OrbitalHub

Wikipedia dicit:

Plasma (from Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma) ‘moldable substance’) is one of four fundamental states of matter, characterized by the presence of a significant portion of charged particles in any combination of ions or electrons. It is the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe, being mostly associated with stars, including the Sun. Extending to the rarefied intracluster medium and possibly to intergalactic regions, plasma can be artificially generated by heating a neutral gas or subjecting it to a strong electromagnetic field.

The presence of charged particles makes plasma electrically conductive, with the dynamics of individual particles and macroscopic plasma motion governed by collective electromagnetic fields and very sensitive to externally applied fields. The response of plasma to electromagnetic fields is used in many modern devices and technologies, such as plasma televisions or plasma etching.

Depending on temperature and density, a certain number of neutral particles may also be present, in which case plasma is called partially ionized. Neon signs and lightning are examples of partially ionized plasmas. Unlike the phase transitions between the other three states of matter, the transition to plasma is relatively not well defined and is a matter of interpretation and context. Whether a given degree of ionization suffices to call a substance ‘plasma’ depends on the specific phenomenon being considered.

Video credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Beth Anthony (KBRwyle): Producer/Mara Johnson-Groh (Telophase): Writer/Barbara Giles (NASA/GSFC): Scientist/Genna Duberstein (ADNET): Writer/Music: “Artificial Intelligence” by Matteo Pagamici [SUISA], Max Molling [SUISA] via Universal Production Music

NASA dicit:

Tropical Cyclone Freddy lasted more than five weeks. Once a very powerful Category 5 cyclone, Freddy first made landfall along the east coast of Madagascar on February 21st, 2023 just north of the town of Mananjary as a Category 3 cyclone with average winds reported at 130 km/h (~81 mph) with gusts up to 180 km/h (~112 mph). After crossing over Madagascar, Freddy continued westward over the Mozambique Channel before making landfall again and for the first time along the east coast of Mozambique just south of Vilankulos as a moderate tropical storm with sustained winds estimated at 50 mph. However, despite being weaker at landfall, Freddy has resulted in widespread flooding across parts of Mozambique due to the storm stalling out near the coast after making landfall. Incredibly, Freddy then drifted back out over the Mozambique Channel, nearly making landfall again along the southwest coast of Madagascar, before changing direction, re-intensifying, weakening, re-intensifying one last time, and making landfall for the 2nd time in Mozambique as a Category 1 cyclone near Quelimane with sustained winds reported at 90 mph on the 11th of March.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Ryan Fitzgibbons (KBRwyle): Lead Producer, Lead Editor/Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET): Technical Support/George Huffman (NASA/GSFC): Lead Scientist, Lead Narrator/B. Jason West (ADNET): Lead Visualizer/Stephen Lang (SSAI): Lead Writer/Music: “Enlightenment,” Universal Production Music

NASA dicit:

Inspired by the Renaissance vision of Leonardo da Vinci, NASA is presently preparing its scientific return to Venus’ atmosphere and surface with a mission known as the “Deep Atmosphere of Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging” (DAVINCI).

The DAVINCI mission will “take the plunge” into Venus’ enigmatic history using an instrumented deep atmosphere probe spacecraft that will carry five instruments for measuring the chemistry and environments throughout the clouds and to the surface, while also conducting the first descent imaging of a mountain system on Venus known as Alpha Regio, which may represent an ancient continent. In addition, the DAVINCI mission includes two science flybys of Venus during which it will search for clues to mystery molecules in the upper cloud deck while also measuring the rock types in some of Venus highland regions.

All of these new and unique measurements will make the ‘exoplanet next door’ into a key place for understanding Earth and Venus sized exoplanets that may have similar histories to our sister planet. DAVINCI will pave the way for a series of missions by NASA and ESA in the 2030’s by opening the frontier as it searches for clues to whether Venus harbored oceans and how its atmosphere-climate system evolved over billions of years. DAVINCI’s science will address questions about habitability and how it could be “lost” as rocky planets evolve over time. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight center leads the DAVINCI Mission as the PI institution.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/James Tralie (ADNET): Lead Producer, Lead Editor/Giada Arney (NASA): Narrator/Walt Feimer (KBRwyle): Animator/Jonathan North (KBRwyle): Animator/Michael Lentz (KBRwyle): Animator/Krystofer Kim (KBRwyle): Animator/James Garvin (NASA, Chief Scientist Goddard): Scientist/Music: “Blackened Skies” by Enrico Cacace and Lorenzo Castellarin of Universal Production Music

nbsp;


nbsp;

NASA dicit:

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with the company’s uncrewed Dragon spacecraft on top, lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Loaded with scientific experiments and supplies, the unpiloted SpaceX CRS-27 cargo ship automatically docked to the International Space Station’s forward port of the Harmony module March 16. The SpaceX resupply craft will remain on orbit for a month-long visit.

Credit: NASA/SpaceX