The clump of gas ALMA spotted, about as long as the distance between the Sun and Jupiter, may one day become a fully-fledged planet. (Credit: ALMA/ESO/NAOJ/NRAO, Tsukagoshi et al.)
Stars in the early stages of their lives are surrounded by flat disks of dust and gas, spinning slowly around them. Over time, this material clumps together to form planets, or eventually gets blown away by the stellar wind. This process can take millions of years, so astronomers don’t have a way to watch it ...read more
(Credit: Dusan Petkovic/Shutterstock)
If you see someone in need, would you help them out even if you might get hurt in the process?
Psychology experiments have often shown that people are unlikely to help others in need when another person is close by. This dismal human reaction is called the “bystander effect,” named for the people who stand by and do nothing. But most of the research on the bystander effect comes from carefully controlled lab settings, not from the real worl ...read more
The growing ash plume from Ulawun in PNG, captured just after the eruption started in June 26, 2019. Image: Himawari-8, JMA.
For the second time in a week, a blast from a new eruption has topped the 10 kilometers. However, unlike Raikoke in Russia, this one came from a volcano that has a well-known history of big explosions.
Ulawun, on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea, unleashed an eruption this morning (local time) that reached at least 13.5 kilometers (45,000 feet) accordin ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine