Our Planet

How Earth Could Die [12 Horrible Ways!]

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date July 12, 2019
1 Comment on How Earth Could Die [12 Horrible Ways!]

Collision between two planetary bodies — Artist's depiction of a catastrophic collision between two celestial bodies: an object about the size of our moon slamming into a body the size of Mercury. Such an impact between the proto-Earth and a hypothesized ancient planetary-mass object Theia likely formed the Moon. Photo source: NASA

Now we’re living on a warm, hospitable planet. As Carl Sagan has said “That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives.” We, humans, are the unquestionable rulers of our little oasis in a hostile universe. But all things must pass. Life on Earth, even the planet itself, won’t last forever. What’s more, humans may go extinct before our planet (and probably before the life on it) dies out. Here are some possible (and horrible) ways how planet Earth (or, at least, life on Earth) could die.

Global Warming Climate Environment

Massive forest restoration may help to slow global warming

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date July 11, 2019
No Comments on Massive forest restoration may help to slow global warming

According to a new study published in Science, a massive forest restoration at a global scale could help capture atmospheric carbon and mitigate global warming.

Climate

Lightning Hits Sailboat in Boston Harbor in this amazing video

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date July 9, 2019
No Comments on Lightning Hits Sailboat in Boston Harbor in this amazing video

Lightning strikes a sailboat in Boston (July 6, 2019) — On July 6, 2019, Saturday, a bolt of lightning struck a sailboat at the Columbia Yacht Club in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The event has been recorded by a passerby.

On July 6, 2019, Saturday, a bolt of lightning struck a sailboat at the Columbia Yacht Club in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The event has been recorded by a passerby.

Geology

What kills you when a volcano erupts? [It’s not what you think]

Post author By Aeon Magazine
Post date July 8, 2019
No Comments on What kills you when a volcano erupts? [It’s not what you think]

Pyroclastic activity at Mount Sinabung, on 24 June 2016 in Karo, Indonesia. Photo by Getty Images A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that moves away from a volcano about 100 km/h (62 mph) on average but is capable of reaching speeds up to 700 km/h (430 mph). The gases can reach temperatures of about 1,000 °C (1,830 °F). Pyroclastic flows are a common and devastating result of certain explosive eruptions; they normally touch the ground and hurtle downhill, or spread laterally under gravity. Their speed depends upon the density of the current, the volcanic output rate, and the gradient of the slope. Source: Pyroclastic flow on Wikipedia

The blockbuster movie Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) involves more than just dinosaurs wreaking havoc. Humans are sent in to rescue some prehistoric critters on the volcanic island of Isla Nublar, and chaos soon begins. The volcano erupts, and everyone runs away as a roiling cloud called a pyroclastic flow approaches. At one point the main character disappears into the cloud. Luckily, some dinosaurs and humans in a strange glass ball fall over a cliff into the sea, and our hero splashes in not long after.

Geology

The exact moment of Stromboli Eruption filmed in a sailboat

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date July 6, 2019
No Comments on The exact moment of Stromboli Eruption filmed in a sailboat

Stromboli volcano eruption from a sailboat - July 3, 2019 — The last eruption of Mount Stromboli took place on 3 July 2019. The exact moment of the event has been filmed in a sailboat. There were two major explosive events occurred on July 3 at around 4:46 PM local time, alongside 20 additional minor explosive events identified by Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.

Mount Stromboli, one of the three active volcanoes in Italy (others being Mount Etna on Sicily – continuous activity, and Mount Vesuvius, near Naples – last erupted in 1944), has been in almost continuous eruption for the past 2,000 years. The last eruption took place on 3 July 2019. The exact moment of the event has been filmed in a sailboat.

Climate Environment People

Why Environmental Damage Is Also Harming Our Veterans

Post author By Frankie Wallace
Post date July 3, 2019
No Comments on Why Environmental Damage Is Also Harming Our Veterans

Typically, environmental causes are associated with left-leaning politics, and pro-military action is publicly associated with the right. However, a large number of veterans are liberals or are willing to embrace bipartisanship when it comes to sustainability. Thus, some veterans are speaking up about environmental damage.

