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: Nunavut
Galaxies have magnetic fields, too! Images here
Until recently, magnetic fields in the outskirts of galaxies were too faint to be detected. Although it’s still not clear what causes them or how they’re maintained, astronomers have started to create images of their observations of galaxies’ magnetic fields producing beautiful aurora-like effects. See them here. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/images-of-magnetic-fields-in-galaxies…
The myths behind the southern and northern lights
For millennia, humans have viewed the northern and southern lights – aurora borealis and aurora australis – and created myths and folklore to explain the dancing lights they saw in the sky. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/legends-folklore-myths-northern-southern-lights-auroras…
What are ‘open’ star clusters?
Open clusters are young, loosely bound gatherings of stars that may still be surrounded by the nebula – or space cloud – in which they were born. The Pleiades, Hyades, and Beehive are well-known examples of open star clusters. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/definition-examples-what-are-open-star-clusters…
Blue Moon and red Mars on Halloween
The full moon of October 31, 2020 is the second full moon of a calendar month and therefore carries the name Blue Moon. It’s also the smallest full moon of 2020. And it’s near red Mars! Watch for it. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/blue-moon-and-mars-on-halloween…
The Arctic hasn’t been this warm for 3 million years
The last time CO2 concentrations reached today’s level was 3 million years ago, during the Pliocene Epoch. Hear from geoscientists who see evolving conditions in the Arctic as an indicator of how climate change could transform the planet. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/arctic-warmest-3-million-years…
Can you see the Big Dipper in autumn?
Sure, it’s easy to recognize, but sometimes the Big Dipper is low in the northern sky, or not visible at all. That’s the case now, in the evening. How to spot it. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/can-you-see-the-big-dipper-in-autumn…
Photos of fiery Mars, nearly at its best in 2 years
Photos from the EarthSky community of the bright planet Mars, now nearly at its best. Earth will pass between Mars and the sun – bringing the planet to a once-in-two-years opposition – on October 13, 2020. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/photos-mars-at-its-best-sep-oct-2020…
What’s cool about Curiosity’s discovery of organic molecules on Mars
The Curiosity rover has found organic molecules called thiophenes, which, on Earth, are associated with biological systems. Are they evidence for once-living microbes on Mars? Source: https://earthsky.org/space/thiophenes-organic-molecules-curiosity-rover-mars-life…