Posts by gollum1

First of ESA's Cluster satellites prepares for fiery finale over South Pacific

Better the second time around?

The first Cluster mission came to a fiery end when the first Ariane 5 failed rather spectacularly. The second mission used flight spares and rebuild instruments and I have always wondred if the 'second chance' increased the undoubted reliability. Top marks to ESA flight controllers for keeping things going for so long.

Remember the Ozone hole? The satellite that spotted it just caused a space junk scare

Credit where it is due

The Antarctic ozone hole was first observed by the British Antarctic Study from ground based observations at the Halley and Faraday Research Stations which started in the 1957-58 International Geophysical Year. Once the issue had been observed satellite measurements confirmed that it extended over the continent and provided additional long term measurements with extensive spatial coverage. Interesting article but a sloppy headline.

1Password has none, KeePass has none... So why are there seven embedded trackers in the LastPass Android app?

Not in my settings!

All LastPass users, regardless of browser or device, are given the option to opt-out of these analytics in their LastPass Privacy Settings, located in their account here: Account Settings > Show Advanced Settings > Privacy

Well in my version of Lastpass in Firefox on OS X there is no such setting!!

Boffins find asteroid with the shortest solar year of any space rock in our Solar System

Re: Short observation window

Unfortunately current solar cells exhibit decreasing efficiency with increasing temperature. That is why spacecraft which approach the sun need larger rather than smaller solar panels. Annoying isn't it.