COVID-19: Could Omicron be a turning point for the pandemic?

CBC News: The National on Youtube shows that infectious diseases specialists Dr. Zain Chagla and Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti answer questions about COVID-19, including whether the Omicron variant could be a turning point for the pandemic.

Canada: Spread of Omicron variant fuels parents concerns

Global News on Youtube shows that for the first time since the pandemic began, the number of daily new cases worldwide has surpassed one million. In Canada, sky-rocketing case counts reached new highs in several provinces today fueled by the highly-transmissible Omicron variant. The dangerous surge comes as many students prepare to head back to school next week. Several provinces are extending winter breaks while others scramble to finalize plans. As Heather Yourex-West reports, it’s having an effect on parents right across the country.

Why Did NASA Just Launch a Planetary Defense Mission?

"Unveiled" Channel on YouTube shows what it is that NASA is worried about. Earth needs defending.

The so-called Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is interesting. Launched in November, 2021, this is one of NASA’s most ambitious planetary defense projects to date. The SpaceX head, Elon Musk, even says it could "avenge the dinosaurs"! This informative video takes a closer look.

Unveiled gives you incredible answers to extraordinary questions!

0:00 Intro

0:46 What is the NASA DART Mission?

3:54 NASA and International Partners

4:52 Should We Be Worried?

6:19 Why Do We Need the DART Mission?

7:41 Conclusions

The fascinating Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is a NASA space mission aimed at testing a method of planetary defense against near-Earth objects (NEOs). In September 2022, a certain space probe is set to deliberately crash into the minor-planet moon Dimorphos of the double asteroid Didymos to assess the future potential of a spacecraft impact to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth through a transference of momentum.

DART is a joint project between NASA and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). It is being administered by NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office, and several NASA laboratories and certain offices are providing technical support. International partners, such as the space agencies of European Space Agency (ESA), Italian Space Agency (ASI), and JAXA Japan, are contributing to related or subsequent certain projects. In August 2018, NASA approved the project to start the final design and important assembly phase. The interesting DART spacecraft was successfully launched on 24 November 2021, with collision slated for 26 September 2022 to 2 October 2022. Check the news after the collision to see the results.

The First Thing That James Webb Will See

The Secrets of the Universe on Youtube shows that the James Webb Space Telescope launched on 25 December 2021. As the world awaits the first images from the iconic space telescope, here is what the first year of observation will look like. It will still take up to 3 months for the telescope to return its first image. However, once it is fully deployed, the James Webb Space Telescope will certainly be the most powerful telescope at work.

Revolutionary James Webb telescope blasts off into space

DW News shows that a revolutionary telescope has been launched into space, marking the beginning of a new era of scientific exploration.

The James Webb telescope - named after a former head of NASA - lifted off on board a rocket from the European Space Agency's launch base in French Guiana. The launch is the culmination of several tough decades of work by European, Canadian and USA space agencies. Many call this the world's most powerful telescope.

It is nice to know that the launch went well (the thing did not explode or anything bad like that).

The $9bn observatory will seek out light from far away stars and galaxies, providing a glimpse into cosmic creation.

The $9bn observatory hurtled towards its destination 1.6 million km (1 million miles) away - or more than 4 times beyond the moon.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope certainly soared up from French Guiana on South America’s northeastern coast, riding a European Ariane rocket into the morning sky on Saturday.

The next step is for the telescope’s large mirror and sunshield need to unfurl. They were folded origami-style to fit into the rocket’s nose cone. A risk is taken with this mission - hopefully there will not be many errors.

Scientists are certainly going to be able to examine the atmospheres of various planets and determine whether or not planets could be habitable and suitable for humans to possibly one day colonise. It is also interesting if "any lifeform" could exist on a planet.

This is a successor to the ageing Hubble Space Telescope. The long-delayed James Webb is named after NASA’s administrator during the 1960s. NASA certainly partnered with the European and Canadian space agencies to build and launch the new 7-tonne telescope, with thousands of people from 29 countries successfully working on it since the 1990s.

All around the whole world, various astronomers certainly had eagerly waited to see Webb finally taking flight after years of setbacks. It seems that last-minute technical snags bumped the launch nearly a week, then gusty wind pushed it to Christmas. Transporting the thing means it is shaking, so it has to be checked for perfection. It is also shaking during the space flight, and then later the mirrors and parts have to be perfectly aligned.

It is certainly a launch for humanity.

It seems that the launch was a a beautiful launch and everything went off without a hitch.

The telescope’s main showpiece is a gold-plated mirror more than 6.5 metres (21 feet) across.

Protecting the observatory is a wispy, 5-layered sunshield, vital for keeping the light-gathering mirror and heat-sensing infrared detectors at cold subzero temperatures. At 21 by 14 metres (70 by 46 feet), it is the size of a tennis court.

The plan is for the sunshield to be opened 3 days after liftoff, taking at least 5 days to unfold and lock into place. Next, the mirror segments should open up like the leaves of a drop-leaf table, 12 days or so into the fascinating space flight.

For the entire mission, hundreds of release mechanisms need to work perfectly in order for the telescope to succeed. This is really like nothing NASA has ever done before.

Interesting Coronavirus Art Images

Dec 23, 2021 - The latest science is studying the Omicron Coronavirus Variant. Two new British studies provide some certain early hints that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus may be milder than the Delta version.

Findings of these early studies still have to be reviewed and proven. Maybe there is less severity, but Omicron spreads much faster than Delta and is more able to evade useful vaccines. Greater numbers of infections could overwhelm hospitals in the near future.

Certainly people are likely to have some level of immunity at this stage of the pandemic, either through vaccination or a previous COVID-19 infection. Be careful and good luck.