Scientists using the Herschel space observatory have made the first definitive detection of water vapor on the largest and roundest object in the asteroid belt on a dwarf planet, a body in the solar system bigger than an asteroid but smaller than a planet, called Ceres. Plumes of water vapor are thought to shoot up…
By Glynn Wilson – Scientists now say 2013 tied with 2009 and 2006 for the seventh warmest year since 1880, continuing a long-term trend of rising global temperatures, according to a new report out from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). With the exception of 1998, the 10 warmest years in the 134-year record…
By Glynn Wilson – A reactivated NASA spacecraft designed to identify the population of potentially threatening near-Earth objects has spotted a new asteroid about 27 million miles (43 million kilometers) from Earth. Based on its infrared brightness, scientists estimate it to be roughly 0.4 miles (650 meters) in diameter and extremely dark, like a piece…
A new climate model shows a warming planet means less cloud formation, which in turn contributes to increased temperatures – By Damian Carrington – Temperature rises resulting from unchecked climate change will be at the severe end of those projected, according to a new scientific study. The scientist leading the research said that unless emissions of greenhouse gases were…
Space Telescope Sees Water Plumes on Jupiter’s Moon, Europa (via Environment News Service) SAN FRANCISCO, California, December 12, 2013 (ENS) – The Hubble Space Telescope has discovered water vapor erupting in plumes from the frigid surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa near its south pole. Europa is already thought to harbor a liquid ocean…
Ex-NASA expert issues call for climate solutions (via AFP) Longtime NASA expert James Hansen has issued a call for new approaches to stop global warming, saying solutions are needed and that currently accepted targets are too dangerous. His 26-page paper in the open-access journal PLOS ONE outlines the dangers…
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has obtained the highest-resolution movie yet of a unique six-sided jet stream, known as the hexagon, around Saturn’s north pole. This is the first hexagon movie of its kind, using color filters, and the first to show a complete view of the top of Saturn down to about 70 degrees latitude. Spanning…
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is requesting assistance with an investigation involving the suspected illegal shooting death of the fifth red wolf in the past month. In the latest death, the federally protected wolf’s body was recovered with a gunshot would on Monday, Nov. 18 from private property north of the town of Creswell,…
Climate change projections for the United States, such as the data shown in this image of average springtime temperature changes by the 2090s, will be available on the cloud through an agreement with Amazon Web Services. By Glynn Wilson – In line with the Obama Administration’s Executive Order for open scientific data on climate change…
Astronomers viewing the solar system’s asteroid belt with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have seen for the first time an asteroid with six comet-like tails of dust radiating from it like spokes on a wheel. Unlike all other known asteroids, which appear simply as tiny points of light, this, designated P/2013 P5, resembles a rotating lawn…
By Glynn Wilson – The U.S. Forest Service is considering changing the “recreation use” for one of the best little campgrounds in the national forests in Alabama, according to a press release we just received on Sunday. The Lake Chinnabee Recreation Area and Campground remains closed due to flooding from heavy rains back in May,…
By Glynn Wilson – Federal and state agencies have announced that Alabama will receive $3.7 million in a settlement agreement with the chemical corporation BASF to restore natural resources and wildlife habitat harmed by the release of the banned chemical compound DDT and other harmful substances from the company’s manufacturing site in McIntosh, north of…
By Glynn Wilson – Climate change due to human induced global warming from the burning of fossil fuels makes North American forests more vulnerable to insects and disease, according to a new study published by a team of researchers from Dartmouth University in the journal Ecological Monographs. After reviewing about 500 scientific studies dating back…
Global Warming is UnequivocalBy Glynn Wilson – As if there was still any doubt in the scientific community, we now know that “human influence on the climate system is clear,” according to a new report just out from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “It is extremely likely that human influence has been…
By Glynn Wilson – The autumn season is upon us, since the fall equinox occurred on September 22, and it is about to be a busy time of year for travelers who like to get outdoors and chase the changing leaf colors in the most beautiful of seasons in North America. According to officials in…
A NASA-led team of scientists has uncovered strong evidence that soot from a rapidly industrializing Europe caused the abrupt retreat of mountain glaciers in the European Alps that began in the 1860s, a period often thought of as the end of the Little Ice Age, according to a new peer reviewed study published Sept. 3…
Hydraulic fracturing fluids that leaked from natural gas well sites are believed to be the cause of the widespread death and distress of aquatic species in Kentucky’s Acorn Fork, according to the findings of a joint study by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Acorn Fork, designated by Kentucky…
By Glynn Wilson – NASA scientists and an international team of researchers have found tropical ecosystems can generate significant carbon dioxide when temperatures rise, unlike ecosystems in other parts of the world, further exacerbating global warming and climate change, according to a new study. The researchers discovered a temperature increase of just 1 degree Celsius…
By Glynn Wilson – In just the third time ever that Earth has been photographed from the outer solar system, Nasa has released images of Earth and the moon taken by the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn almost a billion miles away in outer space. Scientists, wanting to pay homage to the “Pale Blue Dot” image…
President Obama spoke to the nation Tuesday at Georgetown University and laid out his vision for the steps needed to prepare for the impacts of climate change and lead the global effort to fight it. By Glynn Wilson – President Barack Obama, who was already guaranteed to go down in history as the first African-American…
