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Global Warming Climate Life on Earth Prehistoric

We are pumping 10 times more carbon into the atmosphere than when there were palm trees in the Arctic

Palm trees during the sunset
Palm trees during the sunset. Image source: Pxhere Around 55.5 million years ago, there was a time period with more than 5°C - 8 °C warmer global average temperature than today, which named "Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum" (PETM). As a result, there were crocodiles and even crocodiles in the Arctic and the region was completely ice-free. Now, a new study suggests that if we keep burning fossil fuels at the current rate, the Earth will be again 8 degrees warmer within the next few hundred years. We're going to face another PETM-like event soon.

Around 55.5 million years ago, there was a time period with more than 5°C – 8 °C warmer global average temperature than today, which named “Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum” (PETM). As a result, there were crocodiles and even crocodiles in the Arctic and the region was completely ice-free. Now, a new study suggests that if we keep burning fossil fuels at the current rate, the Earth will be again 8 degrees warmer within the next few hundred years. We are pumping 10 times more carbon into the atmosphere than when there were palm trees in the Arctic. We’re going to face another PETM-like event soon.

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Solar System Astronomy

FarFarOut: the new farthest object in our solar system

Farfarout distance from the Sun
While searching for the hypothetical Planet X, Scott Sheppard, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C. has found what might be the most distant object ever identified in the Solar System. It orbits the Sun at a massive distance of 140 Astronomical Units (AU), and for now, the astronomers are jokingly calling the new object “FarFarOut". It is further away from the previous record holder, the "Farout" (far-out-there). (Scott Sheppard/Carnegie Institution for Science)

Meet Farfarout: in December 2018, astronomers discovered the farthest known object in our solar system, which is about 120 times farther than Earth is from the Sun (120 Astronomical Units -AU) and named it “Farout” (far-out-there). But its record didn’t last long. Now, while searching for the hypothetical Planet X, Scott Sheppard, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C. has found what might be the most distant object ever identified in the Solar System. It orbits the Sun at a massive distance of 140 ~132 (see the update below) Astronomical Units (AU), and for now, the astronomers are jokingly calling the new object “FarFarOut”.

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Categories
Evolution Life on Earth Physics

Is Evolution “just a theory”?

Timeline evolution of life (cropped)
Yes, the Theory of Evolution is a theory, but guess what? When scientists use the word theory, it has a different meaning to normal everyday use. A scientific theory is an explanation of some aspect of the natural world that has been substantiated through repeated experiments or testing. In science, a theory is not a guess, not a hunch. It’s a well-substantiated, well-supported, well-documented explanation for our observations. It ties together all the facts about something, providing an explanation that fits all the observations and can be used to make predictions. In science, the theory is the ultimate goal, the explanation. It’s as close to proven as anything in science can be. Image: Timeline evolution of life on Wikimedia

I recently saw a question on Quora and it was like that: “Why is it called the ‘theory of evolution’ but the ‘law of gravity’?” This question is strongly related to a common misconception about evolution: “It is just a theory” – creationists always say “Evolution is just a theory”.

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Earth from Space Space Exploration

Amazing Footage of 2nd VSS Unity Spaceflight

VSS Unity's Second Suborbital Spaceflight
On February 22, 2019, during the second spaceflight, the supersonic, rocket-powered VSS Unity has reached an altitude of 295,007 feet (89,918 meters) and a top speed of Mach 3.04 (2,255 mph, 3,629 km/h). It three crew for the first time: two test pilots (Dave Mackay, the company's chief pilot, and Michael "Sooch" Masucci) and a mission specialist (Beth Moses, Virgin Galactic's chief astronaut instructor). VSS Unity lifted by a plane named "WhiteKnightTwo" until the altitude high enough to fire its hybrid rocket motor.

Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity (Virgin Space Ship Unity) made its second flight into space, reaching an altitude of 55.87 miles (89.9 kilometers) on February 22, 2019. The American space company released amazing footage of the flight.

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Categories
Planet Earth

Earth’s atmosphere extends beyond the Moon

Full Moon Over Newfoundland
The crew of the International Space Station snapped this image of the full Moon on April 30, 2018, as the station orbited off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The station orbits 220 miles, or 354 kilometers, above the Earth, completing one trip around the globe every 92 minutes. Cruising along at 17,200 miles, or 27,700 kilometers per hour, the astronauts experience 15 or 16 sunrises and sunsets every day. Image: NASA

According to a new study published in the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Journal of Geophysical Research, the geocorona (the luminous part of the outermost region of the Earth’s atmosphere, the exosphere) reaches up to 630,000 kilometers (391,000 miles) away, or 50 times the diameter of our planet. For comparison, the average distance between Earth and the Moon is 384,400 km (238,855 miles). So, the outer edge of Earth’s atmosphere extends far beyond the moon.

