If you have seen a rocket launch recently – whether it was from NASA, SpaceX, or the Chinese Space Agency – you will often notice some similarities in locations as well as the similarities in what the rockets actually look like. There are reasons for the similarities and they have to do with keeping people safe as well as getting into space with the least amount of effort. And that requires using what we have at our disposal.First of all, they're often near the ocean. The first few minutes of launch are critical, and if the rocket is going to fail, it’s better for it to fail over the ocean where there are no people than over a densely populated area. Some spaceports are not near the sea, such as Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, but the rockets follow a path that doesn’t take them over where people live.A more subtle location requirement is the latitude of the spaceport. NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is at 28° North. SpaceX's Starbase is 25° North. Wenchang Space Launch Site is at 19° North. The European Space Agency’s Guiana Space Centre is 5° North of the equator. And the reason for it is that it’s easier to get to space if you can get an assist from our planet.    At the equator, the Earth rotates at 1,650 kilometers (just over 1,000 miles) per hour relative to the planet’s center. The closer you are, the less fuel you need to use to go up into space since you can take advantage of this rotational speed.“Getting to space requires speed and lots of it. As our Earth spins itself you can get an extra boost if you launch where Earth is at its widest: at the equator,” a video from the European Space Agency (ESA) helpfully explains. ESA is going to launch its brand-new Ariane 6 rocket for the first time next week from the Guiana Space Center.Launching near the equator means starting at 5 percent of the horizontal speed you need to get into orbit. This might not seem much but it can reduce your fuel requirement significantly. And this might turn into a significant increase in payload.Russia’s Soyuz rocket used to launch from the ESA’s Guiana Space Center before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was the same Soyuz that continues to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome which is 45° North. The Soyuz launch from the equator brought over 60 percent more payload than the one from Kazakhstan.There are exceptions to this rule and it is not just because of geopolitics. There are spaceports that are quite far north because it doesn’t matter about the boost in velocity. The launch close to the equator is useful for many orbits but not all of them. Polar orbits, such as the Sun-synchronous orbit or the Molniya orbit to study higher latitudes, are examples of these kinds of orbits. Several of these spaceports are found well above 50 degrees of latitude. If you don’t need the equator, you can pick a convenient location. And that's what countries and private companies do.

Elephants' private way of communicating is one of their worst-kept secrets, known to science even if we humans can’t actually hear or understand what they’re saying. The remarkable way of communicating can be as loud as a chainsaw and travel for miles – and yet to our ears, they’re not making any noise at all.The magic trick is a phenomenon known as infrasound, which is effectively the opposite of ultrasonic noises. Both auditory talents play with frequency, capable of being too low or too high for our ears to detect, respectively.Bats go ultrasonic (and occasionally make death metal growls), meanwhile elephants use their giant organs for infrasound, enabling them to communicate through vast stretches of forest. The mystery was unraveled in 2012 when a paper explored how exactly elephants were making these sounds, and found it similar to how we produce human speech or singing.“These low-frequency sounds, termed 'infrasounds,' can travel several kilometers, and provide elephants with a 'private' communication channel that plays an important role in elephants' complex social life,” explained the authors in a statement. “Their frequencies are as low as the lowest notes of a pipe organ.” At this time, scientists had known about the sounds for years – but what wasn’t clear was how the elephants were going so low. To find out, the team removed the larynx from an elephant that had died of natural causes and blew a controlled stream of air through it under lab conditions. By manipulating the vocal folds, they were able to recreate the low-frequency vibrations that characterize infrasounds.What that tells us is that when elephants are communicating using low-frequency infrasound, they’re effectively achieving it by singing, but their immense larynx means they can reach notes humans can only dream of – both because we can’t create them, or hear them. This disproved an alternative theory that suggested the action behind the low-frequency sounds was a kind of purring. Fun as it would’ve been to think of elephants as giant, leathery cats, that just wasn’t the case (there are cats that sound like ducks, though).The discovery of the mechanism behind elephants’ secret language demonstrates that although we’re excluded from eavesdropping, we share a connection with elephants in the mechanism through which we create sound. In fact, this trait expands across a broad spectrum of animals, from squeaky bats and their ultrasonic calls, all the way down to elephants' inaudible infrasounds. Next stop? Whales, who go even lower than elephants.We know an awful lot about animal communication, but we can’t yet speak to them. At least, not yet, but artificial intelligence could soon change that.

