This week, the October sky is treating us to a brilliant display that you won't want to miss -- the Hunter's supermoon, a rare comet, and the Orionids meteor shower. 



Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is a rare comet making its journey past Earth, offering a unique opportunity to witness its tail of icy particles glistening against the dark canvas of space.



In addition, this week features the biggest supermoon of the year, Hunter's supermoon, which will illuminate the night with a breathtaking orangish glow.



Since Tuesday, the moon has looked larger than usual, and it’ll keep that appearance through Friday. By Thursday morning, as people head out for their morning commute. Depending on the weather in your area, Thursday night being the best time to see the full Hunter's supermoon..



And let's not forget the dazzling Orionids meteor shower, where you can catch glimpses of shooting stars streaking across the sky, resulting from debris left by Halley's Comet.



There's truly something for everyone in this celestial display. So, grab a warm jacket, perhaps a pair of binoculars for a closer look.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-80-000-year-old-time-traveler">80,000-year-old time traveler</h2>



Meet <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-anticipated-comet-of-2024-returns-this-weekend-after-80000-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS</a>, a celestial wanderer that's been on an 80,000-year long odyssey. 



From the outermost regions of our solar system, this comet embarks on an interminable journey around the sun. The last time it paid us a visit, our ancestors were just crafting civilizations.



Although its closest Earth pass was on October 12, it remains visible for the remainder of the month. 



So, how do you spot it? An hour into the sunset, turn your sight to where the sun has sunk and voila. The elusive comet, while difficult to sight with the naked eye, could be seen with a pair of binoculars. 



Don't miss this rare chance to witness a phenomenon that won't return for another 80,000 years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hunter-s-supermoon">Hunter's Supermoon</h2>



Next up...mark your calendars for October 17, 2024. The night sky is all set to parade the Hunter's Moon, but this year it's not just a full moon -- <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hunters-supermoon-prepares-to-illuminate-the-october-skies/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">it's a supermoon</a>! 



This phenomenon occurs when the moon is at its closest to Earth during its full phase, making it larger and brighter.



The Hunter’s Moon got its name from the historical practice of hunters utilizing the bright moonlight to track game and gather food in preparation for winter. This full moon rises soon after sunset, extending the period of illumination more than usual.



As it ascends, the Hunter’s Moon appears particularly large and orange, a visual effect produced by its lower position on the horizon and the scattering of light in the atmosphere.



This lunar phase holds cultural significance across various traditions, representing a time for preparation and gathering, underscoring the importance of readiness for the impending colder months.



The Hunter’s Moon is generally in October -- although once every four years it makes an appearance in November.



While contemporary life may not depend on this extra light to hunt or complete outdoor tasks, the Hunter’s Moon remains a fascinating reminder of nature’s rhythms and the cyclical changes of the seasons.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-puts-the-super-in-the-supermoon">What puts the 'super' in the supermoon?</h3>



So, you might ask, "What's so super about the supermoon?" As Anna Gammon-Ross, a seasoned astronomer from the <a href="https://www.rmg.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Royal Museums Greenwich</a> explains, a supermoon occurs when a full moon is nearest to Earth in its orbit. 



This cosmic alignment results in a moon that's roughly 14% larger and 30% brighter than usual. On seeing the radiant orb hanging low in the sky, you'd agree that the supermoon does indeed earn its name.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shooting-stars-orionids-meteor-shower">Shooting stars: Orionids meteor shower</h2>



The Orionids meteor shower is one of the highlights of the October night sky. These meteors are actually tiny bits of dust left behind by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orionids-meteor-shower-peaks-this-weekend-heres-what-to-expect/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Halley's Comet</a> as it travels through the solar system. 



When Earth passes through this trail of debris, the particles slam into our atmosphere at incredible speeds -- up to 148,000 miles per hour! As they burn up, they create those bright streaks of light we love to watch.



What's cool about the Orionids is that they're known for their fast and bright meteors, often leaving glowing trails that last for a few seconds. 



The best time to catch them is in the early morning hours before dawn, when the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/betelgeuse-one-of-our-brightest-stars-will-vanish-from-sight-next-week/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">constellation Orion</a> (which gives the meteor shower its name) is high in the sky. 



Just find a comfy spot away from city lights, let your eyes adjust to the darkness, and enjoy the show -- no special equipment needed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-skywatching-101">Skywatching 101</h2>



All set to behold these cosmic spectacles? Here are some tips to enhance your experience:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Search for a location far from city lights to escape light pollution. </li>



<li>Always check the weather. Clear skies are your best pals for skywatching. </li>



<li>Bring your binoculars. For the supermoon, they are optional, but they'll help with the comet and make meteor watching more fun. </li>



<li>Comfort is key. Dress warmly and consider bringing a blanket or a chair. </li>



<li>Patience is a virtue. Allow around 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness.</li>
</ul>



These celestial showstoppers make for some spectacular photography opportunities. 



For the supermoon, a camera with manual settings, plus a tripod for steadiness, can help capture stunning shots. 



For the meteors, a wide-angle lens with a long exposure setting can help you nab a shooting star.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-wonders-to-watch">More wonders to watch</h2>



October's skywatching doesn't end with the comet, supermoon, and meteor shower. 



Throughout the month, Venus brightly greets morning risers, while Saturn and Jupiter are earlier night visitors. 



