Our Planet

What is equilux and why day and night aren’t equal lengths on an equinox

In fact, contrary to the popular belief, the lengths of day and night aren’t equal on an equinox. There’s another term for this: equilux.

Environmental Dangers of Stormwater Runoff

Rain is a euphoric natural occurrence. Homeowners often install tin roofs, sheltered sunrooms, and skylights to maximize the calming effects of rainfall. Unfortunately, this tranquil weather pattern can negatively impact the global ecosystem if the built environment isn’t prepared for it.

As precipitation increases in the atmosphere, Earth’s surface experiences a rise in stormwater runoff. As rain and snowmelt travel along streets, roofs, and fields to reach a drain, it collects debris. The excess material then finds its way into essential bodies of water, introducing multiple types of environmental degradation.

Movement of Carbon Dioxide Between the Air and Sea (Video)

Movement of Carbon Dioxide Between the Air and Sea (screenshot)

NASA Climate Change channel has published a video showing the movement of carbon dioxide (CO₂) between the air and sea.

Early magma oceans of Earth detected in 3.7 billion-year-old Greenland rocks

Earth hasn’t always been a blue and green oasis of life in an otherwise inhospitable solar system. During our planet’s first 50 million years, around 4.5 billion years ago, its surface was a hellscape of magma oceans, bubbling and belching with heat from Earth’s interior.

Helen M Williams, University of Cambridge

Everything you need to know about natural and artificial satellites

When people speak of satellites today, they usually refer to man-made spacecraft placed into orbits and not natural satellites like the Moon. And, even though a lot of our tech relies on this spacecraft, there is still a lot of confusion regarding satellite uses and types – especially in modern schools. Space, however, may soon become a daily reality and even a common workplace. So, let’s take a look at some common satellite facts for kids that should help raise a new generation of astronauts.

You’ll be amazed how cramped the TRAPPIST-1 System is

Science writer Pat Brennan has published a great article on the NASA exoplanets website titled “Life in the Universe: What are the Odds?”. In the article, he published a diagram showing the habitable zones of our solar system, and the TRAPPIST-1 system. The amazing thing is how cramped the TRAPPIST-1 system: the orbits of the TRAPPIST-1 planets (seven in total) could fit into the orbit of Mercury!

How you can use your degree in public health to help the planet

Public health encompasses much more than domestic government policies and political debates. Most practitioners in the public health field are working on the front lines in order to keep all of humanity safe and healthy. Now more than ever, in order to protect humanity we must be able to save and sustain our entire planet. Public health workers are able to do this in many meaningful ways.

The Association for Women in Science

Founded almost 50 years ago, the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) is a global network that inspires bold leadership, research, and solutions that advance women in STEM, spark innovation, promote organisational success, and drive systemic change. In this exclusive interview, we speak with AWIS president and world-renowned biomedical innovator Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, who describes the barriers that women face in the STEM workplace, and the many ways in which AWIS supports women in science and works towards eliminating inequality through systemic change.

Has Earth been visited by an alien spaceship? Harvard professor Avi Loeb vs everybody else

Oumuamua - an alien spaceship? Probably not.

Simon Goodwin, University of Sheffield

A highly unusual object was spotted travelling through the solar system in 2017. Given a Hawaiian name, ‘Oumuamua, it was small and elongated – a few hundred metres by a few tens of meters, travelling at a speed fast enough to escape the Sun’s gravity and move into interstellar space.

Why buying local food isn’t necessarily better for the environment

Buying local food is not always better for the environment

Fears over supermarket shortages during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic led many people to buy their food from local producers, raising the prospect of a transformation in the way people get their food in the future. But while eating locally and shorter supply chains are often viewed as a more sustainable alternative to our global food system, the reality is much more complicated, explains Dr. Tessa Avermaete, a bioeconomist at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium.