The sun had a big year in 2024. First, April brought a total solar eclipse that provided a wide swath of the continental U.S. with nearly four minutes of hushed totality. It also gave sun-gazers a chance to observe the outer layers of the sun’s atmosphere, which are normally obscured.Then, on May 10–11, the aurora borealis seemed to appear everywhere, all at once. Reports came from North Texas, Arizona, even Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee — nearly the entire U.S. — that the night sky ha ...read more
Bats are often synonymous with a dark and stormy night mostly for their association with vampires, the fact that they’re nocturnal, and thanks to media like Scooby-Doo. While bats may add an extra layer of eerie to nighttime, their presence in bad weather may actually be due to a migratory advancement. A new study in the journal Science explains how certain bats may use warm storm fronts to aid in cross-continental migration. Bats and Storm Surfing Bat migration is notoriously difficult to ...read more
When most people think of Neanderthals, they picture a classic caveman caricature — brutish and backward, a relic of the distant past. But this image doesn’t tell the whole story.These Ice Age inhabitants of Europe and parts of Asia were skilled hunters, toolmakers, and caregivers. And their legacy persists — not just in the archaeological record, but in our very genes. Some modern-day people have 2 percent Neanderthal DNA, according to Prof. Chris Stringer, a leading human evolution resea ...read more
#MuseumSelfie Day is the perfect blend of art, culture, history—and selfies! Mark your calendars now for January 15, 2025.Mar Dixon, a leader in social media and the cultural sector, created #MuseumSelfie Day in 2014 as part of her quest to make museums fun for everyone – thus changing the image of museums from stodgy and boring institutions, to places that anyone can enjoy. This simple concept – taking a fun selfie in a museum – has become a global movement, with people, museums, news o ...read more
In 1815, Mount Tambora experienced the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history. The eruption's effects altered Earth’s climate for years and even led to the “year without summer” in 1816. Volcanic eruptions occur frequently but rarely at this magnitude.It’s likely that within the next thousand years, Tambora will violently erupt again, but is the eruption imminent? Significance of the 1815 Mount Tambora Eruption Mount Tambora is a stratovolcano on the Sumbawa island in Indonesia. ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine