Technologies

Saturn ‘Death Star moon’ Mimas might be hiding an ocean

Darth Vader might want to pack a bathing suit.

Saturn has some famous moons, like Enceladus (a plume-spewing moon of mystery) and Titan (the intriguing target of NASA’s future Dragonfly mission). But what about Mimas, a dainty moon that’s mostly known for its resemblance to the Star Wars Death Star? Turns out it might be hiding an ocean.

A study published in the journal Icarus lays out evidence that suggests Mimas has liquid deep under its icy surface. «If Mimas has an ocean, it represents a new class of small, ‘stealth’ ocean worlds with surfaces that do not betray the ocean’s existence,» said lead author Alyssa Rhoden in a Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) statement on Wednesday.

Mimas might look quiet, but NASA’s now-defunct Saturn-studying Cassini spacecraft «identified a curious libration, or oscillation, in the moon’s rotation, which often points to a geologically active body able to support an internal ocean,» SwRI said.

The libration spotted by Cassini suggests Mimas’s interior is warm enough for a liquid ocean, but not so warm it compromises the moon’s thick shell of ice. The researchers calculate that ice shell could be up to 19 miles (31 kilometers) thick.

There’s a nifty acronym for interior water ocean worlds: IWOWs. Known IWOWs include Enceladus, Titan and Jupiter’s fascinating moon Europa. These places are particularly interesting because they may be habitable for microbial life. The bigger moons tend to have geologic activity on their surfaces that hints at what’s going on below. Mimas, however, is doing a good job of hiding its liquid, if it does exist.

«Turns out, Mimas’ surface was tricking us, and our new understanding has greatly expanded the definition of a potentially habitable world in our solar system and beyond,» Rhoden said.

The researchers aren’t ready to declare Mimas a sure-fire IWOW just yet. There are still questions around its formation and evolution. Rhoden called it a «compelling target for continued investigation.»

Technologies

Airbnb Testing Option for Guests to Order Instacart Supplies Ahead of Their Stay

If you don’t want to haul your own groceries to your next Airbnb, this could be for you.

Heading to an Airbnb, but you don’t want to haul along six boxes of your kid’s favorite macaroni and cheese? You might soon be able to have your choice of groceries waiting for you when you arrive. Airbnb is testing a new service in three US cities that will allow travelers to place an Instacart order ahead of their trip.

The program will launch Jan. 5 in Phoenix, Orlando and Los Angeles and will continue for a few months to see if it gains traction among guests. Currently, guests can place an Instacart order during their stay if they desire, but this feature would mean the items would already be there when they arrive.

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The new option would mean more work for Airbnb hosts, who’d have to unpack and put away the order before guests arrive. However, Airbnb plans to pay hosts for each completed order.

«By offering this service, they [hosts] not only receive rewards, including a one-time payment of $100 plus $25 for each delivery that opts in for kitchen stocking, but they will be helping to make their guests’ stay even better,» an Airbnb spokesperson told CNET.

Guests can use Instacart through the Airbnb app to order groceries, household essentials and other items up to three weeks in advance. After they place an order, the hosts are notified. The host then selects a date and time that works for them to receive the order.

«While the order can be placed up to three weeks in advance of a stay, hosts can coordinate delivery and kitchen stocking to be a part of the general turnover process between guests, similar to cleaning,» the Airbnb spokesperson said.

On delivery day, hosts receive updates on the order’s status and can notify guests that their groceries have been packed and are ready for pickup. Hosts can accept the delivery up to 24 hours in advance and at least three hours before the guest’s check-in time. Hosts are also expected to follow food safety guidelines when unpacking and stocking items.

This isn’t the first time Airbnb has experimented with unique services for guests. They previously teamed up with Chargepoint, the electric car charging service, and offered guests discounts on EV chargers.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 13, #886

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 13, #886.

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

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough, though I thought the green category was a fun one. If you need help sorting the words into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: What to wear.

Green group hint: Coffee drinks often are topped with this.

Blue group hint: Clothes dryers use these.

Purple group hint: Where you might work.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Attire.

Green group: Foamy things.

Blue group: Things that use filters.

Purple group: ____ office.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is attire. The four answers are duds, fit, getup and threads.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is foamy things. The four answers are beer, fire extinguisher, sea and shaving cream.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is things that use filters. The four answers are air purifier, cigarette, coffee maker and Instagram.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ office. The four answers are box, Microsoft, Oval and post.

Technologies

ARC Raiders Adds Duo Matchmaking and Prepares for North Line Update

Grab a buddy, dodge some robots and secure that loot. Embark Studios just made duo matchmaking viable in ARC Raiders.

ARC Raiders is a hit for developer Embark Studio. The extraction shooter has had more than 700,000 players since its launch last week, according to an Instagram post from the developer on Monday, and there’s a new update out with a feature fans have been clamoring for.

Duo matchmaking has just become much more viable in ARC Raiders, as confirmed in an update note on the developer’s site on Wednesday. Previously, two-player teams would find themselves matched in lobbies dominated by three-player squads. In a tactical third-person shooter, being at a manpower disadvantage is a big deal, and it’s even worse when loot is on the line. But earlier this week, Embark Studios pushed a silent update that prioritizes matching duos and trios in their own separate matches.

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ARC Raiders has players take the role of raiders in a post-apocalyptic Earth where robots called ARC machines have forced humans to take shelter in underground settlements. Raiders go solo or in groups to head topside to find any valuable loot and complete quests. While outside, players have to contend with the various ARC machines roaming the land as well as humans who can take a raider out and steal that loot.

The excitement of the game stems from the extraction mechanic. To get their loot back to the settlement, players need to find extraction points such as an elevator or train. Once the extraction process starts, an alarm goes off, alerting the machines and other raiders to what’s happening, requiring players to try and survive any attacks in order to get their loot safely back to the base.

Embark Studios says the update will prioritize matching up players in their respective queue — solos with solos, duos with duos and trios with trios. In certain regions and during off-peak matchmaking times, however, duos may still be placed into matches against squads of three people.

What else is new in the latest ARC Raiders update?

Embark Studios also said it reviewed the prices of cosmetic purchases in-game and plans to lower them. The developer says the lower prices will be live starting Thursday. Those players who purchased the higher-priced cosmetics will be compensated for the difference in the coming week.

When is the next big ARC Raiders update?

Also happening on Thursday is the North Line update. This patch will feature a Community Unlock Event where players can contribute resources for a tunnel project, which will unlock the fifth map, Stella Montis. Along with the event to unlock the new area, the update will have new ARC enemies, a legendary weapon and more quests. The game’s following update is scheduled for December.

ARC Raiders is out now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S consoles, and costs $40.