Earth from Space Space Exploration

Solar eclipse as seen from the Moon’s Orbit [2019]

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date July 3, 2019
No Comments on Solar eclipse as seen from the Moon’s Orbit [2019]

Solar Eclipse from the Moon orbit (DSLWP-B image) — On July 2, 2019, a total solar eclipse has occurred which was visible from the southern Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand to the Coquimbo Region in Chile and Argentina at sunset, with the maximum of 4 minutes 32 seconds visible from the Pacific Ocean. This amazing photo of the event was taken on July 2, 2019, by the Chinese lunar satellite DSLWP-B from the Moon's orbit.

This amazing photo of the 2019 Solar Eclipse from the Moon’s orbit was taken on July 2, 2019, by the Chinese lunar satellite DSLWP-B (Longjiang-2).

Moon Landing Space Exploration

NASA has restored the historic Apollo Mission Control Room

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date July 1, 2019
No Comments on NASA has restored the historic Apollo Mission Control Room

Restored version of the historic NASA Apollo Mission control room. From this legendary room, the United States conducted some of its most amazing space missions. Now, the Historic Mission Control Center at the NASA Johnson Space Center has undergone a massive restoration to bring the room back to life as it appeared during the Apollo era. Historians and technicians have made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and to preserve this room for future generations. As NASA looks to send humans deeper into space than ever before, the Historic Mission Control will serve as a reminder that anything is possible.

The historic Apollo mission control room in Houston has been fully restored by NASA for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. Now it provides a snapshot of how it looked during the first Moon landing on July 20, 1969.

Life on Earth Animals People

Wildlife crossings make animals and people safer

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date June 28, 2019
No Comments on Wildlife crossings make animals and people safer

Wildlife crossings save animals — A green wildlife bridge over an "autobahn" in Germany. As of 2015, the country had more than 35 wildlife crossings over major roads. Wildlife crossings are structures that allow animals to cross human-made barriers like roads, railroads, canals, electric power lines, pipelines, etc. safely.

Wildlife crossings over (and under) the highways could make animals (both wild and domesticated) and people safer.

Our expanding network of roads is interrupting and fragmenting the territories of wild (and also domesticated) animals who need to cross our roads in search of food, water, mates, and shelter. Many are routinely struck and killed by vehicles in this most basic quest for survival.

In addition to conservation concerns, animal-vehicle collisions have a significant cost for human populations because collisions damage property and injure and kill passengers and drivers: in the United States only, collisions between wildlife and vehicles have increased by 50 percent in the most recently reported 15 years. These accidents now cost Americans $8 billion every year.

Moon Landing Space Exploration

Apollo 17 and its destination (Moon) in one photo

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date June 23, 2019
No Comments on Apollo 17 and its destination (Moon) in one photo

Apollo 17 during the prelaunch, with the Moon is in the background (cropped) — Apollo 17 during the prelaunch, with the Moon, the spacecraft's destination is in the background. Launched on December 7, 1972, and concluded on December 19, 1972, Apollo 17 was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program. It was also the 11th manned space mission in the Apollo program. Its crew consisted of Commander Eugene Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans. Cernan and Schmitt landed in the Taurus-Littrow valley and completed three moonwalks, taking lunar samples and deploying scientific instruments. The landing site had been chosen to further the mission's main goals: to sample lunar highland material older than Mare Imbrium and to investigate the possibility of relatively recent volcanic activity. Evans remained in lunar orbit in the command and service module (CSM), taking scientific measurements and photographs. This is a cropped image. You can see the full-size image on the NASA website

An amazing NASA archive photo showing Apollo 17 during the prelaunch, with the Moon (a full moon), the spacecraft’s destination is in the background.