Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
NASA study shows geomagnetic storms can reduce satellite lifetimes by up to 10 days, affecting the growing number of SpaceX Starlink satellites. According to a study at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland has revealed the effect of geomagnetic storms on satellites, increasing their drag. The report revealed that the sun has an 11-year cycle of activity, whose peak is known as the solar maximum. During this cycle, the sun's eruptions grow, creating geomagnetic storms that heat the Earth's atmosphere, making it swell outwards. With more launches scheduled every week, new satellites are being added, as SpaceX plans to have over 30,000 of them orbiting in the future.
Scientists have discovered the oldest full human fingerprint after unearthing a rock which they say resembles a human face and suggests Neanderthals could make art. A Neanderthal man is believed to have dipped his finger in red pigment to paint a nose on a pebble around 43,000 years ago. The rock was discovered in the San Lázaro rock shelter in Segovia, Spain. The "strategic position" of the dot has led scientists to see it as evidence of Neanderthals' "symbolic behaviour", suggesting they had the ability to think about things in an abstract way. The findings contribute to the ongoing debate on Neanderthals' ability to make art, the study said.
Astronomers have discovered a mysterious object flashing strange signals from deep space, and they have no idea what it is. ASKAP J1832-0911, which is periodically throwing out pulses of radio waves and X-rays, could be a brand-new cosmic object, pulsing with both radio waves and X-rays every 44 minutes. Situated 15,000 light-years away in the Milky Way, this cosmic beacon challenges existing theories, potentially hinting at a magnetar’s intense magnetic dance or a binary system featuring a magnetized white dwarf. Yet, its true nature remains elusive, suggesting new physics or stellar evolution models.
The researchers from Université de Montréal shed new light on how caffeine can modify sleep and influence the brain's recovery—both physical and cognitive—overnight. They showed for the first time that caffeine increases the complexity of brain signals and enhances brain "criticality" during sleep. Interestingly, this was more pronounced in younger adults. Criticality describes a state of the brain that is balanced between order and chaos. While this is useful during the day for concentration, this state could interfere with rest at night; the brain would neither relax nor recover properly. Meanwhile, Caffeine is not only found in coffee, but also in tea, chocolate, energy drinks and many soft drinks, making it one of the most widely consumed psychoactive substances in the world.
