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Perth: (The Conversation) Last week, three tiny Australian satellites from Curtin University's <keyword id="23932163" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Binar-Space-Program" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Binar Space Program" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Binar Space Program">Binar Space Program</keyword> burned up in Earth's atmosphere. That was always going to happen. In fact, Binar means "fireball" in the Noongar language of the First Nations people of Perth. When a satellite is in low Earth orbit (2,000km or less), it experiences orbital decay as it drags closer and closer to the surface, eventually burning up. But these cube satellites (<keyword id="21533654" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="CubeSats" source="keywords">CubeSats</keyword>), known as Binar-2, 3 and 4, entered the atmosphere much sooner than originally planned. They only lasted for two months - a third of what was expected. This significantly reduced valuable time for science and testing new systems. The reason for their untimely demise? Our Sun has kicked into high gear, and the Binar satellites are far from the only casualty. Recent high <keyword id="20792842" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Solar-activity" source="keywords">solar activity</keyword> has been causing an unexpected headache for satellite operators in the last few years, and it's only increasing. <h2>Why is the Sun so active? </h2> Solar activity includes phenomena such as sunspots, solar flares and solar wind - the stream of charged particles that flows toward Earth. This activity is a product of the Sun's ever-changing magnetic field, and approximately every 11 years, it completely flips. At the midpoint of this cycle, solar activity is at its highest. While this cycle is known, specific solar activity is challenging to predict - the dynamics are complex and solar forecasting is in its infancy. In the last few months, indicators of solar activity were more than one and a half times higher than predictions for this point in the current cycle, labelled <keyword id="22712826" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="solar-cycle-25" source="keywords">solar cycle 25</keyword>. <h2>The impact of <keyword id="20087207" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="space-weather" source="keywords">space weather</keyword> </h2> Space weather refers to the environmental effects that originate from outside our atmosphere (mostly the Sun). It affects us on Earth in a variety of noticeable and unnoticeable ways. The most obvious is the presence of auroras. In the past few months, auroras have been visible far more intensely and closer to the equator than in the last two decades. This is a direct result of the increased solar activity. Space weather, and solar activity in particular, also creates additional challenges for satellites and satellite operators. Higher solar activity means more solar flares and stronger solar wind - resulting in a higher flux of charged particles that can damage or disrupt electrical components on satellites. It also means an increase in ionising radiation, resulting in a higher dose for astronauts and pilots, and potential disruptions to long-distance radio communications. But for satellites in low Earth orbit, the most consistent effect of solar activity is that the extra energy gets absorbed into the outer atmosphere, causing it to balloon outward. As a result, all satellites less than 1,000km from Earth experience a significant increase in <keyword id="23473319" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="atmospheric-drag" source="keywords">atmospheric drag</keyword>. This is a force that disrupts their orbit and causes them to fall towards the planet's surface. Notable satellites in this region include the International Space Station and the Starlink constellation. These satellites have thrusters to counteract this effect, but these corrections can be expensive. Low Earth orbit also contains many university satellites, such as the Binar CubeSats. Cube satellites are rarely equipped with tools that can adjust their altitude, so they're entirely at the mercy of space weather. <h2>What happened to Binar? </h2> The Binar Space Program is a satellite research program operating out of Curtin University. It aims to advance our understanding of the Solar System and lower the barrier for operating in space. The program began operations with its first satellite, Binar-1, in September 2021. This was less than a year into solar cycle 25 when solar activity was relatively low. In these conditions, the ten-centimetre cube satellite started at an altitude of 420km and survived a full 364 days in orbit. The program's follow-up mission - Binar-2, 3, and 4 - were three equally sized CubeSats. However, they were expected to last approximately six months owing to the extra surface area from new deployable solar arrays and a forecast increase in solar activity. Instead, they only made it to two months before burning up. While cube satellite missions are relatively cheap, the premature ending of a mission will always be costly. This is even more true for commercial satellites, highlighting the need for more accurate space weather forecasting. The good news is the Sun will calm down again. Despite the current unexpectedly high solar activity, it will likely slow down by 2026, and is expected to return to a solar minimum in 2030. While this was not an explicit goal of the mission, the Binar Space Program has now poignantly demonstrated the dramatic effects of solar activity on space operations. While the untimely loss of Binar-2, 3 and 4 was unfortunate, work has already begun on future missions. They are expected to launch into far more forgiving space weather. (The Conversation).

