Sci-tech
Total lunar eclipse happening January 20
It will be visible from locations in the north Pacific and northeast Asia, which includes Beijing, Irkutsk in Russia, Seoul, Taipei, and Tokyo. In contrast to a solar eclipse where the moon blocks the sun and special filters are a must for safety reasons, a lunar eclipse is simply the full moon sliding into our planet's shadow. [Full Article...]
For the First Time, Plants Have Been Grown On the Moon
China's second lunar rover Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2), which is also the first-ever rover to drive on the moon's far side, will face great challenges brought by complicated terrains in its future exploration, Chinese space experts said Monday. [Full Article...]
Stars Above: Get set for super blood moon eclipse
By the time the total eclipse starts at 11:41 p.m., the view should be clear with only spotty upper level clouds, says Scott Krentz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service based out of Greenville-Spartanburg. The entire eclipse lasts for more than five hours, ending at 7:48am. The last supermoon/lunar eclipse occurred in 1982. From Hawaii to ME, all 50 states will have a chance to s... [Full Article...]
Wolf Blood Super Moon will be visible from Northern Ireland
In addition, the moon will be slightly closer to Earth than usual, making it appear larger. "Wolf Moon " - a Native American term used to describe the first full moon of the year. While the reddish-coppery color is common, it's not a guarantee Rao said, as it depends on atmospheric conditions at the time. But because Earth's atmosphere extends about 50 miles up, during a total eclipse, alth... [Full Article...]
United Kingdom launches ambitious plan to tackle air pollution
The strategy, which also looks to tackle home, farming and industrial pollutants, commits Britain to halving the number of people who live in areas breaching World Health Organization guidelines on pollution as poor air quality in British cities comes under scrutiny. [Full Article...]
China's Chang'e 4 Mission Sprouts First Plant On The Moon
CNSA said the biological plants sent on the lunar mission had to pass strict requirements because of the extremely small size allowed in the cargo. The data that will be collected could be useful for future human missions on the far side of the moon . [Full Article...]
Antarctica's melt quickens, risks meters of sea level rise
This event caused a significant part of the Antarctic ice cap to melt and dramatically elevate global sea levels. American and Dutch scientists found that yearly ice mass loss in Antarctica increased sixfold in the past 40 years. It's when the outflow rate is greater than the snowfall accumulation rate that sea levels rise - and this is happening more than ever. "Where we sit right now, ... [Full Article...]
Chinese Chang’e 4 lunar lander cotton seeds are growing
The Chinese Moon lander was carrying among its cargo soil containing cotton and potato seeds, yeast and fruit fly eggs. The plans underscore China's ambitions in space at a time when the United States is curtailing NASA's budget and increasingly handing over space exploration to commercial adventurers, the Washington Post reported on Monday. [Full Article...]
World’s oceans are heating up at quickening pace
Ocean heating is critical marker of climate change because an estimated 93 percent of the excess solar energy trapped by greenhouse gases accumulates in the world's oceans. The first scenario falls in line with the Paris Climate Agreement's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to keep the average global temperature from rising no more than 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. [Full Article...]
Minister receives death threats over unprecedented mass fish death
In the town itself, the stench from rotting fish carcasses near the main boat ramp wafts into the Burke and Wills Menindee Motel. The duo blame state and federal governments for the "environmental disaster" affecting the golden perch, Murray cod and bony herring. [Full Article...]
More Mysterious Stuff Coming From Deep Space
The telescope is protected in a federally, legally enforced zone of no manmade radio signals, to ensure that the ordinary interferences that cause false observations are omitted. Using a series of four semicircular dishes, the telescope stays pointed consistently in the same direction, waiting to pick up signals. "[We now know] the sources can produce low-frequency radio waves and those low-fr... [Full Article...]
"Unexplored!" --China Releases First Photos of Moon's Far Side
The photos reveal a seemingly endless horizon of grey, rocky terrain. After making a soft landing on January 3 at 10:26 am, Chang'e 4 released a lunar rover to roam and survey its surroundings in the Von Karman crater, the moon's largest, oldest and deepest one, located in the South Pole-Aitken basin. [Full Article...]
Radio signals coming from deep space detected in Canada
The radio telescope was still in its pre-commissioning phase and operating with only a small amount of its full capacity in the summer of 2018 when it detected this and 12 singular fast radio bursts . The FRBs were detected first by accident in 2007 as a burst signal in radio astronomy data collected in 2001 was spotted. "And that's why finding more FRBs is so exciting for us". [Full Article...]
'Repeating' radio waves from deep space baffle scientists
Out in the depths of space , there are radio signals that astronomers don't understand. "Knowing that there is another suggests that there could be more out there", Ingrid Stairs , CHIME researcher and an astrophysicist at the University of British Columbia , said in a news release . [Full Article...]
British PM suffers fresh Brexit defeat
Theresa May has suffered another significant defeat in the House of Commons that will force her to reveal her "Brexit Plan B" within days if MPs vote against her deal. Conservative MP David Morris accused Bercow of behaving like "Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector" - a stinging insult considering Cromwell's treatment of Parliament. [Full Article...]
NASA Probe Discovers Third New Planet Outside Solar System
The nearby exoplanet , HD 21749b , orbits a bright neighboring star in the Reticulum constellation, with a 36-day orbit and a surface temperature of 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Citizen scientists have discovered a potentially habitable exoplanet roughly twice the size of Earth, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Monday. [Full Article...]
Invasion of the jellyfish: 13,000 beach goers stung in just one week
About 13,000 stings were recorded in the past week - three times more than in the corresponding period previous year. People can be stung in the water or on sand. Surf Life Saving Queensland issued a "major bluebottle warning" and a spokesperson said that if stung, remove stingers, take a very hot shower and apply ice. [Full Article...]
Chinese rover begins exploring far side of the moon
China's mission is to learn more about the little-understood region of the moon and compete with the U.S. and Russian Federation as a powerhouse of space exploration. "It means our science and technology ability is getting stronger and the country is becoming more powerful". The head of the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, Thursday congratulated the Chinese colleagues... [Full Article...]
Chinese Rover Lands on Dark Side of the Moon, First Photos Released
As China's space agency CNSA explains in a new post on its website, the Chang'e 4 lander arrived on schedule on the Moon's surface and quickly deployed the Yutu rover. The spacecraft, which blasted off into the heavens on December 7, was in an elliptical orbit around the Moon, swinging within 15 kilometres (nine miles) of the lunar regolith. [Full Article...]
This is the best time to see tonight’s Quadrantid meteor shower
The last time that Qatar had an encounter with meteor showers was back in November a year ago when annual meteors "Taurid and Leonid" appeared in the skies of Doha. That said, the best viewing times will be between midnight and dawn. 'Most meteor showers have a two-day peak, which makes catching sight of these other meteors much more possible, ' it added. [Full Article...]