On April 26, 1986, an accident at Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant caused about 350,000 people to flee their homes as thick plumes of radioactive material spewed into the sky, according to World Nuclear Association (opens in new tab). Upon evacuation, they would have had to decontaminate their clothing, bodies and any objects to avoid …
How do you decontaminate objects exposed to radioactivity? Read More »
Scientists discovered an oddly shaped visitor to our solar system in 2017. And it accelerated in an inexplicable way. The icy object, called ‘Oumuamua, which roughly translates to “messenger from afar” or “scout” in Hawaiian, was unlike any object ever seen in the solar system. It looked unusually long and lean, like a cigar; had …
The mystery of the interstellar comet ‘Oumuamua has been solved, scientists say Read More »
“We have to learn to live in our own dirty bathwater at this point.” Dr. Moriba Jah’s words were hardly reassuring – but then again he wasn’t trying to be. An associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Department, I had asked Jah what it would take for …
NASA hopes to clean up space junk; experts say the days of clear night skies are ‘over’ Read More »
An asteroid dubbed the “city killer” for its size will pass harmlessly between the moon and Earth on Saturday night. Asteroid 2023 DZ2 will pass at a distance of over 100,000 miles, less than half the distance between Earth and the moon. It is about 160 feet long – about the size of an airliner. …
An asteroid the size of a plane will pass between Earth and the moon’s orbits: NPR Read More »
The aurora borealis made a rare appearance. A large hole in the Sun’s corona caused a strong geomagnetic storm that severely damaged Earth’s magnetic field. This incident served as the catalyst for the magnificent Northern Lights display, which traveled to the United States and was seen by millions of people. Many states in the United …
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is heading down range after liftoff Friday morning from Cape Canaveral. Credit: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now / Coldlife Photography SpaceX continued to launch satellites for the Starlink internet network on Friday, sending a Falcon 9 rocket aloft from Cape Canaveral carrying 56 more older-generation broadband spacecraft as ground crews troubleshoot …
A large asteroid will zoom by Earth today (March 25), and you can watch the flyby live online. The near-Earth asteroid, known as 2023 DZ2, is believed to be 140 to 310 feet (40 to 95 meters) wide. Around. 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT), it will zoom within 107,500 miles (173,000 kilometers) of our planet, …
Watch large asteroid zoom near Earth tonight in free live stream Read More »
Heat waves happen on the bottom of the ocean, a new study shows. And these so-called “bottom marine heat waves” can be devastating because they last longer than surface heat waves and affect many key species, such as lobster and cod. It has long been known that increases in surface water temperature can destroy an …
Heat waves hit the deep ocean floor with potentially catastrophic results Read More »
We don’t want to alarm you, but there is a black hole staring the earth right in the face. Scientists have reclassified a galaxy after finding that the supermassive black hole at its center has changed direction and is now aiming straight for us. The galaxy in question is located 657 million light-years away from …
Reclassified galaxy is now a supermassive black hole pointing directly at Earth Read More »
Miguel Claro (opens in new tab) is a professional photographer, writer and science communicator based in Lisbon, Portugal who creates spectacular images of the night sky. Like a European Southern Observatory Photo ambassador (opens in new tab) and member of The world at night (opens in new tab) and the official astrophotographer of Dark Sky …
Watch the moon turn blood red in this amazing lunar eclipse video Read More »
