A new study from the University of Arizona suggests that an unknown, and currently unseen planetary body exists in the outer reaches of our solar system. The planet is located far beyond Pluto and has a mass somewhere between that of Mars and Earth. This object is...
June 23, 2017
A new study shows how seasonal changes in large-scale water cycles in California influence small-scale quake activity. It confirms that the annual hydrological loading cycle modulates microseismicity in California. The results of the study reveal how snow, rain,...
June 16, 2017
According to a new analysis by a theoretical physicist from UC Berkley and a radio astronomer from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory at Harvard University, our sun, as well as every other sunlike star in the universe, had a twin when it was born. Astronomers...
June 14, 2017
A new study led by Michael West of Lowell Observatory and Roberto De Propris of the University of Turku reveals that the most massive galaxies in the universe have been aligned with their surroundings for at least ten billion years. This discovery shows that...
June 14, 2017
Researchers from North Carolina State University have discovered a technique for controlling light with electric fields. “Our method is similar to the technique used to provide the computing capabilities of computers,” says Linyou Cao, an assistant...
May 26, 2017
If you could travel back in time 41 000 years to the last ice age, your compass would point south instead of north. That’s because for a period of a few hundred years, the Earth’s magnetic field was reversed. Magnetic reversals have happened repeatedly...
May 16, 2017
An international team of scientists has developed a model that simulates the evolution of Stealth CMEs, solar storms that puzzled scientists for their lack of typical warning signs as they seem to come from nowhere. Such computer models can help researchers better...
May 10, 2017
The ability to identify fake news and other false information has never been more important. That makes critical thinking skills a must – yet according to new national study from edtech firm MindEdge Learning, millennials struggle in this area. The survey...
May 10, 2017
A Nagoya University-led team reveals the mechanisms behind different earthquakes at a plate boundary on the west coast of South America, shedding light on historical seismic events and potentially aiding prediction of the future risk from these natural disasters....
April 27, 2017
Scientists have gained new insights into how eruptions occur on the Sun and, through 3-D computer simulation, identified a universal process that explains eruptions of every size, from tapered jets to massive explosions of solar material and energy. In a new study...
April 27, 2017
In the most comprehensive reconstruction of rainfall patterns within the Intertropical Convergence Zone for the past 2000 years, a team of researchers led by ETH Zurich describe how even small changes in global temperature can trigger a migration of the tropical...
April 25, 2017
New data covering an entire 11-year solar activity cycle suggest that Sun and planets in our solar system are surrounded by a giant, spherical system of magnetic field from the Sun, calling into question the current view of the solar magnetic fields trailing behind...
April 24, 2017
In a collaborative effort between the arts and sciences, researchers at Kyoto University and Japan's National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) and National Institute of Japanese Literature (NIJL) have used historical documents to garner better insight into the...
April 09, 2017
In a recent study, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) found that the persistent high-pressure ridge off the west coast of North America that blocked storms from coming onshore during the winters of 2013-14 and 2014-15 was associated...
April 06, 2017
In a study published March 20, 2017 in Nature Communications, an international team of scientists challenges the prevailing theory that the unique nature of Earth’s iron was the result of how its core was formed billions of years ago. The study opens the door...
March 20, 2017
A new study argues that eruption of the Chilean volcano Calbuco on April 22, 2015 stretched the Antarctic Ozone Hole, the thinnest portion of the ozone shell that shields Earth from harmful radiation, to a record size nearly as large as Africa. It did so by ejecting...
March 15, 2017
Scientists have linked global mass extinction at the Permian-Triassic boundary some 250 million years ago to an ice age caused by the activity of the first volcanism in the Siberian Traps. The research paves the way for a new vision of the Earth's climate...
March 06, 2017
A new research shows that eruptions on the Sun’s surface not only send bursts of particles into Earth’s atmosphere, but - contrary to previous belief - also remove electrons across large areas. The new knowledge increases our understanding of solar...
March 03, 2017
In one of the most comprehensive studies on trends in local severe weather patterns to date, an international team of researchers found that the frequency of hail storms, thunderstorms and high wind events has decreased by nearly 50 percent on average throughout...
March 03, 2017
A new study found that human-ignited wildfires in the United States accounted for 84% of all wildfires, tripling the length of the average fire season and accounting for nearly half of the total acreage burned. In total, humans have ignited over 840 000 blazes in...
February 28, 2017
A team of researchers from the Universities of Sussex and Bristol has invented a super-material that bends, shapes and focuses sound waves that pass through it. The creation pushes the boundaries of metamaterials – a new class of finely-engineered surfaces...
February 28, 2017
A team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Northwestern University has found evidence confirming a critical theory of how the planets in our solar system behave in their orbits around the Sun. The finding is important because it provides the...
February 23, 2017
Almost 20% of the food made available to consumers is lost through over-eating or waste, a study suggests. The world population consumes around 10% more food than it needs, while almost 9% is thrown away or left to spoil, researchers say. Efforts to reduce the...
February 22, 2017
Each year, 2 to 16 percent of hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells spill hydrocarbons, chemical-laden water, hydraulic fracturing fluids and other substances, according to a study published yesterday in Environmental Science & Technology. The analysis,...
February 22, 2017
A new study suggests that the fault under Ventura, California would cause stronger shaking during an earthquake and more damage that previously suspected. The Ventura Fault, also known as Ventura-Pitas Point fault, in southern California has been the focus of a lot...
February 16, 2017
NASA will launch an interesting sounding rocket from the Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska, between February 13 and March 3, 2017, and will form white artificial clouds during its brief, 10-minute flight, to study auroras. The rocket is one of five being launched...
February 13, 2017
Scientists using the world's largest array of seismic sensors found a huge area of melting carbon covering 1.8 million km2 (684 000 mi2), 350 km (217.5 miles) beneath the Western US. The discovery challenges accepted the understanding of how much carbon the...
February 13, 2017
An international team of scientists has confirmed the existence of a 'lost continent' under the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius that was left-over by the break-up of the supercontinent, Gondwana, which started about 200 million years ago. The piece of...
January 31, 2017
Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has observed high-energy light from solar eruptions located on the Sun's far side, which should block direct light from these events. This apparent paradox is providing solar scientists with a unique tool for exploring how charged...
January 31, 2017