As part of an expedition to track shark movements in Maritime waters, researchers discovered Nukumi, believed to weigh 1.606 kg and be over 50-years-old
Science
Hundreds of great white sharks spotted along Nova Scotia coast, some as long as over five metres: Marine expert – Owen Sound Sun Times
OCEARCH has tagged their largest-ever great white shark off the Maritime coast and named her after a legendary Mi’kmaw grandmother figure.
As part of an expedition down the Northwest Atlantic coast to track the shark population, the U.S. based shark research non-profit, say they tagged Nukumi (pronounced noo-goo-mee) on Friday morning near West Ironbound Island in Nova Scotia.
Chris Fischer, founding chairman and expedition leader of OCEARCH, said finding a shark of Nukumi’s size is “interesting.” The shark measured at over five metres long, weighed 1,606 kg and is assumed to be over 50 years old.
“She actually is likely a proper grandmother,” Fischer told CBC News.
Several Canadians boating in the Maritime waters or relaxing by the beach have reported an increase in sightings of great white sharks along the coast, with videos of the apex predators popping up along the Nova Scotian coast during the summer. In August, authorities temporarily closed down Queensland beach for a couple of days after several beachgoers spotted the trademark shark fin perilously close to the shore.
However, Fischer says its not as uncommon as one may think to spot more sharks off the Nova Scotia coast. “The reality is that we suspect they’ve been here for quite some time, we just know about them now,” he said, as quoted in a recent organization press release.
In 2018 and 2019, Fischer led two expeditions off the Nova Scotia coast to tag and sample sharks, so as to track their movements. The team was able to tag 17 sharks and shared their tracking data on their website and social media, increasing public awareness about the creatures and their prevalence in the Maritimes. Several of the tagged sharks have returned to the Nova Scotia coast this year, according to the press release, stemming researcher’s curiosity as to what attracts the fish back and why.
“Now that we know they are here in big numbers, it’s time to drill down and understand exactly how these animals are utilizing the area and how healthy the population is,” Fischer added. According to the press release, the presence of so many predators off Canada is a sign of a “healthy ocean” as the sharks act as balance-keepers within the waters.
The organization’s third expedition, began earlier this month at Main-a-dieu and travelled to shark friendly locations such as Scaterie Island and West IronBound Island before ending near Lunenburg on Oct. 6. During the trip, researchers will extract bacteria samples from the shark’s mouths as well and blood and fluid samples to study the health and behaviour of the white shark population, as well tag more sharks to track their movements. The data will be used to support 21 other ongoing research projects to study the reclusive predators.
Science
Nasa confirms metal chunk that crashed into Florida home was space junk
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A heavy chunk of metal that crashed through the roof of a Florida home is, in fact, space junk, Nasa has confirmed.
The federal space agency said that a cylinder slab that tore through a house in Naples, Florida, last month was debris from a cargo pallet released from the international space station in 2021, according to a Nasa blogpost.
The determination was made after the agency collected the debris from the Florida home and analyzed it at the Kennedy Space Center.
“Based on the examination, the agency determined the debris to be a stanchion from the Nasa flight support equipment used to mount the batteries on the cargo pallet,” the agency said.
The pallet, which contained ageing nickel hydride batteries, was released after new lithium-ion batteries were installed in the space station.
The debris was supposed to be destroyed in the Earth’s atmosphere. Instead, a piece of metal crashed through a Florida home, NBC News reported.
The debris weighs 1.6lb and measures about 4in by 1.6in.
Homeowner Alejandro Otero described the experience to WINK News, which first reported the story.
“It was a tremendous sound. It almost hit my son. He was two rooms over and heard it all,” Otero said to WINK.
“Something ripped through the house and then made a big hole on the floor and on the ceiling.”
The scientific journal Ars Technica previously speculated that the metal was probably space station debris. Nasa finally confirmed the origin of the chunk on Monday.
The space agency added that it would investigate how the debris managed to survive its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere and “update modeling and analysis”.
It is unclear if Nasa will cover the cost of damages to Otero’s home.
In comments posted to X shortly after the incident, Otero said that Nasa had not responded to messages he left with the agency.
Science
Federal government announces creation of National Space Council – CBC News
Canada’s space sector received a boost from the federal government in its budget, both in terms of money and vision.
The 2024 budget included a proposal for $8.6 million in 2024-25 to the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) for the Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP), which invests in technologies for humanity’s return to the moon and beyond.
In addition to the funding, the federal government also announced the creation of a National Space Council, which will be “a new whole-of-government approach to space exploration, technology development, and research.”
For Space Canada, an organization comprised of roughly 80 space sector companies including some of Canada’s largest, such as Magellan Aerospace, Maritime Launch and MDA, it was a welcome announcement.
“We’ve been advocating for it since the inception of our organization, and we were really very happy, and we applaud the federal government’s commitment announced in the budget,” said Brian Gallant, CEO of Space Canada.
Gallant said that investment in space is an investment in Canada.
“Two-thirds of space sector jobs are STEM jobs. These are good paying solid jobs for Canadians. And on top of that, we have approximately $2.8 billion that is injected into the Canadian economy because of the space sector,” he said.
The U.S. formed its National Space Council in 1989, but it was disbanded in 1992 and reestablished in 2017.
In the 2023 budget, the government announced proposed spending of $1.2 billion over 13 years, that was to begin in 2024-25, to the CSA’s contribution of a lunar utility vehicle that would assist astronauts on the moon. The as–yet–developed vehicle could help astronauts move cargo from landing sites to habitats, perform science investigations or support them during spacewalks on the surface of the moon.
It also proposed to invest $150 million over five years for the LEAP program.
MDA, the company behind Canadarm, was also pleased with the announcement.
“Canada has an enviable global competitive advantage in space and the creation of a National Space Council is critical to Canada maintaining that leadership position,” CEO Mike Greenley said in an email to CBC News.
“Space is now a rapidly growing, highly strategic and competitive domain, and there is a real and urgent need to recognize its importance to the lives of Canadians and to our economy and national security.”
The next project for MDA is Canadarm3, which will be part of Lunar Gateway, a international space station that will orbit the moon. It will serve as a sort of jumping-off point for astronauts heading to the moon and eventually beyond.
“The Lunar Gateway is a great opportunity for Canada and for MDA Space to not only provide the next generation of Canadarm robotics but to clearly plant our flag as a core national and industry participant in the Artemis era,” Greenley said.
Lunar Gateway is set to begin construction no earlier than 2025, according to NASA.
Science
Astronomers discover Milky Way's heaviest known black hole – Xinhua
JERUSALEM, April 16 (Xinhua) — Astronomers have found BH3 is by far the heaviest known stellar black hole in the Milky Way galaxy, 33 times the mass of the Sun.
An international research team found the black hole when looking into the latest data group recorded in the European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope, Israel’s Tel Aviv University (TAU) said in a statement on Tuesday.
The black hole is located 1,500 light-years away from Earth, said TAU, whose researchers participated in the study of the newly discovered binary system.
In binary systems, a visible star can be found orbiting a massive but unseen companion, indicating the latter is a black hole.
Binaries have revealed around 50 suspected or confirmed stellar-mass black holes in the Milky Way, but scientists think there may be as many as 100 million in our galaxy alone, according to NASA.
Stellar-mass black holes are formed when a star runs out of its nuclear combustion fuel and collapses.
The massive black hole BH3 was detailed in the open-access journal Astronomy & Astrophysics for further study.
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