Right now, the Sun is far more active than predicted - and small satellites are paying the price

The northern lights may appear stunning from Earth, but it turns out they look even better from space.NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick released stunning timelapse footage of auroras dancing above Earth this week, as seen from the International Space Station.The video, posted on August 12, shows the moon setting and the subsequent sunrise amid streams of red and green.The sunrise illuminates an orbiting Soyuz spacecraft in blue."The aurora have been amazing the past few days. Great timing for trying out a new lens that recently arrived on Cygnus," Dominick posted <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/dominickmatthew/status/1823081465753825718">on X</a>, referring to the US Cygnus spacecraft.Dominick said he captured the footage using an Arri Zeiss 15mm, T1.8 lens with a 1/3 s exposure and a 1/2 s interval.He also posted static photos from the aurora borealis he saw from space, showing the moon setting amid the lights.<div type="image" title="The moon makes it way towards the horizon to set amongst red and green aurora, seen from space" height="2184" width="3276" msid="112547662" hostid="261" sizebytes="1244926"></div>He explained that while the image may look "upside down", that is how astronauts are usually oriented in their observation area aboard the spacecraft, and that images of this kind are generally rotated when posted on social media.He did not specify what region of the Earth they were flying over. However, a solar storm over the weekend sparked auroras in both the northern and southern hemispheres. According to<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/drop-everything-and-watch-this-stunning-video-of-northern-lights/"> Scientific American</a>, the northern lights appeared as far south as Texas and Mississippi.Dominick, who is a NASA astronaut and a US Navy Commander, is serving a six-month term on board the International Space Station as a flight engineer.He told Scientific American that he has been working on capturing time-lapse videos from the ISS for some time."It was intense," he told the publication. "I'm up here with a couple of veteran folks that have spent more than a year of their life in space across missions, and all of them have unanimously said they've never seen anything like it."There are likely to be more chances to catch an aurora display in the coming years.That's because our sun has an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-time-lapse-video-sun-solar-cycle-10-years-2020-7">11-year cycle</a> in which it increases and decreases in activity. We're approaching solar maximum when the sun reaches peak activity. Experts have previously predicted this should <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/next-solar-maximum-2025-what-expect-cycle-2023-4">happen in 2025</a>.While that may create more stunning auroras, it could also cause some problems on Earth.As more <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronal-hole-on-sun-blasts-solar-wind-toward-earth-2023-3">sunspots</a> appear on the surface of our star during its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-video-footage-shows-sun-solar-activity-increasing-2023-5">active period</a>, it may prompt more <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-storms-flares-dangerous-effects-earth-sun">solar storms</a>, creating bursts of electromagnetic energy that can affect everything from the power grid to GPS signals.We're not in any immediate danger, however. Physicists predict that this cycle will not be the biggest we've ever seen, and we're getting better at spotting storms <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-flare-coronal-eruption-geomagnetic-storm-effects-safety">to be able to prepare for them</a>.

Stunning timelapse video shows the northern lights from space thanks to a solar storm

Researchers have discovered a new "fiery, glowing red" <keyword id="20349430" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="exoplanet" source="keywords">exoplanet</keyword> displaying intense <keyword id="19916428" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="volcanic-activity" source="keywords">volcanic activity</keyword> similar to Jupiter's moon Io. Further, the many active volcanoes on the exoplanet could be making its surface hotter than some stars, they said. In a known star system about 66 light years away from Sun, the astrophysicists discovered signals for a new rocky planet about a third larger than Earth. The signals were captured by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which searches for exoplanets or planets outside our solar system, orbiting the brightest stars in the sky. The team, including researchers from the University of California Riverside, US, said that the star system, called <keyword id="21639491" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="HD-104067" source="keywords">HD 104067</keyword>, was already known to harbour a giant planet. While gathering data on the planet, Stephen Kane, a professor of Planetary Astrophysics, "unexpectedly" found another "fiery" one, taking the count of planets in the star system to three. "At optical wavelengths, you would be able to see a glowing, red-hot planet with a molten lava surface," Kane, lead author of the study published in The Astronomical Journal, said. The newly discovered rocky exoplanet, named <keyword id="21639492" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="TOI-6713-01" source="keywords">TOI-6713.01</keyword>, has a lot in common with Jupiter's rocky innermost moon, Io, and is known to be the most volcanically active body in our solar system, Kane said. The researchers explained that gravitational forces exerted by the other two planets in the system force this rocky planet into an elliptical or "eccentric" orbit around their star. The star, to which TOI-6713.01 is closer than the other planets, "squeezes" the rocky planet as it orbits and rotates because of gravity, thereby causing tides on the planet's surface in the form of volcanoes. Likening the scenario to "racquetball", Kane explained that the rocky inner planet gets hotter as it is constantly bounced around by the other two planets and squeezed by the star. "It's been forced into a situation where it's constantly exploding with volcanoes," he said. The extreme volcanic activity could be making the surface of TOI-6713.01 hotter than some stars, Kane said, as he calculated the surface temperature to be 2,600 degrees Kelvin or 2,330 degrees Celsius. The intense volcanic activity on <keyword id="21639489" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jupiters-Io" source="keywords">Jupiter's Io</keyword> is also due to the gravity exerted by the other moons of the solar system's biggest planet, which itself has a strong gravitational pull, the researchers said. Io is thus "forced" into an eccentric orbit around the planet, Kane explained. "If the other moons weren't there, Io would be in a circular orbit around the planet and it would be quiet on the surface. Instead, Jupiter's gravity squeezes Io so much that it erupts in volcanoes constantly," Kane said. On Earth, tides are the effect of moon's gravity on our oceans. The researchers said the findings reveal a lot about the extremes in amounts of energy that can be pumped into a rocky planet, such as TOI-6713.01. Further, tidal effects on planets haven't historically been a focus of exoplanet research, which Kane hopes might change with this discovery. "While we know that stars contribute to the heat of a planet, the vast majority of the energy here is tidal and that cannot be ignored," he said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/aadhar-housing-finance-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/110071990.cms">Aadhar Housing Finance IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/webstories/ipl-decoded-highest-individual-scores-in-ipl-2024-so-far-from-stoinis-to-kohli/slidelist/110008351.cms">IPL Decoded: Highest individual scores in IPL 2024 so far, from Stoinis to Kohli</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/indian-smartphone-market-up-8-5g-smartphones-account-for-over-70-of-shipments/articleshow/110002512.cms">Indian smartphone market up 8%, 5G smartphones account for over 70% of shipments</a>

