Technologies

The James Webb Space Telescope Finds New Moon Orbiting Uranus

For now, the tiny new moon has a clunky name, but if it passes peer review, they might call it something better.

No joke: Science has found a new teeny, tiny moon orbiting Uranus. NASA announced on Tuesday that the James Webb Space Telescope found yet another moon floating around Uranus, an ice giant that already had 13 other known moons.

The discovery was made thanks to images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. A team from the Southwest Research Institute noticed an unfamiliar object that appeared to be orbiting Uranus. The images have been stitched together in a slideshow on YouTube of the moon, which orbits much closer to Uranus than the planet’s 13 other known moons.

«This object was spotted in a series of 10 40-minute long-exposure images captured by the Near-Infrared Camera,» said lead scientist Maryame El Moutamid. «It’s a small moon but a significant discovery, which is something even NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft didn’t see during its flyby nearly 40 years ago.»

In terms of size, this moon is indeed small at around six miles in diameter. For reference, Earth’s moon is 2,159 miles in diameter, and the largest moon in our solar system, Jupiter’s Ganymede, is 3,270 miles. The moon also has a circular orbit, per the SwRI team, meaning that it likely formed in the same area where it currently orbits.

Better name TBA

Despite obtaining a 14th moon, which NASA is calling S/2025 U1, Uranus has a long way to go to compete with Jupiter and Saturn, which have 95 and 274 confirmed moons, respectively. However, Uranus is the king of tiny moons.

«No other planet has as many small inner moons as Uranus,» said Matthew Tiscareno, research member of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. Since S/2025 U1 is so much smaller than the known moons, Tiscareno posits that there may be even more small moons drifting around that have yet to be discovered.

NASA does note that this research hasn’t been peer-reviewed yet, so the for-now clunkily named S/2025 U1 may still be dismissed as a non-moon. However, if it is confirmed, the moon will receive a better (we hope) name from the International Astronomical Union and become completely official.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, March 17

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 17.

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.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s not too tough — only 1-Down puzzled me until I filled in the other responses. Read on for all 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: One drawing X’s and O’s
Answer: COACH

6A clue: Company whose market cap (~$4 trillion) exceeds the G.D.P. of most countries
Answer: APPLE

7A clue: «Chill!»
Answer: RELAX

8A clue: Do some rhythmic tapping
Answer: DRUM

9A clue: Back talk
Answer: SASS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: What’s the deal?
Answer: CARDS

2D clue: «The Phantom of the ___»
Answer: OPERA

3D clue: Excellent grade
Answer: APLUS

4D clue: Sandpipers dig for them in the sand
Answer: CLAMS

5D clue: Evil spell
Answer: HEX

Technologies

Nvidia Is Building a Computer for AI Data Centers in Space

The big challenge is keeping things cool, apparently.

Space may be the next frontier for the AI infrastructure boom, but it will take some work to make that happen, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said during his keynote address Monday at the company’s GTC conference in San Jose, California.

While the company already has chips in satellites, creating a data center in space is an entirely different beast, Huang said. «Obviously, very complicated to do so.»

Nvidia isn’t the only one eyeing orbit for AI factories. Elon Musk has talked often of putting data centers in space, which makes sense considering he recently merged the AI company he owns with the rocket company he owns.

Read more: Nvidia GTC: All the AI and Robotics News From Jensen Huang’s Keynote

Space has some distinct advantages for data centers. For one, there are no zoning boards or neighbors to worry about annoying. You could likely power an orbital data center with solar power.There’s also a ton of room, although the number of satellites is making orbit crowded.

But there’s a big challenge that Nvidia is facing as it designs its Space-1 Vera Rubin module computer. How do you keep chips cool in a vacuum?

«In space, there’s no conduction, there’s no convection, it’s just radiation,» Huang said. «So we have to figure out how to cool these systems out in space.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 17, #540

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle No. 540 for Tuesday, March 17.

Looking for the most recent regular 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 and Strands puzzles.

Yes, you saw both DUNKIN and DONUT in today’s Connections: Sports Edition. But, of course, those words weren’t referring to the bakery chain. That would be far too easy. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

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

Yellow group hint: Hockey division.

Green group hint: Sporting goods.

Blue group hint: Some are birds.

Purple group hint: Sounds like a star hoops player.