Solar storms could be more extreme if they ‘slipstream’ behind each other

Modeling of an extreme space weather event that narrowly missed Earth in 2012 shows it could have been even worse if paired with another event. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-09-solar-storms-extreme-slipstream.html…

Are there active geysers at Enceladus’ north pole?

Water-vapor geysers erupt from cracks at the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Scientists using Cassini data now have evidence for fresh ice at the moon’s north pole, too. Could it be more geysers for this fascinating ice moon? Source: https://earthsky.org/space/fresh-ice-enceladus-north-pole-geologic-activity…

‘Why Modeling the Spread of COVID-19 Is So Damn Hard’

Slashdot reader the_newsbeagle writes: At the beginning of the pandemic, modelers pulled out everything they had to predict the spread of the virus. This article explains the three main types of models used: 1) compartmental models that sort people into categories of exposure and recovery, 2) data-driven models that often use neural networks to make predictions, and 3) agent-based models that…

How Microsoft is Looking To MetaOS To Make Microsoft 365 a ‘Whole Life’ Experience

An anonymous reader shares a report: Earlier this year, some leaks about Microsoft’s “MetaOS” had a lot of us Microsoft watchers scrambling to figure out what this foundational layer is and how it will affect Microsoft’s various products and services in the future. Recently, I’ve unearthed some more details about the company’s high-level goals and lower-level product plans around MetaOS. MetaOS…

Why are skies so red over the U.S. West this week?

Perhaps you’ve seen the photos of the eerie red skies over San Francisco and other cities in the U.S. West this week as massive ongoing wildfires rage. But why red exactly? Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/why-skies-look-red-when-there-are-wildfires…

Pesticides and industrial pollutants found in snow atop Arctic glaciers

The long journey of these compounds – likely originating in the U.S. and Eurasia – shows the far-reaching impacts of industrial pollution. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/pesticides-industrial-pollutants-found-atop-arctic-glaciers…

Earth’s night sky as Milky Way and Andromeda merge

Billions of years from now, Earth’s night sky will change as the Andromeda galaxy rushes toward a merger with the Milky Way. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/earths-night-sky-milky-way-andromeda-merge…

Exoplanet-hunter TESS completes its primary mission

NASA’s 2nd planet-hunter, TESS, has spent 2 years surveying the sky for exoplanets orbiting distant stars. It has found over 2,000 exoplanets so far. TESS now moves into its extended mission phase. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/exoplanet-hunter-tess-completes-primary-mission…

Astronomers Spy a Milky Way-like Galaxy In the Very Early Universe

Slashdot reader sciencehabit quotes Science magazine: Astronomers imagine the early universe as a wild and lawless place, with chaotic fledgling galaxies full of swirling gases and frantic star formation. So an image released today comes as a surprise: a young galaxy, spied when the universe was just 10% of its current age, that looks remarkably like our calm and well-ordered Milky…