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Categories: Environmental: Wildfires, Space: Exploration
Published NASA's Webb Telescope reveals links between galaxies near and far


A new analysis of distant galaxies imaged by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope shows that they are extremely young and share some remarkable similarities to 'green peas,' a rare class of small galaxies in our cosmic backyard.
Published Physicists confirm effective wave growth theory in space


Physicists have used spacecraft data to confirm an important theory of plasma physics that improves our understanding of space weather.
Published Space solar power technology demo launched into orbit


The launch represents the first in-situ test of the technology to harvest solar energy in space and transmit it to Earth.
Published Bird diversity increased in severely burned forests of Southern Appalachian mountains


A new study found bird diversity increased in North Carolina mountain forest areas severely burned by wildfire in 2016, reinforcing that while wildfire can pose risks to safety and property, it can be beneficial to wildlife. The study results could help forest managers better predict bird responses to wildfire, and manage forests to benefit birds.
Published Experimentalists: Sorry, no oxygen required to make these minerals on Mars


When NASA's Mars rovers found manganese oxides in rocks in the Gale and Endeavor craters on Mars in 2014, the discovery sparked some scientists to suggest that the red planet might have once had more oxygen in its atmosphere billions of years ago. But a new experimental study upends this view. Scientists discovered that under Mars-like conditions, manganese oxides can be readily formed without atmospheric oxygen.
Published Wildfire threats not commonly disclosed by US firms despite risk to economy


U.S. firms rarely report their wildfire risks in required federal filings and instead bury such risks in nonspecific risk disclosures, according to new research.
Published Loon stratospheric balloons confirm wind data from Aeolus


ESA's novel Aeolus satellite reliably measures wind speed also in higher air layers and thus in a region of the atmosphere where other direct global wind measurements are relatively sparse. This is the result of a study for which data from the satellite were compared with wind observations from stratospheric balloons. Stratospheric balloons would provide highly accurate data on the horizontal wind speed and are therefore also suitable for the validation of future satellite missions.
Published Ancient asteroid grains provide insight into the evolution of our solar system


The UK's national synchrotron facility, Diamond Light Source, was used by a large, international collaboration to study grains collected from a near-Earth asteroid to further our understanding of the evolution of our solar system. Researchers brought a fragment of the Ryugu asteroid to Diamond's Nanoprobe beamline I14 where a special technique called X-ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy (XANES) was used to map out the chemical states of the elements within the asteroid material, to examine its composition in fine detail.
Published Webb Space Telescope reveals previously shrouded newborn stars


Astronomers took a 'deep dive' into one of the first images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and were rewarded with a surprising discovery: telltale signs of two dozen previously unseen young stars about 7,500 light years from Earth.
Published Marsquake!


The quake lasted four hours and identified layering in the crust that could indicate a meteoroid impact. The 4.7 magnitude temblor happened in May 2022 and released five times more energy than any previously recorded quake on Mars. Mapping the seismic activity on Mars will help inform scientists where and how to build structures to ensure the safety of future human explorers.
Published Watching water droplets merge on the International Space Station


Researchers design and analyze droplet experiments that were done on the International Space Station. The researchers sent four different surfaces with various roughness properties to the station, where they were mounted to a lab table. Cameras recorded the droplets as they spread and merged. The experimental results confirmed and expanded the parameter space of the Davis-Hocking model, a simple way to simulate droplets.
Published Sound recording made of dust devils (tiny tornadoes of dust, grit) on Mars


When the rover Perseverance landed on Mars, it was equipped with the first working microphone on the planet's surface. Scientists have used it to make the first-ever audio recording of an extraterrestrial whirlwind.
Published First ultraviolet imaging of Sun's middle corona


Researchers have discovered web-like plasma structures in the Sun's middle corona. The researchers describe their innovative new observation method, imaging the middled corona in ultraviolet (UV) wavelength. The findings could lead to a better understanding of the solar wind's origins and its interactions with the rest of the solar system.
Published Antihelium nuclei as messengers from the depths of the galaxy


How are galaxies born, and what holds them together? Astronomers assume that dark matter plays an essential role. However, as yet it has not been possible to prove directly that dark matter exists. A research team has now measured the survival rate of antihelium nuclei from the depths of the galaxy -- a necessary prerequisite for the indirect search for Dark Matter.
Published Deep-space optical communication demonstration project forges ahead


Scientists have demonstrated new laser systems for deep-space optical communication.
Published Climate whiplash increased wildfires on California's west coast about 8,000 years ago


Researchers have been studying the effects of the sudden decrease in global temperatures that occurred about 8,200 years ago, the so-called 8.2-kiloyear event, with the help of mineral deposits present in White Moon Cave in Northern California. New indications show that oscillations between extreme wetness and aridity in California were closely linked with the occurrence of wildfires. The researchers have concluded that such events are likely to become more common in the face of human-induced climate change.
Published Americans flocking to fire: National migration study


Americans are leaving many of the U.S. counties hit hardest by hurricanes and heatwaves -- and moving towards dangerous wildfires and warmer temperatures, says one of the largest studies of U.S. migration and natural disasters. These results are concerning, as wildfire and rising temperatures are projected to worsen with climate change. The study was inspired by the increasing number of headlines of record-breaking natural disasters.
Published NASA missions probe game-changing cosmic explosion


On Dec. 11, 2021, astronomers detected a blast of high-energy light from the outskirts of a galaxy around 1 billion light-years away. The event has rattled scientists' understanding of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the most powerful events in the universe.
Published For 400 years, Indigenous tribes buffered climate's impact on wildfires in the American Southwest



Devastating megafires are becoming more common, in part, because the planet is warming. But a new study suggests bringing 'good fire' back to the U.S. and other wildfire fire-prone areas, as Native Americans once did, could potentially blunt the role of climate in triggering today's wildfires.
Published Peekaboo! Tiny, hidden galaxy provides a peek into the past


Peeking out from behind the glare of a bright foreground star, astronomers have uncovered the most extraordinary example yet of a nearby galaxy with characteristics that are more like galaxies in the distant, early universe. Only 1,200 light-years across, the tiny galaxy HIPASS J1131-31 has been nicknamed "Peekaboo" because of its emergence in the past 50-100 years from behind the fast-moving star that was obscuring astronomers' ability to detect it.