Mars is a bit elusive but worth seeking out. Several constellations, such as Cassiopeia and Perseus, also adorn the night sky. 



If you're a novice stargazer, a smartphone app can help you navigate the starry expanse.



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Hunter's supermoon, a comet, and Orionids meteors are sharing the sky tonight

This week, the October sky is treating us to a brilliant display that you won't want to miss -- the Hunter's supermoon, a rare comet, and the Orionids meteor shower. Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is a rare comet making its journey past Earth, offering a unique opportunity to witness its tail of icy particles glistening against the dark canvas of space. In addition, this week features the biggest supermoon of the year, Hunter's supermoon, which will illuminate the night with a breathtaking orangish glow. Since Tuesday, the...

A,Volunteer,Collects,Garbage,On,A,Muddy,Beach.,Close-up.,The

According to an increasing number of studies, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-is-making-the-ocean-more-acidic/">plastic pollution</a> is one of the main threats the world’s oceans and their ecosystems are currently facing. While previous research has focused primarily on Northern Hemisphere oceans and areas near the most industrialized nations, a recent global dataset of ocean plastic pollution between 1979 and 2019 has revealed a fast and unprecedented worldwide increase in ocean plastics since 2005. Better understanding plastic accumulation in oceans across the globe could provide a critical baseline to help address this major form of pollution.



The experts examined data on ocean-surface-level plastic pollution collected between 1979 and 2019 from 11,777 stations across six marine regions (North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Mediterranean, and Indian). While a relative lack of data from 1979 to 1990 prevented reliable trend analysis during this period, and between 1990 and 2004 plastic levels showed fluctuations with no precise trend, from 2005 to 2019 ocean plastic abundance and distribution significantly and rapidly increased worldwide, with an estimated 85 to 358 trillion plastic particles, weighing between 1.1 and 4.9 million tons, polluting the world’s oceans in 2019.&nbsp;



Although these findings are biased towards trends in the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans, where the majority of data was collected, the rapid increase in plastic pollution since 2005 suggests a sustained, global growth of plastic production, as well as possible changes in waste generation and management. According to the researchers, without widespread policy changes, the rate at which plastics enter our oceans may increase by 2.6 times by 2040. To prevent this, a legally binding international policy intervention to minimize the ecological, economic, and social damage of marine plastic pollution is urgently needed.



“We’ve found an alarming trend of exponential growth of microplastics in the global ocean since the millennium,&nbsp;reaching over 170 trillion plastic particles. This is a stark warning that we must act now at a global scale.&nbsp;We need a strong, legally binding UN Global Treaty on plastic pollution that stops the problem at the source,” concluded lead author Marcus Eriksen, the research director and co-founder of the <a href="https://www.5gyres.org/">5 Gyres Institute</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281596">PLoS ONE</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Unprecedented increase in global ocean plastic pollution since 2005

According to an increasing number of studies, plastic pollution is...

By using the <a href="http://almaobservatory.org/en/home/">Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array</a> (ALMA) – an array of radio telescopes in northern Chile – an international team of astronomers has detected gaseous <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-water-older-sun/">water</a> in the planet-forming disc around the star V883 Orionis, located about 1,300 light-years away from Earth. This water carries a chemical signature which helps scientists explain the journey of water from star-forming gas clouds to planets, supporting the hypothesis that water on Earth is even older than our Sun.



Scientists have long known that, when a cloud of gas and dust collapses, it forms a star at its center, while material from the cloud also forms a disc around the star. Over a few million of years, the matter in the disc clumps together to form asteroids, comets, and eventually planets. Although the journey of water from clouds to young stars – and later on from comets to planets – has previously been observed, the link between the young stars and comets remained a mystery.



“V883 Orionis is the missing link in this case. The composition of the water in the disc is very similar to that of comets in our own Solar System. This is confirmation of the idea that the water in planetary systems formed billions of years ago, before the Sun, in interstellar space, and has been inherited by both comets and Earth, relatively unchanged,” explained study lead author John Tobin, an astronomer at the <a href="https://public.nrao.edu/">National Radio Astronomy Observatory</a>.



Although water usually consists of two hydrogen atoms linked to one oxygen atom, the water examined in this study was a slightly heavier version, in which one hydrogen atom is replaced with deuterium (a heavy isotope of hydrogen). Since simple and heavy water form under different conditions, their ratio can be used to find out when and where the water was formed. For example, in some comets from our Solar System, this ratio is similar to that in water on Earth, suggesting that comets may have delivered water on our planet.



However, since most of the water in planet-forming discs is frozen, observing it from Earth is challenging. While gaseous water can be easily detected due to the radiation emitted by molecules as they spin and vibrate, this is more complicated when the water is frozen and the movement of molecules is more constrained. Although gaseous water can usually be found toward the center of the discs, closer to the star where it is warmer, these regions are often hidden by the dust disc itself, and they are also too small to be reliably observed with telescopes.



Fortunately, since the V883 Orionis disc is unusually hot, it contains vast amounts of gaseous water – at least 1,200 times the amount of water in all the Earth’s oceans - that scientists managed to detect, examine its composition, and map its distribution within the disc. In future studies, by employing even more performant technology, the researchers hope to provide a clearer picture of how water travels all the way from star-forming clouds to solar systems.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05676-z">Nature</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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How does water travel through our solar system?

