CaaC (John)

New engine tech that could get us to Mars faster If we're ever to make regular journeys from Earth to Mars and other far-off destinations, we might need new kinds of engines. Engineers are exploring revolutionary new technologies that could help us traverse the Solar System in much less time. Because of the orbital paths Mars and Earth take around the Sun, the distance between them varies between 54.6 million km and 401 million km. Missions to Mars are launched when the two planets make a close approach. During one of these approaches, it takes nine months to get to Mars using chemical rockets - the form of propulsion in widespread use. That's a long time for anyone to spend travelling. But engineers, including those at the US space agency (Nasa), are working with industrial partners to develop faster methods of getting us there. So what are some of the most promising technologies? Solar electric propulsion Solar electric propulsion could be used to send cargo to Mars ahead of a human mission. That would ensure equipment and supplies were ready and waiting for astronauts when they arrived using chemical rockets, according to Dr Jeff Sheehy, chief engineer in Nasa's Space Technology Mission Directorate. With solar electric propulsion, large solar arrays unfurl to capture solar energy, which is then converted to electricity. This powers something called a Hall thruster. There are pros and cons. On the upside, you need far less fuel, so the spacecraft becomes lighter. But it also takes your vehicle longer to get there. "In order to carry the payload we'd need to, it would probably take between two to 2.5 years to get us there," Dr Sheehy tells the BBC. FULL REPORT

Liverpool appeal to the Premier League to allow them to wear their FIFA world champions badge... with rules usually forbidding them from mid-season kit changes. (Daily Mail)

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Liverpool midfielder has ankle ligament damage Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will miss at least the Premier League leaders' next two games with ankle ligament damage. The England midfielder, 26, was forced off during Saturday's Club World Cup final, returning later to celebrate the 1-0 victory over Flamengo on crutches. Oxlade-Chamberlain missed almost all of the 2018-19 season with a knee injury. "We have to see how quick it can settle," said Klopp, whose side face second-placed Leicester on 26 December. "It can take a while, or it can be quicker." Klopp said there was "no chance" Oxlade-Chamberlain could make Thursday's match at the King Power Stadium (20:00 GMT kick-off). Liverpool then hosts Wolves on Sunday (16:30) in what will be their ninth game of a packed December. The German also confirmed three other injured players - midfielder Fabinho and defenders Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip - will also not play again this year. The Club World Cup was the second trophy Liverpool - who are 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand - have won this season, after they beat Chelsea on penalties to win the Uefa Super Cup in August. They also won last season's Champions League with a 2-0 win over Tottenham in the final on 1 June. "We have developed at playing in finals. You get used to the excitement and still doing the right things. We have matured," added 52-year-old Klopp, whose side had been beaten in three finals before victory over Spurs in Madrid. "We went there to Qatar to achieve something special. We did that, it felt brilliant. We went home, had a proper sleep and now we prepare for Leicester." https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50901736

Lewis stone circle has star-shaped lightning strike Evidence of a "massive" lightning strike has been found at the centre of a stone circle in the Western Isles. A single large strike, or many smaller ones on the same spot, left a star-shaped magnetic anomaly at the 4,000-year-old site in Lewis. Scientists made the discovery at Site XI or Airigh na Beinne Bige, a hillside stone circle now consisting of a single standing stone. The site is at the famous Calanais Standing Stones. Scientists said the lightning strike, which was identified in a geophysics survey, could show a potential link between the construction of ancient stone circles and the forces of nature. They said the lightning struck sometime before peat enveloped the stone circle at Site XI 3,000 years ago. The discovery is detailed in new research published online. Dr Richard Bates, of the University of St Andrews, said: "Such clear evidence for lightning strikes is extremely rare in the UK and the association with this stone circle is unlikely to be coincidental. "Whether the lightning at Site XI focused on a tree or rock which is no longer there, or the monument itself attracted strikes, is uncertain. "However, this remarkable evidence suggests that the forces of nature could have been intimately linked with everyday life and beliefs of the early farming communities on the island." The discovery was made by the Calanais Virtual Reconstruction Project, a joint venture led by the University of St Andrews with standing stones trust Urras nan Tursachan and the University of Bradford and supported by funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The same project has also produced a 3D virtual model recreating another of the area's "lost" stone circle, Na Dromannan. Its stones are today either lying flat or buried under the peat. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-50891787

Bloody hell, I have a condition called heart failure and that's me on tablets for life, same effects, dizziness and whatnot, I am wondering if it's the same condition? Daley Blind: Ajax defender diagnosed with a heart condition Ajax and Netherlands defender Daley Blind has been diagnosed with a heart condition after suffering from dizziness during the Champions League game against Valencia on 10 December. The ex-Manchester United player, 29, has missed the last two matches of the year and will not rejoin training in January as he continues his recovery. Ajax said Blind had been "diagnosed with heart muscle inflammation" after extensive medical examination. "I feel good at the moment," he said. "I am trying to come back as soon as possible." Blind has been fitted with a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, which sends electrical pulses to regulate abnormal heart rhythms, specifically those that can be dangerous and cause a cardiac arrest. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50879119

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard wants England striker Jermain Defoe, 37, to remain at Ibrox for another season. (Times)

When he scores goals like this then he should be on anybody's list, I'de have him on mine

@Teso dos Bichos cream your jeans

Don't be too nice to him Mesut, you might be the first to go.

