Everest Gets an Altitude Adjustment: Nepal and China Agree on Height

How tall is Mount Everest? Until now, it depended on whom you asked. China said it was 29,017 feet. Nepal said it was a little taller, at 29,028 feet. The countries have closed that 11-foot gap and reached an agreement. From a report: The world’s tallest peak this week will get a new, unified official height from the two nations it…

Moon passes through Leo the Lion Dec 5-7

Let the waning gibbous moon show you Regulus, Leo’s brightest star, as the moon parades through the constellation Leo the Lion these next several days! Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-passes-through-leo-the-lion…

This asteroid just skimmed Earth’s atmosphere

The asteroid – 2020 VT4 – is estimated to be between 16 and 36 feet (5-11 meters). It skimmed the top of our atmosphere on Friday, November 13, 2020. Astronomers spotted it one day later. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/asteroid-2020-vt4-skimmed-atmosphere-fri-nov-13-2020…

NASA’s Probe Sampled Too Much From Asteroid Bennu and Now It’s Leaking

Iwastheone shares some space news from OPB: A NASA spacecraft sent out to collect a sample of rock and dust from an asteroid has nabbed so much that it’s created an unexpected problem. Rocks are jammed in the device in a way that’s keeping a Mylar flap open, creating a gap that’s letting some of the collected pebbles and dust drift…

Earth in the balance today

Guy Ottewell’s insights on today’s autumnal equinox. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/insights-equinoxes-solstices-guy-ottewell…

What is a hurricane storm surge?

Of all the hazards that hurricanes bring, storm surge is the greatest threat to life and property along the coast. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/definition-what-is-a-hurricane-storm-surge…

UFO Sightings Are Up 51% Amid Coronavirus, Data Shows

Data from the nonprofit National UFO Reporting Center, which records UFO-related events, shows that sightings are up 51 percent so far this year compared to the same period in 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The New York Post reports: Among the 5,000 sightings recorded this year, 20 percent of them occurred in April — the height of the COVID-19…

‘The Largest Nuclear Bomb Ever Detonated’ Explored in Declassified Russian Footage

“The blast was over 3,000 times bigger than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima,” reports Smithsonian magazine: Hydrogen bombs are so destructive, their impact has been described as unthinkable throughout history. Recently declassified Russian footage of the 1961 Tsar Bomba hydrogen bomb test shows why. The 40-minute documentary, which was posted on YouTube on August 20, shows footage of the largest bomb…