Space Exploration
A temporary \"mini-moon\" will soon be orbiting Earth. Discovered in August, this asteroid will circle our planet from September 29 to November 25 before resuming its journey around the sun. Estimated to be around 11 meters wide, its exact size remains uncertain. Fortunately, the asteroid poses no collision threat to Earth now or in the foreseeable future. It will maintain a distance of approximately 4.2 million kilometers from us, roughly ten times the distance between Earth and the moon.
Green Energy
China's C919 jet has successfully completed its first commercial flight using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The China Eastern Airlines flight journeyed from Beijing to Shanghai, marking a significant milestone in green aviation. SAF is a renewable energy source derived from sustainable materials, reducing carbon emissions and seamlessly integrating with current aviation infrastructure. China has initiated a pilot program for SAF usage, with 12 flights from major airports now incorporating it. This initiative supports China's carbon neutrality goals and advances the development of sustainable aviation.
Lebanon Blasts
Recent coordinated explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon have heightened concerns about global supply chain security and the susceptibility of everyday devices to tampering. Lebanese authorities reported that at least 37 people were killed and over 3,400 injured in two waves of wireless device explosions in mid-September. Speculation points to possible Israeli agents tampering with device batteries during manufacturing, while others believe alterations occurred post-production. This incident underscores the potential for common communication devices to be weaponized.
Artificial Intelligence
Chinese tech giant Alibaba has unveiled over 100 open-source artificial intelligence (AI) models, including Qwen 2.5, catering to industries such as automotive, gaming, and research. These models, featuring advanced math and coding capabilities, position Alibaba to compete with major players like Baidu, Microsoft, and OpenAI. By offering open-source access, users can develop AI applications without the need to train their own models. Additionally, Alibaba has upgraded its proprietary Qwen-Max 2.5 model, surpassing competitors in reasoning and language comprehension. A new text-to-video tool has also been introduced, enabling users to generate videos from text prompts.
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Science Saturday: Space, green energy, Lebanon blasts and AI
cgtn.com