Mikel Arteta set to be announced as Arsenal boss as Josh Kroenke flies back to the US after approving three-and-a-half-year deal worth £5m a season Arsenal director Josh Kroenke has returned to America and is poised to approve Mikel Arteta's appointment as the club's new manager. Arteta's return to the Emirates Stadium is at an advanced stage following talks with the club's kingmakers — head of football Raul Sanllehi, technical director Edu, managing director Vinai Venkatesham and head of football operations Huss Fahmy. Josh Kroenke, son of Gunners owner Stan, has spent an extended period in England to help smooth the transition following the sacking of Unai Emery this month. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7803027/Mikel-Arteta-set-new-Arsenal-manager-deal-worth-nearly-5m-season.html

Mikel Arteta confirmed as new Arsenal manager: LIVE news and latest reaction Former Gunners captain returns as manager after signing a three-and-a-half-year deal (DailyCannon)

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has set a world record £25m-a-year naming-rights price on the club's £1bn stadium. (Telegraph) Levy has also left the door open for former boss Pochettino to return to the north London side in the future. (Evening Standard)

We're likely to find alien life in the next decade, scientists say. Here's where NASA plans to look — in our solar system and beyond. SLIDES - 1/22 Many NASA scientists think we're on the verge of finding alien life. That's because the agency plans to dramatically ramp up its search for signs of extraterrestrial life in the next 10 years - in ancient Martian rock, hidden oceans on moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and the atmospheres of faraway planets orbiting other stars. "With all of this activity related to the search for life, in so many different areas, we are on the verge of one of the most profound discoveries ever," Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's former administrator, told Congress in 2017. Ellen Stofan, NASA's former chief scientist, said in 2015 that she believes we'll get "strong indications of life beyond Earth in the next decade and definitive evidence in the next 10 to 20 years." "We know where to look, we know how to look, and in most cases, we have the technology," she added, according to the LA Times. Here's how NASA plans to track down alien life - in our solar system and beyond. (SLIDES above). https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/photos/were-likely-to-find-alien-life-in-the-next-decade-scientists-say-heres-where-nasa-plans-to-look-%e2%80%94-in-our-solar-system-and-beyond/ss-BBYaOzQ?li=BBoPWjQ#image=1

World's oldest fossil trees uncovered in New York The earliest fossilised trees, dating back 386 million years, have been found at an abandoned quarry in New York. Scientists believe the forest they belonged to was so vast it originally stretched beyond Pennsylvania. This discovery in Cairo, New York, is thought to be two or three million years older than what was previously the world's oldest forest at Gilboa, also in New York State. The findings throw new light on the evolution of trees. What did they find? It was more than 10 years ago that experts from Cardiff University, UK, Binghamton University in the US and the New York State Museum began looking at the site in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains in the Hudson Valley. Since then, they have mapped over 3,000 square metres of the forest and concluded the forest was home to at least two types of trees: Cladoxylopsids and Archaeopteris. The third type of tree has yet to be identified. Palaeobotanist Dr Chris Berry from Cardiff University is a co-author of the study in the journal Current Biology. "This is the oldest place where you can wander around and map out where fossil trees were standing back in the middle part of the Devonian era." Researchers say they also discovered very long, woody roots that transformed the way plants and soils gather water. "It's a very ancient forest from the beginnings of the time where the planet was turning green and forests were becoming a normal part of the Earth's system," said Dr Berry. It's understood the forest was wiped out by a flood. The researchers have found fish fossils on the surface of the quarry. How does this help us understand the planet's past? The point in time that the fossil trees date to marks a transition between a planet with no forests and a planet that is largely covered in trees. Dr Berry says studying the site can give us a better understanding of how trees evolved and how they draw down carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. "We're well aware at the moment that having forests is a good thing and burning down forests and deforestation is a bad thing. Prof Howard Falcon-Lang from Royal Holloway, London says there's no doubt this is the earliest fossilised forest that we know of. "It may well be that in the future, something even older pops up - palaeontology is full of surprises! "But for the time being, this is incredibly exciting." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-50840134

Rangers are set to end the season-long loan deal of midfielder Andy King, 31, early and let the Wales international return to Leicester. (Daily Record) Rangers manager Steven Gerrard is considering another move for Liverpool youngster Herbie Kane in the January transfer window after the Scottish club were unable to agree on a move for the midfielder last summer. (Football Insider, via Express)

Does Pep need to win a European Cup in order to get the Liverpool job if Klopp moves on?