New "fiery" exoplanet discovered, found to display volcanic activity like Jupiter's Io

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Silver prices have soared 35% this year, hitting 12-year highs at about $32 an ounce.</li><li>Silver's rise is driven by industrial demand, especially for solar panels amid green-energy shifts.</li></ul>Record-high gold prices are in the spotlight — but it's really the yellow metal's poorer cousin, silver, that's outperforming in the price rally.<a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/silver-price">Spot silver prices</a> have gained 35% this year to date, reaching 12-year highs. They're now about $32 an ounce.In comparison, <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/realtime-chart/gold-price">spot gold prices</a> are at about $2,350 an ounce but have gained just 14% so far this year.While gold's bull run has been driven by central banks' desire to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dedollarization-usd-strong-china-pboc-central-banks-buy-gold-inflation-2024-5">diversify their assets</a> and a consumer flight to safety amid macroeconomic uncertainties — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gold-price-china-consumers-central-bank-pboc-economy-concerns-dedollarization-2024-4">particularly in China</a> — silver's dazzling performance this year is underpinned by industrial demand.To be sure, there are industrial uses for gold, too, but as <a target="_blank" href="https://advisor.morganstanley.com/the-spooner-group/articles/investing/gold-vs-silver">Morgan Stanley</a> explained, half of all silver is used in heavy industry and technology."The fact that silver has been outshining gold in recent weeks is due mostly to its application in manufacturing," Daniela Hathorn, a senior market analyst at the online-trading platform <a target="_blank" href="https://capital.com/gold-and-silver-recover-from-last-week-s-pullback-but-face-resistance-ahead-of-us-pce">Capital.com</a>, wrote on Tuesday."Whilst it also attracts safe haven demand — even though not as much as its yellow counterpart — its industrial demand has been driving the moves higher given the resilience in <a target="_blank" href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/INDPRO">manufacturing activity in the US</a>," Hathorn added.<h2 id="e5fef072-3c9d-4492-ba53-aec58d8b3d06">Silver is used in solar panels as well as general industry</h2>In particular, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.silverinstitute.org/silver-solar-technology-2/">silver is a key raw material for solar panels</a>. They're in demand amid the world's transition to sustainable energy, and China has raced to manufacture them.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-29/china-s-silver-imports-set-to-jump-as-solar-demand-lifts-prices">Bloomberg</a> reported on Wednesday that China's silver imports hit a three-year high of 390 tons in December and then hit 340 tons in April — well above the monthly five-year average of 310 tons.China's demand for silver is so strong that domestic prices of the precious metal are higher than international prices; Bloomberg reported that this would likely lead to more imports to the East Asian nation in the coming weeks.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.silverinstitute.org/global-silver-demand-forecasted-to-rise-to-1-2-billion-ounces-in-2024/">The Silver Institute</a>, an industry association, said in January that global demand was set to outstrip supply for the fourth straight year in 2024.Other than solar panels, silver is also used in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.silverinstitute.org/silver-and-your-automobile/">electronics, as catalysts in industrial processes, and in car parts</a>.<h2 id="0654f5db-ded6-4bba-8ea6-70a92db686d3">China is overproducing solar panels</h2>Solar panels are a sore spot between the West and China.The US, Europe, and their allies <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-overcapacity-dumping-manufacturing-exports-economic-woes-world-yellen-2024-4">accuse China of unfair trade practices</a>, including making and exporting so many solar panels — among other goods — that it's impacting their economies.Beijing has pushed back on the West's claims of overcapacity, saying they're aimed at containing China's economic growth.To be sure, there isn't overcapacity and overproduction in all sectors of China's industry, as a <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-02/us-europe-gripes-on-china-overcapacity-aren-t-all-backed-by-data?srnd=all">Bloomberg analysis</a> in April found. The problem is mainly in sectors in which China already had the upper hand over the West, such as lower-tech goods and building materials.China's production of solar panels and batteries also exceeds the demand for them. But the competition doesn't extend to a key emerging area of contention: electric vehicles.The West's hawkish moves toward China now follow the East Asian giant's breakneck industrialization to its position as the factory of the world over the past four decades. That quick ascendance wiped out jobs and decimated communities elsewhere — a phenomenon three researchers termed "<a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-shock-explainer-us-economy-trade-dumping-supply-glut-yellen-2024-4">China shock</a>."

