A new study suggests that the Earth has been moving through the remnants of an ancient exploded star for at least the past 33 000 years. The research team extracted a special isotope of iron called iron-60 from sea sediment samples and found that the isotope is…
New images from NASA's MAVEN spacecraft reveal wide areas of Mars' night sky pulsing in ultraviolet light. While researchers understand the light's source, its mysterious spiral shape left them puzzled. "There is a vast spiral of ultraviolet light…
Researchers from Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Israel Antiquities Authority were able to measure the Earth's magnetic field in Jerusalem in 586 BCE– the time when the city was destroyed by the Babylonians. The groundbreaking…
A new theory published this week in the AAS' The Astrophysical Journal Letters suggests that our Sun may once have had a binary companion of similar mass. If confirmed, the presence of an early stellar companion increases the likelihood that the Oort cloud was…
A team of scientists successfully installed an optical seismometer on La Grande Soufrière volcano's summit– the first high-resolution instrument placed on an active volcano. The seismometer, used to monitor gas and steam eruptions, survived the…
New research by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) found that a key component of the Gulf Stream– a warm Atlantic ocean current stretching to the tip of Florida– has steadily slowed and is now weaker than at any other point in the past 110 years. The…
Recent solar conditions indicate a persistent decline in solar activity‐‐‐possibly similar to the past solar grand minima, scientists reporting in AGU's Space Weather write. During such periods of low solar activity, the fluxes of galactic cosmic rays…
For the first time, scientists have used lasers to detect space debris in broad daylight. Prior to this, lasers could only be used to measure the distance to space debris during a few twilights hours. A new study proved that it is possible to use lasers in full…
Some scientists believe that an extraterrestrial impact, such as a meteor collision, caused global cooling around 13 000 years ago. However, a new study presents evidence left in layers of sediment showing that the event was most likely caused by volcanic eruptions….
A new study by Utah State University (USU) suggests that modern megaherbivores– plant-eaters that weigh more than 1 000 kg (2 200 lbs)– have the highest risk of going extinct among mammals, birds, and reptiles, just like what happened to their prehistoric…
