Jonathan O’CallaghanVerified account

@Astro_Jonny

Freelance Space Journalist. Words + more. Sometimes on TV/radio et al. jdaoca@gmail.com

London, UK
jonathanocallaghan.com
Joined September 2011
2,103 Photos and videos Photos and videos

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  1. Pinned Tweet
    6 hours ago

    So, a small helicopter NASA is about to fly on Mars might do something pretty awesome. The blades of the helicopter might electrically charge the Martian dust, causing it to... Glow in the dark! Words by me and short thread (1/x)

    BERJAYA
    9 replies 118 retweets 780 likes
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  2. Retweeted
    6 hours ago

    So, a small helicopter NASA is about to fly on Mars might do something pretty awesome. The blades of the helicopter might electrically charge the Martian dust, causing it to... Glow in the dark! Words by me and short thread (1/x)

    BERJAYA
    9 replies 118 retweets 780 likes
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  3. 6 hours ago

    So, will we see a twilight flight happen? Maybe not. But you never know. If all other objectives are met, next month a small helicopter from Earth might light up on an alien world due to extraterrestrial electric charges. And that would be, well, pretty awesome. (8/end)

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  4. 6 hours ago

    Aside from looking cool, it could give us very unique scientific information on how the atmosphere on Mars breaks down. However, it's not 100% clear if Perseverance's cameras would be sensitive enough to see it. (Also worth noting, the effect will not damage Ingenuity.) (7/x)

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  5. 6 hours ago

    I've spoken to NASA's helicopter team, and they are aware of the effect. However, at the moment they haven't decided whether to attempt a flight at twilight or not to try and observe it. Other flight profiles – like flying in high winds – might take precedence. (6/x)

    2 replies 37 likes
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  6. 6 hours ago

    If Ingenuity attempts a flight in low-light conditions, such as at Martian twilight, it might produce this same glow, or corona. In these conditions, it might be possible for Perseverance to image the effect. The helicopter will glow in the dark! (5/x)

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  7. 6 hours ago

    The blades of the helicopter might produce an electric charge known as the "triboelectric effect". The result could be something similar to the Kopp-Etchells effect on Earth, which effects helicopters in sandy conditions. It makes the blades of the helicopter "glow". (4/x)

    BERJAYA
    1 reply 4 retweets 66 likes
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  8. 6 hours ago

    Researchers investigated what effect these flights might have on the Martian atmosphere (). After all, Mars is weird. It is carbon dioxide-rich and has very low pressure. What will happen when the blades spin? Turns out, something quite cool. (3/x)

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  9. 6 hours ago

    The small helicopter, called Ingenuity, is part of the rover landing on 18 Feb. It'll perform up to five flights in a 30-day window starting in March, lasting up to 90 seconds each. These are the first attempts at flight on another planet. (2/x)

    2 replies 6 retweets 58 likes
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  10. 7 hours ago

    This is exactly this issue I raised the other week that I feared would happen.

    SPI-M member to the : “There will be a massive debate about whether we should allow a big wave of infection once we’ve vaccinated all the over 50s. Are we going to aim for low prevalence or accept high prevalence for a period?”
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  11. 11 hours ago

    I want to see someone make this variant of chess available to play online.

    BATTLE ROYALE: 32 players each control a single piece. Last piece standing wins.
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  12. 11 hours ago

    I'm sure letting one company dominate Earth orbit in this way will have no negative consequences.

    4 replies 1 retweet 24 likes
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  13. 11 hours ago

    In a few months, 50% of all satellites in orbit will belong to SpaceX. By next year, it'll be more like 75%.

    I spoke with a space traffic expert, an astronomer and a beta tester for another Starlink update. New from me 👇
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    4 replies 10 retweets 44 likes
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  14. 11 hours ago

    "Unlike Twitter or Facebook, Clubhouse provides no immediate way for users to delete their accounts." This sounds completely normal.

    1 reply 1 like
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  15. Retweeted
    8 Dec 2020

    So, I'm very excited to share this today! I've been working on this for months, having first had the idea a year ago. It's a 200-year-old cosmic whodunnit, which could reveal the origins of every planet in the universe. By me + small thread (1/)

    15 replies 73 retweets 301 likes
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  16. 12 hours ago

    Whoa!

    BERJAYA
    0:54
    So, here's quite a amazing video of Tianwen-1 passing Mars as it enters orbit (CNSA/PEC)
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  17. 23 hours ago

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  18. Feb 11

    Eesh. Not great news for the supposed Planet Nine.

    BERJAYA
    It's dead Jim. Where "it" is the theory that ETNO orbits are clustered because of an unseen distant giant planet. There is no other evidence for a "Planet 9" or "Planet X" or whatever you want to call it.
    1 reply 1 retweet 4 likes
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  19. Retweeted
    Feb 11

    Per Einstein, two black holes with the same mass, spin, and charge should be impossible to tell apart. They have no "hair". But a new paper argues that some black holes might violate this theorem – and we could find them. Words by me

    2 retweets 4 likes
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  20. Feb 11

    Per Einstein, two black holes with the same mass, spin, and charge should be impossible to tell apart. They have no "hair". But a new paper argues that some black holes might violate this theorem – and we could find them. Words by me

    2 retweets 4 likes
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