Technologies

NASA Spots Eerie ‘Spider’ Shapes in Mars Crater View

Just in time for Halloween season.

David Bowie was on to something with his Spiders from Mars. While there are no crawling arachnids in residence on the red planet, there are spectacular landscape features known as «spiders.» NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter peered down from above and captured a captivating view of what’s known as araneiform terrain. Araneiform means «spider-like.»

The image comes from the HiRise (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera on MRO. HiRise is operated by a team based at the University of Arizona. The team highlights noteworthy images from the camera’s extensive archives in a Picture of the Day feature it calls HiPOD. The orbiter snapped the «spiders» crater view in May 2022. The image was the HiPOD on Thursday.

It shows a view into a crater with two notable features. One is the spidery dark formations that resemble a cluster of arachnids crawling over the landscape. The other is the geometric polygon shapes that look a lot like dried mud. «This image was acquired to study the influence of exposure to the sun’s rays on spider versus polygon development in terrain like this,» the HiRise team said.

MRO view of Mars shows a diagonal strip of surface with a prominent crater in the center.

A wider view gives more context to what MRO was looking at. The crater pops out against the landscape.

The spiders tell a story of natural processes on Mars. The patterns come from the sublimation of ice below the surface. Sublimation is when a substance goes directly from a solid state to a gaseous state. These eye-catching formations have been spotted on other areas of Mars.

While the spiders capture the imagination, the polygon formations are also fascinating, even if they’re less flashy. Researchers have spotted similar forms in cold Earth environments subject to water freeze-thaw cycles. Martian polygons usually get their distinctive shape from raised ridges. The HiRise team said scientists can glean information about climate conditions and distribution of ice by studying polygons.

Science aside, the HiRise crater snapshot showcases the haunting beauty of Mars. This would be a great time to put on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and stare into a crater from a planet far away.

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New view of Mars "face" shows just a blobby mesa., potato-shaped

A tangled, string-like object sits on the sandy brown Martian ground with a rock nearby.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Smokes, informally
Answer: CIGS

5A clue: «Don’t have ___, man!» (Bart Simpson catchphrase)
Answer: ACOW

6A clue: What the vehicle in «lane one» of this crossword is winning?
Answer: RACE

7A clue: Pitt of Hollywood
Answer: BRAD

8A clue: «Yeah, whatever»
Answer: SURE

9A clue: Rd. crossers
Answer: STS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Things to «load» before a marathon
Answer: CARBS

2D clue: Mythical figure who inspired the idiom «fly too close to the sun»
Answer: ICARUS

3D clue: Zoomer around a small track
Answer: GOCART

4D clue: Neighbors of Norwegians
Answer: SWEDES

Technologies

Watch SpaceX’s Starship Flight Test 11

Technologies

New California Law Wants Companion Chatbots to Tell Kids to Take Breaks

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the new requirements on AI companions into law on Monday.

AI companion chatbots will have to remind users in California that they’re not human under a new law signed Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The law, SB 243, also requires companion chatbot companies to maintain protocols for identifying and addressing cases in which users express suicidal ideation or self-harm. For users under 18, chatbots will have to provide a notification at least every three hours that reminds users to take a break and that the bot is not human.

It’s one of several bills Newsom has signed in recent weeks dealing with social media, artificial intelligence and other consumer technology issues. Another bill signed Monday, AB 56, requires warning labels on social media platforms, similar to those required for tobacco products. Last week, Newsom signed measures requiring internet browsers to make it easy for people to tell websites they don’t want them to sell their data and banning loud advertisements on streaming platforms.

AI companion chatbots have drawn particular scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators in recent months. The Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into several companies in response to complaints by consumer groups and parents that the bots were harming children’s mental health. OpenAI introduced new parental controls and other guardrails in its popular ChatGPT platform after the company was sued by parents who allege ChatGPT contributed to their teen son’s suicide.

«We’ve seen some truly horrific and tragic examples of young people harmed by unregulated tech, and we won’t stand by while companies continue without necessary limits and accountability,» Newsom said in a statement.

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One AI companion developer, Replika, told CNET that it already has protocols to detect self-harm as required by the new law, and that it is working with regulators and others to comply with requirements and protect consumers.

«As one of the pioneers in AI companionship, we recognize our profound responsibility to lead on safety,» Replika’s Minju Song said in an emailed statement. Song said Replika uses content-filtering systems, community guidelines and safety systems that refer users to crisis resources when needed.

A Character.ai spokesperson said the company «welcomes working with regulators and lawmakers as they develop regulations and legislation for this emerging space, and will comply with laws, including SB 243.» OpenAI spokesperson Jamie Radice called the bill a «meaningful move forward» for AI safety. «By setting clear guardrails, California is helping shape a more responsible approach to AI development and deployment across the country,» Radice said in an email.

One bill Newsom has yet to sign, AB 1064, would go further by prohibiting developers from making companion chatbots available to children unless the AI companion is «not foreseeably capable of» encouraging harmful activities or engaging in sexually explicit interactions, among other things.