Tesla Adds Self-Driving Feature to All Cars
All new Tesla cars will be equipped with an advanced version of its autopilot hardware, which is the highest level of automation available. The overlapping cameras and sensors surrounding the car will. theoretically, make the computer a safer driver than a human one.
‘Planet Nine’ Might Be Making Our Solar System Wobbly
Astronomers are predicting that a ninth planet much farther away and larger than Pluto could be giving our solar system its slight tilt. They can’t yet see the planet, but think we could find it in the near future.
A New Species of Titanosaur
It’s taken over a decade for scientists to put together the bones of a new species of titanosaur. The fossil was trapped under enormous boulders in Queensland, Australia and was originally found by the Elliott family, who are now part of the official scientific name: Savannasaurus elliottorum.
Citizen Science Highlights Sunlit Jupiter
NASA’s JunoCam gives amateur astronomers the chance to be part of the mission to study Jupiter. The camera was put on board the Juno orbiter to help with public engagement and NASA has made the data available online so that citizen scientists like Alex Mai can put together beautiful images of the gas giant.
This Map Shows All the Hydrogen in Our Galaxy
An international group of scientists have put together a more detailed map of the hydrogen present in the Milky Way than ever before. Since hydrogen is a crucial part of most structures in space, the map will help researchers better understand what our universe looks like and how it formed.
A Mars Lander Died, But Its Orbiter Lived
The European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli Mars lander died during its descent to the red planet. It’s still unclear what went wrong, and the ESA is now trying to focus on the success of its Trace Gas Orbiter instead.
Cave Paintings Help Solve ‘Higgs Bison’ Mystery
A rare species of bison that lived in the Pleistocene era was finally identified, and it turns out the answer was hidden in cave paintings the whole time. Archaeologists had noted that there seemed to be two different types of bison in the drawings, but it wasn’t until a genetic reconstruction of the other species was completed that they realized the prehistoric humans had been drawing two distinct animals.
New Crew Members Head to the ISS
The Soyuz spacecraft brought one NASA astronaut, Shane Kimbrough, and two Russian space agency cosmonauts, Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko to the International Space Station. They launched from Kazakhstan early Wednesday morning and docked with the ISS early on Friday.
Kodak Gets In on the Smartphone Game
If you’ve always wanted to take better photos with your smartphone, Kodak’s new Ektra might be for you. It puts the emphasis on the camera, complete with fancy leather rear and a distinctive side bump to make it look more like a DSLR and less like a flat phone.
Shrimp-like Species Gets Giant Claw Thanks to Climate Change
Warmer water and more dissolved carbon dioxide gave some of these crustaceans larger claws than normal, and the females took notice. Lady crabs pay more attention to males with giant claws, and the mating rate shot up.
