A series of massive sunspots gave rise to powerful flares on the sun this week and could affect the earth's magnetosphere. But astronomers say there's no threat of really serious effects here on the surface:
A solar storm was due to arrive Saturday morning and last through Sunday, slamming into Earth's magnetic field. Scientists said it will be a minor event and they have notified power grid operators, airlines and other potentially affected parties. 'This isn't the mother of all anything,' said forecaster Joe Kunches at the government's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo. 'We don't see any ill effects to any systems.'The surface effects may not be spectacular -- or disasterous -- but some of you northerners may be in for a nice light show over the weekend!
- Pluto gets a new moon, and New Horizons a new target for its 2015 encounter. Speaking of dramatic missions, there's a lot riding on the Mars Science Lab, scheduled for a nail-biting Aug. 5th descent.
- The fossil site that keeps on giving: Australopithicus sebida remains found encased in boulder that laid in lab for three years.
- Here's an interesting factoid for you science-y afficionados. The number one inbound search keyword for one of the sites I run for the last two months has been Titanoboa, the giant prehistoric snake. No other search term even comes close!
- Awww! Snow leopard kittens video! And they're definitely endangered. But wildlife experts now say the most endangered mammals on earth are not cats, they are lemurs:
About 60 experts met in Madagascar's capital this week for a workshop of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission. Madagascar is the only place on Earth to which lemurs are native.
No comments:
Post a Comment