I've been meaning to write a story about the aurora borealis ever since I captured photos of an astonishing display in January when I was visiting Tromsø, Norway to cover the Arctic Frontiers conference. Finally, the satellite image above offered the perfect excuse.
It was captured by the Suomi NPP spacecraft as it orbited above North America on March 28, 2019. The spacecraft has a nighttime sensor that can capture relatively faint emissions of light un ...read more
When NASA astronauts first landed on the moon in 1969, they saw a desiccated world, bone-dry and devoid of any life-giving water. The Apollo astronauts, planning to stay only a few days, had brought plenty of water for their own needs. So this finding was disappointing for the hazy plans of future lunar outposts, but not immediately concerning.
Decades later, humans have learned that the only economical way to explore space longterm is to use the resources we find along the way. ...read more
Today is Citizen Science Day (#CitSciDay2019), and our featured event is the Stall Catchers #Megathon, an online game you can play from anywhere (with internet access) to help Cornell scientists better understand how stalled blood flow contributes to Alzheimer’s disease.
We had our “catching hour” on Stall Catchers from 2 PM to 3 PM ET today. But because of technical difficulties, we’re extending the fun. If you didn’t get a chance to play Stall Catchers ...read more
Fire, as we know, need three things: a source of heat, fuel or something to burn, and oxygen. Apollo lunar missions had all three in spades. There was plenty of electricity running through the spacecraft, lots of material that could be fuel, and a 100 percent oxygen atmosphere under pressure. So why exactly did NASA design a spacecraft that was an explosion waiting to happen? (This is a question I get *a lot* so I hope this gives a full answer!)
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvA7N ...read more
The brain became a celebrity this week when Ariana Grande shared the results of a scan of her brain seemingly showing signs of severe PTSD:
Is there any science behind this?
Not really.
The source of the scan isn't clear but I'm 99% sure that the image was taken at one of Dr Daniel Amen's controversial clinics. Amen uses similar graphics in his brain scans. If it is an Amen scan, then the 'blobs' seen on Grande's brain represent areas of increased or decreased cerebral blood flow (C ...read more
