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A cataclysmic collision between a pair of dead stars may have seeded our solar system with precious heavy metals including gold and uranium, according to a newly published study. If such an event were to be observed in the present day, it would be the brightest point in the night sky.

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SpiNNaker was built under the leadership of Professor Steve Furber at The University of Manchester, a principal designer of two products that earned the Queen’s Award for Technology —the ARM 32-bit RISC microprocessor, and the BBC Microcomputer.

“The ultimate objective for the project has always been a million cores in a single computer for real time brain modelling applications, and we have now achieved it, which is fantastic.” — Professor Steve Furber, The University of Manchester

Inspired by the human brain, the SpiNNaker is capable of sending billions of small amounts of information simultaneously. The SpiNNaker has a staggering 1 million processors that are able to perform over 200 million actions per second.

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Spaceflight — in addition to being awesome — causes significant changes in the human immune system. We are careful with our astronauts so they don’t get sick during spaceflight, but we need to ensure their immune systems are strong when they start embarking on longer trips. Learn about the latest International Space Station research: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/rr-12-stay-healthy-in-space

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#StarWarsDay #StarWars #StarWarsCelebration #NASA #MayThe4thBeWithYou


Space Screening, ‘TIE’-ins, Tatooine and The Droids You’re Looking For

NASA astronauts “use the force” every time they launch … from a certain point of view. We have real-world droids and ion engines. We’ve seen dual-sun planets like Tatooine and a moon that eerily resembles the Death Star. And with all the excitement around the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the Force will soon be felt 250 miles above Earth on the International Space Station. Disney is sending up the new film so the astronauts can watch in orbit, and the station’s commander, Scott Kelly, can hardly wait:

If you’re looking to be a “sky walker” yourself someday, NASA is now taking astronaut applications and we’re offering a list of Star Wars-related reasons you should apply. Recently returned station astronaut Kjell Lindgren is such a fan that he posed with his station crewmates in a Jedi-themed mission poster and talked to StarWars.com about it. Shortly before leaving the station, Lindgren tweeted about the uncanny resemblance of the station’s cupola to the cockpit of an Imperial TIE Fighter:

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