Tag: Radar

Locust Swarms Are Getting So Big That We Need Radar To Track Them

The desert locust upsurge is yet another of 2020’s horrors. From a report: In June, remote sensing analyst Raj Bhagat noticed a strange signal on India’s weather radar. It looked like a small band of rain near Delhi, moving southwest, but Bhagat was convinced it was a locust swarm. “People began to report it,” he says, referring to sightings on the…

Venus, Long-Thought Dormant, Shows Signs of Volcanic Activity

Scientists have identified 37 volcanic structures on Venus that appear to be recently active — and probably still are today — painting the picture of a geologically dynamic planet and not a dormant world as long thought. NBC News reports: The research focused on ring-like structures called coronae, caused by an upwelling of hot rock from deep within the planet’s interior,…

Looks like Venus has dozens of active volcanoes

“This study significantly changes the view of Venus from a mostly inactive planet to one whose interior is still churning and can feed many active volcanoes,” one scientist said. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/venus-3d-model-evidence-active-volcanoes…

Giant A-68 iceberg 3 years on

The colossal iceberg that split from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf in July 2017 is now in the open waters of the South Atlantic, about 650 miles (1,050 km) from its birthplace. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/giant-a-68-iceberg-summer-2020…

A proposed new mission to Venus

The proposed VERITAS mission to Venus is one of the finalists for NASA’s Discovery Program. If selected, it will revolutionize our knowledge about the planet’s geology and how this formerly habitable world became a fiery wasteland. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/veritas-mission-venus-surface-interior-geology…

What is a derecho? An atmospheric scientist explains these rare but dangerous storm systems

The derecho in the U.S. East on June 3, 2020, killed 4 people and left a million without power. A Colorado derecho on June 6 had winds in excess of 100 mph. Europe, Asia and South America also have derechos. Here’s what scientists know about them. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/what-is-a-derecho-storm-system…

Saturn’s large moon Titan is drifting away 100 times faster than anyone knew

Saturn’s largest moon Titan is drifting away from the planet 100 times faster than previously thought, according to a new study from researchers in the U.S., France and Italy. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/saturn-moon-titan-drifting-away-100-faster…

Volkswagen Seeks Open-Source Approach To Refine Car Operating System

Volkswagen wants to use an open-source approach to refine elements of a software-based car operating system being developed by the carmaker, Christian Senger, its board member responsible for digital services and software, said. From a report: With the advent of autonomous driving, carmakers have been forced to link up radar, camera and ultrasonic sensors and connect them to braking and steering…

Protecting Earth from asteroid impact with a tethered diversion

Our planet exists within the vicinity of thousands of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), some of which—potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs)—carry the risk of impacting Earth and causing major damage to infrastructure and loss of life. Methods to mitigate such a collision are highly desirable. A new paper published in EPJ Special Topics, authored by Flaviane Venditti, Planetary Radar Department, Arecibo Observatory, University of…