By using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) – an...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-geese-adapt-by-finding-a-new-migratory-route/">Arctic</a> is warming faster than the global average and scientists have been measuring the effects. While most research has focused on melting permafrost, retreating glaciers and shrinking sea ice, it is likely that the rivers are also changing. The Arctic is home to many large rivers that carry water from the seasonal melting of glaciers and ice, so it is likely that they will be affected by atmospheric temperature changes.&nbsp;



An international team of researchers has now conducted an investigation into the impact of climate change on large rivers in Arctic Canada and Alaska. The experts analyzed a collection of time-lapsed satellite images of river courses stretching back 50 years and compared the changes. The images covered more than a thousand kilometers of riverbanks along the edges of 10 large Arctic rivers in the Yukon and Northwest Territories of Canada, as well as in Alaska. These watercourses included the Mackenzie, Porcupine, Slave, Stewart and Yukon.



Study lead author Dr.&nbsp;<a href="https://eegs.ok.ubc.ca/about/contact/alessandro-ielpi/">Alessandro Ielpi</a> is an assistant professor with the University of British Colombia Okanagan’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science. The research was conducted with Dr. Mathieu Lapôtre at Stanford University, Dr. Alvise Finotello at the University of Padua in Italy, and Université Laval’s Dr. Pascale Roy-Léveillée.



The researchers, who aimed to understand how atmospheric warming is affecting Arctic rivers that flow through the permafrost, were somewhat surprised by the results they obtained.&nbsp;



“The western Arctic is one of the areas in the world experiencing the sharpest atmospheric warming due to climate change,” said Dr. Ielpi. “Many northern scientists predicted the rivers would be destabilized by atmospheric warming. The understanding was that as permafrost thaws, riverbanks are weakened, and therefore northern rivers are less stable and expected to shift their channel positions at a faster pace.”



Although this assumption of faster channel migration due to climate change has dominated the scientific community for decades, it has never been tested in the field. Dr. Ielpi and his colleagues designed their research to identify exactly how the river courses have changed over the past five decades.



“We tested the hypothesis that large sinuous rivers in permafrost terrain are moving faster under a warming climate and we found exactly the opposite,” he said. “Yes, permafrost is degrading, but the influence of other environmental changes, such as greening of the Arctic, counteracts its effects. Higher temperatures and more moisture in the Arctic mean the region is greening up. Shrubs are expanding, growing thicker and taller on areas that were previously only sparsely vegetated.”



The increased river bank vegetation, or shrubification, has had the effect of stabilizing the banks and reducing the rate at which they shift, even though the frozen ground around the river banks is slowly melting.&nbsp;



“The dynamics of these rivers reflect the extent and impact of global climate change on sediment erosion and deposition in Arctic watersheds,” wrote the study authors. “Understanding the behavior of these rivers in response to environmental changes is paramount to understanding and working with the impact of climate warming on Arctic regions.”



Dr. Ielpi stresses the importance of monitoring riverbank erosion and channel migration around the globe, not only in the Arctic. This method can be used to understand the effect of climate change on rivers everywhere. As part of the current research, a dataset of rivers found in non-permafrost regions and representative of warmer climates in the Americas, Africa and Oceania was also analyzed. Those rivers migrated at rates consistent with what was reported in previous studies, unlike the rivers studied in the Arctic.



“We found that large sinuous rivers with various degrees of permafrost distribution in their floodplains and catchments, display instead a peculiar range in migration rates,” said Dr. Ielpi. “Surprisingly, these rivers migrate at slower rates under warming temperatures.”



The time-lapse analysis showed that the sideways migration of large, sinuous Arctic rivers has decreased by about 20 percent over the last half-century.



“The migration deceleration of about 20 percent of the documented Arctic watercourses in the last half century is an important continent-scale signal. And our methodology tells us that 20 percent may very well be a conservative measure,” explained Dr. Ielpi. “We’re confident it can be linked to processes such as shrubification and permafrost thaw, which are in turn related to atmospheric warming."



“Scientific thinking often evolves through incremental discoveries, although great value lies in disruptive ideas that force us to look at an old problem with new eyes. We sincerely hope our study will encourage landscape and climate scientists elsewhere to re-evaluate other core assumptions that, upon testing, may reveal fascinating and exciting facets of our ever-changing planet.”



The study is published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01620-9">Nature Climate Change</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff WriterCheck us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Climate change is transforming Arctic rivers in unexpected ways

The Arctic is warming faster than the global average and...

As nearly 200 countries agreed to sign a treaty to protect the world’s oceans after a two-decade process, an international team of scientists are now calling for a similar, legally-binding treaty to assure that the Earth’s orbit will not be irreparably harmed by the future expansion of the global space industry.



Experts estimate that there are already over 100 trillion untracked pieces of old satellites currently circling our planet. Since the number of satellites is expected to increase from today’s 9,000 to over 60,000 by the end of this decade, space <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/millions-of-pieces-of-debris-threaten-the-space-economy/">debris</a> could make large parts of Earth’s orbit unusable. While satellite technology provides a variety of social and environmental benefits, minimizing the pollution of the lower Earth orbit is urgently needed to allow further space exploration and the growth of space technology.



