Our planet’s history includes episodes of cold so extreme that glaciers reached sea level in equatorial regions. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/whats-coldest-earth-has-ever-been…
Tag: minerals
‘Earth wind’ may generate water on the moon
Particles carried from Earth’s poles via our planet’s magnetosphere could be interacting with lunar rocks to create small quantities of water on the moon. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/earth-wind-may-generate-water-on-moon…
Biden To Order Review of US Reliance on Overseas Supply Chains For Semiconductors, Rare Earths
President Joe Biden will direct his administration to conduct a review of key U.S. supply chains including semiconductors, high-capacity batteries, medical supplies and rare earth metals. From a report: The assessment, which will be led by members of both Biden’s economic and national security teams, will analyze the “resiliency and capacity of the American manufacturing supply chains and defense industrial base…
Biden Team Pledges Aggressive Steps To Address Chip Shortage
The Biden administration is working to address the global semiconductor shortage that has caused production halts in U.S. industries including autos, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. From a report: The administration is identifying choke points in supply chains and discussing an immediate path forward with businesses and trading partners, Psaki told reporters at the White House on Thursday. In…
Get ready for Perseverance’s landing on Mars February 18
Some call attempts to land on Mars “7 minutes of terror.” The Perseverance mission will provide the most detailed video and photos of a landing yet. We’ll watch ourselves land on another planet, for the first time ever. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/get-ready-nasa-perseverance-landing-feb2021…
Substance Found In Antarctic Ice May Solve a Martian Mystery
sciencehabit shares a report from Science Magazine: Researchers have discovered a common martian mineral deep within an ice core from Antarctica. The find suggests the mineral — a brittle, yellow-brown substance known as jarosite — was forged the same way on both Earth and Mars: from dust trapped within ancient ice deposits. It also reveals how important these glaciers were on…
Vertical Farms Grow Veggies On Site At Restaurants and Grocery Stores
New Atlas reports on ag-tech company Vertical Field’s efforts to produce soil-based indoor vertical farms grown at the very location where food is consumed. From the report: The Vertical Field setup retains many of the advantages of hydroponic vertical farms, but instead of the plants growing in a nutrient-packed liquid medium, the container-based pods treat their crops to real soil, supplemented…
Plants that suck metals from the soil can be farmed to make our tech
Farms that grow metal-rich plants are cropping up around the world and promise a greener, less destructive alternative to mining for rare minerals Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933160-900-plants-that-suck-metals-from-the-soil-can-be-farmed-to-make-our-tech/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Scientists and Philosopher Team Up, Propose a New Way To Categorize Minerals
An anonymous reader shares a report: Some diamonds were formed billions of years ago in space as the carbon-rich atmospheres of dying stars expanded and cooled. In our own planet’s lifetime, high-temperatures and pressures in the mantle produced the diamonds that are familiar to us as gems. 5,000 years ago, a large meteorite that struck a carbon-rich sediment on Earth produced…
What’s the birthstone for December?
If you were born December, you’ve got 2 birthstones, turquoise and zircon. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/december-birthstone-zircon-turquoise…