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Categories: Environmental: Biodiversity, Space: The Solar System
Published New dawn for space storm alerts could help shield Earth's tech
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Space storms could soon be forecasted with greater accuracy than ever before thanks to a big leap forward in our understanding of exactly when a violent solar eruption may hit Earth. Scientists say it is now possible to predict the precise speed a coronal mass ejection (CME) is travelling at and when it will smash into our planet -- even before it has fully erupted from the Sun.
Published Exoplanet-hunting telescope to begin search for another Earth in 2026
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Europe's next big space mission -- a telescope that will hunt for Earth-like rocky planets outside of our solar system -- is on course to launch at the end of 2026. PLATO, or PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars, is being built to find nearby potentially habitable worlds around Sun-like stars that we can examine in detail.
Published The most endangered fish are the least studied
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The most threatened reef fishes are also the most overlooked by scientists and the general public. Scientists measured the level of human interest in 2,408 species of marine reef fish and found that the attention of the scientific community is attracted by the commercial value more than the ecological value of the fishes. The public, on the other hand, is primarily influenced by the aesthetic characteristics of certain species, such as the red lionfish (Pterois volitans) and the mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus).
Published Research tracks 66 million years of mammalian diversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has examined the fossil record going back 66 million years and tracked changes to mammalian ecosystems and species diversity on the North American continent.
Published Astronomers spot a 'highly eccentric' planet on its way to becoming a hot Jupiter
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The newly discovered planet TIC 241249530 b has the most highly elliptical, or eccentric, orbit of any known planet. It appears to be a juvenile planet that is in the midst of becoming a hot Jupiter, and its orbit is providing some answers to how such large, scorching planets evolve.
Published Logged forests can still have ecological value -- if not pushed too far
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have analysed data from 127 studies to reveal 'thresholds' for when logged rainforests lose the ability to sustain themselves. The results could widen the scope of which forests are considered 'worth' conserving, but also show how much logging degrades forests beyond the point of no return.
Published Nature-based solutions to disaster risk from climate change are cost effective
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new global assessment of scientific literature finds that nature-based solutions (NbS) are an economically effective method to mitigate risks from a range of disasters -- from floods and hurricanes to heatwaves and landslides -- which are only expected to intensify as Earth continues to warm.
Published How astronomers are using pulsars to observe evidence of dark matter
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tantalizing evidence of potential dark matter objects has been detected with the help of the Universe's 'timekeepers'. These pulsars -- neutron stars which rotate and emit lighthouse-like beams of radio waves that rapidly sweep through space -- were used to identify mysterious hidden masses. Pulsars earned their nickname because they send out electromagnetic radiation at very regular intervals, ranging from milliseconds to seconds, making them extremely accurate timekeepers.
Published Sun-like stars found orbiting hidden companions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have uncovered what appear to be 21 neutron stars in orbit around stars like our Sun. The discovery is surprising because it is not clear how a star that exploded winds up next to a star like our Sun.
Published Local dragonflies expose mercury pollution patterns
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has unveiled surprising findings about mercury pollution: where it comes from and how it moves through the environment vary significantly depending on the ecosystem. In drier regions, most mercury is deposited through rain and snow. In wetter, forested areas, gaseous mercury from the air sticks to leaves, which then fall and carry the toxin into the ground.
Published New analysis of Cassini data yields insights into Titan's seas
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study of radar experiment data from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn has yielded fresh insights related to the makeup and activity of the liquid hydrocarbon seas near the north pole of Titan, the largest of Saturn's 146 known moons.
Published Scorching storms on distant worlds revealed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international study reveals the extreme atmospheric conditions on the celestial objects, which are swathed in swirling clouds of hot sand amid temperatures of 950C. Using NASA's powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), researchers set out to capture the weather on a pair of brown dwarfs -- cosmic bodies that are bigger than planets but smaller than stars.
Published Loss of oxygen in lakes and oceans a major threat to ecosystems, society, and planet
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Oxygen is a fundamental requirement of life, and the loss of oxygen in water, referred to as aquatic deoxygenation, is a threat to life at all levels. In fact, researchers describe how ongoing deoxygenation presents a major threat to the stability of the planet as a whole.
Published Study examines urban forests across the United States
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tree-planting campaigns have been underway in the United States, especially in cities, as part of climate mitigation efforts given the many environmental benefits of urban forests. But a new study finds that some areas within urban forests in the U.S., may be more capable than trees growing around city home lawns in adapting to a warmer climate.
Published Unprecedented warming threatens Earth's lakes and their ecosystems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Lakes, with their rich biodiversity and important ecological services, face a concerning trend: rapidly increasing temperatures. A recent study by limnologists and climate modelers reveals that if current anthropogenic warming continues until the end of this century, lakes worldwide will likely experience pervasive and unprecedented surface and subsurface warming, far outside the range of what they have encountered before.
Published Scientific definition of a planet says it must orbit our sun; A new proposal would change that
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The International Astronomical Union defines a planet as a celestial body that orbits the sun, is massive enough that gravity has forced it into a spherical shape, and has cleared away other objects near its orbit around the sun. Scientists now recognize the existence of thousands of planets, but the IAU definition applies only to those within our solar system. The new proposed definition specifies that the body may orbit one or more stars, brown dwarfs or stellar remnants and sets mass limits that should apply to planets everywhere.
Published Mapping the world's fungi from air samples
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have found that the key to a quick and cost-effective mapping of biodiversity has been right in front of our eyes all along, but at the same time invisible -- i.e., in the air that surrounds us.
Published Mars likely had cold and icy past, new study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The question of whether Mars ever supported life has captivated the imagination of scientists and the public for decades. Central to the discovery is gaining insight into the past climate of Earth's neighbor: was the planet warm and wet, with seas and rivers much like those found on our own planet? Or was it frigid and icy, and therefore potentially less prone to supporting life as we know it? A new study finds evidence to support the latter by identifying similarities between soils found on Mars and those of Canada's Newfoundland, a cold subarctic climate.
Published The origins of dark comets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Up to 60% of near-Earth objects could be dark comets, mysterious asteroids that orbit the sun in our solar system that likely contain or previously contained ice and could have been one route for delivering water to Earth, according to a new study.
Published Strong evidence for intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Most known black holes are either extremely massive, like the supermassive black holes that lie at the cores of large galaxies, or relatively lightweight, with a mass of under 100 times that of the Sun. Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) are scarce, however, and are considered rare 'missing links' in black hole evolution.