Watch: Animation of satellite images shows smoke from the Brian Head fire drifting across much of Utah and beyond

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

With hot, dry and windy conditions continuing, the dangerous Brian Head fire is expected to grow significantly A giant smoke plume from Utah’s Brian Head Fire is seen streaming across much of the state and on into Wyoming and Colorado in this animation created from images captured by the GOES-West weather satellite on Monday, June 26, 2017. The white arrow in the first frame marks the location of the fire, near the Brian Head ski resort. (Source: RAMSDIS Online/RAMMB/CIRA) ...read more

What Are “Hard” and “Soft” Drugs?

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

A new study examines the blurry distinction between “hard” and “soft” drugs. The “hardness” of drugs is a concept that makes intuitive sense, but is difficult to put into precise terms. “Hard” drugs are those which are viewed as more addictive, more potent and more toxic than the comparatively benign “soft” variety. The concept has a normative aspect: “hard” drugs are bad, and you should avoid them, even if you use soft dru ...read more

Dogs Notice When People (or Other Dogs) Sound Sad

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Your dog may act like a good listener—but does she really notice when you’re feeling down? Or does she just know how to deploy a wet nose and a tail-wag to earn treats? A new study says negative emotions are contagious for dogs. They’ll pick up a companion’s bad feelings just by sound, whether that companion is human or canine. “Emotional contagion” is the most basic form of empathy, write Annika Huber of the University of Vienna’s Cleve ...read more

Solving the Centuries-old Mystery of Rare 'Bright Nights'

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Airglow, as seen from the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA) On rare occasions throughout history, the darkness of night fails to materialize. Even with the moon darkened, the sky fills with a diffuse glow that seems to filter out of the very air itself. Such “bright nights” have been recorded back to the days of Pliny the Elder around 132 B.C., although explanations for the phenomenon have been lacking. Using a special interferometer and data from the 1990s, two Can ...read more