Silver price gains are outshining gold's thanks to China's overproduction of solar panels

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The sun is growing more active than scientists predicted.</li><li>About every 11 years, the sun's magnetic fields flip, increasing solar activity.</li></ul>From afar, the sun looks calm and peaceful in our daytime skies. But up close, it's an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sun-images-reveal-creepy-threads-holes-light-bridge-solar-surface-2023-5">erupting, chaotic display</a> of solar activity the likes of which astrophysicists didn't expect until the last year or so."We didn't think the sun was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sun-more-active-solar-storms-auroras-power-outages-grounded-flights-2023-2">going to be as active</a> this particular cycle, but the observations are completely opposite," Andrew Gerrard, the department chair and director of the Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research at New Jersey Institute of Technology, told Business Insider.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-storms-timelapse-video-sun-chaotic-peak-activity-noaa-2023-6">Solar cycles</a> typically occur every 11 years. Within that time, the sun oscillates from minimum to maximum solar activity, with maximum activity peaking in the middle of the cycle when the sun's magnetic fields flip.The last solar cycle was from 2008 to 2019. We're now in the middle of the current solar cycle and are approaching maximum magnetic activity.The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/next-solar-maximum-2025-what-expect-cycle-2023-4">heightened solar magnetic activity</a> that's been growing over the last several years is so strong that it chokes energy from deep inside the sun, preventing it from reaching the surface. This causes cooler pockets on the solar surface that appear as dark splotches, known as sunspots.Scientists like Gerrard can get an idea of solar activity levels by counting sunspots. They've been reaching record highs over the last year or so.Earlier this month, NOAA reported that preliminary observations had found <a target="_blank" href="https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/solar-cycle-25-likely-reached-highest-sunspot-number-over-20-years">299 sunspots</a> that all appeared within 24 hours — the highest daily sunspot record in over 22 years if confirmed.Tracking sunspots is important because they are ground zero for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-video-solar-flares-erupt-simultaneously-on-sun-earth-impacts-2024-4">powerful X-class solar flares</a> and massive eruptions called coronal mass ejections. These can pose threats to Earth, causing radio blackouts and power grid outages, disrupting GPS navigation, and even triggering satellites to fall from space.<div type="image" title="coronal mass ejection sun soho nasa" height="896" width="900" msid="112689588" hostid="261" sizebytes="28714"></div>Not all sunspots will produce an eruption and, when they do, not all eruptions pose a threat because they might miss Earth, Alex James, a solar physicist at the University of College London, told Business Insider over email.Still, learning to predict solar storms ahead of time is an important field of ongoing research because it could give us more lead time to prepare, James said.<h2 id="3f034004-b62e-4cb0-a5e1-0dc93a79a6a3">The sun is more active than we thought</h2><div type="image" title="Solar Flare" height="288" width="515" msid="112689589" hostid="261" sizebytes="12236"></div>X-class solar flares and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-eruption-coronal-mass-ejection-geomagnetic-storm-earth-aurora-friday-2023-11">coronal mass ejections</a> are beautiful to watch. But when they burst, they fling high-energy particles into space at speeds exceeding 1,000 mph. If Earth is in the way, there's a chance those particles can interact with our planet's magnetic field and upper atmosphere, causing <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/earth-bracing-severe-g4-geomagnetic-storm-may-be-more-to-come-2024-5">geomagnetic storms</a>.Geomagnetic storms can spark beautiful aurora borealis and aurora australis — the Northern and Southern lights. These colorful displays have been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/northern-lights-appear-texas-utah-south-dakota-after-double-solar-eruption-2023-11">showing up further south</a> than usual, in states like Texas and Colorado. That's because of the sun's increased activity.<div type="image" title="You can see the Northern Lights in Alaska." height="854" width="1280" msid="112689585" hostid="261" sizebytes="96978"></div>But those high-energy particles are also like little gremlins that can cause all sorts of mayhem to high-frequency radio emissions that the military, airlines, and GPS systems rely on, Gerrard said.Since January, geomagnetic storms have caused <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/severe-g4-solar-storm-heading-toward-earth-heres-what-to-know-2024-5">radio blackouts</a> on four continents: North and South America, Europe, and Africa. This can make your GPS temporarily act up. It can also lead to power outages as well as grounded flights and flight delays since the Federal Aviation Administration won't allow planes to fly without both radio and satellite communications.Another concern is spacecraft. "If there's a coronal mass ejection, and if that material gets to the Earth, it's going to make the densities in Earth's upper atmosphere higher," Gerrard said. "And that's going to create more drag, and more drag is going to bring down spacecraft."In February 2022, a geomagnetic storm contributed to 38 <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-starlink-satellites-internet">Starlink satellites</a> coming down from orbit. The satellites were in a lower, transitional orbit and hadn't yet reached their final destination. <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=377c514ba577b9909f153f306aea59fc85b5a934b6debc10d30e7b8e69c6b99d&amp;postID=66c3af594add317a03d26c33&amp;postSlug=solar-cycle-active-grounded-flights-downed-satellites-2024-8&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fd44151-024-00066-y">Scientists suspect</a> that lower orbit combined with a geo-storm, causing them to fall from space and burn up in Earth's atmosphere.And last May, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/starlink-experiencing-degraded-service-musk-says-satellites-under-pressure-2024-05-11">largest</a> geomagnetic storm to reach Earth in two decades led to degraded service from Starlink. No satellites fell out of orbit during that storm.<h2 id="b87e835e-66db-41c1-addc-5879e83a4108">The sun is reaching solar maximum</h2><div type="image" title="sunspot" height="1080" width="1920" msid="112689591" hostid="261" sizebytes="63402"></div>The sun's activity is expected to continue to increase until it reaches peak activity levels, which scientists call solar maximum."Current predictions suggest solar maximum will occur in the second half of 2025, but we'll only really know when the true maximum has occurred after the activity starts to decline again," James said.Though this cycle's solar maximum is projected to be stronger than scientists initially predicted, it's "looking fairly average in a more historical context," Mathew Owens, professor of space physics at the University of Reading, told BI over email.Still, we're likely more prone to the effects of solar maximum now than ever before because of our growing dependence on satellite technology, James said.