“The issue of plastic pollution, and many of the other challenges facing our ocean, is now attracting global attention. However, there has been limited collaborative action and implementation has been slow,” said lead author Imogen Napper, a postdoctoral research fellow investigating the sources of environmental plastic pollution at the <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/">University of Plymouth</a>.&nbsp;



“Now we are in a similar situation with the accumulation of space debris. Taking into consideration what we have learnt from the high seas, we can avoid making the same mistakes and work collectively to prevent a tragedy of the commons in space. Without a global agreement we could find ourselves on a similar path.”



According to the experts, any agreement should include measures to implement producer and user responsibility for satellites and debris, and commercial costs should be taken carefully considered in order to incentivize accountability. Although several industries and countries have already began focusing on satellite sustainability, this should be enforced to include all nations planning to use the Earth’s orbit. Unless action is taken immediately, large parts of our planet’s surroundings would risk the same fate as the world’s oceans, where faulty governance has led to overfishing, habitat destruction, deep-sea mining exploration, and plastic pollution.



“Satellites are vital to the health of our people, economies, security, and Earth itself. However, using space to benefit people and our planet is at risk. By comparing how we have treated our seas, we can be proactive before we damage the use of space for future generations. Humanity needs to take responsibility for our behaviors in space now, not later. I encourage all leaders to take note, to recognize the significance of this next step and to become jointly accountable,” concluded Melissa Quinn, the head of <a href="https://spaceportcornwall.com/">Spaceport Cornwall</a>.



The call for an international treaty to address space pollution is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.adg8989">Science</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Treaty needed to protect Earth from space debris

As nearly 200 countries agreed to sign a treaty to...

In June 2021, the Pacific Northwest experienced one of its worst <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-caused-the-record-2021-heatwave-in-north-america/">heatwaves</a> in history, with Canada and the states of Washington and Oregon setting historical records of extremely high temperatures. To better understand what factors made it so severe, a team of climate scientists from the <a href="https://www.pdx.edu/">Portland State University</a> (PSU) has provided a detailed meteorological analysis of the progression of this heatwave, and compared the atmospheric conditions associated with the 2021 event with other similar historical events.



“It’s like taking the symptoms and diagnosing what it was that happened to cause something so severe to happen to the system,” said study lead author Paul Loikith, an associate professor of Geography and director of&nbsp;<a href="https://sites.google.com/pdx.edu/portland-state-climate-science/home">PSU's Climate Science Lab</a>. “We looked into a bunch of different factors that have been known to drive heat waves in the region to see if they were there with this heatwave. Were they normal but way more severe, or did something unique happen that we haven’t seen before?”



The analysis revealed that, although this heatwave largely shared the same meteorological features and processes as other heatwaves in the Pacific Northwest, each aspect of it was stronger. Its main driver was a large ridge of high pressure – known as a heat dome – in which air sinks under areas of high pressure, preventing clouds from forming and maximizing solar heating during the day. One of the reasons this ridge was so strong was that a storm with an atmospheric river (a long, narrow band of water vapor which releases massive amounts of moisture) moved into Alaska a week before. Then, water vapor condensed, releasing heat that accumulated in the atmosphere and caused the ridge to further intensify.



“This was more like a wintertime ridge in its physical structure and characteristics, which are bigger than summertime ridges, but occurring just after the summer solstice, we had maximum solar heating and the ability for the air to get really, really hot,” Loikith explained.



After reaching peak strength over southern British Columbia when it was 10,000 to 15,000 feet above the surface, the ridge warmed at a rate of 10 degrees Celsius per kilometer while descending to Seattle, Portland, and Pendleton. Although the air aloft was cool by human standards, it was quite hot for that altitude, and, when it was brought down to the surface, it turned extremely hot. In addition, stronger offshore winds blowing from the land to the coast further increased the air temperatures. Interestingly, the heatwave ended abruptly when a surge of ocean air displaced the heat and moved the system eastward.



Better understanding the complexity of factors coming together to cause such extreme phenomena could help forecast similar – or even more severe - future events. “These features coming together in this way will continue to be really rare, but in the future as the climate continues to warm, you will not need as strong of a weather system to make it extremely hot by historical standards,” Loikith concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-22-0284.1">Monthly Weather Review</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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What caused the massive Pacific Northwest heatwave?

In June 2021, the Pacific Northwest experienced one of its...

Wildfires are known to pump <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-smoke-damages-the-ozone-layer/">smoke</a> up into the stratosphere, where the particles can drift for more than a year. By focusing on the “Black Summer” megafire that devastated eastern Australia from December 2019 to January 2020, pumping over one million tons of smoke into the atmosphere, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) has found that smoke particles can trigger chemical reactions that erode the protective ozone layer protecting the Earth from ultraviolet radiation.



Building upon a previous study that identified a chemical reaction between fire aerosols and chlorine-containing compounds originally emitted by factories in the form of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that produces an ozone-depleting molecule (chlorine monoxide), the experts discovered that aged wildfire smoke particles play a disproportionate role in this process, enhancing ozone loss rates even over mid-latitudes, at relatively warm stratospheric temperatures.



By triggering this reaction, the Australian wildfires likely contributed to a three to five percent depletion of total ozone at mid-latitudes in the southern hemisphere, in regions over Australia, New Zealand, and parts of South America and Africa. The scientists were surprised to find that these fires had an effect even in the polar regions, affecting the edges of the ozone hole over Antarctica, and widening it by 2.5 million square kilometers.



