Top conservation issues to look out for in 2013
A UK-led team of researchers has identified 15 issues that could affect the diversity of life on Earth in 2013. They include using synthetic DNA to genetically modify organisms, soaring demand for...
View ArticleWhy are some foods considered lucky for New Year’s?
Black-eyed peas form the base of the New Year’s Day triumvirate for many U.S. southerners. Recipe via foodnetwork.com. Collard greens. You might think you don’t like them, but try them with cornbread...
View ArticleWhen is the next leap year?
The year 2012 had a leap day – February 29, 2012 – an extra day added to the calendar to help synchronize it with Earth’s orbit around the sun and the actual passing of the seasons. The next leap day...
View ArticleWhen does the Age of Aquarius begin?
When does the Age of Aquarius begin? And what is the Age of Aquarius? The Age of Aquarius is not part of astronomy. It’s an astrological age, which occurs because of a real motion of Earth known as the...
View ArticleEarthSky 22: Two comets in 2013!
Lead Producer and Host: Mike Brennan ES 22 Producers: Deborah Byrd, Emily Howard, Jorge Salazar Comet PANSTARRS on the evening of April 6, 2013. This view is to the east that evening. The oval near the...
View ArticleThis date in science: Daguerreotype photography made public
January 9, 1839: Long before cell phone cameras, photography took place using copper and heat. On this day, the French Academy of Sciences announced Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre’s daguerreotype...
View ArticleThis date in science: Shackleton expedition discovered South Magnetic Pole
January 16, 1909. Three members of an Ernest Shackleton expedition to Antarctica – Edgeworth David, Douglas Mawson and Alistair Mackay – succeeded in finding the South Magnetic Pole. The South Magnetic...
View ArticleVideo: Re-creating the hairstyle of the ancient Roman Vestal Virgins
Janet Stephens is a Baltimore hairdresser and amateur archaeologist, who calls herself a hair-dressing archaeologist. At a poster session in early January 2013 at the annual meeting of the...
View ArticleNew water desalination technology shows promise
Material scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have designed a next-generation water desalination membrane that could greatly improve our ability to extract drinkable water...
View ArticleResearchers map brain’s emotional intelligence
Researchers studied 152 Vietnam veterans with combat-related brain injuries to create the first detailed map of the brain regions that contribute to what’s called emotional intelligence – the ability...
View ArticleLightning tied to onset of headaches, migraines, says study
Do you sometimes feel like you’re getting a headache when a thunderstorm is coming on? Turns out, it’s not the thunder – it’s the lightning. That’s according to a new study that has found that...
View ArticleScientists successfully store data in DNA
Scientists have successfully stored an audio recording of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, plus Shakespearean sonnets and more, on a strand of synthetic DNA. They were able to...
View ArticleViral video of eagle almost snatching child is fake
This video went viral shortly after it was posted by MrNuclearCat to YouTube on December 18, 2012. As of today (January 28, 2013), it has 41,691,476 views on YouTube and more than 81,000 thumbs up. The...
View ArticleWhen can you see a daytime moon?
We get many comments from those who see the moon in the daytime. The comments tend to have an air of disbelief about them, typically going something like this: I saw the moon in a blue sky. Why? How...
View ArticleThis date in science: First modern suspension bridge completed
January 30, 1826. Workers completed construction of the first modern suspension bridge on this date. It was the Menai Bridge between Wales on the island of Great Britain and the smaller island of...
View ArticleVideo: Silhouettes in front of the rising full moon
Our friend Carolina Burgos posted this link to EarthSky Facebook just now. It’s a very beautiful real-time video of silhouettes in front of the rising full moon on January 28, 2013. Photographer Mark...
View ArticleThe rock-cut cave temples of Badami, India
The red A indicates the location of Badami, India, famous for its sandstone cave temples. Map via Google. Dr. S.N. Prasad of Mysore, India was kind enough to let us post some of his images from a...
View ArticleVideo: How human numbers stack up against everything from bugs to bacteria
Hey, Joe. As of today, it’s estimated that world population is over 7 billion. We humans, though, aren’t the only creatures on this planet. Compared to other species, how successful are we? Joe Hansen...
View ArticleLike birds that flock, cells coordinate motions to heal wounds
Scientists at Rice University say that skin cells coordinate their motions as they race to cover and ultimately heal wounds. They say this motion can be compared to the way birds swoop and flock in...
View ArticleThis date in science: Microchip is patented
February, 6, 1959. On this date, Jack Kilby – who had just started working for Texas Instruments – filed a patent application for the integrated circuit, also known as a microchip. This kind of circuit...
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