The sun is more active than experts predicted. It could mean more grounded flights, downed satellites, and stunning aurora. 

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-life-career-education">Jeff Bezos</a> thinks humans should live on space stations so there can be 1 trillion of us.</li><li>He believes that 1 trillion humans would result in 1,000 Mozarts and 1,000 Einsteins at any given time.</li></ul>Jeff Bezos recently shared his vision in an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-space-stations-elon-musk-mars-colonization-lex-fridman-2023-12">interview</a> with Lex Fridman: a future where a trillion humans populate our solar system."I would love to see a trillion humans living in the solar system. If we had a trillion humans, we would have, at any given time, 1,000 Mozarts and 1,000 Einsteins," he said. "The only way to get to that vision is with giant space stations. The planetary surfaces are just way too small."A trillion souls for a thousand Mozarts and a thousand Einsteins is a pretty good deal, all things considered.But if we accept Bezos' two-thousand-geniuses-per-trillion theorem, we should also consider the darker side: serial killers.In 2018, the latest year we have data on active serial killers as compiled by professors at Radford and Florida Gulf Coast University, there were 12 active serial killers in the US. The US population that year was 326.8 million, meaning that about 1 out of every 27 million people was a serial killer. (You still have better odds of being a serial killer than winning the Powerball). The professors' research also showed a steady decline in the number of serial killers, likely due to an increase in sophisticated surveillance technology since active serial killers peaked in the late 1980s.If humans were to raid the asteroid belt and spin up thousands of O'Neill space stations to get to 1 trillion, and Jeff Bezos is involved, we can assume that surveillance tech remains in place. Using 2018's numbers with a trillion humans, then, we'd expect to have about 37,000 active serial killers in the observable universe. (What about serial killers in the unknown universe? you might be asking. That is a problem for alien Jeff Bezos.)<div type="image" title="jeff bezos eyes" height="2029" width="3000" msid="106100403" hostid="261"></div>Put another way, for every Mozart and Einstein born into existence, assuming Mozart and Einstein have a prevalence rate of one out of every billion, you would get about 37 serial killers.But there's also a more alarming possibility: an "Einstein of serial killing."Let's use the 2018 active serial killer numbers and Bezos' "one Einstein per 1 billion people" rule of thumb, and assume that being a serial killer and being Einstein are independent phenomena. (That is, being a serial killer makes you no likelier to be an Einstein and vice versa.)Doing the math on the prevalence rate for each, you get a likelihood of someone being an active Einsteinian serial killer — that is, someone so brilliant at serial killing that they fundamentally alter our understanding of it — of 1 in 27 quintillion.While that may seem comfortingly unlikely, remember the denominator effect. Large populations make unlikely things more likely.If Bezos' Imperium of Man starts at 1 trillion people and experiences a 2.2% population growth rate (as we saw in 1963 during the height of the Green Revolution), you'd hit 27 quintillion humans in about 800 years.Unfortunately, there is currently no way to quantify the likelihood of traumatized but grimly determined FBI agents — think Clarice Starling in moon boots — within that theoretical population. Perhaps Bezos can tackle that next.