The long-term effects of wildfires on ozone recovery are still unclear. Although the ozone hole – and ozone depletion around the globe – are currently on a recovery track due to sustained international efforts to phase-out ozone depleting chemicals, the recent findings suggest that, as long as these chemicals persist in the atmosphere, massive wildfires may spark reactions that could temporarily deplete ozone.



“The Australian fires of 2020 were really a wake-up call for the science community,” said study lead author Susan Solomon, a professor of Environmental Studies at MIT. “The effect of wildfires was not previously accounted for in [projections of] ozone recovery. And I think that effect may depend on whether fires become more frequent and intense as the planet warms.”



“There’s now sort of a race against time. Hopefully, chlorine-containing compounds will have been destroyed, before the frequency of fires increases with climate change. This is all the more reason to be vigilant about global warming and these chlorine-containing compounds,” she concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05683-0">Nature</a>.



—



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Wildfire smoke particles erode the ozone layer

Wildfires are known to pump smoke up into the stratosphere,...

Solar,System,And,Space,Objects.,Elements,Of,This,Image,Furnished

A new experiment examines a hypothetical planet between Mars and Jupiter that would disturb our solar system and push <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/almost-no-place-on-earth-is-safe-from-air-pollution/">Earth</a> into outer space. <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">UCR</a> astrophysicist Stephen Kane held this experiment to address two notable gaps in planetary science.&nbsp;



The first is the gap between the size of terrestrial and giant gas planets. The largest terrestrial planet is Earth, and the smallest gas planet is Neptune, which is 17 times more massive than Earth. There is nothing in between. 



“In other star systems there are many planets with masses in that gap. We call them super-Earths,” said Kane.&nbsp;



The other gap is the empty space between Mars and Jupiter. “Planetary scientists often wish there was something in between those two planets. It seems like wasted real estate,” he said.&nbsp;



These gaps could offer important insights into our solar system and Earth’s evolution. To fill them in, Kane ran computer simulations of a hypothetical planet between Mars and Jupiter with a range of different masses, and then observed the effects on the orbits of all other planets.&nbsp;



The results were mostly disastrous for the solar system. “This fictional planet gives a nudge to Jupiter that is just enough to destabilize everything else,” said Kane. “Despite many astronomers having wished for this extra planet, it’s a good thing we don’t have it.”



Jupiter is larger than all other planets combined and its gravitational influence is profound. If any celestial object like a super-Earth or a passing star disturbed Jupiter, all other planets would be profoundly affected.



The presence of a super-Earth could eject Mercury, Venus and Earth from the solar system. It could also destabilize the orbits of Uranus and Neptune, tossing them into outer space as well. The shape of the Earth’s orbit would also change, making it far less habitable, if not ending life entirely.



This experiment demonstrates the fragility of our solar system and serves as a reminder of the delicate order that holds the planets together around the sun.



“Our solar system is more finely tuned than I appreciated before. It all works like intricate clock gears. Throw more gears into the mix and it all breaks,” said Kane.&nbsp;



The research is published in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/acbb6b">The Planetary Science Journal</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Study reveals the delicate balance of our solar system

A new experiment examines a hypothetical planet between Mars and...

The <a href="https://www.nd.edu/">University of Notre Dame</a> has recently conducted a study to determine if products containing PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) could negatively impact human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/loneliness-among-college-students-linked-to-unhealthy-diets/">health</a>. These substances make up a toxic class of fluorine compounds known as a “forever chemicals."



The researchers tested fluorinated containers made with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic. These containers are often used for household cleaners, pesticides, personal care products, and food packaging.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study revealed that, in as little as seven days of exposure, PFAS were able to migrate from the fluorinated containers into olive oil, ketchup, and mayonnaise.&nbsp;



“Not only did we measure significant concentrations of PFAS in these containers, we can estimate the PFAS that were leaching off creating a direct path of exposure,” said study co-author Professor <a href="https://news.nd.edu/people/graham-peaslee/">Graham Peaslee</a>.



Exposure to PFAS has been associated with kidney, testicular, and prostate cancer, low birth weight, and thyroid disease.



The types of containers used in the study are not currently intended for food storage. However, there are no laws or government regulations to prevent such use.&nbsp;



Moreover, PFAS could infiltrate our food sources indirectly if pesticides stored in these containers are used on crops. Furthermore, since PFAS are forever chemicals, there are multiple other potential paths to exposure.&nbsp;



“We measured concentrations of PFOA that significantly exceeded the limit set by the EPA’s 2022 Health Advisory Limits,” said Peaslee. “Now, consider that not only do we know that the chemicals are migrating into the substances stored in them, but that the containers themselves work their way back into the environment through landfills. PFAS doesn’t biodegrade. It doesn’t go away. Once these chemicals are used, they get into the groundwater, they get into our biological systems, and they cause significant health problems.”



This study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.3c00083">Environmental Science and Technology Letters</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Plastic containers may release forever chemicals into food

The University of Notre Dame has recently conducted a study...

