The small, fast-moving New Horizons spacecraft is likely to be the only Pluto mission in the lifetimes of many of us. It changed forever the way we on Earth perceive this outermost world and its moons. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/july-4-2015-new-horizons-at-pluto…
Tag: polar
Dust storms swirl at Mars’ north pole
Over the last month, ESA’s Mars Express has been watching dust storms brew at the planet’s north pole and disperse toward the equator. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/dust-storms-mars-north-pole-images…
Amount of Floating Antarctic Ice Plunges To Record Lows
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Time: The amount of ice circling Antarctica is suddenly plunging from a record high to record lows, baffling scientists. Floating ice off the southern continent steadily increased from 1979 and hit a record high in 2014. But three years later, the annual average extent of Antarctic sea ice hit its lowest mark, wiping out…
‘Ghost Base’ Perched on a Growing Ice Chasm in Antarctica Is Running on Its Own
A remote science station in Antarctica forced to close over the polar winter by a dangerous ice chasm is completely empty of human life. Source: https://www.livescience.com/65833-antarctica-ghost-base-on-ice-chasm.html
Giant half-ton bird lived alongside early man
A thigh bone found in a Crimean cave belonged to a huge species of bird that was as heavy as a polar bear. The fossil, which was discovered along the … Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/328705/giant-half-ton-bird-lived-alongside-early-man…
Extinct 11-Foot ‘Super-Ostrich’ Was As Massive As a Polar Bear
The brawny bird lived alongside humans, who may have hunted the giant. Source: https://www.livescience.com/65807-extinct-super-ostrich.html
Boaty McBoatface Makes Significant Climate Change Discovery on First Mission
The British research submarine Boaty McBoatface has made an impressive debut in the scientific arena, discovering a significant link between Antarctic winds and rising sea temperatures on its maiden outing. From a report: The unmanned submarine, whose moniker won a landslide victory in a public poll to name a $300 million British polar research ship, undertook its inaugural mission in April…
We go between the sun and Jupiter June 10
Opposition on June 10 marks the middle of the best time of year to see Jupiter. The planet shines at its brightest best in Earth’s sky. It’s also out all night long, rising at sunset and setting at sunrise. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/earth-passes-between-jupiter-and-sun…
Martian sands move in unearthly ways
Mars is a desert world, with sand dunes similar to those on Earth. But the processes that create them can be quite different from those on our planet, according to a new study from the University of Arizona. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/sand-dunes-deserts-mars-earth-hirise-mro-university-of-arizona-space…
Ancient ice sheets found under Mars’ north pole
Researchers estimate that if the massive ice deposits melted, they’d cover the planet in 5 feet (1.5 meters) of water. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-ice-caps-north-pole…