Jeff Bezos wants a solar system with a trillion people, a thousand Einsteins and Mozarts, and 37,000 active serial killers

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A stunning aurora may light up the northern US and potentially southern states on Friday.</li><li>That's thanks to an erupting sunspot that's seven times the size of Earth.</li></ul>For the first time in 20 years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a G4 geomagnetic-storm warning.The storm could generate a dazzling display of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/northern-lights-artic-circle-trip-findland-tips-3-2023">northern lights</a> farther south than usual on Friday.G4s are the second-strongest type of solar storm. They've been known to cause radio blackouts and power-grid outages, but experts don't expect these approaching ejections to cause any trouble, Mathew Owens, a professor of space physics at the University of Reading, and Alex Young, the associate director for science at NASA's Heliophysics Science Division, told Business Insider.The best time to see the aurora borealis is typically between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, because this is when it will be the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/holes-earth-magnetic-field-northern-lights-aurora-borealis-2024-3">most active</a>, according to NOAA.The upcoming aurora is largely the result of a giant, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sunspots-15-times-size-of-earth-solar-storm-into-view-2023-11">hyperactive sunspot</a> called AR3664 — which is seven times the size of Earth — that's been producing powerful eruptions called coronal-mass ejections for the past few days."With the eruptions from this group, I think we're going to see some really good auroras. I wouldn't expect too many really bad effects," Owens said.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-x-class-solar-flare-in-years-hits-earth-2023-12">Powerful eruptions</a> like these can hurl high-energy solar particles toward Earth that interact with our magnetic field to create the northern and southern lights.The aurora borealis is typically contained in the uppermost region of the Northern Hemisphere. But when Earth receives a more powerful blow of these high-energy particles, it can cause auroras over a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-aurora-northern-lights-rare-appearance-south-solar-storm-2023-3">larger portion of the planet</a>.Over the past several days, AR3664 has grown to become one of the biggest and most active sunspots in our current <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-maximum-could-sooner-than-expected-2023-6">solar cycle</a>, which began in December 2019, Space.com reported.<div type="image" title="Satellite image of the sun's corona" height="1280" width="1280" msid="110015549" hostid="261"></div>And since May 8, AR3664 has spit out five coronal-mass ejections. These ejections are now speeding toward Earth at roughly 560 miles per second, Owens told BI.<h2 id="f3d3ecf2-cce3-49b6-97a7-9c0d456d5bb9">Where auroras are forecast in the US</h2><div type="image" title="map of globe showing red and green bands where aurora borealis are most likely to be seen" height="1174" width="1528" msid="110020278" hostid="261" sizebytes="103982"></div>Since these oncoming coronal mass ejections have a relatively strong magnetic field, Friday's auroras are forecast to make a rare appearance. They could stretch all the way down from northern states like Montana, Minnesota, and Michigan to as far south as Alabama, per <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast">reports</a> from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. NOAA's forecast shows the aurora won't reach quite as far south as Alabama but will still be visible from states like Illinois and Ohio."The reality is that we just won't know how bright, active, and wide-reaching the aurora will be until the coronal-mass ejections reach Earth's atmosphere," Young said. Even experts' estimates of when they'll arrive offer only a rough ballpark."Our timing estimates may be way off," Owens said.To watch the auroras on Friday, head to NOAA's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/aurora-dashboard-experimental">space-weather website</a> for the latest forecast to see if they'll be visible near you.Then, step outside once it's totally dark and look up. If you're lucky, you may get to see this spectacular sight.Correction — May 10, 2024: An earlier version of this story misattributed information and a quote to Andrew Gerrard of the New Jersey Institute of Tech. The most extreme estimate of aurora and where they can be seen in the US came from Alex Young.