Big,Lion,Lying,On,Savannah,Grass.,Landscape,With,Characteristic,Trees

The theory of sexual selection proposes that, where males have to compete to mate with females, the males may develop indicators of "good genes," in order to impress and gain access to females. Indicators may include things such as large body size, impressive horns or feathers, or the ability to win physical fights. In theory, the males with the best genes will sire more offspring and thereby their impressive traits will spread within the population, leading to increased success for all.&nbsp;



Past field studies have sometimes shown that this is not how it works in nature. In fact, males can sometimes go to extremes to demonstrate their fitness and this may impact females negatively and lead to less successful reproduction for them. In the end, with fewer offspring being born to the females, recruitment into the population may diminish to the extent that the population may even collapse completely.&nbsp;



Scientists from <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/">Imperial College London</a> and the University of Lausanne have now developed a model that explains how so-called "good genes" in males can sometimes be disadvantageous for females and, indeed, for an entire population. The model, published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2211668120">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, tested theories of sexual competition and compared the results with data from various population experiments, in order to provide a possible explanation for why sexual selection can improve male condition while, at the same time, being disadvantageous for female fitness and population viability.



“Where males evolve selfish traits that help them individually win, they can actually end up causing the population to crash – it’s a form of evolutionary suicide. Even when females evolve to counter male harm and prevent population collapse, the population still decreases significantly, reducing its viability," said study first author Dr. Ewan Flintham.



A prime example of this is the phenomenon of infanticide in lion prides. Dominant males may kill offspring sired by other males, leading to lower reproductive rate for females and, potentially, lower recruitment into lion populations. Other examples include the mating practice of male bed bugs that inseminate females by piercing holes directly into the body cavity, courting antelope that chase and harass females to the point of exhaustion, and brawling male elephant seals that trample pups to death while defending a harem of females.



The team’s model considered different scenarios where individuals vary in their condition. Good condition is considered to be evidence of good genes, but male animals in good condition will experience more intense sexual conflict as they compete more for access to females. If this competition has the effect of harming females, it may well end up backfiring and generating a negative association between male condition and population size.&nbsp;



The new model provides an explanation for why some experiments show male condition improving, without female fitness or population viability improving alongside. This occurs because sexual selection favors genes that improve condition, which can then lead to more sexual conflict and more significant harm to females. Population decline or crash can result from this situation, according to the predictions of the model. This finding contrasts with the common view that sexual selection on good genes also improves mean fitness of the population.



Sexual interactions like these are an important component of understanding population demographics and conservation. For example, where there are more males, sexual competition intensifies, meaning harm towards females is more likely. This is also true in human-managed populations, for example domestic carp, where males and females must be isolated during spawning season.



Dr. Flintham completed the study as part of his research at the <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/qmee-cdt/">Centre for Doctoral Training in Quantitative and Modelling Skills in Ecology and Evolution</a>&nbsp;at Imperial. His project supervisor and study co-author was Professor Vincent Savolainen, director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/georgina-mace-living-planet/">Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet&nbsp;</a>at Imperial.



“Male harm evolved in nature as something that was supposed to be good, but is detrimental to females and the whole population. Questions like how and why this happens can only be answered with quantitative methods – data and mathematical models – which can be just as important as field studies,” said Savolainen.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Good genes do not always lead to evolutionary success

The theory of sexual selection proposes that, where males have...

In social groups, male and female <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ostriches-double-kneecap/">ostriches</a> are affected differently by cooperation and competition. According to a new study from <a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/">Lund University</a>, this depends on males and females having different interests and could determine which group sizes work best.



To understand the pros and cons of living in a group, the research team studied ostriches over a seven-year period in different sized groups. At the start of each breeding season, various numbers of males and females were placed inside of enclosures to create experimental groups similar to those seen in the wild. 



For the study, natural incubation behavior was prevented by temporarily removing ostrich eggs. This allowed the researchers to measure the effect of group size and cooperation on reproductive success based on the number of offspring born.



“We decided to study the ostriches under controlled conditions in order to distinguish the effect of individual differences from group attributes on reproductive success and find out how competition and cooperation changed with the size of the group,” explained study co-author Julian Melgar.



The results showed that males and females have different interests. In particular, males wanted to continue mating even when the females had already started thinking about incubating eggs. This resulted in many eggs being crushed.



During the study, males were driven by competition while females were driven by cooperation. These results have identified that males thrive in relatively small groups of their own gender, while females can cooperate with others and thrive in larger groups.&nbsp;



“The difference in interests between the sexes could help us to explain why the size of ostrich groups varies so much in nature,” said Melgar. The optimal group size appears to depend on the balance between the sexes, competition and cooperation within the group.



Ostriches parent through cooperation. Groups breed in a communal nest and individuals take turns to incubate the eggs. This cooperative breeding comes at a price – there can be tough competition for mates and for whose eggs get incubated.



“As the importance of our results applies not only to ostriches, but also to other organisms that form groups, the results could help us to improve our understanding of the evolutionary driving forces behind the emergence of group living and cooperation,” concluded Melgar.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.77170">eLife</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Male ostriches are driven by competition, not cooperation

In social groups, male and female ostriches are affected differently...

