Before the year has even come to a close, climate experts are certain that 2023 will be the hottest year in recorded history. And while several factors are impacting this year’s record heat, researchers say human-caused climate change is overwhelmingly responsible. On Dec. 6, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) — part of the European … Read more
The strength of solar storms hitting Earth can vary dramatically over short distances, with places just a few dozen miles apart experiencing very different magnetic disruptions, new research finds. This could mean that some areas are more vulnerable to large solar storms than previously appreciated, study co-author Eija Tanskanen, the director of the Sodankylä Geophysical … Read more
When astronauts return from spacewalks, they often describe unexpected scents similar to burnt steak and spent gunpowder. But why does outer space smell like torched things, and where does this odor come from? To be clear, space is a near-perfect vacuum. While in space, astronauts protect themselves in spacecraft, spacesuits and space stations, “since direct … Read more
High-powered infrared laser weapons could be on the horizon after scientists figured out how to make lasers nine times more powerful. Militaries have already deployed laser-powered weapons, as popularized by films like “Star Wars,”, but they’re much weaker than those seen on screen and can only disable small airborne targets. The light In these current … Read more
Editor’s Note: Regular readers of this column know we never pass up the chance to share a story about our beloved water bears. 🙂 For the first time, scientists have figured out how tardigrades — some of the toughest creatures on the planet — mate. These tiny, hardy critters have few obvious differences between males … Read more
Ocean pout live in frigid waters from Labrador in Canada to North Carolina and have evolved a blood protein that serves as antifreeze. Name: Ocean pout (Zoarces americanus) Where it lives: Western Atlantic Ocean, ranging from Labrador in Canada to North Carolina, in waters from near the shore to depths of almost 1,300 feet (400 … Read more
Scientists in China have created a robot chemist powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that can extract oxygen from Martian water without human supervision. Synthesizing useful resources from local materials on Mars will be essential for humans’ survival on the Red Planet. Extracting oxygen from materials — in a process called oxygen evolution reaction (OER) — is particularly … Read more
A new search for dark matter has turned up empty handed — but, in a silver lining, the effort provided important limits that will help future experiments narrow down the hunt for this elusive substance. Most astronomers believe that dark matter accounts for 85 percent of all mass in the universe, and that its existence … Read more
It’s been called the “loneliest place on earth” — a location so remote it would take days to traverse the 1,670 miles (2,700 kilometers) of ocean between this point and the nearest patch of land — which, even then, is just a cluster of tiny islands inhabited only by birds. Sitting in the middle of … Read more
Astronomers have discovered a remarkable star system with six planets unlike any in our solar system. According to new research, all six planets orbit the same star in resonance with each other, following an unwavering rhythm that has lasted billions of years. Because of this peculiar resonance, the outermost planet in the system completes one … Read more