Mikel Arteta: Arsenal make contact with Manchester City to make Spaniard next boss Arsenal's legal team have been in contact with their Manchester City counterparts over Mikel Arteta becoming the next Gunners boss, but there is still no agreement in place. Arteta has said his farewells to City staff, with the expectation being that he will be unveiled on Friday. The Spaniard remains under contract as City are still waiting for Arsenal to offer to pay compensation. Interim boss Freddie Ljungberg had his news conference cancelled on Thursday. City remains angry at how Arsenal have conducted themselves since Sunday. The Gunners failed to mention their interest in the 37-year-old succeeding Unai Emery despite the two teams meeting at the Emirates but then sent two senior officials to Manchester for a late-night meeting with Arteta following the champions' 3-0 win in London. There has still been no call from anyone in a senior position at Arsenal to City, who do not blame Arteta as he has kept manager Pep Guardiola fully informed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50843803

Zlatan Ibrahimovic backed to succeed at Everton but the deal will only happen on one condition. (Express)

Hernan Cortés: Conquistador anchors found off Mexico Gulf Coast Two 500-year-old iron ship anchors have been discovered on Mexico's Gulf Coast, potentially offering an insight into the Spanish invasion. Archaeologists say they may have belonged to the fleet led by Spain's Hernán Cortés, who conquered the Aztec empire in the 16th Century. Last year another anchor was discovered nearby, containing wood originating from a Spanish tree. All three were found on the coast just north of the port city of Veracruz. Originally known as Villa Rica, this was where Cortés' fleet landed in 1519. It became a bustling harbour town in the years following Spain's conquest over the Aztecs in 1521. Divers located the anchors 10-15m (33-49ft) below the sea, under a thick layer of sediment. Archaeologists hope the latest discovery will lead to the unearthing of more marine artefacts that can illustrate the history of the Spanish invasion. A further 15 potential sites containing anchors have been identified. "The Conquest of Mexico was a seminal event in human history, and these shipwrecks, if we can find them, will be symbols of the cultural collision that led to what is now the West," said marine archaeologist Frederick Hanselmann. Cortés is thought to have destroyed the ships - either by burning, deliberate sinking or beaching - in order to prevent his men from abandoning the voyage. Earlier this year, Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador asked Spain to apologise to indigenous Mexicans for abuses committed during the invasion. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-50835844

US archaeologists discover two ancient Greek tombs hidden for thousands of years A team of U.S. archaeologists from the University of Cincinnati (UC) have discovered two royal tombs from the Bronze Age in a find that promises to shed light what life was like in ancient Greece. The two tombs were discovered in Pylos, Greece last year, but the discovery was only announced on Tuesday after more than 18 months of excavation and documentation. SLIDES - 1/3 The tombs contained items of jewellery, including a gold ring engraved with two bulls flanked by sheaves of grain and a pendant engraved with the likeness of an ancient Egyptian goddess which the researchers say could help tell stories of life in Greece from 3,500 years ago. The team, led by Jack Davis and Sharon Stocker from UC’s Classics Department, came across the new tombs while investigating the grave of an ancient Greek, nicknamed the ‘Griffin Warrior,’ which they had discovered nearby in 2015 The beehive-shaped tombs had been long-hidden by an estimated 40,000 stones which had collapsed in on the tombs thousands of years ago, filling the interiors with rubble. The rarity of the discovery was not lost on the researchers. “It soon became clear to us that lightning had struck again,” Davis said. The tombs’ walls were marked with flakes of gold leaf, which would have once covered the walls entirely, indicating that the tombs belonged to two families from the highest echelons in Ancient Greek society. “I think these are probably people who were very sophisticated for their time,” Stocker said. “They have come out of a place in history where there were few luxury items and imported goods. And all of a sudden at the time of the first tholos tombs, luxury items appear in Greece.” “You have this explosion of wealth. People are vying for power. It’s the formative years that will give rise to the Classical Age of Greece,” she added. The team will continue working at the site for the next two years, and hope to discover more ancient treasures. “It has been 50 years since any substantial tombs of this sort have been found at any Bronze Age palatial site,” Davis said. “That makes this extraordinary.” https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/us-archaeologists-discover-two-ancient-greek-tombs-hidden-for-thousands-of-years/ar-BBY8ZLV?li=BBoPWjQ#image=2

Watford 1st up with this guy Official: João Pedro Permit Approved!

Last Updated: 18 February 2020 See all the January transfer news involving Premier League clubs for the window during the 2019/20 season The January 2020 transfer window for Premier League clubs will open on Wednesday 1 January and close at 23:00 GMT on Friday 31 January 2020. We will track all the deals confirmed by the clubs throughout the month. Please note that new players signed on 1-2 January will not be eligible for Matchweek 21's fixtures. They can be made available for the following Matchweeks as clubs are permitted to make changes to their squad lists throughout the January window. Clubs completing deals late on Deadline Day, 31 January, will be able to submit a Deal Sheet between 21:00-23:00 GMT. Clubs will have until midnight on Deadline Day to complete the information needed by FIFA's Transfer Matching System to apply for international clearance for new signings. IN - OUT