For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the recent chirping of birds and blooming of flowers are welcome signs that spring has arrived — and a new video released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows a stunning glimpse of what this change of seasons looks like from space. The high-speed video […]
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Satellites watch Iceland volcano spew gigantic plume of toxic gas across Europe
Scientists are tracking a massive plume of toxic gas moving across northern Europe that was spat out by the ongoing volcanic eruption in Iceland. The gas cloud is unlikely to cause any serious health problems. However, it could impact the ozone hole above the Arctic, experts warn. On March 16, an underground volcano in Icealnd’s Reykjanes Peninsula blew […]
Read MoreA Total Solar Eclipse Is Coming April 8. Here’s What to Know.
On April 8, North America will experience its second total solar eclipse in seven years. The moon will glide over the surface of our sun, casting a shadow over a swath of Earth below. Along this path, the world will turn dark as night. Skywatchers in Mexico will be the first to see the eclipse […]
Read MoreSleeping subduction zone could awaken and form a new ‘Ring of Fire’ that swallows the Atlantic Ocean
A subduction zone below the Gibraltar Strait is creeping westward and could one day “invade” the Atlantic Ocean, causing the ocean to slowly close up, new research suggests. The subduction zone, also known as the Gibraltar arc or trench, currently sits in a narrow ocean corridor between Portugal and Morocco. Its westward migration began around 30 […]
Read MoreMars attracts: How the Red Planet influences Earth’s climate and seas
Scientists have discovered geological evidence that the gravitational interaction between Mars and Earth drives a 2.4-million-year cycle of deep-sea circulation and global warming. The surprising link between Mars and Earth’s seas and climate sees deep currents wax and wane, and this connects to periods of increased solar energy and a warmer climate. The research could […]
Read MoreWhy astronomers are worried about 2 major telescopes right now
There’s a bit of tension right now in the U.S. astronomy community and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it has to do with telescopes — extremely large telescopes, in fact. Here’s what’s going on. The National Science Foundation (NSF), a source of public funding that two powerful next-gen observatories have been banking on for financial support, is facing […]
Read MoreSpaceX rocket launches pioneering methane-tracking satellite to orbit
A new satellite that will track climate-heating methane emissions from oil and gas companies around the world launched this week from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base. The washing-machine-sized satellite, named MethaneSAT, lifted off Monday (March 4) atop a Falcon 9 rocket, one of 53 payloads on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare mission. MethaneSAT is designed to ultimately […]
Read MoreIt’s Not Officially the Anthropocene but Humans Have Changed the Planet
Coming after nearly 15 years of deliberation, a ruling by geologists on Tuesday feels almost anticlimactic: Our species has not so radically altered our world as to have started a new chapter in its history, at least not yet, a scholarly panel decided. But even if textbooks and research papers don’t feature the “Anthropocene” epoch […]
Read MoreAre We in the ‘Anthropocene,’ the Human Age? Nope, Scientists Say.
The Triassic was the dawn of the dinosaurs. The Paleogene saw the rise of mammals. The Pleistocene included the last ice ages. Is it time to mark humankind’s transformation of the planet with its own chapter in Earth history, the “Anthropocene,” or the human age? Not yet, scientists have decided, after a debate that has […]
Read MoreScientists made a ‘digital twin’ of Earth to simulate possible natural disasters
One lesson I bet we can all remember from grade school is the water cycle. Even if you don’t recall precisely what you’d learned, you probably have memories of some sort of video or diagram that was so colorful and creative it made the day feel a little more fun. For some of us (myself […]
Read MoreWhat are nacreous clouds?
Nacreous clouds, or ice polar stratospheric clouds, are a rare type of cloud that forms in very cold conditions and at high altitudes. They are known for their iridescent colors, which are created when sunlight interacts with the tiny ice crystals they are made of, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The name “nacreous” […]
Read MoreGravitational anomalies reveal seamount 3 times the height of world’s tallest building
Researchers have discovered four gigantic seamounts towering above the seafloor surrounding South America after detecting “gravitational anomalies” given off by the massive underwater mountains. The tallest rises more than 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) from the seafloor, making it three times taller than the world’s tallest building. Scientists aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Falkor (too) research […]
Read More‘Intruder’ stars have changed Earth’s climate over the eons. Here’s how.
Stars intruding into the sun’s cosmic backyard could have shifted Earth’s orbit in the distant past, triggering major climate events in our planet’s history. The gravitational influence of these intruder stars has also impacted the orbit of other planets in the solar system, causing minor deviations called perturbations. New research looks at the effect […]
Read More‘We are approaching the tipping point’: Marker for the collapse of key Atlantic current discovered
Scientists have discovered a key warning sign before a crucial Atlantic current collapses and plunges the Northern Hemisphere into climate chaos. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) carries warm water north from the Southern Hemisphere, where it releases heat and freezes. The freezing process concentrates salt in the non-frozen portion of the ocean water; this […]
Read MoreOur luscious blue Earth used to be a frozen snowball
Imagine a time when your favorite character in the Disney movie “Frozen” roamed the Earth — many millions of years ago, scientists say the picture in your mind was a reality. However, like Olaf probably wasn’t traversing that icy ancient Earth, Elsa wasn’t the one responsible for making our planet a big snowball in the […]
Read MoreThe Doomsday Clock Keeps Ticking
The Bomb and I go way back. In Seattle, where I grew up in the 1950s and ’60s, it was common wisdom that in the event of nuclear war, we were No. 2 on the target list because Seattle was the home of Boeing, maker of B-52 bombers and Minuteman missiles. In school we had […]
Read MoreNASA’s PACE satellite will study Earth’s tiniest mysteries from space: Watch it launch live Feb. 6
On Feb. 6, NASA is scheduled to launch a major, multi-million dollar satellite to a reserved spot in Earth’s orbit. Sitting above even the International Space Station, the spacecraft called PACE (which stands for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) has a very big goal: to monitor our planet’s health on an epic scale, starting from […]
Read MoreMajor ‘magnetic anomaly’ discovered deep below New Zealand’s Lake Rotorua
New maps have revealed a hidden hydrothermal system beneath a legendary lake in New Zealand, which serves as the setting for a famous Māori love story. Lake Rotorua sits at the heart of a massive ancient crater of a dormant volcano on New Zealand’s North Island. The lake has a storied history: it is where […]
Read MoreLava from Iceland volcano spied from space (satellite photo)
Solidified lava surrounds the small Icelandic town of Grindavík in a new satellite photo, following recent volcanic eruptions. Satellite imagery taken on Jan. 27 by the European Space Agency‘s (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission shows dark patches of solidified lava near the fishing village of Grindavik in Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula. Areas covered in the solidified lava […]
Read MoreHow blockchain technology could help reveal the origins of life
A team of chemists has managed to harness blockchain technology — typically used to mine cryptocurrencies — and create a massive computer network that can investigate the emergence of life on Earth. On one hand, this shows how blockchain can be employed to solve problems beyond those of the financial sector; on the other, this […]
Read MoreMystery of Siberia’s giant exploding craters may finally be solved
Eight giant, 160-foot-deep (50 meters) craters in the Siberian permafrost have baffled scientists since their discovery more than a decade ago — but a new theory may finally explain how they formed. The craters are unique to Russia’s northern Yamal and Gydan peninsulas and are not known to exist elsewhere in the Arctic, suggesting the […]
Read MoreU.S. Government awards NOAA millions for wildfire response research
It doesn’t matter what time of year it is or where you are — wildfires are a threat to everyone. With just the right climate conditions, these disasters can spark and spread within seconds. Of course, there are certain times of year and certain locations associated with increased chances a wildfire begins blazing — for […]
Read MoreSpace mysteries: Why do Earth’s magnetic poles flip?
Earth, our rocky, watery oasis in the cosmos is the ideal place for life to flourish for a number of reasons. We sit at just the right distance from our home star for liquid water to exist on the planet’s surface. The gravitational pull of other large planets helps protect us from apocalyptic collisions with […]
Read MoreSpace rescue! Watch a satellite being saved from a wire snag (video)
A satellite got all tangled up last year after its launch into space. Engineers had to quickly pivot after the California Institute of Technology’s Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD-1) got stuck during what was supposed to be a slow unfurling of a modular spacecraft experiment: The Deployable On-Orbit Ultralight Composite Experiment, or DOLCE. A new […]
Read MoreEarth’s water might have come from ancient space rocks, meteorite discovery suggests
Earth and the rest of our solar system’s inner, rocky planets are the products of a myriad of tiny planetesimals — glorified pebbles of primordial cosmic dust — assembling themselves together more than 4 billion years ago. Now, a new analysis suggests that those planetesimals already contained water. Researchers tested samples from meteorites that they […]
Read MoreGoodbye sun: What it’s like to experience the polar night along Norway’s rugged coastline
Anyone who has ventured to the far north or south during winter will have experienced the surreal phenomenon of the “polar night,” during which the sun doesn’t rise. Most people who have encountered the polar night will have done so in the Northern Hemisphere in either Norway, parts of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Finland, Russia […]
Read MoreSatellites watch Iceland volcano spew lava towards fishing village (photo)
A tiny town in Iceland stands on the brink of a lava flow, in new images visible from space. Grindavík has been under continual threat from volcanic eruptions for weeks. The flow originates beneath the Svartsengi volcano system, roughly 2.5 miles (4 km) north of the town, which erupted on Dec. 18 and Jan. 14. […]
Read MoreWhat would happen if Earth stopped spinning?
Even though Earth is always spinning, we can’t feel it, and you probably take it for granted. But what would happen if it stopped? If Earth suddenly stopped spinning, it would be catastrophic. Almost everyone and everything not attached to the planet would continue to move at the current speed of Earth’s rotation, around 1,000 […]
Read More2023 was the hottest year on record, NASA and NOAA say
It’s official: 2023 was the hottest year on record. On Friday (Jan. 12), climate scientists from NASA and NOAA unveiled data showing that temperatures continue to rise at shocking rates, contributing to severe climate-driven weather events worldwide. NOAA’s and NASA’s analyses did not use satellite data or weather forecasts. Instead, their analysis used surface data […]
Read MoreJapanese earthquake on Jan. 1 shifted coastline over 800 feet, satellite photos show
Satellite images captured striking changes in the coastline of Japan’s Noto Peninsula following a massive earthquake on New Year’s Day. A 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Japan on Jan. 1 around 2:10 a.m. EST (0710 GMT, or 4:10 p.m. local time in Japan), prompting orders for residents to evacuate affected coastal areas that experienced significant uplift. […]
Read MoreCrystal-studded space rock found in the Sahara may rewrite the history of the early solar system
This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. In May 2020, some unusual rocks containing distinctive greenish crystals were found in the Erg Chech sand sea, a dune-filled region of the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria. On close inspection, the rocks turned out to be from […]
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