For thousands of years, people have watched the vibrant auroras dance across the night sky. But these magnificent displays are more than just a pretty sight. They are a warning sign of a hidden danger: geomagnetically induced currents. Auroras are caused by particles from the sun hitting the Earth’s magnetic field. These forces can compress … Read more
Credit: Harrison Haines from Pexels Auroras have inspired myths and omens for millennia, but only now, with modern technology that relies on electricity, do we appreciate their true power. The same forces that cause auroras also generate currents that can damage infrastructure that carries electricity, such as pipelines. Now scientists are writing in Frontiers in … Read more
In 2022, an international research team aboard the MARIA S. MERIAN made a remarkable discovery in a hydrothermal field. They found it 3,000 meters (9,842 feet) below the ocean surface. The team discovered the first known hydrothermal field along the 500-kilometer-long Knipovich Ridge. This mountain range is located near Spitsbergen, a Norwegian archipelago in the … Read more
LOVE ISLAND 2024: MEET THE PARTICIPANTS NAME: Mimii Ngulube AGE: 24 BY: Portsmouth ACTIVITY: Mental health nurse WHY DO YOU LOVE ISLAND? The pool in Portsmouth doesn’t matter. I’ve tried dating and talking to people on social media but it just hasn’t worked. Applying was a spur of the moment thing, I didn’t expect to … Read more
The remarkable aurora borealis in early May this year showed just how powerful solar flares can be in the form of radiation. But every now and then the sun does something even more devastating. These proton explosions, known as “solar particle events,” come directly from the sun’s surface and can shoot out into space like … Read more
The melting of Alaska’s Juneau Icefield, which contains more than 1,000 glaciers, is accelerating and could reach a tipping point much sooner than predicted, according to research published Tuesday. The research, which was published in the journal Nature communicationshows that ice loss from the Juneau Icefield began to accelerate rapidly after 2005. The paper’s authors … Read more
Investments in defense technology start-ups are increasing in Europe, says the head of NATO’s €1 billion venture capital fund, who believes the region can produce several potential multi-billion dollar companies to rival those in the US. The NATO Innovation Fund launched its investment program early this year by directly supporting four start-ups, including Wales-based Space … Read more
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, editor of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter. Japan’s TDK is claiming a breakthrough in the materials used in its small solid-state batteries, with the Apple supplier predicting significant performance improvements for devices from wireless headphones to smartwatches. The new material offers an … Read more
The sun is on the eve of an important event: a reversal of the magnetic field. This phenomenon occurs approximately every eleven years and marks an important stage in the development of the economy solar cycle. The shift in polarity indicates the halfway point maximum solar energythe height of solar activity and the beginning of … Read more
In the depths of our solar system – a realm where chemistry and speculation collide – scientists have reported the possible existence of a molecule known as aquodiium, an elusive cousin of the ammonium ion. If true, it could explain the oddities in the magnetic fields of Neptune and Uranus. This is a major problem … Read more