Satellites

Fast Company reporter Jesus Diaz writes that MIT researchers have developed a computer model that shows that rising water temperatures will cause the color of the world’s oceans to change.

MIT researchers have found that climate change will cause half of the world’s oceans to change color by 2100, reports Becky Ferreira for Motherboard. “Monitoring ocean color could yield valuable insights into the effects of climate change on phytoplankton,” Ferreira explains.

The Washington Post spotlights an MIT study examining how climate change will alter the color of the oceans. “Changes are happening because of climate change,” says principal research scientist Stephanie Dutkiewicz. “The change in the color of the ocean will be one of early warning signals that we really have changed our planet.”

BBC News reporter Matt McGrath writes that MIT researchers have found rising temperatures caused by climate change will cause the world’s oceans to become bluer, as the increased temperatures alter the mixture of phytoplankton. The color change “will likely be one of the earliest warning signals that we have changed the ecology of the ocean,” explains principal research scientist Stephanie Dutkiewicz.

A study by MIT researchers shows that climate change will have a significant impact on phytoplankton, which will cause the oceans to change color, reports Brett Molina for USA Today. The researchers “developed a model simulating how different species of phytoplankton will grow and interact, and how warming oceans will have an impact,” Molina explains.

CNN reporter Jen Christensen writes that a new study by MIT researchers finds that climate change will impact phytoplankton, causing the color of the world’s oceans to shift. “The change is not a good thing, since it will definitely impact the rest of the food web,” says principal research scientist Stephanie Dutkiewicz.

A new study by MIT scientists provides evidence that climate-driven changes in phytoplankton will cause more than half of the world’s oceans to shift in color by 2100, reports Barbara Moran for WBUR. Principal research scientist Stephanie Dutkiewicz explains that the color changes are important “because they tell us a lot about what's changing in the ocean.”

Nature reporter Alexandra Witze highlights the TESS satellite’s success in uncovering new exoplanets outside our solar system. Senior research scientist George Ricker feels, “TESS works better than team members had dared to dream,” Witze writes, adding that “its four cameras can see objects 20% fainter, and focus more sharply, than originally expected.”

NASA’s MIT-led TESS mission has discovered a new exoplanet orbiting a star 53 light years from Earth, reports Mike Wall for Space.com. The “sub-Neptune” planet is “about three times bigger than Earth, which means it's likely gaseous rather than rocky,” writes Wall.

CNN reporter Ashley Strickland writes that NASA’s planet-hunting satellite TESS has discovered another exoplanet 53 light years away. Strickland explains that the exoplanet orbits “a bright neighboring star in the Reticulum constellation, with a 36-day orbit and a surface temperature of 300 degrees Fahrenheit.”

NASA’s MIT-led TESS mission has discovered a new exoplanet that is about three times the size of Earth, reports Dennis Overbye for The New York Times. “There was quite some detective work involved, and the right people were there at the right time,” explains postdoctoral fellow Diana Dragomir. “But we were lucky, and we caught the signals, and they were really clear.”

Verge reporter Loren Grush writes that NASA’s MIT-led TESS mission has discovered a third exoplanet. “The important thing about this system that’s especially unique is it’s near to us,” says postdoc Diana Dragomir. “What that means simply is we can study this system in detail. We can measure the mass of the planet and measure things about the star.”

TechCrunch reporter Devin Coldewey highlights how MIT researchers have found that tiny satellites, called CubeSats, equipped with lasers could help keep telescopes on track while they are gathering information in space. The light emitted from the lasers could allow satellites “to calculate their position and the minute changes to their imaging apparatus caused by heat and radiation.”

Boston Herald reporter Jordan Graham writes that an MIT startup, Accion Systems, is developing a new satellite propulsion technology that could make engines significantly cheaper and more efficient. Graham explains that, “Accion uses a propulsion system called ion electrospray, which shoots ions through holes in the thruster, sending the device in the opposite direction in space.”

Prof. Amy Finkelstein speaks with Lisa Mullins of WBUR’s All Things Considered about winning a MacArthur grant for her work examining health economics. Finkelstein explains that the goal of her work is to “reduce the amount of rhetoric in health care policy discussion and increase the amount of evidence.”