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Using a private observatory, astronomers have performed the first photometric study of a peculiar W UMa-type binary known as CSS J003106.8+313347. Results of the study, published July 27 on the preprint server arXiv, shed more light on the properties of this system.

In general, W Ursae Majoris-type, or W UMa-type binaries (EWs) are eclipsing binaries with a short orbital period (below one day) and continuous light variation during a cycle. They are composed of two dwarf stars with similar temperature and luminosity, sharing a common envelope of material and are thus in contact with one another. Therefore, they are often dubbed “contact binaries.”

Located some 4,900 light years away, CSS J003106.8+313347 is an EW with an apparent magnitude of 14.73. The orbital period of the system is estimated to be approximately 0.344 days.

A satellite demonstrator showed that energy collected from solar panels in space can be beamed to Earth using diffuse microwaves.

That’s how Andrew Feldman, CEO of Silicon Valley AI computer maker Cerebras, begins his introduction to his company’s latest achievement: An AI supercomputer capable of 2 billion billion operations per second (2 exaflops). The system, called Condor Galaxy 1, is on track to double in size within 12 weeks. In early 2024, it will be joined by two more systems of double that size. The Silicon Valley company plans to keep adding Condor Galaxy installations next year until it is running a network of nine supercomputers capable of 36 exaflops in total.

If large-language models and other generative AI are eating the world, Cerebras’s plan is to help them digest it. And the Sunnyvale, Calif., company is not alone. Other makers of AI-focused computers are building massive systems around either their own specialized processors or Nvidia’s latest GPU, the H100. While it’s difficult to judge the size and capabilities of most of these systems, Feldman claims Condor Galaxy 1 is already among the largest.

Condor Galaxy 1—assembled and started up in just 10 days—is made up of 32 Cerebras CS-2 computers and is set to expand to 64. The next two systems, to be built in Austin, Texas, and Ashville, N.C., will also house 64 CS-2s each.

AI singularity refers to the future point where artificial intelligence becomes so advanced that it surpasses human intelligence and undergoes rapid, unpredictable self-improvement, leading to an exponential increase in capabilities. At this stage, AI could potentially reshape society, science, and civilization in profound and transformative ways, and its behavior might become difficult for humans to comprehend or control.

The AI alignment problem refers to the challenge of ensuring that artificial intelligence systems are designed and programmed to act in accordance with human values, goals, and intentions. It involves developing AI systems that align with human interests, do not produce harmful outcomes, and operate transparently and predictably, so they can be trusted and reliably controlled. Addressing the AI alignment problem is crucial to avoid potential risks and negative consequences associated with AI development and deployment.

Continue reading “The AI Singularity Future” »

A new study reports conclusive evidence for the breakdown of standard gravity in the low acceleration limit from a verifiable analysis of the orbital motions of long-period, widely separated, binary stars, usually referred to as wide binaries in astronomy and astrophysics.

The study carried out by Kyu-Hyun Chae, professor of physics and astronomy at Sejong University in Seoul, used up to 26,500 wide binaries within 650 light years (LY) observed by European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope. The study was published in the 1 August 2023 issue of the Astrophysical Journal.

For a key improvement over other studies Chae’s study focused on calculating gravitational accelerations experienced by binary stars as a function of their separation or, equivalently the orbital period, by a Monte Carlo deprojection of observed sky-projected motions to the three-dimensional space.

Read more about NASA’s space-based quantum science lab gets second major upgrade on Devdiscourse.

The mission, named Galactic 2, is the company’s first flight with paying customers on board. Tickets had been on sale for as much as $450,000.

If Chandrayaan-3 succeeds, India will be the first country to land near the Moon’s little-explored south pole.

(CNN) — Astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope for a fresh perspective of an iconic celestial favorite called the Ring Nebula.

The new image captures never-before-seen details within the colorful nebula, located in the Lyra constellation about 2,600 light-years from Earth.

The structure of the Ring Nebula can be glimpsed through amateur telescopes and has been observed and studied for years.