Along with regular <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-may-improve-mental-health-more-than-medication/">exercise</a> and a balanced diet, sleep is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. Although the World Health Organization recognizes that sleep is a critical aspect of health, there are very few guidelines that define what is meant by healthy sleep. In past research, the only national guideline on sleep that was identified came from Canadian health authorities that recommended “seven to 9&nbsp;hours of good-quality sleep on a regular basis, with consistent bed and wake-up times.”&nbsp;



One of the problems is that sleep is a complex biological process with several associated components. People who report suffering from sleep problems cannot all be lumped into the same category as there are different types of problems, with different causes, and not all of them may give rise to health issues. In general, however, previous research has found that getting too little sleep is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), although the role of other sleep issues, such as snoring, breathing difficulties and daytime sleepiness is not known.&nbsp;



A new study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-02732-x">BMC Medicine</a>, has made use of data from over 300,000 middle-aged adults from the UK Biobank, who were 40 years old when they first registered their data, between 2006 and 2010. At that time, they answered questions relating to their sleep patterns as part of the initial survey. The study also used primary care data on clinical diagnoses of sleep issues, given to over 140,000 of these registered participants in the two years prior to the start of the Biobank study.&nbsp;



Using these two complementary sources of data, the researchers aimed to estimate how many years of CVD-free life are lost by people who experience poor sleep.



As part of the baseline questionnaire, participants reported on five problematic sleep characteristics, based on which the researchers defined five healthy sleep characteristics, including having no usual insomnia complaints, getting adequate sleep (7 to &lt; 9&nbsp;h/day), not snoring, having a morning chronotype (early bird activity as opposed to night owl), and no frequent daytime sleepiness.&nbsp;



The experts then scored participants from 0 to 5, according to their count of healthy characteristics and categorized them into three groups: “healthy sleep” (sleep score of ≥ 4); “intermediate sleep” (2 or 3 score); and “poor sleep” (≤ 1 score). At registration, 60 percent of the participants reported healthy sleep, while 38 percent and 2 percent reported intermediate and poor sleep, respectively.



The researchers noted all instances of CVD diagnoses and treatments in the subsequent years of participants’ lives (average follow up of 11 years), or until they died. In this time, 53,064 cases of CVD were diagnosed. They used statistical methods to determine the associations between sleep quality (or clinically diagnosed sleep disorder) and CDV-free life expectancy in the participants.&nbsp;



The analysis revealed that different types of sleep disturbance are associated with different durations of compromised cardiovascular health later in life, when compared to healthy sleepers. In particular, men with clinical sleep-related breathing disorders lost nearly seven years of cardiovascular disease-free life compared to those without these conditions, and women with these conditions lost over seven years.&nbsp;



Importantly, even general poor sleep, such as insufficient sleep, insomnia complaints, snoring, going to bed late, and daytime sleepiness, is associated with a loss of around two years of normal heart health in men and women.



“Anyone who’s had a few rough nights of sleep knows how it can lead to bad mood and not feeling one’s best. Our research shows that, over time, regular poor sleep can lead to significantly compromised cardiovascular health in middle and old age," said study senior author Professor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/about/our-people/academic-staff/emmanuel-stamatakis.html">Emmanuel Stamatakis</a> of the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a>.



“Sleep apnea is well known to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2018/03/16/how-the-cpap-machine-beats-deadly-sleep-apnoea.html">increase the risk of cardiovascular disease</a>&nbsp;and other chronic conditions, but these findings are a wake-up call that poor sleep in general can pose significant risk to heart health,” he added.



While the additional life expectancy of 40-year-old women and men in the study was 39 and 38 years respectively, only 33 and 30 of these years (for women and men respectively) were expected to be free of CVD. However, women with poor sleep could expect only 31 additional years free of CVD while men who slept poorly could expect only 28 additional years free of CVD. This means that poor sleep characteristics, such as snoring and trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, can be warning signs of potential health issues in the future.



“While the average life expectancy of the UK study participants is around 80 years, people with clinically diagnosed sleep-related breathing disorders like sleep apnoea lost over seven years of cardiovascular-disease free life,” said study lead author Dr Bo-Huei Huang, an epidemiologist recently graduating from the Charles Perkins Centre and Faculty of Medicine and Health.



<a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/about/our-people/academic-staff/peter-cistulli.html">Professor Peter Cistulli</a>, the ResMed Chair of Sleep Medicine at the Charles Perkins Centre and Royal North Shore Hospital, said that these findings are significant because they extend the findings of previous studies linking poor sleep to important health outcomes.



“Sleep is a vital biological function that has been under-appreciated in public health policy to date. It’s gratifying that these findings shine a light on the importance of sleep, and the need for it to be recognized as a pillar of good health, alongside physical activity and nutrition. The time is right to ensure that sleep is recognized in public health policy,” said Professor Cistulli.



The researchers conclude: “These results could lay the cornerstone for future research on early prevention against poor sleep and improving CVD-free life expectancy among poor sleepers. Especially, we hope that the current outcomes can serve as a reference for policymakers and professionals to develop national sleep guidelines.”



—



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Poor sleep linked to earlier onset of cardiovascular disease

Along with regular exercise and a balanced diet, sleep is...

Since ancient times, the possible role of the heart in the experience of time has been theorized but, until recently, empirical evidence has been scarce. Now, a team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> has conducted an experiment showing that the heart is indeed one of the brain’s important timekeepers, playing a fundamental role in our sense of time passing. The experts found that our momentary perception of time is not continuous but stretches or shrinks with each heartbeat.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Time is a dimension of the universe and a core basis for our experience of self,” said study lead author Adam K. Anderson, a professor of Psychology at Cornell. “Our research shows that the moment-to-moment experience of time is synchronized with, and changes with, the length of a heartbeat.”