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Mars Space Exploration

Mars weather service by NASA’s InSight Lander

InSight image acquired on November 27, 2018, Sol 1 (cropped)
NASA's InSight Mars lander acquired this image using its robotic arm-mounted, Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC). This image was acquired on November 27, 2018, Sol 1 where the local mean solar time for the image exposures was 13:32:45. Each IDC image has a field of view of 45 x 45 degrees. This is a cropped photo. You can see the raw image on NASA/JPL-Caltech webpage.

NASA’s InSight lander has started providing a daily Mars weather report everyone can see. The American space agency has created a dedicated web page on the NASA InSight mission website to share that information.

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Space Exploration Mars Moon Landing

Driving Distances on Mars and the Moon [Out-of-This-World-Records]

Opportunity Mars rover - artist conception
This artist conception portrays Opportunity on the surface of Mars. Opportunity was launched on July 7, 2003, 28 days after its twin, Spirit, which launched on June 10, 2003, as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover program. It landed in Meridiani Planum, a plain located 2 degrees south of Mars’s equator on January 25, 2004, three weeks after Spirit touched down on the other side of the planet. Both rovers had a planned 90-sol (Martian day) duration of activity (slightly more than 90 earth days). Spirit functioned until getting stuck in 2009 and ceased communications in 2010, while Opportunity was able to stay operational for 5353 sols after landing. By June 10, 2018, when it last contacted NASA and sent it last photo (the image in the right-hand-side above) to Earth, which shows the intensity of the dust storm, Opportunity had traveled a distance of 45.16 kilometers (28.06 miles) and exceeded its operating plan by 14 years, 295 days (in Earth Time), 55 times its designed lifespan. Image source: NASA

This chart, prepared by NASA illustrates comparisons among the driving distances by various wheeled vehicles on the surface of the planetary bodies other than Earth (as of February 13, 2019, only the Moon and Mars). Opportunity rover, which declared dead after record-breaking 15-years on the Martian surface also holds the off-Earth roving distance record after accruing 45.16 kilometers (28.06 miles) of driving on Mars.

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Mars Space Exploration

It’s time to go home, Oppy [painting by Rostislav Shekhovtsov]

It's time to go home, Oppy by Rostislav Shekhovtsov
It's time to go home, Oppy by Rostislav Shekhovtsov. This is a cropped image. You can see the original image on the artist's Instagram page.

An amazing work by the Uzbek artist Rostislav Shekhovtsov, titled “It’s time to go home, Oppy”. The digital painting shows two future astronauts finding the dust-covered Opportunity rover on Mars.

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Mars Space Exploration

Opportunity Rover’s first and last images from the Martian surface

Opportunity images from Sol 1 (left) and Sol 5111 (right)
Opportunity Rover's first and last images from Sol 1 (left) and Sol 5111 (right). Left: Rear Hazard Camera Non-linearized Downsampled EDR acquired on Sol 1 of Opportunity's mission to Meridiani Planum at approximately 14:58:27 Mars local solar time on January 25, 2004. Right: taken on Sol 5111 (on June 10, 2018), before the rover entered hibernation due to a huge dust storm. Images: Opportunity - All Raw Images on the NASA Mars website

The first and the last images of NASA’s Opportunity rover from the Martian surface. The first photo (on the left) was acquired on Sol 1 (at approximately 14:58:27 Mars local solar time on January 25, 2004). The last photo (on the right) was taken on Sol 5111 (on June 10, 2018 ), before the rover entered hibernation due to a huge dust storm.

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Categories
Life on Earth Animals

A single cell becomes a complete organism in six min. of timelapse

Alpine newt embryo
The alpine newt (scientific name: Ichthyosaura alpestris) is a newt of the salamander order Caudata (or Urodela) in the class of amphibians. The biggest of the males can reach up to 9 cm (3.54 inches), and the females up to 12 cm (4.72 inches) in length. They typically inhabit forests with good access to water in hilly to mountainous regions of Central Europe and mountainous Southern Europe (where they were originally confined to). They also have isolated populations on the northern Iberian Peninsula and in Italy. The species was introduced into the United Kingdom in the 1930s, initially in southern England and since then several populations have become established as far north as Edinburgh. It has also been introduced to the Sierra de Guadarrama in Madrid Province Spain. They populate well in thick deciduous forests, as well as parkland and natural gardens. They are mostly absent in forest-poor areas.

A single cell becomes a complete organism (an alpine newt) in this amazing six pulsing minutes of a timelapse video named “Becoming” published by the Aeon Video channel. A film by Jan van IJken.

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