12 research outputs found
Detection Rate of <50-meter Interstellar Objects with LSST
The previous decade saw the discovery of the first four known interstellar
objects due to advances in astronomical viewing equipment. Future sky surveys
with greater sensitivity will allow for more frequent detections of such
objects, including increasingly small objects. We consider the capabilities of
the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory to
detect interstellar objects of small sizes during its period of operation over
the next decade. We use LSST's detection capabilities and simulate populations
of interstellar objects in the range of 1-50m in diameter to calculate the
expected number of small interstellar objects that will be detected. We use
previous detections of interstellar objects to calibrate our object density
estimates. We also consider the impact of the population's albedo on detection
rates by considering populations with two separate albedo distributions: a
constant albedo of 0.06 and an albedo distribution that resembles near earth
asteroids. We find that the number of detections increases with the diameter
over the range of diameters we consider. We estimate a detection rate of up to
a small ISO every two years of LSST's operation with an increase by a factor of
ten for future surveys that extend a magnitude deeper.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure
A Lunar Backup Record of Humanity
The risk of a catastrophic or existential disaster for our civilization is
increasing this century. A significant motivation for a near-term space
settlement is the opportunity to safeguard civilization in the event of a
planetary-scale disaster. A catastrophic event could destroy the significant
cultural, scientific, and technological progress on Earth. However, early space
settlements can preserve records of human activity by maintaining a backup data
storage system. The backup can also store information about the events leading
up to the disaster. The system would improve the ability of early space
settlers to recover our civilization after collapse. We show that advances in
laser communications and data storage enable the development of a data storage
system on the lunar surface with a sufficient uplink data rate and storage
capacity to preserve valuable information about the achievements of our
civilization and the chronology of the disaster.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures; accepted for publication in the journal
"Signals" (2022
The Scientific Investigation of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) Using Multimodal Ground-based Observatories
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
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Historical ecology, human niche construction and landscape in pre-Columbian Amazonia: a case study of the geoglyph builders of Acre, Brazil
This paper applies concepts from the fields of historical ecology and human niche construction theory to interpret archaeological and palaeoecological data from the Brazilian state of Acre, southwest Amazonia, where modern deforestation has revealed hundreds of pre-Columbian monumental earthworks called 'geoglyphs', largely built between ca. 2000â650 cal. BP (calibrated years before present). Our main objective was to move away from the debate which currently dominates Amazonian archaeology over large- vs. small-scale pre-Columbian environmental impacts, and instead offer a more nuanced interpretation of human-environment interactions in our specific study area. Despite the difficulties presented by working with an incomplete regional archaeological dataset, interpreting our findings in light of these theoretical frameworks allowed us to re-think landscape history and ask new questions about a possible relationship between anthropogenic forests, symbolic capital and monument building in our particular study area
A Lunar Backup Record of Humanity
The risk of a catastrophic or existential disaster for our civilization is increasing this century. A significant motivation for a near-term space settlement is the opportunity to safeguard civilization in the event of a planetary-scale disaster. A catastrophic event could destroy the significant cultural, scientific, and technological progress on Earth. However, early space settlements can preserve records of human activity by maintaining a backup data storage system. The backup can also store information about the events leading up to the disaster. The system would improve the ability of early space settlers to recover our civilization after collapse. We show that advances in laser communications and data storage enable the development of a data storage system on the lunar surface with a sufficient uplink data rate and storage capacity to preserve valuable information about the achievements of our civilization and the chronology of the disaster