Launched in August, NASA's Parker Solar Probe recently undertook its first dangerous steps towards the Sun. The probe this weekend announced itself safe and fully functional after it endured its first perihelion, or close pass of the Sun's surface. Wednesday at 4:46 p.m. EST, mission controllers at @JHUAPL received the first signal from #ParkerSolarProbe after its close approach to the Sun, indicating that the spacecraft is alive and running well after the intense conditions near the Sun. https://t.co/mk08l10FOt pic.twitter.com/PYFC4aT3C7 — NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) 9 November 2018 The probe is Sun to better study our closest star's solar winds and spots, and...
You'd think building robots that explore other planets would be a fulfilling job, but employees at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory take carving Halloween pumpkins just as seriously. For the past seven years, the JPL crew -- which include bright minds working on the company's rover mission to Mars in 2020 -- have held an "unofficial" pumpkin carving contest that lets engineers demonstrate their creative muscle. And you think building spacecraft was flexing. According to co-organiser and engineer Mike Meacham -- whose team won bronze in 2017 for a "green Frankenstein gourd that hovered in mid-air, suspended by a mini-parachute and an air...
The first direct flight between London's Heathrow and Durban's King Shaka International Airport has touched down in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Arriving at 5.20am, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was the first direct flight between the two hubs after the route announcement was made in May. Flight BA41 lasted a little over 11 hours. A warm welcome to @British_Airways as they touched down @kingshakaint for the very first time. We are pleased to have you be part of the KSIA family. pic.twitter.com/SDxKis8QZT — King Shaka Int (@kingshakaint) 30 October 2018 "A warm welcome to @British_Airways as they touched down @kingshakaint for the very...
Mpumalanga is known as a beautiful, green province in South Africa that contains part of the world renowned Kruger National Park and Blyde River Canyon. But Greenpeace Africa claims the coal-powered area is hiding a far darker secret in thin air. According to the organisation, the South African province is the world's biggest hotspot for the pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2), outranking Germany, India, and China This is according to analysed data from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel 5P satellite, which highlights air pollution in the atmosphere, between June and August 2018. "The EDGAR global emissions inventory was overlaid with the satellite data to...
As the world becomes smoggier, companies that rely on gas guzzling vehicles become more responsible for the future of clean air, and the planet as a whole. The latest firm to feel the heat is Uber. According to a report by Engadget, the company will introduce a "clean air" tax on rides taking place in London. But it's not going to combating global warming directly, or reducing the city's growing pollution issues. Instead, the 15 pence per mile tax, which Uber believes will be enough to raise some US$260-million, will go towards helping drivers purchase electric cars. This forms part of the company's...
As the MyCiTi Bus strike continues into its fourth day, the company has made an official statement on behalf of the City of Cape Town, announcing that it's seeking an interdict from the Western Cape High Court. “The City of Cape Town will, within the next few hours, apply for an urgent court interdict to protect MyCiTi personnel, passengers, and assets against those participating in an unprotected strike that has turned violent,” said the statement, which was posted on Facebook. According to the post, Wednesday’s protests saw two female bus drivers held hostage, buses stoned, and bus keys stolen to prevent...
Update, Tuesday 10am: The "wildcat" MyCiti bus strike continues into its second day, affecting a vast swathe of Cape Town. There are however more lines currently operating today than on Monday, when strike action began. "The following services are currently operating on routes: T02, X02, D01, D02, D03, D04, 232, 233, 234, 236 and 237," Cape Town's MyCiti bus service tweeted early on Tuesday. Update: #MyCiTiAlert: The following services are currently operating on routes: T02, X02, D01, D02, D03, D04, 232, 233, 234, 236 and 237. Updates to follow — MYCITI bus (@MyCiTiBus) 16 October 2018 As of 6am on Tuesday, a slew of...
Google AI, an artificial intelligence research and development division of Google, has developed an algorithm to assist in the detection of breast cancer, referred to as the LYmph Node Assistant or LYNA. In a blog post this week, the company explained that detecting cancers such as breast cancer in lymph nodes can be a tedious and delicate task. That’s why, in order to better treat such a cancer, being able to detect it on minute scales is important. According to the post, published findings in two research papers suggest that the “pathologist assistant tool” LYNA can effectively help detect cancerous cells...
Over the past weekend SpaceX successfully launched an Argentinian satellite into space using its Falcon 9 rocket. The SAOCOM 1A, as its called, was launched from an air force base in California and lit up the skies quite spectacularly. Those who could see the launch as it happened took to Twitter to share pictures and express their awe (see below). Time lapse of tonight’s Falcon launch as seen from Columbia Park in Torrance, CA #SpaceX pic.twitter.com/rRqPrJzlfl — DenaAB (@DenaMarieAB) October 8, 2018 #SpaceX yo this was cool pic.twitter.com/yKKIiFM0YF — george (@WhoIsGev) October 8, 2018 Watching the #spacex launch from hemet!! pic.twitter.com/05O0vNFPbg — Blyssey (@Blyssey) October 8, 2018 Watched...
Have you ever wondered what the surface of an asteroid looks like? Well, you're in luck. The Japanese space agency Jaxa published new pictures taken from an asteroid called Ryugu. The snaps were taken by two little robotic rovers, hopping around on the giant rock's surface. The remarkable thing though: you probably wouldn't know these pictures were from the surface of another space body if we didn't tell you. This image was taken just before Rover-1B hopped. Photograph snapped on September 23, 2018 at about 09:46 JST pic.twitter.com/m8S3cyYFq6 — HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) September 27, 2018 Ryugu's surface looks remarkably similar to rock formations found...
Elon Musk's SpaceX has announced the first private space tourist to venture to the Moon's orbit will be Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. Maezawa, founder of Japanese fashion firm Zozo and art aficionado, will hand pick "a painter, musician, film director, fashion designer..." and some of the "Earth's greatest talents" to join him on the mission. "During the week-long spaceflight, what will they see? What will they feel? What will they create," quips a totally cringe line on the mission's web page. Looks like that BA degree might come in handy after all. Although the party won't land on the Moon's surface, it will...
Facebook has this week announced its machine-learning program that can read and understand text in images. This AI system, which Facebook calls Rosetta, will allow the company to read text from images on its social network, be it your advice animal memes, or road signs in photographs. “Understanding the text that appears on images is important for improving experiences, such as a more relevant photo search or the incorporation of text into screen readers that make Facebook more accessible for the visually impaired,” the company explained in the announcement. According to Facebook, Rosetta uses a two-step text extraction process. "In the first step,...
The introduction of lifelike robots and silicon sex dolls is set to change the way we view sex. It may even bring relief to married couples looking for an alternatives to marital affairs. But does having sex with a child-looking sex doll amount to paedophilia? For sex expert Marlene Wasserman, aka Dr Eve, it does. She argues child sex robots should be outlawed. Speaking on Tuesday evening at an event held by Heavy Chef at Workshop 17 in the Waterfront in Cape Town, Wasserman argued that any sexual representation of children -- even in the form of a robot or doll --...
Cape Town's public transport system is a nightmare; even the City of Cape Town itself hinted at it. But that doesn't mean there's been any tangible improvement experienced by commuters since. A video reportedly captured on Cape Town's central line on Tuesday shows just how congested the city's Metrorail rail network is. Initially published to a closed Facebook group by member Brendan Shaw, the video found its way onto Twitter on Wednesday. In the clip, a train is shown draped in commuters sitting on the train's roof, hanging out of windows, and clinging to the train's windscreen. The video has since garnered...
If you love shopping online, especially for cosmetics, but always wanted to try things on before making that risky purchase -- it may soon be possible. Cosmetics brand L’Oreal, with the aid of its recently-acquired AR company ModiFace, has teamed up with Facebook to create augmented reality (AR) testing tool to help online consumers make informed decisions about their make-up. For L’Oreal, it's a play that opens up its product to various social channels, notably Instagram. "We are at that magical moment when technologies have matured enough and consumer appetite for using them is growing everywhere. We are very excited about that...
Elon Musk laughs at a dead deer and becomes a new reaction meme
The internet’s now pro-Johnny Depp, anti-Amber Heard after new evidence surfaces
Updates: What you need to know about Tropical Cyclone Idai, set to strike Mozambique this week
The internet believes PewDiePie inspired the Christchurch mosque shooting
Cyclone Idai: the latest GIFs, pictures of Mozambique’s impending storm
Danny K is ‘bewildered’ by white South Africans and Helen Zille is touched
South Africa’s first Boeing 737 8 MAX arrives at OR Tambo International
Cyril Ramaphosa’s train campaign highlights the worst of South Africa’s transport system
Enjoy Eskom’s growing load shedding crisis visualised by Google
Twitter mocks JK Rowling for revealing Dumbledore’s sexual past
Facebook removed 1.5 million videos of the Christchurch shooting in 24 hours
Facebook to use AI, ML to stop the spread of revenge porn on its platform
The internet believes PewDiePie inspired the Christchurch mosque shooting
Memeburn focuses on everything digital in the emerging markets sphere. More about us here
More in Green Tech
Sir David Attenborough: climate change threatens 'collapse of civilisations'