A remote outback station about 800km north of Perth in Western Australia is one of the best places in the world to operate telescopes that listen for radio signals from space. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-12-radio-astronomers-quiet-middle-western.html…
Tag: desert
Personal solstices
Photos from EarthSky community members around the world, showing what the December solstice – bringing winter to half of Earth, and summer to the other half – means to them. Thanks to all of you for sharing these evocative images with us! Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/personal-solstices-photos-dec-earthsky-community…
Study of dune dynamics will help scientists understand the topography of Mars
Barchans are crescent-shaped sand dunes whose two horns face in the direction of the fluid flow. They appear in different environments, such as inside water pipes or on river beds, where they take the form of ten-centimeter ripples, and deserts, where they can exceed 100 meters, and the surface of Mars, where they can be a kilometer in length or more….
Sahara’s ‘Godzilla’ dust storm may have been triggered by warming in the Arctic
Warmer-than-average conditions and declining sea ice in the Arctic may be linked to the Sahara Desert’s biggest dust storm in recorded history. Source: https://www.livescience.com/godzilla-dust-cloud.html
What has Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission accomplished?
A small capsule from Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft successfully landed in a sparsely populated desert in the Australian Outback on Sunday. After a preliminary inspection, it will be flown to Japan for research. The extremely high precision required to carry out the mission thrilled many in Japan, who said they took pride in its success. The project’s manager, Yuichi Tsuda of the…
Dust From Japan’s Asteroid-Blasting Probe Returns to Earth
Long-time Slashdot reader reminds us that in 1999 scientists discovered the asteroid Ryugu flying 300 million kilometres (or 186,411,357 miles) from earth. In 2014, Japan launched a probe to collect samples from it. Today those samples returned to earth. The International Business Times shares pictures and report:
In a streak of light across the night sky, samples collected from a distant asteroid…
All Three Monoliths Gone — Two Removed By Activist Vandals
A Reddit user found Google Earth photos showing the Utah monolith may have appeared in its canyon up to five years ago, according to The Daily Beast. But it’s gone now: Last week, a team of four people removed the Utah obelisk. One of them, a Utah adventure guide, explained their actions in an Instagram post. “We removed the Utah Monolith…
A Second, Mysterious Monolith Appears In Romania
Joe2020 shares a report with the caption, “Yeah, this happened.” NPR reports: Less than two weeks after authorities stumbled across a mysterious metal object standing freely in the Utah desert — and just days after it disappeared — a similar monolith has been reported nearly halfway around the world. Residents in the Romanian city of Piatra Neamt say they have found…
‘2001’ monolith in Utah has now disappeared
The mysterious monolith found in the Utah desert has now been inexplicably removed by ‘an unknown party’. Last week we reported that a helicopter pilo… Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/341351/2001-monolith-in-utah-has-now-disappeared…
That Mysterious Silver Monolith In the Utah Desert Has Disappeared
Slashdot reader Iwastheone quotes CNN: A tall, silver, shining metal monolith discovered in the desert in southeastern Utah — which prompted theories of alien placement and drew determined hikers to its secret location — has now disappeared, the state’s Bureau of Land Management said Saturday. The monolith was removed by an “unknown party” sometime Friday night, the agency said in a…