To the Stars with Data: January 23 2022
Largest 3D map of the universe, electric vehicle sales > diesel vehicle sales, JWST almost to GEO, and more
Hello Datanauts!
Wow. Y’all. SO much cool stuff has happened over the past week, I don’t know where to begin.
But we have to begin somewhere! So let’s dive into an astoundingly precise 3D map of the universe, how electric vehicles are outselling diesel cars, how the James Webb Space Telescope is almost to geosynchronous orbit, and much much more.
Now, let’s go to the stars with data!
Thought-Provoking Data Viz
🌌 DESI creates the largest 3D map of the cosmos
Quick hits. The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has created the largest 3D map of the cosmos we’ve ever made, and it’s only been in operation for 7 months of its 5-year lifespan. The purpose of DESI is to understand the history of the cosmos by cataloging the light spectra of galaxies (think ROYGBIV). So far, it’s collected over 7.5 million light spectra of the anticipated ~35 million.
Digging deeper. Let’s take a step back to fully understand what 7.5 million galaxies mean in the context of the universe. First, let’s start with DESI and how amazing the instrument is. To capture 7.5 million galaxy light spectra over ~7 months, DESI would have to capture one spectrum every ~2.4 seconds on average. That’s some impressive technology, considering that some of the galaxies are 10+ billion light-years away. Okay, so what percentage of the universe’s galaxies is 7.5 million? There are an estimated 200,000,000,000 galaxies in the universe, so only ~0.004%. If we were to capture the light spectra of all the galaxies at the rate of 2.4 seconds per galaxy, it would take us ~15,220 years to accomplish the feat.
What DESI has accomplished is astounding. But we still have a long way to go.
Earth News
⚡ Preliminary reports show Europe buying more EVs than diesel-powered cars in Dec 2021 (possible paywall)
Quick hits. In December 2021 in Europe and the UK, Electric Vehicles (EVs) represented ~20% of new car sales while diesel-powered vehicles slipped below 19%. Diesel-powered cars have been on the decline since Dieselgate in 2015, which saw the introduction of policies and bans across Europe targeting diesel-powered vehicles due to their pollution. Additionally, some experts believe the higher number of EVs in Dec represents car companies pushing their non-polluting models to avoid hefty emissions fines after having pushed their biggest money-makers—heavily polluting SUVs—during the pandemic to stay afloat.
Digging deeper. As you can imagine, the popularity of EVs depends on where you are looking. In the US, one of the worst markets for EVs, EV sales represented only 3.1% of total car sales in 2021. However, in Norway, nearly every car sold is electric or a hybrid. One of the biggest issues with car trends, though, is infrastructure. For instance, hardly anyone would own gas-powered vehicles if there were no gas stations. The US simply doesn’t have the infrastructure to support massive EV adoption, though that is rapidly changing.
Other Earth News:
⚡ Keeping with the theme of EVs, BP says its EV chargers almost have higher profit margins than diesel pumps. We need to switch to EVs as quickly as possible to reduce our fossil fuel emissions. If profitability is the reason companies need to switch from fossil fuels to electricity, let’s do it.
🧬 The Earth Biogenome Project is ramping up! Phase one includes sequencing one genome from every taxonomic family on Earth (~9,400), which should be about 1/3 done by the end of 2022. Phase two will see the sequencing of a representative from ~180,000 genera, and phase three will mark the genomic sequencing of all species.
🦠 Researchers develop an AI model that can help predict antibiotic resistance in bacterial infections ~24 hours sooner than current methods. But wait, there’s more: the researchers also published a public dataset that doctors around the world can utilize with the equipment they already have.
Space News
🛰 The James Webb Space Telescope is almost at the second Lagrange Point!
Quick hits. After nearly a month of traveling, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is about 98.5% of the way to the second Lagrange Point (L2), its final destination. (L2 is about 910,000 miles from Earth.) JWST is the most powerful space telescope ever constructed and launched and is designed to detect light from the very first stars and galaxies ever formed, from over 13.5 billion years ago. It launched on December 25, 2021 and will start capturing its first mirror-aligned photos in ~May of 2022.
Digging deeper. You may be wondering why humanity has held and released a collective breath during JWST’s launch and deployment. What’s so special about a space telescope? Well, the JWST has been under construction for 2 decades and was launched very behind schedule and very above budget. Considering it’s ~100x better than its predecessor, the Hubble, let’s just say that the science community has been anticipating JWST for a long time. Luckily the JWST team understands this and wants to deliver:
We are planning a series of “wow” images to be released at the end of commissioning when we start normal science operations that are designed to showcase what this telescope can do … they will showcase all four science instruments and they will really knock everybody’s socks off.
Jane Rigby, Webb Operations Project Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center at a press briefing in January 2022
More Space News:
🛰 Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet company, passes 2000 satellites launched. Not all satellites are still in orbit or are yet operational. The current Starlink constellation has authorization for 4,408 satellites.
🌜 Israel is set to join the Artemis Accords. The Artemis Accords are "Principals for cooperation in the civil exploration and use of the moon, Mars, comets, and asteroids for peaceful purposes.”
🌊 Pulsar timing array potentially senses gravitational waves. Okay, this one’s a bit nerdier but SO cool. I recently attended a presentation on the subject and I was completely enthralled.
Future-Thinking Companies
🚄 Parallel Systems. They want to produce autonomous, battery-powered rail vehicles that carry shipping containers. Their design would allow for the movement of individual shipping containers, removing the logistical need for long trains. They raised ~$50m Seed in Jan 2022.
💨 Carbfix. They inject carbon dioxide into the ground, where it turns into stone in less than 2 years. So far, they have successfully stored over 70k tons of CO2 in their Hellisheiði injection site. Similar companies include Heirloom Carbon and Climeworks.