The first severe solar storm in 20 years could spark auroras across the US 

Billionaire Gautam Adani's group is building the world's largest <keyword id="864915" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="renewable-energy-park" source="Orion">renewable energy park</keyword> in Gujarat, as it eyes a massive 45 GW capacity to generate electricity largely from <keyword id="6357019" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="solar-energy" source="Orion">solar energy</keyword>. Speaking at the opening of '<keyword id="694229" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="energy-revolution" source="Orion">Energy Revolution</keyword>: The <keyword id="3179546" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="adani-green-energy" source="Orion">Adani Green Energy</keyword> Gallery' at the Science Museum in London, Gautam Adani said his group's renewable energy arm, Adani Green Energy, is leading an energy transition that honours the commitment of taking care of the planet not just for this generation and the next but also for generations to come. "As the world's leading solar power developer and India's largest renewable energy company, we are taking very big steps," he said. "In Khavda, which is in the state of Gujarat, we are building the world's largest renewable energy park. It will have a generation capacity of 30 GW of energy - and it is incredibly big. Its area of 538 square kilometers is more than five times bigger than Paris." This is part of the aim to reach 45 GW of renewable energy by 2030, said Adani, the chairman of the apples-to-airport conglomerate. "This will be like providing clean energy to almost every house in England," he said. It currently has an operating renewable portfolio of over 9.5 GW and locked-in projects of up to 21.8 Gigawatt (GW). The Gallery explores how the world can generate and use energy more sustainably to urgently decarbonise and to limit dangerous climate change. "Through striking displays of contemporary and historic objects from the UK and abroad, interactive digital exhibits, and specially commissioned models, the gallery shows how the past, present and future are shaped by human imagination and innovation and explores how we all have a role to play in deciding our energy future," a company statement said. The Gallery, which is open to the public for free, examines this century's defining challenge through the lens of imagination across three sections. In Future Planet, visitors can explore how scientists use complex computer-based models to understand our planet, and what these tell us about the range of climate futures that might lie ahead. In Future Energy, technologies and the people behind them that are reimagining how energy is supplied and used are highlighted alongside historic artefacts which provide a longer view of the transition away from fossil fuels. Adani said museums are very important because they teach and inspire. "This new gallery is about more than just clean air - or about moving away from oil and gas. It is about the energy transition we need - this world needs - and it is about the revolution that is taking place in the world of energy." The gallery, he said, was special because it makes us think, dream and wish for change. At the centre of the gallery is Only Breath, a moving sculpture that signifies the power of nature to inspire technological change. Radiating outward from the centre are plinths which display vital low-carbon renewable energy technologies for the transition, from nuclear, hydrogen and solar to wind and tidal power, alongside remarkable historic innovations that remind us how major change is possible and that many of the technologies needed to make the low-carbon energy transition already exist. Objects in this section include a 7m long tidal turbine blade made by Scottish renewable energy company Orbital Marine Power and the first electric taxi, the Bersey cab, hailed by Londoners in 1897. The challenges of electrification, energy storage, and supply and demand are also explored, with visitors invited to play interactive games and use models that show how energy can be generated and distributed. Possible routes to low-carbon transport are featured, as well the decarbonisation of our buildings and construction industries, and visitors can learn about climate modelling and see instruments used to measure climate. Energy Revolution was designed by award-winning architects, Unknown Works. A key element of sustainable design was the reuse of redundant shelves from the Science Museum's former object store. The gallery's carbon footprint has been monitored, and recyclable aluminium was used where possible. The gallery's Title Funder is Adani Green Energy. Sagar Adani, Executive Director, AGEL, said, "The Science Museum has put together the world's best curated gallery on energy transition. As one of the world's largest renewable energy companies, we are committed to making progress towards net zero - and there is no greater resource in the fight against climate change than education. "Through the sponsorship of the gallery, we aim to inspire young minds, scientists and innovators to imagine a future powered by clean energy and build a carbon-free world. It is an initiative to stimulate their interest, curiosity and awareness, and encourage their active participation in creating clean technologies. The gallery brings together the global community to enable the shift towards energy efficiency, clean energy adoption and carbon emissions reduction." Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive of the Science Museum Group, said, "In a week when we're celebrating a record 2.25 million visits by UK residents to the museum, including a million children, this stunning gallery offers even more to ignite curiosity among those who will visit in the year ahead - provoking important conversations about the urgent need for the world to generate and use energy more sustainably."