Previously, time perception has been tested over extended intervals, with researchers arguing that thoughts and emotions often distort our sense of time, making it appear to pass faster or slower. However, such findings tend to focus on how we think about or estimate time, rather than on our direct experience of it in the present.



To better understand this more direct experience, the experts devised an experiment to investigate whether our perception of time is related to physiological rhythms, such as the natural variability in heart rates, starting from the fact that, although our hearts “tick” steadily on average, each interval between beats is slightly longer or shorter than the preceding one.



They enrolled 45 participants aged 18-21, with no history of heart disease, and monitored them with electrocardiography (ECG), measuring heart electrical activity at millisecond resolution. The researchers linked the ECG to a computer that enabled tones lasting between 80 and 180 milliseconds to be triggered by participants’ heartbeats, and asked participants to report whether some tones were longer or shorter in relation to others.



The experiment unveiled a phenomenon called “temporal wrinkles,” structuring our perception of the present moment: when the heartbeat preceding a tone was shorter, participants reported the tone to be longer, and when the heartbeat was longer, they experienced the same sound’s duration as shorter. In addition, the experiment showed that the brain is also influencing the heart: when participants focused their attention on the sounds, this “orienting response” changed their heart rate, which in turn affected their temporal experience.&nbsp;



“The heartbeat is a rhythm that our brain is using to give us our sense of time passing. And that is not linear – it is constantly contracting and expanding,” Anderson explained. “Even at these moment-to-moment intervals, our sense of time is fluctuating. A&nbsp;pure influence of the heart, from beat to beat, helps create a sense of time.”



This connection between time perception and the heart suggests that our momentary perception of time is rooted in bioenergetics, helping the brain focus its efforts and resources based on changing body states, such as the heart rate. “These observations systematically demonstrate that the cardiac dynamics, even within a few heartbeats, are related to the temporal decision-making process,” the authors&nbsp;concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/psyp.14270">Psychophysiology</a>.



—



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Heart rate influences our perception of time

Since ancient times, the possible role of the heart in...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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How does salt makes things taste better?

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Santiago, Chile in South America

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Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes a new map of Mars that is providing insight into the planet’s watery past. The map also reveals where future missions could safely land on Mars.&nbsp;



The map has been created over the last decade using observations of water-rich rocks and mineral deposits. The images were captured by ESA’s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.



"A big surprise is the prevalence of these minerals, with the map revealing hundreds of thousands of water-affected locations in the oldest parts of the planet," says ESA. "The new data will help answer exciting questions about Mars’ climate history, whether water was globally persistent or confined to short, intense episodes, and whether the conditions were ever suitable for life."



"Specifically, the map shows the locations and abundances of aqueous minerals. These are from rocks that have been chemically altered by the action of water in the past, and have typically been transformed into clays and salts."



According to John Carter of the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), our collective understanding of Mars has been oversimplified. He explained that planetary scientists have tended to think that only a few types of clay minerals on Mars were created during its wet period, then as the water gradually dried up, salts were produced across the planet.



The new map shows that the composition of Mars is much more complicated than what we thought. For example, while many salts formed after Martian clays, there are some salts that are presumed to be older than some of the clays.&nbsp;



“The evolution from lots of water to no water is not as clear cut as we thought, the water didn’t just stop overnight. We see a huge diversity of geological contexts, so that no one process or simple timeline can explain the evolution of the mineralogy of Mars. That’s the first result of our study. The second is that if you exclude life processes on Earth, Mars exhibits a diversity of mineralogy in geological settings just as Earth does,” said Carter.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes how cavefish adapted to a sedentary lifestyle over tens of thousands of years. 



The experts found that the muscle metabolism of cavefish has been genetically reprogrammed over time. As a result, the animals have experienced major changes in their morphology and behavior. Despite these changes, however, the cavefish remain healthy and fit.



The research may provide new clues about the evolutionary consequences of prolonged physical inactivity in humans.&nbsp;



“It’s no surprise that people are moving less and less as technology has advanced,” said Rohner. “With cavefish, we have a unique system where we can study what might happen if people remained couch potatoes over very, very long periods of time.”



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> some of the most incredible waves in the world, as seen by Landsat satellites.



"With more than 370,000 miles of coastline on Earth, there are plenty of places where epic waves build up, curl over, and hurtle toward the shore.- much to the thrill of surfers," says NASA. "There are some places where these waves are so magnificent that they can be seen from space."



"With the broad perspective of satellites, we can see how these iconic waves develop into the world’s tallest, longest, fastest, and heaviest."



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes why satellite images and measurements of our planet have become "essential to our survival, offering a new outlook of our world."&nbsp;



Rising sea levels pose one of the biggest societal threats associated with climate change. According to ESA, satellite altimeter missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 are essential in monitoring global and regional changes in sea level.



"Unbeknown to many, the island of Crete, Greece, plays an important role in the Copernicus satellite altimetry constellation and on an international stage," reports ESA.



"Satellite altimetry data have to be continuously monitored at the ESA’s Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration where different techniques have pioneered the use of transponders to provide the best measurements to validate satellite altimeters in space soon after launch."



Dr. Craig Donlon explains that, by understanding planet Earth through satellite measurements, we are able to find evidence of change.&nbsp;



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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