Technology

Deep learning used to map storms on the planet Saturn

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An article published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” reports the application of a deep learning algorithm to recognize storms on the planet Saturn creating a map of their components and characteristics. Ingo Waldmann of the University College London, England, and Caitlin Griffith of the University of Arizona, USA, developed the algorithm called PlanetNet based on the TensorFlow “engine” to analyze data collected by the Cassini space probe with an efficiency higher than traditional techniques thanks to the recognition of recurrent characteristics across various multiple data sets. PlanetNet could be adapted to analyze observations of other planets.

Neural networks to predict the mass of planets in formation

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An article published in the journal “Astronomy and Astrophysics” shows an example of the use of a neural network and a deep learning algorithm to reduce the time to create simulations of star systems formation obtaining even better results. Yann Alibert of NCCR PlanetS and of the Swiss University of Bern and Julia Venturini of the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) of Bern and a PlanetS collaborator developed this new system that predicts the mass of a planet starting from the conditions in which it formed with a excellent accuracy and a much higher speed than models based on differential equations.

A technology created for particle physics is now used in the art field

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A technology developed by CERN to create detectors capable of counting and tracking particles also used by ESA in space missions found a very different application in the art field. InsightART, a company opened in Prague, in the Czech Republic, in ESA’s Business Incubation Center (BIC), adapted a chip based on that technology called Timepix to a device to find fake artworks and incorrectly attributed.

IBM Q System One (Photo courtesy International Business Machines Corporation. All rights reserved)

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At CES, IBM announced its first commercial 20-qubit quantum computer called IBM Q System One and the IBM Q Quantum Computation Center for its business customers. For some years IBM has been developing its own IBM Q quantum systems, also thanks to tests conducted allowing its customers the access to them via cloud and offering the possibility to develop specific applications, now the company has announced a system declaring a reliability comparable to that of a classic mainframe.

PulChron setup (Photo courtesy ESA)

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ESA began experimenting with a new type of clock called PulChron based on pulsars. Activated at the end of November 2018, this system is based on the impulses generated by these neutron stars that spin very rapidly in extremely precise times. 18 pulsars monitored with various radio telescopes were used for the measurements, which provide extremely accurate time references for various purposes such as verifying the performance of the Galileo European navigation system’s satellites.