Google Maps To Block Users From ‘Virtual Visits’ of Australian Uluru

misnohmer writes: In 2019, the Australian site of Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, has been closed to tourists “after the Anangu people said it was being trashed by visitors eroding its surface, dropping rubbish and polluting nearby waterholes,” according to CNN. Parks Australia has now has asked Google to remove all imagery of the site uploaded by the community, as…

EarthSky’s top 10 tips for super stargazers

Here are 10 simple tips that can help you connect with the night sky, and have fun. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/getting-started-2…

Bacterial Outbreak Infects Thousands After Factory Leak In China

schwit1 shares a report from CNN: Several thousand people in northwest China have tested positive for a bacterial disease, authorities said on Tuesday, in an outbreak caused by a leak at a biopharmaceutical company last year. The Health Commission of Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu province, confirmed that 3,245 people had contracted the disease brucellosis, which is often caused by…

What are comets?

Comets are loosely packed balls of ice and dust orbiting our sun, that sometimes become visible in Earth’s skies. A comet’s tail may stretch across millions of miles of space. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/definition-what-are-comets…

Looking edgewise into the Milky Way

Here are a few shots of the edgewise view into our Milky Way galaxy – with bright Jupiter and fainter Saturn also in the scene – plus a few Perseid meteors. These are from earlier this month, when the moon was less bright in the evening sky. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/photos-summer-milky-way-aug-2020…

10 great places to see meteor showers in the US

Looking for an awesome place to watch meteor showers in the U.S.? AccuWeather – and the editors of EarthSky – recommend these 10 places. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/10-great-places-to-see-meteor-showers-in-us…

Plastic rain: More than 1,000 tons of microplastic rain onto western US

New research finds that microplastics are emitted into the atmosphere. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/microplastic-rain-western-us…

Study reveals biggest Yellowstone supervolcano eruption

The new study also suggests that the supervolcano under Yellowstone National Park was much more explosive in its early history and could be slowing down. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/yellowstone-supervolcano-biggest-eruption-slowing…