The females of some bat species migrate hundreds of kilometers after hibernation to give birth to their offspring in insect-rich regions. Unlike birds, it is largely unknown how bats keep their energy consumption low during flight. Dina Dechmann and colleagues from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz equipped female common noctule bats…
Measuring the Strongest Winds of Intense Tropical Storms from Space
ESA’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite has been in orbit for almost 10 years. As its name describes, SMOS collects soil moisture and ocean salinity data to increase knowledge about the water cycle, as well as to measure the wind speed of extreme weather. During a storm, thick swirling clouds and strong winds…
Design Work on ‘Brain’ of World’s Largest Radio Telescope Completed
An international group of scientists led by the University of Cambridge has finished designing the ‘brain’ of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the world’s largest radio telescope. When complete, the SKA will enable astronomers to monitor the sky in unprecedented detail and survey the entire sky much faster than any system currently in existence. The…
Wireless Movement-Tracking System Could Collect Health and Behavioral Data
We live in a world of wireless signals flowing around us and bouncing off our bodies. MIT researchers are now leveraging those signal reflections to provide scientists and caregivers with valuable insights into people’s behavior and health. The system, called Marko, transmits a low-power radio-frequency (RF) signal into an environment. The signal will return to…
Testing the Radio Link Between the Two Satellites of Proba-3
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 mission will consist of two satellites flying together, proving precision formation flying technology. They’ll also be conducting a large-scale experiment, where the two will “form a 150-m long solar coronagraph to study the Sun’s faint corona closer to the solar rim than has ever before been achieved,” according to…
5G-Ready Dual Band Microwave Antennas as a Proven Alternative to Fibre Backhaul
Radio Frequency Systems (RFS), a global designer and manufacturer of total-package solutions for wireless and broadcast infrastructure, announces it is first to market with its family of innovative dual-band microwave antennas. By combining the E-band antenna which give capacity but has distance limitations, with an additional frequency, the dual-band antenna proves itself capable of delivering…
How Atmospheric Sounding Transformed Weather Prediction
In the late 1950s, a scientist named Lewis Kaplan divined a new and groundbreaking way to calculate temperature in the atmosphere for weather forecasting: by measuring the vibration of molecules at different altitudes. The hope was to do this using a brand-new technology, an Earth-observing satellite. At the time, the only way to get a…
New Voice-Bridging System to Streamline Communications with Allies
The Army is developing a new device to simplify secure radio communications with allied partners. Known as the Radio Interoperability Capability-Universal, or RIC-U, the new device serves as an analog-to-digital voice bridge between allies and U.S. troops. All Soldiers need to do is incorporate the RIC-U into their voice communications network, said Robert DiCarlo, an…
What’s on the Far Side of the Moon?
Looking up at the silvery orb of the Moon, you might recognize familiar shadows and shapes on its face from one night to the next. You see the same view of the Moon our early ancestors did as it lighted their way after sundown. Only one side of the spherical Moon is ever visible from…
Wire-to-Board RF Coaxial IDC Connectors
AVX Corporation has released the first wire-to-board RF coaxial IDC connectors for industrial and automotive applications. The initial release of the new 00-6791 Series RF Coaxial IDC Connectors is comprised of two small, single-piece solutions suited to different types of coaxial cable and features a patented one-touch coaxial cable termination mechanism that both simplifies the connection…