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Schematic diagram illustrating underlying mechanisms of interdecadal shifts in the ENSO–SCAP relationship. Credit: npj Climate and Atmospheric Science (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41612-024-00742-x Central Asia, encompassing Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, is one of the world’s largest semi-arid to arid regions. Known for its continental climate, the region has a fragile ecosystem that is particularly sensitive…
The first image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. It was captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), an array which linked together eight existing radio observatories across the planet to form a single “Earth-sized” virtual telescope. Credit: EHT Collaboration The origins of aptly named supermassive black holes—which…
This artist’s rendition shows NASA’s Parker Solar Probe approaching the sun. Credit: Steve Gribben/Johns Hopkins APL/NASA Our sun drives a constant outward flow of plasma, or ionized gas, called the solar wind, which envelops our solar system. Outside of Earth’s protective magnetosphere, the fastest solar wind rushes by at speeds of over 310 miles (500…
Illustration of an exoplanet. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser A research team led by Lund University in Sweden has discovered a small planet that displays peculiar orbital motion. The shimmying planet, located 455 light-years from Earth, shows that planetary systems can be considerably more complex than researchers have previously thought. The newly discovered planet TOI-1408c has a…
The relationship between the risk to water security in each hydrological basin and the governance and environmental conditions in the regions upwind. The relationship between governance (y axis), environmental performance (x axis), the level of risk to water security of each hydrological basin relative to the 379 basins used in the study (color gradient) and…
The results of the study reveal the clear-sky downwelling longwave radiation from the atmosphere and the resulting surface albedo feedback due to the melting of ice as the dominant factors for abnormal temperatures of Greenland. Credit: Professor Kyung-Ja Ha from Pusan National University, South Korea Global warming, driven by human activities, has led to rising…
Halo of the Andromeda galaxy (Illustration). Credit: NASA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) The universe is a dynamic, ever-changing place where galaxies are dancing, merging together, and shifting appearance. Unfortunately, because these changes take millions or billions of years, telescopes can only provide snapshots, squeezed into a human lifetime. However, galaxies leave behind clues to their history…
One of the navigation cameras aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover captured this view looking back at the “Bright Angel” area on July 30, the 1,224th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech After 2½ years exploring Jezero Crater’s floor and river delta, the rover will ascend to an area where it will search…
Cross plot of δ18O carbonate vs δ13C carbonate of Baltica and Laurentia records. Although Baltica has lower Δ47-Temperatures than Laurentia, both have similar ranges in δ18O carbonate. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2400434121 An international team of ocean, Earth and marine scientists has found evidence supporting a theory that a…
Conceptual image of an exoplanet with an advanced extraterrestrial civilization. Structures on the right are orbiting solar panel arrays that harvest light from the parent star and convert it into electricity that is then beamed to the surface via microwaves. The exoplanet on the left illustrates other potential technosignatures: city lights (glowing circular structures) on…