On Monday, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Clarence Thomas raised questions about the legality of the special counsel's appointment in the two federal cases against former President Donald Trump.The court recently ruled that presidents have absolute immunity for official acts and no immunity for unofficial acts. However, the justices have left it up to the lower courts to determine what constitutes an official act.'If there is no law establishing the office that the Special Counsel occupies, then he cannot proceed with this prosecution.'In a separate concurring opinion, Thomas questioned whether Attorney General Merrick Garland's appointment of special counsel Jack Smith may not be lawful because the office was not "established by law."Thomas stated, "Those questions must be answered before this prosecution can proceed."He argued that Garland "purported to appoint a private citizen as Special Counsel to prosecute a former President on behalf of the United States.""But, I am not sure that any office for the Special Counsel has been 'established by Law,' as the Constitution requires. By requiring that Congress create federal offices 'by Law,' the Constitution imposes an important check against the President – he cannot create offices at his pleasure," Thomas continued. "If there is no law establishing the office that the Special Counsel occupies, then he cannot proceed with this prosecution.""[A] private citizen cannot criminally prosecute anyone, let alone a former President," he added. "If this unprecedented prosecution is to proceed, it must be conducted by someone duly authorized to do so by the American people."Former Attorney General Ed Meese previously submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court arguing that Smith was unconstitutionally appointed, Fox News Digital reported."Not clothed in the authority of the federal government, Smith is a modern example of the naked emperor," the brief stated. "Improperly appointed, he has no more authority to represent the United States in this Court than Bryce Harper, Taylor Swift, or Jeff Bezos."Garland claimed Smith was appointed through statutory authority, but Meese contended that it does not "remotely authorize[]" the AG to appoint "a private citizen to receive extraordinary criminal law enforcement power under the title of Special Counsel."Thomas also referred to the same argument in his opinion, stating, "It is difficult to see how the Special Counsel has an office 'established by Law,' as required by the Constitution. When the Attorney General appointed the Special Counsel, he did not identify any statute that clearly creates such an office."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Track star Quincy Wilson will become the youngest male to compete for the United States in track and field at the Olympics in 2024.The runner and his coach both publicly confirmed that he was added to the Team USA relay pool for the summer games in Paris following an impressive performance as the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon.Wilson broke the under-18 world record in the 400 meter that stood for 42 years, only to break the record again in the semifinal two days later.Despite finishing sixth in the final and failing to qualify for the Olympics, he was added to the USA roster. He was happy about his finish at the time nonetheless.'I told my mom, dad, and now, it's the dream come true.'"I've never been this happy a day in my life when it came to track. I've been working for this moment. ... That's 42 years, 42 years of nobody being able to break that record, and I broke it twice in [three] days," he said, per ESPN.Coach Joe Lee received the call from the committee responsible for the relay pool selections and immediately played a prank on the young Wilson. When he called the 16-year-old, he pretended that he had bad news."I was extremely nervous and then he called me and said just like, 'Unfortunately, we have some bad news.' And then he was like, 'I'm just kidding. We're going to Paris,'" Wilson explained.Wilson told ESPN that when he found out the news, he "started running around the house" after realizing his dreams were coming true.He also posted an image of himself on Instagram with the caption "WE GOING TO THE OLYMPICS."The young star from Potomac, Maryland, said he started visualizing his goals at just the age of 8, when he was competing in the Junior Olympics."I remember [seeing sprinters] Justin Gatlin and Usain Bolt go head-to-head and I was just like, 'I want to be up there one day,'" Wilson reportedly said. "I told my mom, dad, and now, it's the dream come true."The high school junior then said he was dreaming about making the Olympics before his third run at the trials in Oregon."I was dreaming about it when I was in Oregon about to do my third run. I dreamed about being an Olympian," he recalled. "It was just being on that Olympic stage, holding that gold medal, and things like that."While Wilson will become the youngest male to compete in track for Team USA at the Olympics, the youngest in either gender goes to Barbara Jones. All the way back in 1952, the Chicago-born sprinter was just 15 when she competed in Helsinki.Not only did she compete, but she won the 4x100-meter relay race alongside fellow Americans Mae Faggs, Janet Moreau, and Catherine Hardy, according to Encyclopedia.com.Olympic records indicated that she was also the youngest person to win a gold medal in Olympic track and field at 15 years and 123 days old.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Carl Bernstein is a legendary journalist who helped expose the Watergate scandal. But on Monday, Bernstein helped expose the fourth estate.Speaking on CNN, Bernstein revealed that his sources, who he described as "very close" to President Joe Biden, have repeatedly witnessed evidence of his "cognitive decline" over the last year and a half.'There was a fundraiser at which he started at the podium, and then he became very stiff, according to the people there, as if it were almost a kind of rigor mortis had set in.'Even worse, Bernstein added, journalists witnessed it, too — and yet they sat on their hands."These are people — several of them who are very close to President Biden who love him, have supported him and among them are some people who've raised a lot of money for him — and they are adamant that what we saw the other night, the Joe Biden we saw, is not a one-off," Bernstein explained. "There have been 15–20 occasions in the last year and a half when the president has appeared somewhat as he did in that horror show that we witnessed," he revealed.What is "so significant" about Biden's cognitive decline, Bernstein went on to admit, is "how many people around the president are aware of such incidents, including some reporters, who have witnessed some of them."Over the last six months in particular, according to Bernstein, "There has been a marked incidence of cognitive decline and physical infirmity."One such incident that demonstrates Biden's cognitive decline happened in June 2023, Bernstein said. That incident, for some reason, had not been previously reported."There was a fundraiser at which he started at the podium, and then he became very stiff, according to the people there, as if it were almost a kind of rigor mortis had set in," Bernstein said. "This was a year ago almost exactly at the old Four Seasons Restaurant on Park Avenue. And he became very stiff and a chair had to be brought for him to do the latter part of the event." Bernstein's admission raises a serious and important question about the media: Why did they hide and downplay the unfortunate turn in Biden's acuity?It's true that Democrats and the Biden administration have downplayed the significance of Biden's cognitive decline, even claiming last month that videos evidencing Biden's decline were "cheap fakes." It's not surprising, however, that the political apparatus that depends on Biden would downplay what is happening to its leader.But what excuse do reporters and the media have?Meanwhile, the Biden campaign is not letting its foot off the gas(lighting).Jen O'Malley Dillon, Biden's campaign chairwoman, told hundreds of donors on a conference call Monday that they should not withdraw their financial support from Biden's campaign."He's probably in better health than most of us," Dillon claimed on that call, a comment that donors found "offensive," CNN reported.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Joseph Fischer, a January 6 Capitol riot participant, challenging his federal obstruction conviction. The justices ruled 6-3 to overturn a lower court’s decision that had allowed a charge of corruptly obstructing an official proceeding — specifically, the congressional certification of President Biden’s victory. Like Fischer, there are over 300 defendants charged with “obstruction of an official proceeding.” Now that a new precedent has been set, these defendants may be able to look forward to similar outcomes. “Long story short, the Court today had a very sound ruling when it comes to statutory interpretation 101 first principles. They said that this is an incorrect reading of the statute and the practical fact is that a lot of the J6ers should have their sentences heavily reduced if not thrown out altogether,” legal expert Josh Hammer tells Sara Gonzales. Not only does this ruling affect those who were at the Capitol on January 6 — but it also is great news for former President Donald Trump. “I think two of the four counts against Donald Trump in the Washington, D.C., indictment are now in very, very serious jeopardy. Those will likely get tossed out as well,” Hammer explains. While the Supreme Court ruled that the case needs to go back to the lower court to be reconsidered, it shouldn’t matter that the lower court is in D.C. itself. “They’re going to have to apply this standard still,” Hammer says, adding that “they were pretty clear that this is just not an appropriate exercise of statutory interpretation, so I’m relatively confident that this is going to play out pretty well from here.” While many are pleased with the outcome, there is one Trump-appointed justice who, shockingly, isn’t. “Amy Coney Barrett did dissent with Sotomayor and Kagan,” Gonzales explains. “Amy Coney Barrett is rapidly shaping up to be perhaps perhaps Trump’s single biggest disappointment, frankly, on that court,” Hammer says. Want more from Sara Gonzales?To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred take to news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Between System Shock 2, Deus Ex, Thief, and Deathloop, the immersive sim has a rich history on PC. Likewise, the fantasy RPG - where would the PC be as a platform without pioneering classics like Ultima, Diablo, and Baldur’s Gate? Celebrating Summer Games Done Quick, which runs until Saturday July 6, a new Humble Bundle gives you two of the best RPGs of all time, plus five other beloved Steam games, for $20. The Elder Scrolls Morrowind could be the best game Bethesda ever made. Dishonored is undoubtedly one of the finest role-playing ‘im sims’ ever. And it’s all in the name of an excellent cause. Continue reading Get two of the best RPGs ever, and five more beloved games, for $20 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best PC games, Upcoming PC games, Free PC games

