Last September, NASA crashed the refrigerator-sized DART spacecraft into a small asteroid named Dimorphos at a speed of some 13,000 mph (21,000 km/h). The impact not only successfully changed the trajectory of Dimorphos, which orbits a companion asteroid named Didymos. It also ejected an expansive cloud of debris that gracefully evolved over the next several weeks.In the days following the impact, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope trained its eye on Dimorphos’ ejecta cloud to help astronomer ...read more
Whether you’re brand new to citizen science or a seasoned enthusiast, April is the perfect time to get involved with citizen science initiatives! All month long we’re celebrating Citizen Science Month, which brings together researchers, facilitators and people like you to explore the ways collaboration can make a monumental impact on scientific research.Together with Arizona State University and support from the National Library of Medicine, SciStarter is hosting Citizen Science Month for t ...read more
When water levels dropped last year, waterways like the Mississippi River and Lake Mead became shallower than kiddie pools. Although the extreme drought from 2022 has eased in many places, 28 percent of the continental U.S. is still experiencing drier-than-average conditions.Both Lake Mead and the Mississippi River serve as freshwater sources for nearby communities. The threat of drought has prompted many municipalities to consider how wastewater can be reused, and the recent Bipartisan Infr ...read more
Approximately 4,000 years ago, an ancient civilization living in the Indus Valley (today’s India and Pakistan) comprised 10 percent of the world’s population. Though few records remain about this group of people, archaeologists found they were advanced enough to have their own writing system — which has still yet to be deciphered. Known as the Indus script, the mysterious text has puzzled scholars, linguists and even cryptographers for decades. Only a few hundred symbols have been classifi ...read more
You're more likely to be struck by lightning than die from a venomous snake bite. But bites do happen. If you do find yourself on the business end of a snake's fangs, here are a few things you need to know.What NOT to do if You Get a Snake BiteThe first thing to consider — you're probably not going to die (in the U.S.). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that between 7,000 and 8,000 people in the U.S. are bitten by venomous snakes each year. And of those who ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
