The “most powerful meteor storm in generations” could light up skies over North America next week. Fragments of the dying comet SW3 are expected to be visible from the United States and parts of Canada as Earth crosses its orbital path on Tuesday. Comet SW3, full name 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, is responsible for the dust fragments … Read more
Scientists have detected a new type of extremely reactive substance in the Earth’s atmosphere that could pose a threat to human health, as well as to the global climate. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have shown that trioxides – chemical compounds with three oxygen atoms attached to each other – form under atmospheric conditions. … Read more
NOT ASA captured the moment an underwater volcano home to mutated sharks erupted. Satellite data from May 14 shows a plume of discolored water emerging from the underwater volcano. The Kavachi Volcano, just south of Vangunu Island, has earned the nickname Sharkcano because it is home to sharks that have adapted to life in its … Read more
Scientists have detected a brand new type of magnetic wave that travels through Earthfrom the outer core every seven years, thereby distorting the strength of our planet’s magnetic field. The waves – nicknamed “magneto-coriolis” waves because they travel along the Earth’s axis of rotation, according to the Coriolis effect – creep from east to west … Read more
Illustration showing what exoplanet 55 Cancri e might look like, based on current understanding of the planet. 55 Cancri e is a rocky planet almost twice the diameter of Earth and orbiting just 0.015 astronomical units from its Sun-like star. Due to its narrow orbit, the planet is extremely hot, with daytime temperatures reaching 4,400 … Read more
Geologists plan to crack open an 830-million-year-old crystal of rock salt, which they believe contains ancient microorganisms that may still be alive. Researchers from the Geological Society of America first announced their discovery of tiny remnants of prokaryotic and algal life inside an ancient halite crystal earlier this month. These organisms were found inside microscopic … Read more
SpaceX chief Elon Musk has shared a remarkable image (below) that highlights the true scale of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The photo shows a Falcon 9 booster shortly after landing at Cape Canaveral in Florida at the end of a flight on Wednesday May 25. SpaceX has successfully landed the first-stage booster for several years, … Read more
After spending just under a week on the space station, Boeing’s new passenger spacecraft, the CST-100 Starliner, returned to Earth this afternoon, landing intact using parachutes and rockets. airbags in the New Mexico desert. The successful landing ends a crucial test flight for Starliner, which demonstrated the vehicle’s ability to launch into space, dock at … Read more
A whole new class of super-reactive chemical compounds, the trioxides, have been discovered under atmospheric conditions. For the first time, an entirely new class of super-reactive chemical compounds has been discovered under atmospheric conditions. Scientists from the University of Copenhagen, in close collaboration with international colleagues, have documented the formation of so-called trioxides – a … Read more
The findings gained prominence recently after images of pterosaurs surfaced on social media. A team of researchers in Argentina have found the fossilized remains of the largest pterosaur species ever found in South America. Nicknamed “Dragon of Death” by paleontologists, the fossils of the azhdarchid were discovered in the Andes of the Argentine province of … Read more