13 years after launch, Skyrim has lost some of its magnetism. We’re all so intimately familiar with the snow-capped mountains, the cobbles in Whiterun’s well-worn streets, and the umpteenth bandit camp filled with gold coins and iron armor that it's beginning to feel like Bethesda's RPG is finally coming to a close. Skyrim itself might not be enough to keep us busy while we wait for Elder Scrolls 6. But now that it has a launch date, the DLC-sized Lordbound mod might be enough to draw us back to coolest region of Tamriel. Continue reading Huge 60-hour Skyrim mod that’s like a new expansion sets launch date MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Skyrim mods, Elder Scrolls 6 release date, Games like Skyrim

The Noctua NH-D15 is widely regarded as one the best CPU coolers in the world thanks to its combination of incredible cooling performance and whisper quiet operation, and now it finally has a successor. The Noctua NH-D15 G2 incorporates a decade of research and development, fine-tuning the original's formula to provide even more cooling capacity with even lower noise. In our Noctua NH-D15 review we noted that its six heatpipes and two massive 140mm fans combine to make it the single best CPU cooler on the planet, at least as far as conventional air coolers go. You can get even more cooling performance with all-in-one liquid coolers and custom water-cooling but those are pricey and often noisier options. Continue reading It has taken Noctua ten years to improve on its iconic CPU cooler MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming

When you have a game which has been heavily modded, each new update must be viewed with trepidation. In Starfield (even though it’s only just received official modding support), that definitely holds true. After an update you have to check your mods, see what’s broken, disable things, move things around, and finally - if you’re lucky - you’ll be able to play. In today’s patch it seems that mods aren’t too badly affected, but there’s a couple of updates that could potentially cause some issues for the game. Continue reading New Starfield patch makes it easier to spend real money on mods MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Starfield mods, Starfield outposts, Starfield traits