Adani eyes 45 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronal-hole-on-sun-blasts-solar-wind-toward-earth-2023-3">The sun</a> has a big year in 2024, starting with a total solar eclipse across the US.</li><li>As the sun builds to maximum activity, watch out for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/northern-lights-sky-friday-us-solar-winds-giant-hole-sun-2023-3">the northern lights</a> too.</li></ul>The sun was showing off all last year, with dramatic eruptions, sunspots, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/second-giant-coronal-hole-sun-solar-winds-space-weather-aurora-2023-3">giant "holes,"</a> and even a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-video-solar-tornado-plasma-2023-3">14-earths-high tornado of plasma</a>. But 2024 may be our star's biggest year yet.That's what giddy <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sun-polar-vortex-video-from-solar-plasma-break-2023-2">NASA</a> scientists told reporters at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco in December. In true NASA fashion, they're calling it the "heliophysics big year."<div type="image" title="solar flare" height="627" width="1089" msid="107672113" hostid="261" sizebytes="43108"></div>One of the main events this year will be a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-2024-total-solar-eclipse-cool-best-special-nasa-2024-1">historically cool total solar eclipse crossing the US in April</a>. It's estimated up to 7.4 million people will travel to the path of totality to witness the rare event.Another exciting event involves NASA's prime solar probe, which is set to skim <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sunspots-15-times-size-of-earth-solar-storm-into-view-2023-11">the sun's surface</a> in December, flying closer than any previous spacecraft.<div type="image" title="total solar eclipse 2019" height="1290" width="1960" msid="107188970" hostid="261"></div>Meanwhile, the Northern and Southern Lights are sure to have an impressive year, as well.Already, we've seen beautiful aurora reach as far south as Arizona within the last year. And as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sun-more-active-solar-storms-auroras-power-outages-grounded-flights-2023-2">stormy activity on the sun,</a> which helps spark aurora worldwide, is set to increase, we could continue to see the Northern Lights illuminate skies across the US at unusually low latitudes.For viewers in Australia, New Zealand, and South America, the Southern Lights (aurora australis) will surely make spectacular displays too.<div type="image" title="ribbons of green pink purple northern lights stretch across the night sky above homes and lights of a sprawling town" height="1500" width="2250" msid="107188973" hostid="261"></div>It will be about 11 years — a full <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/next-solar-maximum-2025-what-expect-cycle-2023-4">solar cycle</a> — before the aurora is so active again."<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-maximum-could-sooner-than-expected-2023-6">The sun</a> touches everything, and we are challenging you to experience the sun in as many ways as possible," Kelly Korreck, NASA's program manager for the upcoming eclipse, said during the AGU roundtable.<h2>The sun's big year kicks off with a total eclipse</h2><div type="image" title="A cheerleader smiles as she looks up at the sky holding eclipse glasses." height="1333" width="2000" msid="107672115" hostid="261" sizebytes="202708"></div>While the rest of us put on our <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-where-when-see-solar-eclipse-united-states-nasa-map-2023-3">eclipse glasses</a> or look out for the pink and green ribbons of the aurora, astronomers will be busy at work. This year's solar events are a huge scientific opportunity.For example, NASA is launching three rockets during the April total solar eclipse, loaded with instruments to study how the sudden darkness changes our upper atmosphere.A total solar eclipse offers scientists a unique opportunity to observe the corona — the outer layer of the sun's atmosphere. The corona is over 100 times hotter than the sun's surface, but scientists can't explain why and it's one of the biggest mysteries in our solar system. Because the moon blocks the main disc of the sun during an eclipse, only the corona is visible.NASA's Parker Solar Probe and the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter will also be watching the eclipse from two different vantage points in space, as they orbit close to the sun. That extra data can help scientists get 3D observations of the corona, as well as validate measurements from Earth-based observatories.That's just one fleeting moment of the sun's big year. Throughout 2024, as solar activity builds, countless observatories and physicists will be watching closely.<h2>The sun will get more and more active</h2><div type="image" title="X-class solar flare erupting off the sun." height="747" width="800" msid="107188979" hostid="261"></div>When <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-flare-from-sunspot-caused-widespread-radio-blackouts-earth-2023-5">the sun belches</a> plasma and charged particles into space, they can speed toward Earth, travel down our planet's magnetic field lines toward the poles, and interact with molecules in our atmosphere to make the aurora. They can also bump satellites out of orbit and surge through technologies on the ground, triggering radio blackouts and meddling with GPS.<div type="image" title="solar flare red orange plasma erupting from the sun's surface" height="1500" width="1500" msid="107672116" hostid="261" sizebytes="153010"></div>There's always a steady flow of this "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-discovered-solar-wind-disappear-around-mars-2023-12">solar wind</a>," but eruptions on the sun can send a powerful flood of solar wind careening toward our planet. That's what scientists call space weather. These storms are happening more and more as the sun climbs toward peak activity.<div type="image" title="Solar Wind" height="360" width="640" msid="107188982" hostid="261"></div>People on Earth are safe from these blasts of solar activity, with the exception of rare cases where they might cause power or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/titanic-theory-suggests-aurora-borealis-solar-storm-affected-crash-2020-9">radio blackouts</a>. But as NASA and other space agencies send humans back to the moon and on to Mars, space weather will become a safety issue for them.Studying solar eruptions and flares can help scientists forecast space weather better in the future. That could be crucial for long-distance spaceflights."If we want to win the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-up-the-ante-space-race-sky-ladder-to-mars-2021-6">race to Mars</a> then we have to have awareness of space weather all over the place," Nour Raouafi, a lead scientist for the Parker Solar Probe, said at the roundtable.<h2>NASA to almost land on the sun at the end of the year</h2><div type="image" title="nasa parker solar probe plus sun mission illustration" height="1687" width="3000" msid="107188983" hostid="261"></div>The "crown jewel" of the sun's big year comes on December 24, though, Raouafi said. That's when the Parker Solar Probe will fly closer to the sun than any spacecraft has ever gone, about 3.8 million miles from its surface.For comparison, Earth is 93 million miles from the sun.On this close flyby, the probe will face unfathomably extreme heat and radiation, with temperatures as high as 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit.Collecting data so close to the source of the solar wind will help scientists understand how it forms. It will also fuel the study of the corona."This is a monumental achievement for all of humanity. This is equivalent to the moon landing of '69. Now we are basically almost landing on a star," Raouafi said.

You Searched For "solar activity" and got 9 results

Right now, the Sun is far more active than predicted - and small satellites are paying the price

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