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The Composition of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov Is Much More Alien Than We Thought

Link: https://www.sciencealert.com/turns-out-interstellar-comet-2i-borisov-is-much-more-alien-than-we-thought

When the first known comet from interstellar space was spotted traversing the Solar System in late August of last year, astronomers snapped to attention. 2I/Borisov was an extraordinarily rare opportunity to study the formation of comets around other stars.

In those initial measurements, 2I/Borisov seemed a heck of a lot like comets from the outer Solar System. But a new analysis has revealed that our visitor is much more alien than we thought after all.

In the cloud of gas that the comet started to emit as it neared the Sun, a team of astronomers detected more carbon monoxide than they've ever seen in a comet within 300 million kilometres (180 million miles) of the Sun.

"This is the first time we've ever looked inside a comet from outside our Solar System," said astrochemist Martin Cordiner of the Catholic University of America, "and it is dramatically different from most other comets we've seen before."

2I/Borisov wasn't the first known interstellar object in the Solar System; that was 'Oumuamua, whose identity is still uncertain. However, 2I/Borisov is the first known comet, which made it very exciting indeed.

As 2I/Borisov sped away from the Sun after its December 8 perihelion, astronomers made a careful study of its coma, the cloud of gas that envelops a comet as it nears the Sun, and the ice inside sublimates due to the heat.

Astronomers aren't sure why Solar System comets have such varying proportions of CO, but they think it may have to do with the temperature at which the comet formed. The colder the temperature, the greater the concentration of CO. This means, the researchers believe, that 2I/Borisov formed somewhere very cold indeed.

"The comet must have formed from material very rich in CO ice, which is only present at the lowest temperatures found in space, below -420 degrees Fahrenheit (-250 degrees Celsius)," said planetary scientist Stefanie Milam of NASA.

Meet The Redditors Using Astral Projection to Escape Quarantine

Link: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/m7qz9p/meet-the-redditors-using-astral-projection-to-escape-quarantine

Paranormal enthusiasts say they're using out-of-body experiences to infiltrate forbidden spaces—including the Pentagon.

Late last year, the internet was crackling with plans to stage a million-strong raid on the supposed alien stronghold, Area 51. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing everyone to quarantine at home, venturing farther than the local park seems like a dream from a lost reality.

But what if there was a way to explore our planet that didn't put us in harm's way and was more stimulating than scrolling through Google Earth? And what if, while we were at it, we could storm Area 51 too?

According to a group of paranormal enthusiasts on Reddit, astral projection could be the vehicle we need.

Falling somewhere between a lucid dream and a near-death experience, astral projection is the sensation of separating from your physical self, keeping your mind awake while your body is asleep. Early records of the practice trace back to the Roman Empire. Experiences feel profound, and astral travelers have even claimed to learn things they otherwise couldn't have known.

Reddit's /R/AstralArmy is a focal point for the psychically curious to embark on out-of-body “missions” to off-limits locations, including military bases, Wuhan, the Pentagon, and supposed hives of paranormal activity like Skinwalker Ranch. The idea is intriguing: if you could go anywhere at all, what secrets could you learn?

A nineteen-year-old Wisconsinite who goes by Commander XXX told Motherboard via voice call that he started the subreddit (motto: “projection for protection”) because he was intrigued by the possibilities of group astral...