Just when exoplanets became too numerous to bother counting, astrophysicists have discovered a new type of extrasolar planet — a steamy waterworld shrouded in a thick atmosphere. The planet, known as GJ1214b, has a diameter roughly 2.7 times that of Earth and a surface temperature of about 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Originally dis...
Feb
21
An unprecedented and devastating massacre is underway in northern Cameroon’s Bouba Njida National Park, where poachers have slaughtered an estimated 200-300 elephants for their tusks in the past five weeks.
Local officials confirm claims by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) that the killings are the work of armed gan...
Feb
21
This weekend, tens of thousands of citizen-scientists will join in The Great Backyard Bird Count, an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the U.S. and Canada.
Carolina Chickadee, 2010 GBBC. Credit: Ken Childs, TN
Participants count ...
Feb
17
The Atacama Desert in western South America is known as the driest place on Earth — so dry, that it’s been used as a testing area for missions to Mars. Annual rainfall in some Chilean regions of the Atacama averages just 1 mm (0.04 in). Other weather stations have never recorded precipitation.
Microbes grow in salt c...
Feb
16
For more than a decade, World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) has provided a platform for increasing public awareness of water quality through a citizen science project that monitors local water resources around the globe.
"World Water Monitoring Day" has been renamed the "World Water Monitoring Challenge" to promote ...
Feb
16
