comes into the picture, and how much we can trust it when it comes to severe weather. 

• The famously serious Cards Against Humanity has sued SpaceX for $15 million in damages to a plot of land it owns in South Texas, bought back in 2017 to essentially gatekeep it from former President Trump’s border wall. But the game company won’t play hardball; if Musk isn’t willing to fork over the cash, it will “accept Twitter.com in compensation.” 

The four HERA crew volunteers show off their lettuce leaves grown in a hydroponic garden of their Mars simulation. Credit: NASA

• Four people have reentered society after a 45-day Mars simulation at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, concluding the third HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) study. What did we learn from this analog? Apparently, a combination of isolation and five-minute communication delays can lead to disproportionate excitement over a plastic baggy hydroponically-grown lettuce.

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Saturday Space Jam:

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This edition of Sunday Space Reads is also supported by the Open Lunar Foundation. Open Lunar's work sets precedents, creates pathways, and builds projects that enable a peaceful, cooperative lunar presence. Learn more about Open Lunar's work by joining their upcoming events.